American University School of Public Affairs "A Primer"

FALL 2017
AMERICAN UNIVERSITY
SCHOOL OF
PUBLIC AFFAIRS
A PRIMER

MESSAGE FROM THE DEAN
I am very happy to share recent
highlights from American University
School of Public Affairs
(SPA).
SPA is home to leading scholars
in public policy, public administration,
criminology, law and
society, organizational development,
development, and political science. Our faculty
members – renowned for both teaching and research – make
significant contributions in all of these areas.
Our community of exceptionally talented faculty, students,
and staff bring together a diverse set of perspectives,
backgrounds, experiences, knowledge, and approaches.
We work to foster an environment where different views are
discussed and debated with dignity, respect, and freedom.
At SPA, we believe that inviting different perspectives
and considering new viewpoints will sharpen our own.
In the following pages, you will learn about a number of
exciting recent developments at SPA – including new
research and publications, engaging events, fruitful partnerships,
and recent faculty member additions. As D.C.’s first
school of public affairs established more than 80 years ago,
SPA continues to play a significant role in the public affairs
space and in the Washington, D.C. community.
Thank you for taking time to read about our recent work.
I am incredibly proud of the school. I hope you will be as
inspired as I am.
Vicky Wilkins
Interim Dean, School of Public Affairs
American University

ABOUT SPA
DEPARTMENTS
Government
Justice, Law & Criminology
Public Administration & Policy
The School of Public
Affairs at American
University has a
storied legacy that
informs our values
and approach.
RESEARCH CENTERS
Center for Congressional &
Presidential Studies
Center for Environmental Policy
Justice Programs Office
Metropolitan Policy Center
Political Theory Institute
The Washington Institute for Public
Affairs Research
Women & Politics Institute
UNDERGRADUATE MAJORS
Political Science
Justice and Law
Legal Studies
CLEG: Communications, Legal Institutions,
Economics, Government
UNDERGRADUATE MINORS
Political Science
Justice
Legal Studies
Public Administration and Policy
Women in Politics
In 1934, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt began
implementing New Deal programs that sought to increase
“practical contacts between the collegiate and educational
world, and the operations of government.” He believed that
the collaboration of academia and public service would result
in better decision-making, not only for Depression-era
America, but also for future generations to come. From
FDR’s vision, American University’s School of Public Affairs
(SPA) was born.
In the last 80+ years, SPA has cultivated a culture of excellence.
Our personalized teaching and experiential
education transform the student experience. We empower
those who seek knowledge to conduct and produce research.
And we promote engagement to build a bridge between
academic thought and policy planning — inspiring change in
the world.
Today, with 1,800 current students and 23,000+ alumni, SPA
continues to tackle complex issues with thoughtful research
that educates, informs, and promotes change across a multitude
of fields.
UNDERGRADUATE CERTIFICATES
Leadership
Community-Based Research Studies
Politics, Policy & Law Scholars
Three-Year Program
GRADUATE DEGREES
MA Political Communication
MA Political Science
Master of Public Administration
Master of Public Administration
(Key Executive Leadership)
Master of Public Administration
& Policy (online)
Master of Public Policy
MS Justice, Law & Criminology
MS Organization Development
MS Terrorism & Homeland
Security Policy
PhD Justice, Law & Criminology
PhD Political Science
PhD Public Administration
School of Public Affairs | 1

SPA BY THE NUMBERS
EXTERNAL FUNDING
DOUBLE THE IMPACT
$4.2M
$6.3M
2013-14 2015-16
17books published
by SPA faculty, up from 8
published in 2013-14
100published
academic journal articles
written by SPA faculty in
2015-16, up from 57 in 2013-14,
despite only adding four new
faculty members.
MEDIA MENTIONS
3,150
5,000+
SPA media mentions,
compared to a fraction
of that two years ago
2013-14 2016-17
2013-14 2015-16
2013-14 2015-16
NOTABLE RANKINGS
#1IN
WASHINGTON,
DC
#3IN THE
UNITED
STATES
#5IN THE
WORLD
RANKING FOR INSTITUTIONAL
IMPACT IN THE FIELD OF PUBLIC
ADMINISTRATION, JOURNAL OF
PUBLIC AFFAIRS EDUCATION, 2014
#
2 for online Master of
Public Administration and
Policy program
BESTSCHOOLS.ORG
#
3 for public administration
#
13 for public policy
GRADUATEPROGRAMS.COM
RANKINGS BY STUDENTS, 2015
#
10 for Masters in Terrorism
and Homeland Security
FORENSICOUTREACH.COM, 2015
#
5 for public management and
administration (up from # 8 in 2013)
#
12 for nonprofit management
(previously unranked)
#
23 for public finance and
budgeting (up from # 24 in 2013)
#
26 for public policy analysis
(up from # 28 in 2013)
U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT,
GRADUATE PROGRAM SPECIALTY
RANKINGS, 2016-17
2

SPA GRADUATES THRIVE IN ALL
ECONOMIC SECTORS
SIX MONTHS AFTER GRADUATING
3John Gaus Award winners
for a lifetime of exemplary
achievement in political science
and public administration.
2015-16
45
2016-17
178
22% work in
for-profit
35% work in
nonprofit
42% work in
government
178 undergraduate
research presentations in 2016-17,
as compared to 45 presentations
given in 2015-16.
POST-GRADUATION SUCCESS
of graduates are employed
or in graduate school, or
both, within six months of
graduation
96 % SPA’s mock trial
31 % of SPA graduates make >$60K
within six months of earning their degree
team was ranked
#3
among 663 teams
in 2015-16.
CURRENT STUDENTS
1,800
ALUMNI
23,000+
AVERAGE CLASS SIZE
17
School of Public Affairs | 3

