Press Release - August 24, 2000

For Release: August 24, 2000
Contact: Ashley Sullivan,

Center on Hunger and Poverty moves to Brandeis University

The Heller Graduate School at Brandeis University has a new member in the field of social policy research: the Center on Hunger and Poverty. Heller School alumnus Dr. J. Larry Brown, and his staff, who were previously at Tufts University, moved the Center to Brandeis this summer. They will continue their work in the area of hunger and poverty policy, for which they have developed a national reputation.

The Center on Hunger and Poverty joins one of the nation's leading policy institutions whose mission is advancing social justice through research and teaching focused on the most vulnerable populations -- including the elderly, persons with mental retardation, high risk youth, and families in poverty. Brown joins others on the Brandeis faculty including former Labor Secretary Robert Reich, noted health economist and former Heller Dean Stuart Altman, and attorney Anita Hill.

"This is a great addition to the other centers at the Heller School and helps us to broaden our capacity to affect the nation's policies with regard to the poor and under-served," according to Dr. Jack Shonkoff, dean of the Heller Graduate School.

Brown said that the Center's affiliation with the Heller School, "will provide us with the capacity of cross-disciplinary strength in pursuit of new policies to reduce poverty and end hunger in our nation."

The two institutes affiliated with the Center, the Asset Development Institute (ADI) headed by Dr. Larry Beeferman and the Food Security Institute (FSI) directed by Dr. Dorie Seavey, are also now a part of the Heller Graduate School at Brandeis.

Brown and his staff will be armed with nearly $7 million in new financial support, including $3 million in private support from Rhode Island philanthropist Alan Shawn Feinstein, in partnership with a group of national celebrities, to help raise the visibility of hunger. The Center receives grant support from several national foundations including the Ford Foundation, the Public Welfare Foundation, and the Foundation for Child Development.