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Stan Altman
As Dean of the School of Public Affairs at Baruch College, the City University of New York, Dr. Stan Altman has brought a unique synthesis of technological expertise, public policy craftsmanship, and management experience to an institution that is now widely recognized as a major local and national resource for nonprofit and government leaders. Trained as an engineer, Dr. Altman was one of an early vanguard of professionals with strong applied mathematics and engineering backgrounds who chose to apply their skills to the delivery of public services. In building a career to achieve his ambitious public sector objectives, Dr. Altman has developed a powerful cross-disciplinary approach to problem solving.
Dr. Altman holds a doctorate in Systems Science from the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn, a Master of Science in Electrical Engineering from Purdue University, and a BEE from City College. He began his professional teaching and research career in the late sixties as an assistant professor of electrical engineering at Princeton University. During this time the work he conducted on computer engineering was instrumental in the transition from main frames to microcomputers.
In 1970, Dr. Altman moved to SUNY Stony Brook to become the educational director of a new graduate program to train students for public sector careers. With funding from the National Science Foundation, Dr. Altman led a team of faculty and students that worked on projects of direct relevance to the New York City Department of Sanitation. This work led to increased productivity of sanitation employees through the development and implementation of revised work schedules that matched collection capacity to workload demand. In 1973, Dr. Altman pioneered Project Scorecard for the Sanitation Department (in collaboration with the Fund for the City of New York and the Vera Institute of Justices’ Project Wildcat), as an independent method for rating the cleanliness of a New York City street – a rating system that is still being used by New York City.
In 1979, he was asked to develop a productivity program as a cornerstone of Governor Carey’s re-election campaign. As a result, the State created the Committee on Environment and Worker Productivity. In the early 1980s, as the head of a small non-profit organization, Dr. Altman pioneered the use of microcomputers and computer networks to manage grant requests and funding for a major foundation.
The early 70s also marked the launch of the Journal of Urban Analysis, which Dr. Altman co-founded and where he served as editor from its inception in 1972 until 1989. This publication became a forum in which Dr. Altman promoted the urgency of bridging public policy theory and practice – a notion that became increasingly important to his educational philosophy over the years.
In 1987, he was appointed deputy to the President at SUNY Stony Brook. During his tenure, he developed and piloted a program for renovating the University’s dormitory facilities which eventually resulted in an $84 million dollar investment in the campus student housing facilities. In the early 1990s, he chaired an interagency task force that examined the structure under which SUNY Hospitals were reimbursed for services. It is estimated that the hospitals have received over $300 million dollars as a result of this effort.
With his appointment in 1999 as Dean of the School of Public Affairs at Baruch College, Dr. Altman acquired a strategic position from which to realize his far-reaching vision for sustaining New York’s vibrancy through healthy public and nonprofit sectors. The School’s reputation has been built around the quality and relevance of its faculty’s scholarly work and its dedication to training outstanding students for leadership positions in New York government and nonprofit organizations serving the City. Dr. Altman introduced numerous initiatives to further the School’s mission.
In spring 2000, the CUNY Board of Trustees approved Dr. Altman’s proposal to create two research centers within the School of Public Affairs – the Center for Innovation and Leadership in Government, and the Center for Educational Leadership. The Center for Innovation and Leadership in Government became the home for the Project on Transition and Leadership that played a significant role in preparing the City for its first municipal election under term limits. The Center focused on the impact that term limits would produce on the City Council by educating potential candidates, the electorate and eventually those elected to the City Council in the fall 2001 elections. The Center for Educational Leadership focuses on educational leadership development in the public schools and supports the School’s successful Aspiring Leaders Program. Dr. Altman has also restructured existing programs within the School to create the Center for Equality, Pluralism and Policy that serves as an important resource for scholars and the general public seeking insights on some of the most pressing issues arising from increased diversity and pluralism of major urban centers, such as New York City. He recently established the Archive on Municipal Finance and Leadership focusing on the New York City fiscal crisis of the mid-1970s. The Archive currently contains the documents and reports of the Municipal Assistance Corporation (MAC) and a private collection assembled over 35 years by Jack Bigel, a key player in preventing the City from declaring bankruptcy.
Dr. Altman’s commitment to the vibrancy of New York extends beyond his University work. His active participation in the civic life of the city includes service as Chair of the City Club of New York, a non-partisan civic organization with over 108 years experience overseeing the governance of the City of New York. He has also served on the New York City Technology Award Program Evaluation Committee, and as co-host of “Metroview,” a monthly CUNY-TV program devoted to the activities of the School of Public Affairs. From 1998 to 2000, he was the host of the “The City Club Public Policy Forum,” which appears weekly on CUNY-TV.
Dr. Altman is married to Claire Haaga, founder and president of Housing & Services, Inc., a nonprofit organization that creates innovative and caring housing and support services for the homeless and others with special needs.