Striving to pursue both academics and activism, Louis H. Masotti, PhD, has been an influential leader in both areas for more than 50 years. He earned a Bachelor of Arts from Princeton University before serving in the United States Navy Reserve for three years. When he was discharged from the Navy as a LTjg, he went on to receive a Master of Arts in Political Science from Northwestern University in 1961, and completed his PhD there three years later. He began his academic career in 1963 at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, OH, where he remained until 1969. After a year-long Fulbright fellowship at the School of Advanced International Studies in Bologna, Italy, Dr. Masotti was recruited back to Northwestern University in 1970 to chair the Ford Foundation funded Center for Urban Affairs. In 1980, Dr. Masotti moved to the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at NU, where he was appointed professor of management and urban affairs. Following several short term visiting professorships (Stanford, UCLA and UC-Irvine), Dr. Masotti returned to Kellogg where, in 1999, he was named Professor Emeritus at Northwestern University, a title he has held for 20 years.

While teaching in Cleveland, Dr. Masotti was recruited to be campaign co-director for Carl Stokes, who, in 1967, became the first black mayor of a major American city. Later, in 1979, Dr. Masotti was offered a senior position in Jane Byrne’s mayoral campaign, but declined. When she was elected as the first and, to date, only female mayor of Chicago, Dr. Masotti served as the executive director of her transition committee, where he was able to help her organize an effective administration. In addition to these historic campaigns, he also served as an advisor to various congressional, gubernatorial and mayoral campaigns throughout California, New Jersey, Illinois and Ohio. He has also regularly contributed his expertise to the fields of political science, urban development and management as an author or co-author of more than a dozen books and industry texts, and as managing editor of several academic journals.

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