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Encourages students to think outside the box.
Encourages creativity and critical thinking.
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About John
John D. Graham is a professor of risk analysis in the Paul H. O'Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs at Indiana University Bloomington. He holds a B.A. with honors in Economics and Politics from Wake Forest University (1978), an M.A. in Public Affairs from Duke University (1980), and a Ph.D. in Urban and Public Affairs from Carnegie Mellon University (1983). His doctoral dissertation on automobile safety, conducted at the Brookings Institution, was cited in pro-airbag decisions by the U.S. Supreme Court (1983) and by Secretary of Transportation Elizabeth Dole (1985). Graham joined Harvard School of Public Health as a post-doctoral fellow (1983-1985) and assistant professor (1985-1991), earning tenure at age 34. There, he taught decision analysis and cost-benefit analysis to public health professionals. From 1990 to 2001, he founded and directed the Harvard Center for Risk Analysis, securing over $10 million in funding to advance research in environmental protection, injury prevention, and medical technology innovation. Elected president of the Society for Risk Analysis (1995), he organized its first World Congress in Brussels (2000) and received the society's Distinguished Lifetime Achievement Award (2009). He is also an elected Fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration.
Graham served as Administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget (2001-2006), where he oversaw federal regulatory activities, reducing regulatory cost growth by 70% while advancing lifesaving and environmental protections. He was dean of the Frederick Pardee RAND Graduate School (2006-2008), streamlining its policy analysis curriculum. From 2008 to 2019, Graham deaned the Indiana University School of Public and Environmental Affairs (renamed O'Neill School), expanding enrollment to over 2,100 undergraduates and nearly 600 master's students, doubling faculty research output, achieving No. 1 ranking for its Master's in Public Affairs (U.S. News & World Report, 2016), and raising more than $37 million in philanthropic support. His research specializes in environmental and energy policy, regulatory reform, governance, econometrics, and plug-in electric vehicles. Notable publications include "Regulatory Reform from Nixon to Biden: Politics, Economics, and Law" (2024), "The Global Rise of the Modern Plug-In Electric Vehicle: Public Policy, Innovation and Strategy" (2021), "Bush on the Home Front: Domestic Policy Triumphs and Setbacks" (2010), and the highly cited "Five-Hundred Life-Saving Interventions and Their Cost-Effectiveness" (1995, Risk Analysis). Graham has testified before U.S. congressional committees and the European Parliament.