RESEARCH
SPA faculty members and students delve into the
complex and pressing issues of our time, yielding
real-world, practical solutions for pressing problems.
4

Select Journal
Articles
AbouAssi, Khaldoun, An, Seung-Ho (2017).
Gender Representation and Organizational
Size: Examining Opportunities for Members’
Involvement in Membership Organizations.
Public Management Review, 1-18.
Corbett, C., Vienne, D., AbouAssi, Khaldoun,
Namisi, H. (2016). Self-Regulation in
Associations. In D. H. Smith (Ed.), The Palgrave
Handbook of Volunteering, Civic Participation,
and Nonprofit Associations. UK: Palgrave
Macmillan.
AbouAssi, Khaldoun, Trent, D. (2016). NGOs
Accountability from an NGO Perspective:
Perceptions, Strategies, and Practices. Public
Administration and Development, 36, 283-296.
Addington, Lynn (2016). Using Constitutional
Law Classes to Address the Civic Engagement
Gap among Inner-City Public High School
Students. Education and Urban Society, 48,
807-826.
Amirkhanyan, Anna, Meier, Kenneth, O’Toole
J., Laurence, Dakhew, Mueen A., Janzen,
Shawn (2017). Management and Performance
in US Nursing Homes. Journal of Public
Administration Research and Theory.
Amirkhanyan, Anna, Meier, Kenneth, O’Toole,
L. (2017). Managing in the Regulatory Thicket:
Nursing Homes and Regulatory Competence.
Public Administration Review.
Bacon, Tricia (2017). Hurdles to International
Terrorist Alliances: Lessons from al-Qaida’s
Experience. Journal of Terrorism and Political
Violence, 29(1), 79-101.
Eisenstadt, Todd, West, Karleen Jones (2017).
Indigenous Belief Systems, Science, and Resource
Extraction: Climate Change Attitudes in Ecuador.
Global Environmental Politics, Vol 17, 1, 40-58.
Andersson, F. O., Faulk, Lewis, Stewart, A.
J. (2016). Toward More Targeted Capacity
Building: Diagnosing Capacity Needs Across
Organizational Life Stages. Voluntas:
International Journal of Voluntary and
Nonprofit Organizations, 27(6).
Favero, Nathan, Meier, Kenneth J., O’Toole, Jr.
(2016). Goals, Trust, Participation, and Feedback:
Linking Internal Management with Performance
Outcomes. Journal of Public Administration
Research and Theory. 26 (2): 327-343.
Gershenson, Seth, Jacknowitz, Alison,
Brannegan, Andrew (2017). Are Student
Absences Worth the Worry in U.S. Primary
Schools? Education Finance and Policy, 12:2,
137-165.
Gershenson, Seth, Dee, T. S. (2017).
Unconscious Bias in the Classroom: Evidence and
Opportunities. Google, Inc.
Gershenson, Seth (2016). Should Value-Added
Models Control for Student Absences? Teachers
College Record.
Hardy, Bradley (2016). TANF Policy to Address
Low, Volatile Income Among Disadvantaged
Families. Prepared for Council on Contemporary
Families. Council on Contemporary Families.
Hardy, Bradley L., Timothy Smeeding, and
James P. Ziliak. (2017). The Changing Safety Net
for Low Income Parents and Their Children:
Structural or Cyclical Changes in Income Support
Policy? Forthcoming. Demography.
Langbein, Laura, and Pablo Sanabria. (2016).
Independent Professional Bureaucracies and
Street-Level Bribery: Comparing Changes in
Civil Service Law and Implementation in Latin
America. Journal of Comparative Policy
Analysis: Research and Practice, 1-17.
Lawless, Jennifer, Hayes, D. (2016). Think
There’s a Lot of Gender Bias in U.S. Elections?
Think Again. Fifteen Eight Four Blog.
Cambridge University Press.
Leighley, Jan, Nagler, Jonathan (2016).
Latino Electoral Participation: Variations on
Demographics and Ethnicity. The Russell Sage
Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences.
2(3), 148–164 (2016).
Morrissey, Taryn, Burgess, K., Campbell, C.,
Chien, N., Wolf, S. (2017). Income & Employment
Fluctuations Among Low-Income Working
Families and Implications for Child Care Subsidy
Policy. ASPE Research Reports.
Morrissey, Taryn (2017). Associations Between
Active Shooter Incidents and Gun Ownership and
Storage Among Families with Young Children in
the United States. Preventive Medicine. Volume
100, 50-55.
Hipp, L., Morrissey, Taryn, Warner, M., (2016).
Who Participates and Who Benefits From
Employer-Provided Child-care Assistance?
Journal of Marriage and Family. 79: 614–635.
O’Connor, Karen (2016). Women in Political
Leadership. Women and Leadership. New York,
New York: Berkshire Publishing. 15.
Palmer, Jane, Alda, E. (2016). Examining the
impact of federal grants to reduce violent crimes
against women on campus. The Review of
Higher Education, 40(1), 63-89.
Palmer, Jane, Perrotti, C. (2016). Measuring selfreported
sexual victimization experiences at one
university: A comparison of methods. Journal of
Student Affairs Research and Practice, 53(4),
403-415.
Rahaman, Andrew (2016). Leadership:
Much More of an Outcome Than a Definition.
International Public Management Association,
82(11), 22-2. ipma-hr.org
Shiffman, Jeremy (2016). Generation of
Global Political Priority for Early Childhood
Development: The Challenges of Framing and
Governance. The Lancet, 119-124.
Shiffman, Jeremy (2016). Setting the Global
Health Agenda: The Influence of Advocates
and Ideas on Political Priority for Maternal and
Newborn Survival. Social Science and Medicine,
86-93.
Shiffman, Jeremy (2016). The Emergence
and Effectiveness of Global Health Networks:
Findings and Future Research. Health Policy
and Planning, 110-123.
Garretson, Jeremiah, Suhay, Elizabeth (2016)
Scientific Communication About Biological
Influences on Homosexuality and the Politics
of Gay Rights. Political Research Quarterly,
17-29.
Currie, Janet, and Erdal Tekin. Understanding
the cycle childhood maltreatment and future
crime. Journal of Human Resources 47.2
(2012): 509-549.
Cesur, Resul, Tekin, Erdal, Ulker, Aydogan.
(2017) Air Pollution and Infant Mortality:
Evidence from the Expansion of Natural Gas
Infrastructure. The Economic Journal. 127
(600), 330-362.
Cesur, Resul, Tekin, Erdal, Ulker, Aydogan.
(2017) Can Natural Gas Save Lives? Evidence
from the Deployment of a Fuel Delivery System
in a Developing Country. National Bureau of
Economic Research. Issue w22522.
Young, Joseph (2017). Morality, Efficacy,
and Targeted Assassination as a Policy Tool.
Criminology & Public Policy, vol 16, issue 1.
Testa, Alexander, Young, Joseph, Mullins,
Christopher (2017). Does Democracy Enhance or
Reduce Lethal Violence? Examining the Role of
the Rule of Law. Homicide Studies.
Ura, Joseph, Daniel, and Carla M. Flink. 2016.
The Public Administration of the Supreme Court:
The Chief Justice, Management, and Consensus.
Journal of Public Administration Research
and Theory. 26 (2): 185-196.
Zeitzoff, Thomas (2017). How Social Media
is Changing Conflict. Journal of Conflict
Resolution.
Nyhan, Brendan, Zeitzoff, Thomas (2017).
Fighting the Past: Perceptions of Control,
Historical Misperceptions, and Corrective
Information in the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict.
Political Psychology.
Dittlman, R. K., Samii, C., Zeitzoff, Thomas
(2017). Addressing Violent Intergroup Conflict
from the Bottom. Social Issues and Policy
Review, 11(1), 38–77.
Zeitzoff, Thomas (2016). Anger, Legacies of
Violence, and Group Conflict: An Experiment in
Post-Riot Acre, Israel. Conflict Management and
Peace Science.
School of Public Affairs | 5

