Mary Gallagher, Director of the International Institute and the Amy and Alan Lowenstein Professor of Democracy, Democratization, and Human Rights, has been appointed as the dean of the Keough School of Global Affairs at the University of Notre Dame, effective July 1, 2024.
Professor Gallagher has served as the U-M International Institute director since July 2020. Prior to her tenure as the II director, she was the director of the Lieberthal-Rogel Center for Chinese Studies for 12 years. She is also a non-resident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C.
Mary has proven to be a visionary, judicious, and people-focused leader. She has also remained at the forefront of new scholarship on China and been generous with her time and expertise as a public-facing expert," Anne Curzan, dean of the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts (LSA) commented. "She is a talented, committed teacher and mentor at all levels. In these ways and more, Mary has contributed significantly to the college, the university, and her profession over the years. We are very fortunate to have had her as a member of our LSA community for more than two decades.
Professor Gallagher earned her Ph.D. in politics from Princeton University in 2001, and a B.A. in government and East Asian studies from Smith College in 1991. Her academic journey includes immersive experiences abroad, including studying as a foreign student at Nanjing University in China in 1989 and teaching at the Foreign Affairs College in Beijing from 1996 to 1997. As a scholar of China’s domestic politics, she furthered her expertise through prestigious roles such as a Fulbright Research Scholar at the East China University of Politics and Law in Shanghai from 2003 to 2004. She was a visiting professor at the Koguan School of Law at Shanghai Jiao Tong University from 2012 to 2013.
Professor Gallagher is an expert in Chinese politics, law and society, and labor politics. She is the author and editor of several books, the most recent of which, Authoritarian Legality in China: Law, Workers, and the State, was published by Cambridge University Press in 2017. She is a recurring columnist with the World Politics Review and has written many articles in academic and non-academic publications, including the Washington Post, the New York Times, and Comparative Political Studies. She is a board member of the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations and has consulted for the World Bank, the U.S. State Department, the U.S. Department of Labor, and many other NGOs and international organizations.
I’m excited to lead the Keough School of Global Affairs in its mission to understand and advance integrated human development through multidisciplinary research and teaching,” Gallagher said. “The University of Michigan, my academic home for 24 years, has prepared me well through its own commitment to interdisciplinarity as key to solving the world’s most pressing problems.
The U-M International Institute will soon announce its interim director to succeed Professor Gallagher, ensuring a smooth transition of leadership.
