Arnold Howitt

Adjunct Lecturer in Public Policy
Executive Director
Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation
Co-Director, Program on Emergency Preparedness, Crisis Management, and Disaster Recovery
Taubman Center for State and Local Government
Ombuds Program
Office Address
124 Mt. Auburn - Suite 200N-246
Mailing Address
John F. Kennedy School of Government
Mailbox 74
79 JFK Street
Cambridge, MA 02138
Contact
Phone: 617-495-4571
Fax: 617-496-4602
Email: arnold_howitt@Harvard.Edu
Arnold Howitt

Profile

Arnold M. Howitt is Executive Director of the Roy and Lila Ash Institute for Democratic Governance and Innovation at HKS, with responsibility for its executive education and research programs. He also co-directs the Program on Emergency Preparedness, Crisis Management, and Disaster Recovery at the HKS Taubman Center for State and Local Government. As a faculty member, he chairs and/or teaches in a number of executive education programs for senior officials from both the US and other countries; and he serves as an HKS ombudsperson.

Dr. Howitt's research focuses on public management and intergovernmental policy implementation, including crisis management/emergency preparedness and transportation policy. He has conducted research or consulted for public agencies at the federal, state, and local levels, as well as lecturing widely on these subjects. A member of the World Economic Forums Global Agenda Council on Natural Disasters, he has served on a number of national and state advisory panels.

Dr. Howitt is the author of Managing Federalism: Studies in Intergovernmental Relations, and is co-author and co-editor of Managing Crises: Responses to Large-Scale Emergencies; Countering Terrorism: Dimensions of Preparedness; and Perspectives on Management Capacity Building. He was Executive Director of the Taubman Center for State and Local Government prior to joining the Ash Institute. He received his BA from Columbia University and MA and PhD in political science from Harvard University.

Media Expertise

Arnold Howitt welcomes media inquiries on the following subjects:

Additional experts may be found by clicking on each subject listed. You may contact faculty directly or if you need assistance contact the Communications Office at 617-495-1115.

Research

For a complete list of faculty citations from 2001 - present, please visit the Harvard Kennedy School Research Report Online.

Selected Publication Citations:

  • Academic Journals
    • Leonard, Herman B., and Arnold Howitt. "Katrina as Prelude: Preparing for and Responding to Katrina-Class Disturbances in the United States--Testimony to U.S. Senate Committee, March 8, 2006." Journal of Homeland Security and Emergency Management 3.2 (June 2006).
  • Book Chapters
    • Howitt, Arnold, and Ralph Gakenheimer. “The Mexico City Metropolitan Area Transportation System: Mobility and Air Pollution.” Air Quality in the Mexico Megacity. Ed. Luisa T. Molina and Mario J. Molina. Kluwer, February 2002.
    • Howitt, Arnold, and Robyn L. Pangi. "Intergovernmental Challenges of Preparing for Terrorism." Countering Terrorism: Dimensions of Preparedness. Ed. Arnold Howitt and Robyn L. Pangi. MIT Press, 2003.
    • Howitt, Arnold, and Jonathan Makler. "Protecting America's Highways and Transit Systems Against Terrorism." Taking the High Road: A Metropolitan Agenda for Transportation Reform. Ed. Bruce Katz and Robert Puentes. Brookings Institution, 2005.
    • Leonard, Herman B., and Arnold Howitt. “Against Desperate Peril: High Performance in Emergency Preparation and Response." Communicable Crises: Prevention, Response, and Recovery in the Global Arena. Ed. Deborah E. Gibbons. Information Age Publishing, 2007.
  • Books
    • Howitt, Arnold (as co-author on Committee on Evaluation of the Metropolitan Medical Response System Program). Preparing for Terrorism: Tools for Evaluating the Metropolitan Medical Response System Program. National Academies Press, 2002.
    • Howitt, Arnold (as co-author on Committee on Air Quality Management in the United States). Air Quality Management in the United States. National Academies Press, 2004.
  • Edited Volumes
    • Howitt, Arnold, and Robyn L. Pangi, eds. Countering Terrorism: Dimensions of Preparedness. MIT Press, 2003.
  • Magazine and Newspaper Articles
    • Leonard, Herman B., and Arnold Howitt. "In the Heat of the Moment." Compass: A Journal of Leadership Fall 2004: 19-23.
    • Howitt, Arnold, and Herman B. Leonard. "A Command System for All Agencies?" Crisis/Response Journal. March 2005, 40-42.
    • Howitt, Arnold, and Herman B. Leonard. "Beyond Katrina: Improving Disaster Response Capabilities" (two-part series)." Crisis/Response Journal. September 2006.
  • Research Papers/Reports
    • Howitt, Arnold. “Promoting Regional Collaboration,” in Beyond the Beltway: Focusing on Hometown Security. KSG Executive Session on Domestic Preparedness Report, September 2002.
    • Howitt, Arnold, Winston Harrington, Alan J. Krupnick, et al. "Exhausting Options: Assessing SIP-Conformity Interactions." Resources for the Future, January 2003.
    • Howitt, Arnold, and Jonathan Makler. "Regulating Transportation in New Nonattainment Areas: Areas Under the 8-Hour Ozone Standard." Transportation Research Record 1842 03-3224, 2003.