New Faculty Books
A book co-authored by SPA Associate
Professor Taryn Morrissey, Ajay
Chaudry, Christina Weiland, and Hirokazu
Yoshikawa looks at the landscape
of early care and education for children
birth to kindergarten in the U.S. The
book, Cradle to Kindergarten: A New
Plan to Combat Inequality, offers a
comprehensive, evidence-based strategy
that diagnoses the obstacles to accessible
early education and charts a path to
opportunity for all children.
Power Without Constraint: The Post-
9/11 Presidency and National Security
by Chris Edelson makes a thorough comparison
of the Bush and Obama administrations’
national security policies and the
ways in which President Obama asserted
power in key areas—military action, surveillance,
and state secrets. Edelson contends
that this legacy of the two immediately
post-9/11 presidencies raises crucial
questions for future presidents, Congress,
the courts, and American citizens.
In his book Environmental Governance
Reconsidered, Distinguished Executive
in Residence Daniel Fiorino, Director of
SPA’s Center for Environmental Policy, offers
a comprehensive examination of environmental
governance, including perspectives
from environmental economics,
democratic theory, public policy, law, political
science, and public administration.
Race, Class, and Politics in the Cappuccino
City is an in-depth ethnography of
Washington, D.C. SPA Associate Professor
Derek Hyra captures a quickly gentrifying
space in which long-time black residents
are joined, and variously displaced, by an
influx of young, white, relatively wealthy,
and/or gay professionals who, in part as a
result of global economic forces, have returned
to the cities earlier generations fled
decades ago. As a result, America is witnessing
the emergence of what Hyra calls
“cappuccino cities.”
SPA Professor Jennifer Lawless and
co-author Danny Hayes focus on U.S.
House elections to look at the factors that
keep women out of politics in their book
Women on the Run: Gender, Media,
and Political Campaigns in a Polarized
Era. They show that the vast majority of
women who run for office are treated
— by the media and voters — no differently
than men. Women are under-represented
not because of what happens on
the campaign trail, but because they are
much less likely to run in the first place.
And misperceptions about bias against
female candidates are one reason why.
6

