Anil Deolalikar has been Founding Dean of the School of Public Policy since February 2013 and a Professor of Economics at UC Riverside since 2003. Prior to this he taught at the University of Washington, University of Pennsylvania and Harvard University. He is a development economist who has published extensively on the economics of child nutrition, health, education, poverty, and social protection in developing countries. In addition to his research, Deolalikar has extensive public policy experience and has served as an adviser to the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, UNDP, USAID, and a number of developing country-governments and international organizations.

Deolalikar received his PhD in Economics from Stanford University, a Diploma in Economics from Cambridge University and a BA in Economics from Harvard University.