Leading scholar joins Mosakowski Institute, IDCE

Clark University’s Mosakowski Institute for Public Enterprise works to connect both the university’s research and its teaching to the world of public policy making and implementation. The university is pleased to announce that Margaret A. Post will strengthen that mission when she joins the institute as a research assistant professor, beginning in August.

Post joins the Clark community with a strong record of public scholarship and leadership in higher education. Throughout her career, Post has emphasized the integration of theory and practice in teaching and research, and she is eager to bring this experience to Clark University. Her research focuses on how grassroots organizations influence policy change through civic action.

Post holds a master of public policy from the Hubert Humphrey School of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota and a Ph.D. in social policy from the Heller School of Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University.

At the Mosakowski Institute, Post will provide leadership on the development and implementation of community-based research. In addition, she brings with her a portfolio of grant-funded participatory research on the role of nonprofit organizations in social policy change. Post will hold a joint appointment at Clark in the Department of International Development, Community and the Environment (IDCE), where she will teach courses on public policy.

Since 2013, Post has served as senior researcher with the Innovation Network Inc., where she co-leads a multi-year participatory evaluation of the Center for Community Change. She also conducts research on the prevalence and political efficacy of 501(c) (4) nonprofit advocacy organizations.

Post is author of “Grassroots Coalitions and State Policy Change: Organizing for Immigrant Health Care” (2011) and co-editor of “Publicly Engaged Scholars: Next Generation Engagement and the Future of Higher Education,” with Elaine Ward, Nicholas Longo and John Saltmarsh (2016).

“Post’s extensive experience in academic leadership and community engagement will be a tremendous asset to the Mosakowski Institute and Clark,” said Mosakowski Institute Director James Gomes. “We are very fortunate to have her joining our team.”

From 2011 to 2013, Post was co-manager of the Policy Research Shop and visiting assistant professor at the Nelson A. Rockefeller Center for Public Policy at Dartmouth College. She was director of the Donelan Office of Community Based Learning at Holy Cross from 2007 to 2011. She has been an active leader in Campus Compact, the Association of American Colleges and Universities and the Association for Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Action.

“My scholarship and teaching focus on democracy in action – tackling complex public problems in partnership with organizations and communities,” Post said. “I look forward to continuing this work at the Mosakowski Institute and with IDCE and contributing to the university’s vibrant tradition of public engagement.”