17
BOOKS PUBLISHED BY
SPA FACULTY IN 2016,
UP FROM 8 IN 2013
100+
PEER-REVIEWED JOURNAL
ARTICLES IN 2016
2X
IN THE PAST THREE YEARS,
SPA HAS DOUBLED ITS
RESEARCH OUTPUT
Meadowcroft, J.,
Fiorino, Daniel (2017).
Conceptual Innovation
in Environmental Policy
(The MIT Press)
Eisenstadt, Todd, LeVan,
Carl, Maboudi, Tofigh.
(2017) Constituents
Before Assembly:
Participation, Deliberation,
and Representation
in the Crafting of New
Constitutions (Cambridge
University Press)
Leighley, Jan and Nagler,
J. (2014). Who Votes
Now? Demographics,
Issues, Inequality, and
Turnout in the United
States (Princeton
University Press)
Lawless, Jennifer,
Fox, Richard L. (2017).
Women, Men & U.S.
Politics: Ten Big
Questions (W.W. Norton)
Fiorino, Daniel
(Forthcoming). A Good
Life on a Finite Earth:
The Political Economy
of Green Growth (Oxford
University Press)
O’Connor, Karen and
Sabato, L. (2017).
American Government:
Roots and Reform —
2016 Presidential
Election, 13th ed.
(Pearson)
Gill, Jeff (2014).
Bayesian Methods: A
Social and Behavioral
Sciences Approach,
3rd ed. (Chapman and
Hall/CRC)
Hershberger, Eric,
LeoGrande, William
(2016). A New Chapter
in U.S.-Cuban Relations:
Social, Political, and
Economic Implications
(Springer International
Publishing)
Newbold, Stephanie,
Rosenbloom, David
(2016). eds. (2016).
The Constitutional
School of American
Public Administration
(Routledge)
George, Erin, Johnson,
Robert, Pollock, Joycelyn
(2014). A Woman Doing
Life: Notes from a
Prison for Women, 2nd
ed. (Oxford University
Press)
Rosenbloom, David,
Malone, Patrick,
Valdez, Bill (2016). The
Handbook of Federal
Government Leadership
and Administration -
Transforming, Performing,
and Innovating
in a Complex World
(Routledge)
Nicola, Fernanda,
Davies, Bill (2017). EU
Law Stories: Contextual
and Critical Histories
of European Jurisprudence
(Cambridge
University Press)
School of Public Affairs | 7

SELECT
EVENTS AND
CONFERENCES
SPA is host to conferences and events that feature
leading scholars, world-renowned speakers, elected
officials, and government appointees.
8

Top Left: Columbia University Professor Mindy Fullilove. Bottom
Left: Israeli politician Moshe “Bogie” Ya’alon. Top right: Former First
Ladies Michelle Obama and Laura Bush. Bottom right: Harvard
Professor Robert Putnam and Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA).
Distinguished
Speakers
• SPA hosted world-renowned Harvard
Professor Robert Putnam following his
visit to the White House. He shared his
thoughts on high impact research, and
children and society with more than
120 students, faculty, and guests.
• When U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren
(D-MA) wanted to share her thoughts
on the state of the U.S. economy, she
visited SPA for a standing-room-only
event with 500 students.
• Just two days after announcing his
intention to run as a candidate for
Prime Minister of Israel, Moshe “Bogie”
Ya’alon delivered a guest lecture
at SPA, painting an optimistic, yet
realistic picture of the future for the
Middle East.
• Jeh Johnson, the fourth Secretary
of the U.S. Department of Homeland
Security spoke at an event about today’s
threats to national security, including
terrorism, cybersecurity, and
other attacks.
• SPA and its Center for Environmental
Policy welcomed U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commissioner Stephen Burns
to campus to talk about the changing
landscape of the nuclear industry.
• EMILY’s List Founder Ellen Malcolm
and U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA)
discussed the rise of women in politics
as part of a series organized by AU’s
School of Public Affairs and School of
Communication, leading up to the 2016
presidential election.
• Mindy Fullilove, Ph.D., a renowned research
psychiatrist at the New York
State Psychiatric Institute and a professor
of clinical psychiatry and public
health at Columbia University spoke at
SPA for its Metropolitan Policy Center’s
annual spring lecture. She talked about
how improving public health will take
more than narrow campaigns against
smoking, teen pregnancy, or obesity.
School of Public Affairs | 9

Select Events
• SPA partnered with the U.S. National
Archives and The White House Historical
Association to host a half-day forum
with former First Ladies Michelle
Obama and Laura Bush. The event focused
on the importance of veteran services,
and was attended by hundreds of
people, including major media outlets:
Associated Press, CNN, and The Washington
Post. The event reached more
than 51,000 people on Facebook.
• SPA partnered with the National Academy
of Public Administration to host
four Presidential Transition Forums
that welcomed high-level government
administrators to discuss a variety of
important issues, including behavioral
economics, accountability, cybersecurity,
infrastructure, transportation, and
healthcare. Speakers included Gene
Dodaro, Comptroller General of the
U.S. and head of the Government Accountability
Office; Delaware Governor
Jack Markell (D-DE); former Governor
George Allen (R-VA); and former Governor
Parris Glendenning (D-MD).
• An SPA event featuring research by Assistant
Professor Tricia Bacon brought
four renowned counterterrorism experts
to campus to discuss the digital
recruiting strategies of ISIS. WTOP
News Radio’s National Security Correspondent
J.J. Green moderated the
event. SPA students shared messaging
they created for a recent competition
sponsored by Facebook, the Department
of Homeland Security, and the
Department of State called “Peer-to-
Peer: Challenging Extremism.”
non-governmental organizations, think
tanks and funding agencies who discussed
papers on four panels at the daylong
event.
• SPA’s Center for Environmental Policy
partnered with the University of Houston
Law Center and the Texas Clean
Energy Commission on a forum exploring
the future of clean energy in Texas.
The event was held in Houston where
more than 50 representatives from
businesses, government, and nonprofits
participated in the event.
• In June 2017, SPA Associate Professor
Taryn Morrissey joined coauthors Ajay
Chaudry and Christina Weiland, as well
as Sen. Margaret Hassan (D-NH), and
Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), to speak at
an event about Morrissey’s new book
Cradle to Kindergarten. A New Plan
to Combat Inequality. The event was
hosted by the Georgetown Center on
Poverty and Inequality, Center for Law
and Social Policy (CLASP), and the
University of Michigan’s Poverty Solutions
and School of Education in Washington,
D.C.
• In October 2016, SPA’s Metropolitan
Policy Center held a panel discussion to
highlight its new “DC Survey” report
focused on diversity and well-being
in the neighborhoods of metropolitan
Washington, D.C. The research was
conducted by 14 faculty members from
across AU, and led by Center Affiliate
Professor Michael Bader (CAS). The
survey results were covered on the front
page of The Washington Post.
• SPA’s Center for Congressional & Presidential
Studies hosted an in-depth
post-election event analyzing the 2016
election year. The event featured panelists
Rick Davis, CNN Executive Vice
President of News Standards and
Practices; Noah Gray, CNN Producer;
Ed O’Keefe, The Washington Post; and
Scott Goodstein, Founder and CEO of
Revolution Messaging; and Anne Caprara,
Executive Director, Priorities USA
Action; who shared their experiences
from the campaign trail.
• SPA Professor Bill Davies moderated
the Luxembourg Forum, an event dedicated
to the legal exchange between the
U.S. Supreme Court and the Court of
Justice of the European Union. Speakers
included Stephen Breyer, Associate
Justice, U.S. Supreme Court, and Koen
Lenaerts, President, Court of Justice
of the European Union.
• SPA coordinated two research symposiums
on global health policy attracting
participants from the local
DC-Baltimore area, as well as Boston,
New York, and as far away as Canada.
Launched as a regional gathering for
researchers in higher education in October
2016, an expanded meeting in
May 2017 drew representatives from
Above: SPA Associate Professor Taryn Morrissey
spoke at an event on Capitol Hill that highlighted
her book findings. Right: Professor Barbara
Romzek welcomed a large crowd to the launch
of the DC Area Survey.
10

