Glenn Denning

Focus areas: Sustainable agriculture, food systems, and nutrition

Glenn Denning joined SIPA in 2009 as founding Director of the Master of Public Administration in Development Practice (MPA-DP), a joint undertaking of SIPA with Columbia University’s Earth Institute. He teaches a core course on Global Food Systems. From 2011 to 2014, Denning served as Director of the Earth Institute’s Center on Globalization and Sustainable Development. In May 2014, Denning was appointed Director of the New York Office of the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN), which mobilizes scientific and technical expertise from academia, civil society, and the private sector in support of sustainable development problem-solving at local, national, and global scales.

Denning joined the Earth Institute in 2004 as Senior Research Scholar and Associate Director of the Tropical Agriculture and Environment Program. He helped establish The MDG Centre of East and Southern Africa in Nairobi, Kenya, and served as its director for five years. With more than 30 years of experience in international agricultural research and development, Denning provided leadership to the MDG Centre''s agenda in agriculture and rural development and its support to the African Green Revolution.

From 2004 to 2006, Denning served on the UN Millennium Project Hunger Task Force. He is currently a member of the Senior Steering Group of the UN High Level Task Force on the Global Food Security Crisis and a member of the Technical Advisory Committee of the Global Agriculture and Food Security Program (GAFSP). Denning also serves on the board of theInstitute of African Leadership for Sustainable Development (UONGOZI Institute).

Denning previously held senior management positions in the International Rice Research Institute and the World Agroforestry Centre. In 2000, he was honored by the Government of Cambodia as Commander of the Royal Order of Sahametrei for his role in establishing the Cambodian Agricultural Research and Development Institute and his contributions to increasing national rice production. In 2014, Denning received the Columbia University Presidential Award for Outstanding Teaching.

Education

• PhD, University of Reading
• MPA, Harvard Kennedy School
• BAgrSc & MAgrSc, University of Queensland

Affiliations

• Senior Steering Group, UN High Level Task Force on the Global Food Security Crisis
• Technical Advisory Committee, Global Agriculture and Food Security Program (GAFSP)
• Institute of African Leadership for Sustainable Development (UONGOZI Institute)

To support innovative analysis of ICT for development, students conduct 10 days of fieldwork in and around Havana.

For future development practitioners, summer placement in Maritime Southeast Asia provides an opportunity to learn from and contribute to a nation rebuilding itself from the ground up.