Dr. Robert Gleeson
Bob Gleeson was appointed Director of the Regional Development Institute in July, 2003. He comes to NIU after five years at Duquesne University, in his hometown of Pittsburgh, where he worked in the Graduate Center for Social and Public Policy and taught graduate-level courses in social science research methods, market dynamics, strategic planning for nonprofit organizations and honors sections of core courses in social, political and economic systems.
A historian by training, Gleeson has an undergraduate degree in applied history and a doctoral degree in history and policy from Carnegie Mellon. He earned his master's in public policy from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard. Much of his work to date has been in the realm of economic development. He was a founder and director (1988 - 1993) of Carnegie Mellon's Center for Economic Development. At other times during his career he provided research support to a regional consortium of CEOs and university leaders engaged in economic development policy reform in Pittsburgh and served as the director of economic development for the Pittsburgh High Technology Council.
Gleeson and his wife Denise, have two children and plan to live outside of St. Charles in Kane County.
Dr. Robert Gleeson
Regional Development Institute
Northern Illinois University
DeKalb, Illinois 60115-2854
Phone: 815.753.1907
Fax: 815.753.2305
E-mail:rgleeson@niu.edu