2017 PUBLIC MANAGEMENT
RESEARCH CONFERENCE
American University School of Public Affairs
was host to more than 400 scholars
from the U.S. and abroad for the 2017
Public Management Research Conference,
the foremost gathering of public
management experts in the world. In
June 2017, doctoral students, scholars,
and senior academics gathered to present
papers, participate on panels, and attend
workshops.
During the conference, participants presented
cutting-edge theoretical and applied
research in a wide variety of sessions.
One workshop during the event
focused on the need to rethink research,
gain access to the data, and make the findings
on racial and gender disparities in the
federal workforce more widely available to
the public. Another focused on the 2016
presidential transition and how federal
employees were adjusting and reacting to
serving in the new administration.
Also during the conference, both University
of Georgia Professor Emeritus
Hal G. Rainey and University
of Kansas Distinguished Professor
Rosemary O’Leary received the H.
George Frederickson Award for career
research contributions to the field of
public management.
PMRC is the annual conference of the
Public Management Research Association,
which also publishes the Journal
of Public Administration Research and
Theory.
School of Public Affairs | 11

PARTNERSHIPS
AND PARTNER
EVENTS
By partnering with state and federal agencies,
think tanks, and nonprofit groups, SPA brings together
the best minds and most compelling ideas. SPA’s
research centers and institutes offer many opportunities
for collaboration and engagement in the
D.C. community.
12

SELECT FUNDING PARTNERS
SELECT INSTITUTIONAL PARTNERS
School of Public Affairs | 13

Select Partner
Events
• SPA partnered with the U.S. Office of
Personnel Management in 2016, and
again in 2017, to host the OPM Research
Summit on the AU campus.
The most recent event brought together
nearly 300 academic researchers, federal
practitioners, and industry partners
to share research, exchange ideas,
and to participate in critical conversations
about ways to transform Human
Capital Management Policy through
research, innovation, and analytics.
Above: Speakers from
TEDxAmericanUniversity.
Right: Washington, D.C.
Mayor Muriel Bowser and
Interim Dean Vicky Wilkins
launch The Lab @ DC.
• SPA collaborated with the U.S. Department
of Justice for the Right to Counsel
(R2C) National Consortium held in
October 2016 at U.S. Department of
Justice. The meeting brought together
a group of criminal justice stakeholders,
policymakers, and advocates to
show their continued commitment to
protecting citizens’ Sixth Amendment
right to effective counsel.
• AU School of Public Affairs is a founding
academic partner for The Lab @
DC – a new effort by Washington, D.C.
Mayor Muriel Bowser (SPA/MPP’00)
that will call on the expertise of social
scientists to inform and improve policy
making in the District. SPA partnered
with The Lab for “Form-a-Palooza,” a
public engagement forum in July 2017
where community members worked
with design and behavioral science
experts to rework several high-profile
D.C. government forms.
• SPA has partnered with TEDxAmericanUniversity
to host three events
since 2014. In 2017, the theme was “Included,”
which explored stories of coming
together in an increasingly divided
world. The nine passionate speakers included
several AU professors, alumni,
and current student leaders who talked
about their experiences related to this
year’s theme of inclusion.
• In 2016, SPA cohosted five events on
the 2017 Presidential Transition with
the National Academy of Public Administration
(NAPA) featuring issues most
important to the government transition
before and after the 2016 Presidential
Election. The forums featured top expert
panels who discussed government
accountability, transportation and infrastructure,
cybersecurity, the future
of healthcare reform, and behavioral
economics.
• In October 2017, SPA will host an event
to create a dialogue between university
administrators, researchers, and policy
advocates to improve minority graduation
rates from private nonprofit colleges
and universities.
• Also in October 2017, SPA and AU’s
Washington College of Law will cohost
“Next Steps in Health Reform 2017,”
which will gather leading health law,
policy, and economics experts from
across the country to discuss the dynamic
healthcare landscape. The conference
will feature talks from Sylvia
Mathews Burwell, President of American
University and former U.S. Secretary
of Health and Human Services, the
President and Chief Executive Officer
of Independence Blue Cross and Dan
Hilferty SPA/MPA‘81, and former U.S.
Representative Henry Waxman (D-CA).
David Skaggs (left) and Laura Skaggs (right)
join Neil Kerwin, former president of American
University, to formalize the creation of the
Madison Prize for Constitutional Excellence.
New Award to Honor
Compromise in Congress
At a time when gridlock on Capitol Hill
has replaced negotiation, and public approval
of Congress has reached historic
lows, former Congressman David Skaggs
(D-CO) and his wife Laura have established
a new award in partnership with
SPA. The Madison Prize for Constitutional
Excellence will honor legislators who
recognize the necessity for compromise
in politics and show that the public interest
can transcend partisanship or, in the
words of James Madison, “faction.” It will
be awarded after each biennial Congress
to recognize one Member (a U.S. Representative
or Senator) from each major
political party whose service reflects an
understanding that American government
depends on working out differences,
not insisting on ideological purity.
14

