Arnold M. Howitt

Adjunct Lecturer in Public Policy
Executive Director; Co-Director, Program on Crisis Leadership
Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation
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
Assistant
Janet Yeung (617-495-2132)
Arnold Howitt

Profile

Arnold M. Howitt is Executive Director of the Roy and Lila Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at HKS, with responsibility for its executive education and research programs. He also co-directs the Program on Crisis Leadership, jointly sponsored by the Ash Center and the Taubman Center for State and Local Government.

As a faculty member, Dr. Howitt works extensively in executive education for senior officials. He chairs or co-chairs Leadership in Crises, Leadership for New State Health Directors, and co-founded and has taught in Crisis Leadership for Higher Education and the National Preparedness Leadership Initiative. He has also been deeply involved in executive education programs for China, serving as faculty chair of China Crisis Management and co-chair of the Shanghai Executive Public Management and Chinas Leaders in Development programs.

Dr. Howitt's research focuses on public management and intergovernmental policy implementation, particularly emergency preparedness and disaster management. He has conducted research or consulted for public agencies at the federal, state, and local levels, as well as lecturing widely on these subjects. He has served on a number of national and state advisory panels.

Among other writing, Dr. Howitt is co-author/editor of Public Health Preparedness (forthcoming), Managing Crises: Responding to Large-Scale Emergencies (2009), Countering Terrorism: Dimensions of Preparedness (2003), and Perspectives on Management Capacity Building (1986), and author of Managing Federalism: Studies in Intergovernmental Relations (1984).

At HKS, he was Executive Director of the Taubman Center for State and Local Government prior to joining the Ash Center. 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 Journal/Scholarly Articles
    • 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
    • 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.
    • 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.
    • 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 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.
  • Books
    • 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.
    • 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.
  • Edited Volumes
    • Howitt, Arnold, and Robyn L. Pangi, eds. Countering Terrorism: Dimensions of Preparedness. MIT Press, 2003.
  • Magazine and Newspaper Articles
    • Howitt, Arnold, and Herman B. Leonard. "Beyond Katrina: Improving Disaster Response Capabilities" (two-part series)." Crisis/Response Journal. September 2006.
    • Howitt, Arnold, and Herman B. Leonard. "A Command System for All Agencies?" Crisis/Response Journal. March 2005, 40-42.
    • Leonard, Herman B., and Arnold Howitt. "In the Heat of the Moment." Compass: A Journal of Leadership Fall 2004: 19-23.
  • Research Papers/Reports
    • 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.
    • Howitt, Arnold. “Promoting Regional Collaboration,” in Beyond the Beltway: Focusing on Hometown Security. KSG Executive Session on Domestic Preparedness Report, September 2002.