New York Law School Welcomes Back Professor Beth Simone Noveck from the Executive Office of the President

John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Awards Professor Noveck Open Government Research Grant

New York, NY (January 11, 2011)—New York Law School is pleased to welcome back Professor Beth Simone Noveck, who returns to the Law School for the Spring 2011 semester after serving as the nation’s first Deputy Chief Technology Officer and leading the Administration’s Open Government Initiative since January 2009.

As a result of the Administration’s open government efforts, today every executive branch department and major agency has an open government plan that outlines specific and innovative commitments to create more effective government. Also, hundreds of thousands of collections of government information are now freely available to the public on the Web, and citizens have burgeoning opportunities to use new platforms to participate in their democracy.

The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation has awarded Professor Noveck a grant to apply her expertise to developing a multi-year interdisciplinary research agenda to gauge the impact of digital networks on institutions and how we can use such technology to strengthen democratic culture.

“The Foundation’s interest in public sector innovation as a potential longer term area for focused investment is testament to Beth’s success—through her research, writing, and public service—at putting the topic of 21st century democracy on the national agenda,” said Dean and President Richard A. Matasar. “We are delighted to have her back.”

An expert on the impact of network technology on legal and political institutions, Professor Noveck has been with the Law School since 2002. Together with students at New York Law School, she designed and built the U.S. government’s first expert network, www.peertopatent.org. She is currently working with colleagues both inside and outside of government on the design for “IOPedia,” a platform for mashing up and visualizing public corporate accountability data and tracking the evolution of organizations.

“I am proud to have helped fulfill the president’s historic commitment to promoting an open and innovative government—one that uses openness and collaboration as core elements of governance and policy making,” Professor Noveck said. “I look forward to working with students and the wider open government community to continue my research and advocacy to promote the adoption of public sector innovations.”

In 2010, Professor Noveck was named “One of the Hundred Most Creative People in Business” by Fast Company magazine and “One of the Top 5 Game Changers” by Politico. She is the author of Wiki Government: How Technology Can Make Government Better, Democracy Stronger, and Citizens More Powerful (Brookings Institution Press, 2009), which will appear this year in Arabic, Chinese, and in an audio edition, and is co-editor of The State of Play: Law, Games, and Virtual Worlds (NYU Press, 2006). She tweets at @bethnoveck.

About New York Law School
Founded in 1891, New York Law School is an independent law school located in lower Manhattan near the city’s centers of law, government, and finance. New York Law School’s renowned faculty of prolific scholars has built the School’s strength in such areas as constitutional law, civil and human rights, labor and employment law, media and information law, urban legal studies, international and comparative law, and a number of interdisciplinary fields. The School is noted for its nine academic centers: Center on Business Law & Policy, Center on Financial Services Law, Center for International Law, Center for New York City Law, Center for Professional Values and Practice, Center for Real Estate Studies, Diane Abbey Law Center for Children and Families, Institute for Information Law & Policy, and Justice Action Center. New York Law School has more than 13,000 graduates and enrolls some 1,500 students in its full- and part-time J.D. program and its four advanced degree programs in financial services law, real estate, tax, and mental disability law studies. www.nyls.edu

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