SPA FACULTY
The cornerstone of SPA’s success is its esteemed
faculty, comprised of prolific scholars, researchers,
lecturers, executives, and ambassadors — all leaders
in their field.
School of Public Affairs | 15

Clockwise from top left: Associate Professor Seth Gershenson
received the Thomas A. Downes Award from the Association
for Education Finance and Policy; Gaus Award winner David
Rosenbloom is an SPA Distinguished Professor; SPA’s Bradley
Hardy was named a distinguished social insurance expert and
member by the National Academy of Social Insurance; and SPA’s
Jane Palmer received the New Scholar Award from the American
Society of Criminology’s Division on Women and Crime.
The school’s faculty members have vast and varied experience,
both in the U.S. and abroad. They work at the forefront of their
fields, publishing noteworthy research and leading initiatives
to affect change. Many have received awards for their public
engagement and teaching. All have dedicated themselves to
educating future leaders and contemporary decision-makers.
Their passion inspires each and every day.
Recent Accomplishments
• Eight faculty members have leadership roles in the last
two years with external public affairs research associations,
including:
- SPA Professor Jocelyn Johnston, Interim Dean Vicky
Wilkins, and Professor Jennifer Lawless for the American
Political Science Association
- SPA Associate Professor Anna Amirkhanyan and Professor
Jocelyn Johnston for the Public Management Research
Association
- SPA Professor Jan Leighley for the Midwest Political
Science Association
- SPA Assistant Professor Khaldoun AbouAssi for the
Association for Research on Nonprofit Organizations
- SPA Professor Barbara Romzek and Professor Jocelyn
Johnston for the Network of Schools of Public Policy,
Affairs, and Administration.
• In addition, 46 SPA faculty members held 204 roles in
professional conferences as panel participants, presenters,
speakers, session chairs, and paper authors and co-authors.
• Since 2014, five SPA faculty and Ph.D. students have received
six Emerging Scholar and founding fellow awards:
- Network of Schools of Public Policy Affairs and Administration
named SPA PhD student Steve Holt ‘17 emerging
scholar in 2016. SPA PhD student Katie Vinopal ‘16
received the same honor in 2015.
- The Association for Education Finance and Policy gave
SPA Associate Professor Seth Gershenson the Thomas A.
Downes Award in 2016. Gershenson was also awarded The
Thomas B. Fordham Institute’s Emerging Education Policy
Scholar Award in 2014. The Upjohn Institute also honored
Gershenson with the 2016 Early Career Research Award for
his work on gender, peer advising, and college success.
- The American Society for Public Administration gave
Zachary Bauer SPA/PhD’20 the Founding Fellow award in
2017, as well as SPA Adjunct Instructor Nadeen Makhlouf
SPA/PhD‘15 in 2015, and Meghan Doughty SPA/PhD’18
in 2016.
• SPA faculty members regularly serve in prestigious fellowships
at organizations such as the Brookings Institution, the Urban
Institute, the Wilson Center, and the American Society for
Public Administration. Beginning this Fall 2017, SPA Professor
Erdal Tekin will serve as a fellow at Brookings Institution.
16

SPA Professor Jeremy
Shiffman was named
SPA’s Scholar-Teacher of
the Year for 2017.
• SPA regularly hosts high profile visitors
for extended visits, most recently:
- Ken Meier (Texas A&M)
- John Reeder (Environmental
Protection Agency)
- Fernando Reinares (Universidad
Rey Juan Carlos in Madrid)
- Barry Rabe (University of Michigan)
• SPA is regularly host to distinguished
Executives in Residence, including:
- Capri Cafaro, former State Senator
from Ohio
- Mickey Edwards, former Member
of Congress and current Vice President
and Program Director of The
Aspen Institute
- Ron Elving, Senior Editor and Correspondent
on the Washington Desk
for NPR News
- Betsy Fischer Martin, former Executive
Producer of “Meet the Press”
- Anita McBride, former chief of staff,
First Lady Laura Bush
- Connie Morella, former Member of
Congress and U.S. ambassador to
the Organization for Economic Cooperation
and Development
- Reginald Wells, Deputy Commissioner
of the Social Security Administration’s
(SSA) Office of Human
Resources
• SPA faculty members are often tapped
by Presidential administrations for
their expertise. In 2016, SPA faculty
members Robert Tobias and Jon Gould
both served as appointees in the Obama
Administration.
• SPA is home to three John Gaus Award
winners — Robert Durant, Barbara
Romzek, and David Rosenbloom —
more than any other school. The award
is the highest honor a public administration
scholar can receive.
Spring 2017 Distinguished
Scholar in Residence
Ken Meier was a Distinguished Scholar
in Residence in the School of Public Affairs.
Meier is the Charles H. Gregory
Chair in Liberal Arts at Texas A&M University
and was recently named the
most productive political science researcher
in a Political Science & Politics
study of nearly 50,000 academics.
School of Public Affairs | 17

