Robert DeLeo

Robert DeLeo is the former Speaker of the Massachusetts House of Representatives (2009 to 2020) and University Fellow for Public Life across the College of Professional Studies and the Department of Political Science in the College of Social Sciences and Humanities. At the College of Professional Studies, DeLeo will be teaching undergraduate and graduate students about what it takes to get legislation and policy passed. In the College of Social Sciences and Humanities, he’ll also teach and mentor students in the undergraduate and master’s programs of the Political Science Department and the School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs, including the Law and Policy minor. In addition, he will be collaborating with the director of the Kitty & Michael Dukakis Center for Urban and Regional Policy on public programs, such as the Myra Kraft Open Classroom series.

DeLeo brings plenty of experience to the classroom, having served as a state lawmaker for 30 years. He took control of the House during a politically rocky period in 2009. During his tenure, he spearheaded criminal justice reforms and major gun safety legislation, reaching out for advice from two Northeastern faculty members: former Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Justice Roderick Ireland, distinguished professor of criminology and criminal justice; and Jack McDevitt, professor of the practice in criminology and criminal justice, and director of the Institute on Race and Justice.