Mary Gallagher appointed dean of the University of Notre Dame’s Keough School of Global Affairs
Mary Gallagher, the Amy and Alan Lowenstein Chair in Democracy, Democratization and Human Rights and director of the International Institute at the University of Michigan, has been appointed the Marilyn Keough Dean of the Keough School of Global Affairs by University President Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C. Gallagher, who will also hold a tenured faculty position in the Keough School, begins her five-year term as dean on July 1.
“Mary Gallagher is a leading political scientist with deep expertise in China and a strong commitment to integral human development, interdisciplinary research and policy impact,” Father Jenkins said. “She will be an outstanding addition to our senior leadership team and University community.”
An expert in Chinese domestic politics, political economy and industrial relations, Gallagher has published extensively in leading academic journals as well as in prominent media outlets such as the Washington Post and The New York Times. She is the author or editor of five books: “Authoritarian Legality in China: Law, Workers and the State” (Cambridge University Press, 2017), “Contagious Capitalism: Globalization and the Politics of Labor in China” (Princeton, 2005), “Chinese Justice: Civil Dispute Resolution in Contemporary China” (Cambridge, 2011), “From Iron Rice Bowl to Informalization: Markets, Workers, and the State in a Changing China” (Cornell, 2011) and “Contemporary Chinese Politics: New Sources, Methods, and Field Strategies” (Cambridge, 2010).
Gallagher received her Ph.D. in politics from Princeton University and her B.A. in government and East Asian studies from Smith College. Her international experience includes teaching at the Foreign Affairs College in Beijing and visiting professorships at East China University of Politics and Law in Shanghai and at the KoGuan School of Law at Shanghai Jiao Tong University.
Over the course of her career, Gallagher has received multiple honors for her research, including two Fulbright awards and grants from the National Science Foundation and the Luce Foundation. As a faculty member at Michigan, she also earned recognition for her work in the classroom, including awards for excellence in education, creativity and collaboration in curriculum, and outstanding research mentorship.
Gallagher brings extensive policy experience to her new role. She is a nonresident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, a member of the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations, and a consultant for the World Bank, the U.S. State Department, the U.S. Department of Labor and many other nongovernmental and international organizations.
As director of the International Institute at Michigan for the past four years, she managed 17 centers and programs focused on specific world regions and global themes as well as academic programs including an undergraduate major in international studies, a master’s in international and regional studies and joint programs with the university’s professional schools. From 2008 to 2020, she directed the Kenneth G. Lieberthal and Richard H. Rogel Center for Chinese Studies, one of the largest units housed within the International Institute.
“Mary Gallagher has demonstrated excellence as a scholar, teacher, policy expert and administrator,” said John T. McGreevy, the Charles and Jill Fischer Provost at the University of Notre Dame. “With a strong scholarly and teaching record and extraordinary experience in fostering collaboration across diverse units, she is the ideal candidate for the deanship of the Keough School. We are thrilled that she accepted our offer.”
McGreevy thanked the search committee for its efforts over the past several months. “The committee members worked tirelessly to identify, evaluate and recruit a strong and diverse slate of candidates for this important position,” he said. “I am grateful for their diligence, dedication and thoughtful guidance throughout the process.”
Gallagher succeeds Scott Appleby, who is stepping down June 30 after a decade of service as the founding dean of Notre Dame’s first new school in nearly a century.
As dean of the Keough School, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary, Gallagher will lead nine centers and institutes, 70 faculty representing more than 25 different disciplines, 200 undergraduate majors and around 80 graduate students from more than 60 countries.
“I was drawn to Notre Dame’s distinctive mission as a leading global Catholic research university, and to the Keough School’s focus on research and teaching that address global challenges through the lens of integral human development and shape future generations of global leaders,” Gallagher said. “I’m excited and honored to lead the Keough School into its second decade.”
Latest Faculty & Staff
- In memoriam: Alasdair MacIntyre, the Rev. John A. O’Brien senior research professor of philosophy emeritusAlasdair MacIntyre, the Rev. John A. O’Brien senior research professor of philosophy emeritus and a permanent senior distinguished research fellow at the de Nicola Center for Ethics and Culture, died on May 21, 2025. He was 96.
- Santiago Schnell, dean of Notre Dame’s College of Science, appointed as provost of DartmouthSantiago Schnell, the William K. Warren Foundation Dean of the College of Science at the University of Notre Dame, has accepted an appointment as provost at Dartmouth College. He will depart Notre Dame at the end of June and begin his new role in July.
- Notre Dame’s Fightin’ Irish Battalion receives Department of Defense award as nation’s top Army ROTC programThe United States Department of Defense honored the University of Notre Dame’s Army ROTC Fightin’ Irish Battalion as the nation’s top Army collegiate program for the 2023-24 academic year. This will be the first time the unit has received the department’s Educational Institution Partnership Excellence Award, which recognizes the program’s achievements in recruiting, educating, training and commissioning leaders of character to be the next generation of military officers.
- In memoriam: Karl Ameriks, the McMahon-Hank Professor of Philosophy EmeritusKarl Ameriks, the McMahon-Hank Professor of Philosophy Emeritus at the University of Notre Dame, died on April 28 from pancreatic cancer. He was 77. Born in post-World War II Germany, Ameriks’ family emigrated to the United States when he was a child, and he grew up in Detroit, Michigan. He received his bachelor’s and doctoral degrees from Yale University. He came to the Department of Philosophy at Notre Dame in 1973 during a formative time for the department, which had transitioned from a predominantly Thomist focus to the more analytical American philosophy in the 1960s.
- Notre Dame psychologist explores how children best learn math — and yes, timed practice helpsUniversity of Notre Dame professor of psychology Nicole McNeil recently co-authored a report that examines the best way for children to learn arithmetic — whether that’s by memorizing number values and multiplication tables, or by studying math at a deeper, conceptual level. The report, “What the Science of Learning Teaches Us About Arithmetic Fluency,” was published in the journal Psychological Science in the Public Interest and shows that children learn most effectively when instruction follows an evidence‑based cycle: grounding facts in conceptual understanding, using brief timed practice to make those facts automatic, and then returning to discussion and reflection to deepen that knowledge.
- ’Tis the season for ticks and mosquitoes. A medical entomologist talks about these pests and how to avoid them.Notre Dame expert Lee Haines explains the risks mosquitoes and ticks pose to the Midwest and discusses how the public can best protect themselves and family members (including pets) from these bloodthirsty pests.