Recent Faculty Hires
Khaldoun AbouAssi
Assistant Professor, Public
Administration and Policy
AbouAssi is an Affiliated
Faculty of AU’s Center for
Innovation. His research interests include public
and nonprofit theory and management from
a comparative perspective. AbouAssi’s current
research examines organizational capacity, inter-organizational
relations within and across
sectors, and citizen or beneficiary engagement
with organizations. AbouAssi’s research has
appeared in leading nonprofit and public management
journals, including Public Administration
Review, Public Management Review,
and Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly.
David Barker
Professor, Director of the
Center for Congressional and
Presidential Studies
Barker’s work centers on the
study of American presidential elections, political
parties, political communication, political
culture, and political representation. He brings
to SPA a lengthy applied research career, having
published dozens of polling reports and social
policy program evaluations. Barker joins SPA
from the Institute for Social Research (ISR) at
California State University, Sacramento.
Nathan Favero
Assistant Professor, Public
Administration and Policy
Favero’s research focuses on
internal management, performance,
research methodology, race/ethnicity,
and customer satisfaction in the context of
public institutions. Most of his empirical work
has considered these topics in the context of
education, drawing data from public school
systems in Texas, New York City, California,
and Denmark. His work has been published
in a variety of academic journals, including the
Journal of Public Administration Research &
Theory, Public Administration Review, the International
Public Management Journal, and
Public Administration.
Carla Flink
Assistant Professor, Public
Administration and Policy
Flink focuses on public budgeting
and finance, public
administration, and public policy. She teaches
courses in public budgeting and financial management,
as well as quantitative research methods.
Her current research examines the connection
between organizational performance
and monetary resources in local governments
and how public management influences the
distribution of funds across government activities.
This line of research has resulted in publications
in the Journal of Public Administration
Research & Theory, Policy Studies Journal, and
Urban Affairs Review.
Jeff Gill
Distinguished Professor of
Government and Inaugural
Director at the School of Public
Affair’s Center for Data Science
Gill’s research interests range from political
behavior and institutions to statistical computing
and Bayesian inference applied to health
issues. Gill holds a partial appointment in the
Department of Mathematics and Statistics and
he serves as a member of the Center for Behavioral
Neuroscience. Gill was formerly with
Washington University, St. Louis. He will serve
as Editor in Chief of Political Analysis beginning
in Spring 2018.
Kareem Jordan
Associate Professor of
Justice Law, and Criminology
SPA Associate Professor
Kareem Jordan engages in
research which focuses on problems facing underrepresented
groups in the United States (i.e.
those socially/economically impoverished and
racial/ethnic minorities). More specifically, his
research examines how those groups are negatively
impacted when going through the juvenile
and criminal court processes. He currently
serves as Justice, Law and Criminology Graduate
Director. Additionally, he is co-editor of the
journal, Race and Justice: An International
Journal, which is published by SAGE.
Paul Manuel
Distinguished Scholar in
Residence, Director of the
SPA Leadership Program
Manuel is the director of
the SPA Leadership Program and professor of
government. Manuel is the author or co-author
of seven books and numerous articles. His research
addresses issues related to comparative
democratization, comparative public policy,
and the relationship between religion and politics,
with an emphasis on Portugal. His publications
include “The Path of American Public
Policy: Comparative Perspectives” (Lexington,
2014), “The Catholic Church and the Nation-
State: Comparative Perspectives” (Georgetown
University Press, 2006) and “The Challenges of
Democratic Consolidation in Portugal” (Praeger,
1996).
Dave Marcotte
Professor, Director of the
Washington Institute for
Public Affairs Research
Marcotte is director of the
Washington Institute for Public Affairs Research.
His research focuses on determinants
of achievement in K-12 education, the importance
of cost on attainment in higher education,
and interventions to improve attainment
in STEM education. Also, Professor Marcotte is
a research fellow at the Institute for the Study
of Labor in Bonn, Germany, an independent
economic research institute focused on global
health markets. Marcotte’s research has been
published in Economics of Education Review,
and Journal of Health Economics.
Adan Murillo
Diversity Postdoctoral Fellow
Murillo focuses on development
economics and applied
econometrics. He analyzes
how non-cognitive skills affect family decisions
and the formation of adolescent capabilities.
Murillo received a Fulbright scholarship to
study at the University of Minnesota, where
he completed his Ph.D. in Applied Economics.
At the University of Minnesota, he discovered
his love for teaching and was a recipient of the
Outstanding Graduate Student Teaching Assistant
Award. Prior to his Ph.D., he served in
the Mexican government as Director of Quantitative
Studies and coordinated evaluations of
both random and non-random experiments for
more than 10 social programs, including the
well-known social program PROSPERA (formerly
known as PROGRESA).
18

