Paul Light Named Vice President and Governmental Studies Director

Thomas E. Mann is stepping down after more than 10 years as head of Governmental Studies at the Brookings Institution and will be succeeded by Paul C. Light, currently serving as Director of the Center for Public Service and Douglas Dillon Senior Fellow at the non-partisan think tank, Brookings President Michael H. Armacost announced today.

Light joins the two other research directors, Robert E. Litan, vice president and director of Economic Studies, and Richard N. Haass, vice president and director of Foreign Policy Studies, as key members of the Brookings management team.

Mann, who is well-respected in the academic and public policy community for his books and other writings, as well as his media appearances, will remain at Brookings, focusing on research and writing in his areas of special expertise, which include campaign finance regulation and the transition from campaigning to governing.

“We are delighted that the tradition of scholarship and public policy analysis established by Tom Mann in the Governmental Studies area will be continued by Paul Light,” said Armacost. “The entire Brookings community is pleased that Tom will remain with us and that Paul will bring his many abilities to the Governmental Studies program.”

The change will take effect in September.

Mann said of the change of leadership in the Governmental Studies program, “I am delighted with the selection of Paul Light. He brings to the position a long and highly successful scholarly association with Brookings and a wealth of experience in academia, government, and the foundation world. Paul is a superb choice and I believe our program will prosper under his leadership.”

“Tom is going to be a very difficult act to follow,” Light says, “he has built a wonderful program and I hope I can do half as well in this position as he did.”

Mann came to Brookings in 1987 as Director of Governmental Studies. In 1991 he was also named the W. Averell Harriman Senior Fellow in American Governance. Before that he was Executive Director of the American Political Science Association. He is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

He is the author or editor of many books, including Intensive Care: How Congress Shapes Health Policy; Campaign Finance Reform: A Sourcebook; Congress, the Press, and the Public; Renewing Congress; and Media Polls in American Politics. Mann also has written numerous scholarly articles and opinion pieces on various aspects of American politics.

Before coming to Brookings in 1999, Light was Director of the Public Policy Program at the Pew Charitable Trusts. He has taught at the University of Virginia, George Washington University, Georgetown University, the University of Pennsylvania, and the University of Minnesota. He is currently teaching at Harvard University?s John F. Kennedy School of Government. He has held a number of staff positions in Congress.

Light is the author of 11 books, including The President?s Agenda, Vice Presidential Power, Thickening Government: Federal Hierarchy and the Diffusion of Accountability, and most recently The True Size of Government, published by Brookings.