Robert C. Orr Dean of University of Maryland’s School of Public Policy - Policy Dialogues Ep.25 UMD School of Public Policy Alumni Board

The University of Maryland School of Public Policy Alumni Board's video and podcast series called Policy Dialogues discusses current events through a policy lens.

Episode 25 interviews Robert C. Orr who serves as Dean of University of Maryland’s School of Public Policy. The discussion is hosted by Evan Papp (UMD SPP ‘11).

Dean Orr also serves as United Nations under secretary-general, and special advisor to the UN secretary-general on climate change. Dean Orr joined the United Nations from Harvard University where he served as the executive director of the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at the Kennedy School of Government. Prior to this, he served as director of the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington, DC.

He has also served as United States ambassador to the United Nations and director of global affairs at the National Security Council, where he was responsible for peacekeeping and humanitarian affairs.

In this conversation, we discussed:


His background and how he first got interested in public policy;

The role of the United Nations;

His recent testimony before the House Oversight and Reform Subcommittee on Environment.

The role of nuclear power in the future of clean energy; and

The future of the School of Public Policy.


You can follow Dean Orr’s work at: https://spp.umd.edu/.

The views expressed do not represent official positions of the school or alumni network.