public administration theory.

As one would expect in an applied professional field, much of the practice of public administration is associated with the technical dynamics of organizations, public programs, and implementing the policy decisions of elected governing bodies. However, public administration takes place within a larger societal setting. The traditional model of the neutral administrator carrying out public policies has long since given way to the realization that in a large and complex society, public professionals play a significant role in shaping the governmental agenda. They interact with peers in other agencies, citizens, and elected officials, and their knowledge and skills make them a key part of governance at the local, state, and national levels.

Academic work in this concentration area focuses on a commitment to the advancement of knowledge and theory building related to public administration in society, including ways the societal context shapes action in the public sector, and ways that public service practitioners influence social conditions, institutions, and administrative practices. Faculty in the Public Administration Theory group offer students opportunities to examine such concepts from multiple theoretical/philosophical perspectives. Faculty members are highly engaged in public administration theory research and publishing, providing students direct exposure to developing thought in the field. Students in this concentration area are encouraged to participate in activities that will build professional networks, and to write for scholarly journals in preparation for academic careers.

Faculty

Richard C. Box, Regents/Foundation Professor (D.P.A., University of Southern California), served for 13 years in local governments in Oregon and California as a land-use planner, as a department head in the areas of planning, building safety, housing, and public works, and as a city administrator. His research focuses on the politics-administration relationship in a liberal-capitalist society and his work has been published in leading journals in the field of public administration. He was editor of Administrative Theory & Praxis, 2000-2007 and is the author or editor of: Citizen Governance: Leading American Communities Into the 21st Century, Sage, 1998; Public Administration and Society: Critical Issues in American Governance, M.E. Sharpe, 2004; Critical Social Theory in Public Administration, M.E. Sharpe, 2005; Democracy and Public Administration, M.E. Sharpe, 2007; and the forthcoming Making a Difference: Progressive Values in Public Administration, M.E. Sharpe.

Angela M. Eikenberry, Assistant Professor (Ph.D., University of Nebraska at Omaha), joined the faculty in the School of Public Administration at UNO in August 2007 after spending two years as an assistant professor in the Center for Public Administration and Policy at Virginia Tech. Before returning to school, Dr. Eikenberry was a development and grant writing consultant. Her main research interests include civil society, nonprofit organizations and philanthropy and their role in democratic society. Dr. Eikenberry has published articles in Administration and Society, Public Administration Review, the International Journal of Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Marketing, Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly and Administrative Theory & Praxis. She is currently completing a book manuscript, under contract with Indiana University Press, on giving circles, a funding mechanism to emerge from the “New Philanthropy” environment in the U.S., where individuals pool their money and decide together where to give it away. She is currently the managing editor of Administrative Theory & Praxis.

Gary S. Marshall, Associate Professor (Ph.D., Virginia Tech), teaches in the areas of public administration theory, organization theory and behavior, organization development and public policy mediation. Professor Marshall's research interests are in Lacanian psychoanalysis and organizational identity. He is co-editor of the Lacanian Compass, a U.S. based publication on the work of Jacques Lacan. He is also a Senior Fellow of the Institute for Collaboration Science.

B.J. Reed, Professor (Ph.D., University of Missouri), has been on the faculty of UNO since 1982 and has served as Chairman of the Department from 1985 to 2000 and as Dean of the College of Public Affairs and Community Service since the Fall of 2000. He has published in numerous journals including Public Administration Review, The American Review of Public Administration, the International Journal of Public Administration, and Public Budgeting and Finance, among others. He is also the author of several books on diverse topics including economic development, strategic planning, financial administration and intergovernmental management. His current focus is on citizenship and democracy. He is past-president of the National Council of the National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration (NASPAA) and has previously served as chair of the Council on Peer Review and Accreditation for the NASPAA. He has also served as a member of the National Council of Pi Alpha Alpha, the public administration honor society.

Christine Reed, Regents/Foundation Professor (Ph.D., Brown University), teaches in the area of public administration theory and administrative law. She has published in a variety of journals, including Public Administration Review, Administrative Theory & Praxis and Administrative & Regulatory Law News. Dr. Reed's writing focuses on two areas: 1) linkages between environmental policy and environmental ethics, and health policy and health care ethics; and 2) the relationship between democracy and public law. Her research in recent years has focused on participation by elected officials and public administrators from small local governments in federal environmental rule-making proceedings. Dr. Reed previously chaired both the ASPA Section on Public Law and Administration and the ASPA Section on Natural Resources and Environmental Administration. She is an Associate Member of the American Bar Association and a member of the Section on Administrative Law and Regulatory Practice.

Jay D. White, Reynolds Professor (Ph.D., George Washington University), is the author of numerous articles and book chapters on the philosophy of public affairs and administrative research, management information systems, organizational psychoanalysis, and research in public administration. He is also co-editor of Research in Public Administration: Reflections on Theory and Practice, Sage Publications, May 1994; author of Taking Language Seriously: The Narrative Foundations of Public Administration Research, Georgetown University Press, 1999 and Managing Information in the Public Sector, M.E. Sharpe, March 2007; and series editor of Research in Public Administration, Elsevier Press.