Dr. Louis Picard

Louis A. Picard, Professor of International Development at the University of Pittsburgh, joined the GSPIA faculty in 1987. He earned his PhD in Political Science
from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Picard served four years as the Director of the Ford Institute, Associate Dean (1988–1992), and Acting Dean (1989–1990) at GSPIA. He has served for many years as the Director of the International Development Division at GSPIA. Dr. Picard served as President of Public Administration Service (2002–2005). His research and consulting specializations include international development, human security, governance, development management, local government, civil society, and human resource development. His primary area of interest is Africa and he has done extensive fieldwork particularly in Eastern and Southern Africa and in the Sahel region of West Africa. He has served as a consultant to the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the World Bank, the U.S. Information Agency, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and the U.S. Department of State. Dr. Picard has carried out research on local level government administration in Tanzania, Lesotho, and Eswatini (Swaziland), developed the training system for local government in Botswana, and for the last ten years, has been working on issues of liberalism, governance, and local governance and development management in South Africa. At GSPIA, he teaches and has taught courses on public administration, NGOs and civil society, development policy and administration, foreign aid, privatization, and African development.