Rate My Professor Xufeng Zhu

Xufeng Zhu is Professor and Dean at the School of Public Policy and Management at Tsinghua University. He earned his bachelor’s degree in environmental engineering in 2000 and his doctor’s degree in public management in 2005, both from Tsinghua University. Prior to returning to Tsinghua in 2012, he served as a professor at the Zhou Enlai School of Government at Nankai University. He has held positions including tenured professor since 2015 and has served in leadership roles such as associate dean and, currently, dean of the School of Public Policy and Management. He is also Executive Director of the Institute for Sustainable Development Goals at Tsinghua University, Director of the Science & Technology Development and Governance Center at Tsinghua University, Director of the Think Tank Research Center of the School of Public Policy and Management, and Editor-in-Chief of China Public Administration Review.

His research interests include public policy theories, think tanks and expert participation, sustainable development, and science and technology policy. He is the author of several books, including The Politics of Expertise in China (2019), The Rise of Think Tanks in China (2013), Biometric Recognition Technology and Urban Agile Governance (2024, in Chinese), Digital Advocacy: Chinese and Global Think Tanks in The New Media Era (2022, in Chinese), Reform and Opening-up and Contemporary Think Tanks in China (2018, in Chinese), Expert Involvement in Policy Changes (2012, in Chinese), and China's Think Tanks: Their Influences in the Policy Process (2009, in Chinese). He has published over 40 English-language articles in journals such as Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, Public Administration Review, Governance, Public Administration, Policy Studies Journal, The China Quarterly, Policy Sciences, Public Management Review, Journal of Contemporary China, Pacific Affairs, and Asian Survey, as well as numerous articles in leading Chinese journals. Zhu serves as President of the Asian Association for Public Administration, Vice President of the Chinese Public Administrative Society, and Vice Chairman and General Secretary of the China Public Management Association. He was nominated by United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres and appointed by the Economic and Social Council as a member of the UN Committee for Development Policy. He has received awards including the China National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars (2016), the Youth Award of Management Science in China (2014), the National Outstanding Youth Fund (2013), selection as a Harvard Yenching Scholar (2008), the ASPA-SCPA Marc Holzer Excellence in Mentorship Award (2025), and multiple prizes from the Ministry of Education of China and international associations.