Joseph P. McLaughlin, Jr., PhD
Joseph P. McLaughlin, Jr., PhD, is director of the Institute for Public Affairs and assistant dean for external affairs for the College of Liberal Arts. He teaches American politics and public policy in the political science department. McLaughlin joined Temple after a long career as a government official and urban lobbyist, working on major policy issues in Philadelphia, Harrisburg, and Washington DC.
McLaughlin also is director of the Pennsylvania Policy Database Project, leading a six-university effort to build a comprehensive public policy database for the Pennsylvania General Assembly.
Immediately before joining Temple, McLaughlin served as senior advisor to Pennsylvania Governor Edward G. Rendell (2003-04) and helped launch the governor's economic stimulus, school reform, and property tax relief initiatives. From 1984-2003, he was a lobbyist with S. R. Wojdak and Associates. His clients included the City of Philadelphia under Mayors W. Wilson Goode, John F. Street, and Rendell. He also represented the Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation; SEPTA; the Philadelphia Port Corporation; Greater Philadelphia First; 3M; UPS; The Fairmount Park Commission; The Philadelphia Eagles; Spectacor; the Philadelphia Orchestra; Marriott Hotels; PECO Energy; Verizon; St. Christopher's Hospital for Children; and a number of other hospitals and non-profit organizations. In this capacity, he worked on economic development projects such as the funding of the Pennsylvania convention center, the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, the Wachovia Center, and Lincoln Financial Field. He helped SEPTA obtain dedicated funding for its capital program; helped design and enact legislation to rescue the City of Philadelphia from insolvency in 1991; assisted in deregulating electricity; helped reform city business taxes; and represented business leaders and the city on public school reform. He was appointed by Mayor Street to the city's 21st Century Economic Development Summit.
McLaughlin served as deputy mayor for policy and communications under Philadelphia Mayor William J. Green III (1982-83). He was spokesman and senior advisor for the National Governors' Association in Washington DC during the federalism and urban policy debates of the Carter and Reagan administrations (1978-82). From 1974-77, he was spokesman and senior advisor for the Democratic caucus of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. He served as a press officer in a number of political campaigns, including Senator Hubert H. Humphrey's 1972 bid for the Democratic nomination for president. As a reporter for the Chicago Tribune (1968-71), he covered state and local politics and government in Illinois. He served as a first lieutenant in the 7 th Infantry Division in the Republic of South Korea (1966-67).
A 1965 graduate of Middlebury (VT) College, McLaughlin obtained his master's (1992) and doctoral (1999) degrees in political science from Temple. He is married, has two sons and a daughter, and lives in Philadelphia's Mt. Airy neighborhood.