Michael W. Klein is the interim executive director of the of the William J. Hughes Center for Public Policy at Stockton University. Michael was appointed to his position in January 2018.

Before joining the Hughes Center, Michael worked at the New Jersey Association of State Colleges and Universities, first as the director of government and legal affairs (1998-2011), and then as executive director (2012-2017). Michael has held several positions in state government, including assistant counsel to Governor Christine Todd Whitman.

Michael has published articles on higher education policy and finance, intellectual property law, entrepreneurship, collective bargaining, and the First Amendment. His articles have appeared in publications such as the Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, the Journal of Education Finance, the Journal of College and University Law, and the Higher Education Forum published by the Research Institute for Higher Education at Hiroshima University.

Michael has made presentations before the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)/Institutional Management in Higher Education in Paris, the Oxford Education Research Symposium, the Consortium of Higher Education Researchers at the University of Cambridge, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the American Education Research Association (AERA), and the Association for the Study of Higher Education (ASHE). He has guest lectured at institutions such as Princeton University, Rutgers University, and North Carolina State University. He has been invited to attend the TIME Summit on Higher Education, and The New York Times’ Higher Ed Leaders Forum.

Michael was a 2003 fellow of the Higher Education Law Roundtable at the Institute for Higher Education Law & Governance at University of Houston Law Center, and he was a 2010-2011 Associate of the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education.

Michael received a BA in history cum laude from Princeton University, a JD from Boston College Law School, a certificate in Professional Achievement in Nonprofit Management from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, and a PhD in Higher Education Administration from New York University.