- Pritzker Fellows
- Former Fellows
- Michael Nutter
Michael Nutter
Former Mayor of Philadelphia & President of the U.S. Conference of Mayors
Spring 2016 Visiting Pritzker Fellow
Seminar Series: “Governing in Urban America: The View from City Hall”
Biography
Michael A. Nutter served as the 98th mayor of his hometown of Philadelphia for eight years, completing his second term in January 2016. Previously, he served almost 15 years on the Philadelphia City Council. He is now working as a CNN political commentator, as a professor of professional practice at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs and as a senior fellow and national spokesperson for What Works Cities, an initiative to help 100 mid-sized American cities effectively use data and evidence to improve services.
As mayor, Nutter successfully focused on lowering crime, improving high school graduation and college attainment rates, greening the city with bike lanes and a low-income friendly bike-sharing system, attracting new residents and businesses and significantly improving the city government’s financial health.
In affiliation with the National League of Cities, Mayor Nutter and New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu launched Cities United, an initiative aimed at creating partnerships between cities, non-profits, and other stakeholders to combat violence and crime among African American men and boys. He also serves on President Obama’s My Brother’s Keeper Advisory Committee.
In June 2013, Mayor Nutter concluded his tenure as President of the United States Conference of Mayors, the non-partisan organization of almost 1,300 U.S. cities. As President, Mayor Nutter represented the Conference by strengthening federal-city relationships and promoting the development of effective national urban policy. In June 2015, Mayor Nutter completed his year of service as President of the Pennsylvania Municipal League, which brings together municipal government officials from across the Commonwealth.
Mayor Nutter is a life-long Philadelphian, born and raised in West Philadelphia and educated at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. He has been dedicated to public service since his youth. Mayor Nutter is happily married to his wife Lisa, and a proud parent to Christian and Olivia.
Seminars
“Governing in Urban America: The View from City Hall”
Former Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter will take students deep inside City Hall. In a two-seminar series, Nutter will explore the ways in which crisis management can upend a mayoralty and the challenges of institutionalizing change after an election. Nutter, who completed eight years as mayor in January and also served as president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, also will consider in a public event what the outcome of the 2016 presidential election will mean for America’s big cities.
The gulf between campaigning - filled with platitudes, soaring goals and promises - and the actual work of governing is notoriously deep and wide. Mayor Nutter will discuss the hard work of trying to institutionalize real change in a big city. Relying on examples from his tenure in Philadelphia, Nutter will look at what Candidate Nutter hoped to do and what Mayor Nutter was able to make happen.
The down-and-dirty work of keeping streets clean and trains running, plus the more ambitious work of trying to improve schools and reduce crime, keeps big city mayors busy all hours of the day. And the rest of the time? They’re busy keeping the wolves at bay. Crisis management - be it a financial crisis, an Amtrak derailment or a media scandal - is a big part of a mayor’s life. Mayor Nutter will discuss how City Hall’s response to those fires, whether they are extinguished or left to burn, can define a mayor’s legacy and a city’s future.