David Birdsell

David Birdsell is provost and senior vice president for academic affairs at Kean University (NJ). He is a fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration, serves as board chair of BoardStrong, Inc., and is a member of the board of the New York Council of Nonprofits. Prior to joining Kean University in 2021, Birdsell was Marxe dean of the Austin W. Marxe School of Public and International Affairs at Baruch College of the City University of New York. He served as president of the Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs, and Administration (NASPAA) from 2017 to 2018.

He has worked with dozens of nonprofit, private sector, and governmental organizations on academic, professional advancement, and research programs to forge tighter relationships between universities and the larger community. Through NASPAA and other organizations, he has led multinational efforts to improve universities’ quality and accessibility as well as their responsiveness to nonacademic constituencies.

Birdsell’s scholarly work addresses communication, technology, and governance. He holds baccalaureate and master’s degrees from the University of Virginia and his Ph.D. in public communication from the University of Maryland.