L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs

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John Accordino to Become Interim Dean

John Accordio, Ph.D., Wilder School dean and director of the Center for Urban and Regional Analysis (CURA)
John Accordio, Ph.D., Wilder School dean and director of the Center for Urban and Regional Analysis (CURA)

John Accordino, Ph.D., FAICP, director of the Center for Urban and Regional Analysis (CURA), will become the interim dean of the Wilder School effective Friday, July 1. Niraj Verma, Ph.D., who’s led the Wilder School for six years first as director and then as dean when it became independent, is returning to research and teaching as a member of the faculty.

Accordino, also a professor in the Urban and Regional Studies/Planning program, began his career at VCU in 1986 as an assistant professor in what was then the School of Community and Public Affairs. His scholarship includes books, journal articles, applied research and other publications on community and economic development policy and planning.

He earned the rank of associate professor in 1992 and was promoted to full professor in 2011. He was department chair from 2001-09 and has served as director of CURA since 2013. He directs partnerships with universities in Germany and Italy, and he has received awards for his teaching, public service and scholarship.

Accordino holds a Ph.D. in urban and regional planning from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and his bachelor’s in European history from the University of Rochester in New York.

“It is an honor for me to serve as interim dean, and I look forward to working with my colleagues at the Wilder School to carry forward our vision of being a premier resource for public policy expertise,” Accordino said.