This year we see a change of President to the Association and after several years, Professor John Agnew, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) steps down as our President.
John has been replaced in his role by Professor Heike Mayer. Heike Mayer is Professor of Economic Geography in the Institute of Geography at the University of Bern in Switzerland. She is also a member of the University of Bern`s Center for Regional Economic Development (CRED).
Professor Mayer said
This is a great honor and I very much look forward to working with the RSA staff and wider community
As a member of the University of Bern executive board, she has held the function of Vice-Rector Quality and Sustainable Development since August 2023. In this role, she is responsible for the University of Bern`s strategies and initiatives related to quality, equal opportunities and sustainable development.Her research is in urban and regional economic development with a particular focus on dynamics of innovation and entrepreneurship, urban and regional economic development policy, and economic sustainability.
Heike started her academic career in the United States, where she completed a Ph.D. in Urban Studies (Portland State University) and held a tenured professorship at Virginia Tech University. She is author of the book Entrepreneurship and Innovation in Second Tier Regions (published by Edward Elgar, Cheltenham), co-author of the book Small Town Sustainability (with Prof. Paul L. Knox, Birkhäuser Press, Basel), co-author of the book The Political Economy of Capital Cities (with Prof. Fritz Sager, Dr. David Kaufmann, Dr. Martin Warland, Routledge, London) and co-editor of the book A Research Agenda for Small and Medium-Sized Towns (with Prof. Michela Lazzeroni). She has published articles in the field of economic geography and urban planning in international journals, including the Regional Studies, Journal of the American Planning Association, Journal of Urban Affairs, Economic Development Quarterly, Urban Studies, Growth and Change, European Planning Studies, Journal of Rural Studies, Mountain Research and Development, Science of the Total Environment, etc.
Besides traditional scholarship, she is also active through outreach and transdisciplinary work. She served as President of the Swiss Council on Spatial Development (Rat für Raumordnung) from 2020 to 2024. In the past, she has contributed to various policy studies and reports for organizations such as the OECD, State Secretariat for Economic Affairs, Federal Office for Spatial Development, National Governors Association, etc.