Dr. John N. Friedman
A Brown faculty member since 2015, Friedman will lead the new school upon its July 1, 2025, launch with a focus on advancing research and teaching on pressing economic, political, social and policy issues. Friedman served as chair of the Department of Economics from 2021 to 2024, a tenure marked by the expansion of its scholarship, 30% growth in tenure-stream faculty and a deepening of the department’s expertise and reputation.
In his new role as inaugural dean of the Watson School, he will lead the school in educating students at the undergraduate and graduate levels, supported by Brown faculty from a wide range of academic disciplines. The school will serve as the home for Brown’s esteemed master of public affairs (MPA) program as well as Brown’s undergraduate concentration in international and public affairs, which currently enrolls more than 300 students.
Prior to joining the faculty at Brown, Friedman served as a special assistant to the president for economic policy for the National Economic Council from 2013 to 2014, and was an assistant professor of public policy at Harvard University’s Kennedy School from 2009 to 2014. He currently serves as a research associate for the National Bureau of Economic Research and is a member of the Rhode Island Council of Economic Advisors. Friedman serves as a co-editor of the American Economic Review, the flagship journal in economics, and is president-elect of the Eastern Economic Association.
He earned a bachelor’s degree and a Ph.D. in economics from Harvard.
