Office of the President

Stuart Altman

1990 to 1991

A leading health economist with five decades of experience, Stuart H. Altman is the Sol C. Chaikin Professor of National Health Policy at the Heller School for Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University. He served as interim president of Brandeis from 1990 to 1991.

Altman previously served as dean of the Heller School for Social Policy and Management from 1977 until July 1993, and again from 2005 until June 2008. He joined the Heller School in 1976.

His research interests are primarily in the area of federal and state health policy, and he has written numerous books and articles on the topic.

Altman has been recognized as a leader in the health-care field by Health Affairs and by Modern Healthcare, which named him among the 30 most influential people in health policy over the previous 30 years, and one of the 100 most powerful people in healthcare.

In November 2012, Gov. Deval Patrick appointed Altman to chair Massachusetts’ Health Policy Commission. He has served on numerous boards and task forces focused on healthcare issues, including the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Clinical Scholars Program and its Council on the Economic Impact of Health System Change. In 1997, President Clinton appointed Altman to the National Bipartisan Commission on the Future of Medicare.

From 1971-1976, Altman served as deputy assistant secretary for planning and evaluation/health at the U.S. Department of Health Education and Welfare (HEW). He also served on the Prospective Payment Assessment Commission (ProPac), and on the National Bipartisan Commission on the Future of Medicare. 


Altman is a member of The Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences and their Committee on the Future of Emergency Care in the United States.

A graduate of City College of New York, Altman received master's and doctoral degrees in economics from the University of California, Los Angeles.