Full Name
Joseph Youngblood, II
Job Title
Senior Vice President for Transformational Learning and External Affairs
Company
Kean University
Speaker Bio
Dr. Joseph Youngblood, II is the Senior Vice President for Transformational Learning and External Affairs at Kean University in Union, New Jersey. Dr. Youngblood has over twenty years of higher education experience in academic affairs and e-learning, public affairs and external relations, international programs and partnerships, innovation, diversity and inclusion, and university advancement. Prior to joining Kean University, Dr. Youngblood served as Vice Provost and Founding Dean at Thomas Edison State University (NJ) where he conceptualized
and launched The Watson School of Public Service and Continuing Studies as New Jersey’s first inter-professional school of public service devoted to building capacity within the public sector and providing career training, professional certifications and academic degrees to public sector professionals. A key achievement in his time at the University was his leadership in the design and implementation of the University’s new Continuing and Professional Studies portfolio and the development and growth of public service degree programs including the #2 Nationally Ranked Online Master’s Program in Homeland Security.
Dr. Youngblood was instrumental in the development of the John S. Watson Institute for Urban Policy and Research at Kean University. Dr. Youngblood’s orientation to policy development leverages the intersection of research, policy, advocacy and environmental change. He has collaborated with local, state, federal and international leaders, elected officials and policy makers. As a senior policy adviser to the New Jersey Urban Mayors Association, he provides applied research and analyses in response to the public policy needs of 32 urban municipalities, state and local nonprofits and grassroots/community-based organizations.
Dr. Youngblood is recognized as an international thought leader on the role of higher education institutions as transformational agents and levers for sustainable change in communities. Dr. Youngblood served as founding Statewide Co-chair of the New Jersey Coalition of Anchor Institutions (NJCAI) in the Office of the Secretary of Higher Education where he advised the Secretary and led the statewide implementation of NJCAI. He served as the institutional lead for TESU’s international partnerships and served as a Higher Education Capacity Building Specialist for a United States Agency for International Development (USAID) funded initiative in the east
African nation of Rwanda.
Dr. Youngblood is a national and state leader in urban economic development, social and education policy, and is the author of several articles and reports. Dr. Youngblood has been the Principal Investigator on numerous federal, state and private grants including grant awards from the US Department of Commerce/Economic Development Administration, the NJ Economic Development Authority, the NJ Department of Community Affairs, NJ Department of Labor and Workforce Development, the Ford Foundation and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. He is a highly regarded and respected policy professional and has presented on numerous topics in the US and abroad. Dr. Youngblood has advised numerous governors, state/federal agencies and provides non-partisan policy support to committees and leaders in the NJ Legislature. He serves as an economic policy adviser to members of the NJ Legislature and works closely with both NJ US Senators and other members of the New Jersey Congressional delegation. Most recently, Dr. Youngblood served as Co-Chair of the Human and Children Services Committee of the Transition Team of NJ Governor Phil Murphy. Dr. Youngblood is a Fellow of the American Council on Education, a Next Generation Fellow of the Rockefeller Foundation, a Trustee of the Citizens Campaign, and Chairman of the Board of Trustees at St. Francis Medical Center in Trenton.
Dr. Youngblood is a Magna Cum Laude graduate of Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University and received his law degree from the University of Iowa College of Law where he was a member of the Moot Court Board, Director of the Trial Advocacy Program and recipient of the Dean’s Achievement Award. Dr. Youngblood earned his Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania, where he was a Crawford Fellow and received an interdisciplinary doctorate that combined anthropology, human development, public policy and education. Dr. Youngblood was
also a Penn Law Public Service Fellow, Director and Fellow at the Penn Netter Center for Community Partnerships, and the recipient of the William E. Arnold Award for Outstanding Accomplishments in a Doctoral Program.
and launched The Watson School of Public Service and Continuing Studies as New Jersey’s first inter-professional school of public service devoted to building capacity within the public sector and providing career training, professional certifications and academic degrees to public sector professionals. A key achievement in his time at the University was his leadership in the design and implementation of the University’s new Continuing and Professional Studies portfolio and the development and growth of public service degree programs including the #2 Nationally Ranked Online Master’s Program in Homeland Security.
Dr. Youngblood was instrumental in the development of the John S. Watson Institute for Urban Policy and Research at Kean University. Dr. Youngblood’s orientation to policy development leverages the intersection of research, policy, advocacy and environmental change. He has collaborated with local, state, federal and international leaders, elected officials and policy makers. As a senior policy adviser to the New Jersey Urban Mayors Association, he provides applied research and analyses in response to the public policy needs of 32 urban municipalities, state and local nonprofits and grassroots/community-based organizations.
Dr. Youngblood is recognized as an international thought leader on the role of higher education institutions as transformational agents and levers for sustainable change in communities. Dr. Youngblood served as founding Statewide Co-chair of the New Jersey Coalition of Anchor Institutions (NJCAI) in the Office of the Secretary of Higher Education where he advised the Secretary and led the statewide implementation of NJCAI. He served as the institutional lead for TESU’s international partnerships and served as a Higher Education Capacity Building Specialist for a United States Agency for International Development (USAID) funded initiative in the east
African nation of Rwanda.
Dr. Youngblood is a national and state leader in urban economic development, social and education policy, and is the author of several articles and reports. Dr. Youngblood has been the Principal Investigator on numerous federal, state and private grants including grant awards from the US Department of Commerce/Economic Development Administration, the NJ Economic Development Authority, the NJ Department of Community Affairs, NJ Department of Labor and Workforce Development, the Ford Foundation and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. He is a highly regarded and respected policy professional and has presented on numerous topics in the US and abroad. Dr. Youngblood has advised numerous governors, state/federal agencies and provides non-partisan policy support to committees and leaders in the NJ Legislature. He serves as an economic policy adviser to members of the NJ Legislature and works closely with both NJ US Senators and other members of the New Jersey Congressional delegation. Most recently, Dr. Youngblood served as Co-Chair of the Human and Children Services Committee of the Transition Team of NJ Governor Phil Murphy. Dr. Youngblood is a Fellow of the American Council on Education, a Next Generation Fellow of the Rockefeller Foundation, a Trustee of the Citizens Campaign, and Chairman of the Board of Trustees at St. Francis Medical Center in Trenton.
Dr. Youngblood is a Magna Cum Laude graduate of Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University and received his law degree from the University of Iowa College of Law where he was a member of the Moot Court Board, Director of the Trial Advocacy Program and recipient of the Dean’s Achievement Award. Dr. Youngblood earned his Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania, where he was a Crawford Fellow and received an interdisciplinary doctorate that combined anthropology, human development, public policy and education. Dr. Youngblood was
also a Penn Law Public Service Fellow, Director and Fellow at the Penn Netter Center for Community Partnerships, and the recipient of the William E. Arnold Award for Outstanding Accomplishments in a Doctoral Program.
