Dr. Casey Dawkins has been appointed director of the Urban Studies and Planning & Ph.D. programs at the University of Maryland (UMD). Casey has been an associate professor of UMD’s Urban Studies program and a research associate for the National Center for Smart Growth since 2011.
Prior to his tenure at UMD, Casey spent nine years teaching urban planning at Virginia Tech, where he also served as director for the Center for Housing Research and for the Metropolitan Institute. His research focuses on U.S. housing policy; metropolitan housing market dynamics; the causes, consequences and measurement of residential segregation; and the link between land use regulations and housing affordability. He has authored two books, as well as numerous journal articles and book chapters on these topics. Casey was awarded an Urban Scholars Fellowship from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to examine the impact of segregation on racial disparities in the transition to first-time homeownership. His research has been funded by several organizations, including the General Services Administration, Fannie Mae Foundation, the Brookings Institution and several other governmental, private and nonprofit organizations within Chicago, Virginia and the District of Columbia.
Casey takes the helm from Dr. Jim Cohen (Urban Planning) and Dr. Marie Howland (Ph.D.). A longtime educator at UMD, Jim stepped down in June after 10 years as director, but continues to teach for the program. Marie retired in May after 35 years at UMD.
Casey earned his Ph.D. in City and Regional Planning at Georgia Institute of Technology.