Niraj Verma Named Director of L. Douglas Wilder School of Government Affairs

By Mike Porter

Niraj Verma, Ph.D., an internationally recognized expert in urban planning and management, is the new director of Virginia Commonwealth University’s L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs.

Verma began his new position Sept. 1. His selection followed a national search.

“We are delighted to welcome Dr. Verma to the Wilder School,” said Fred M. Hawkridge, Ph.D., interim dean of the College of Humanities and Sciences. “His leadership brings exciting new opportunities for faculty and student collaboration and groundbreaking research in government and public affairs.”

Verma joins VCU after serving as professor and chair of the Department of Urban and Regional Planning at the University at Buffalo.

Verma said he’s excited to join one of the largest and most diverse schools of its kind in the United States.

“At the Wilder School, our goal is to prepare professionals who benefit from a comprehensive education that draws on many professional sensibilities and the social sciences and that is intellectually rigorous and practically relevant,” Verma said. “The diversity of our programs and offerings is an unmatched strength and resource for our students.”

Verma began his academic career at the University of Southern California, where he was an associate professor of planning and management and director of doctoral programs in the School of Policy, Planning and Development.  

Verma has authored or co-authored more than 25 articles and book chapters. Verma wrote  “Similarities, Connections, and Systems: The Search for a New Rationality for Planning and Management,” which was published by Lexington Books in 1998. He is also the editor of “Institutions and Planning,” published by Elsevier in 2007.

An invited speaker at many distinguished universities in the U.S. and abroad, his work has been translated into German, Italian and Korean.  

“Dr. Verma’s arrival is met with great anticipation and excitement,” said former Virginia Gov. L. Douglas Wilder, for whom the school is named. “His expertise and academic background bring a much-needed catalyst at a time when strict and measured sobriety is desired. His vision for the school coincides with those who labored to have this adjunct of the university poised for even greater heights. I look forward to working with him and welcome him to the VCU family.”

Verma’s research has been supported by grants from the Federal Transit Administration and the Department of Transportation. Professionally, his work includes large-scale projects such as technology planning for an integrated steel plant in India and developing a master plan for the State of Hawaii’s library system.

His research and scholarship have been recognized nationally by fellowships from the Rotary Foundation, German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), and the Zumberge Foundation.