Grounded in environmental science and experienced in public and nonprofit management, Rob Alexander holds a B.S. in Geology from Duke University, dual Masters degrees in Public Administration and Environmental Science from Indiana University-Bloomington, and a Ph.D. in Public Administration from the Maxwell School at Syracuse University. Professor Alexander spent fifteen years as an environmental educator and nonprofit executive before obtaining his Ph.D. He comes to JMU from a Visiting Assistant Professor position at Rochester Institute of Technology in Rochester, NY.

Dr. Alexander's teaching and research interests reflect his multidisciplinary training. He enjoys teaching courses on collaborative public management, environmental and natural resource policy, environmental conflict management, organizational theory, and research design and implementation. His research examines the challenges and opportunities facing public, private, nonprofit, and citizen organizations as they interact to address problems in the sustainability arena. Current work examines how public-private partnerships have been used to target brownfield remediation and redevelopment in post-industrial American cities.