Graduate students
ranked SPA #3 for public
administration and
#13 for public policy.
-graduateprograms.com,
2015
New Executives in Residence
The Honorable
Capri Cafaro
The Honorable Capri Cafaro
is a former Ohio State
Senator. During her 10 years
as a Democrat in the Ohio Senate, Cafaro established
a track record of legislative effectiveness
and leadership, advocating for economic
growth, healthcare, and victim’s rights. She
served as the ranking member of both the Senate
Medicaid Committee, the Joint Committee
on Medicaid Oversight (JMOC) and the
Senate Transportation, Commerce and Labor
Committee.
Ron Elving
Ron Elving is Senior Editor
and Correspondent on
the Washington Desk for
NPR News, where he is frequently
heard as a news analyst and writes
regularly for NPR.org. He was previously the
political editor for USA Today and for Congressional
Quarterly.
Upcoming Faculty Hires
In 2017-18, SPA will conduct several
new faculty searches for the following
fields of expertise:
• Legislative Institutions
• Environmental Policy
• Criminal Justice
• National Security
Andrew Rahaman
Andrew Rahaman is an
Executive in Residence in
the Department of Public
Administration and Policy
in the School of Public Affairs and in the Key
Executive Leadership Development Program,
where he facilitates leadership development
for senior leaders. Rahaman has over 25 years
working nationally and internationally in diverse
leadership positions building teams to
design and implement both technical projects
and overseeing geographically dispersed
programs in a variety of private and government
positions. His Federal career includes
the Dept. of Defense, Dept. of State, Federal
Reserve Board and the Federal Deposit Insurance
Corporation.
Reginald Wells
Dr. Reginald Wells is the former
Deputy Commissioner
of Human Resources for the
Social Security Administration
(SSA). In that role he was responsible for
the Office of Human Resources staff at SSA
headquarters of about 400 people in addition
to another 300 employees who work for the operations
part of the organization.
School of Public Affairs | 19

Current SPA
Faculty
DISTINGUISHED FACULTY
Jeff Gill
Distinguished Professor of Government
Inaugural Director, Center for Data Science
Karen O’Connor
Helfat Distinguished Professor
David Rosenbloom
Distinguished Professor
James Thurber
Distinguished Professor
PROFESSORS
Lynn A. Addington
Professor
David Barker
Professor
Director, Center for Congressional
and Presidential Studies
Scott A. Bass
Professor
American University Provost
Richard Bennett
Professor
Daniel Dreisbach
Professor
Todd Eisenstadt
Professor
Jon Gould
Professor
Eric Hershberg
Professor
Gregg Ivers
Professor
Robert Johnson
Professor
Jocelyn Johnston
Professor
Laura Langbein
Professor
Jennifer Lawless
Professor
Director, Women & Politics Institute
Jan Leighley
Professor
William LeoGrande
Professor
Associate Vice Provost for
Academic Affairs
David Lublin
Professor
Dave Marcotte
Professor
Chair, Department of Public
Administration and Policy
Director, Washington Institute
for Public Affairs Research
Howard McCurdy
Professor
Candice Nelson
Professor
Chair, Department of Government
Barbara Romzek
Professor
Jeremy Shiffman
Professor
Erdal Tekin
Professor
Vicky Wilkins
Professor
Interim Dean, School of Public Affairs
ASSOCIATE PROFESSORS
Anna A. Amirkhanyan
Associate Professor
Bill Davies
Associate Professor
David Fagelson
Associate Professor
Lewis Faulk
Associate Professor
Seth Gershenson
Associate Professor
Bradley Hardy
Associate Professor
Derek Hyra
Associate Professor
Director, Metropolitan Policy Center
Alison Jacknowitz
Associate Professor
Interim SPA Senior Associate Dean
Kareem Jordan
Associate Professor
Douglas Klusmeyer
Associate Professor
Adrienne LeBas
Associate Professor
Alan Levine
Associate Professor
Director, Political Theory Institute
Jie Lu
Associate Professor
Thomas Merrill
Associate Professor
Taryn Morrissey
Associate Professor
Daniel Mullins
Associate Professor
Saul Newman
Associate Professor
Interim SPA Associate Dean
Diane Singerman
Associate Professor
Patricia Sykes
Associate Professor
Steven Taylor
Associate Professor
Matthew Wright
Associate Professor
Joseph Young
Associate Professor
Chair, Department of Justice,
Law & Criminology
ASSISTANT PROFESSORS
Khaldoun AbouAssi
Assistant Professor
Tricia Bacon
Assistant Professor
20

Chana Barron
Assistant Professor
Kimberly Cowell-Meyers
Assistant Professor
Chris Edelson
Assistant Professor
Nathan Favero
Assistant Professor
G. Borden Flanagan
Assistant Professor
Carla Flink
Assistant Professor
Susan Glover
Assistant Professor
Ryan T. Moore
Assistant Professor
Elizabeth A. Sherman
Assistant Professor
Elizabeth Suhay
Assistant Professor
Sonja Walti
Assistant Professor
Jessica Waters
Assistant Professor
AU Vice Provost for Academic
Student Services
AU Dean of Undergraduate Education
Thomas Zeitzoff
Assistant Professor
INSTRUCTIONAL AND
RESEARCH FACULTY
Kim Ball
Research Professor
Director, Justice Programs Office
Brad Bartholomew
Professorial Lecturer
Kathleen Frey
Instructor
Claire Griggs
Professorial Lecturer
Sarah Houser
Professorial Lecturer
Jeremy A. Janow
Professorial Lecturer
Adan Murillo
Professorial Lecturer
Diversity Postdoctoral Fellow
Jane Palmer
Professional Lecturer
Daniel Puskin
Professorial Lecturer
James Quirk
Professorial Lecturer
Lara Schwartz
Professorial Lecturer
Renee Souris
Professorial Lecturer
Rebecca Yurman
Professorial Lecturer
IN RESIDENCE
Karen Baehler
Scholar in Residence
The Honorable Capri Cafaro
Executive in Residence
Ronald Elving
Executive in Residence
Michelle Engert
Scholar in Residence
Daniel Fiorino
Distinguished Executive
in Residence
Director, Center for
Environmental Policy
Elizabeth Fischer Martin
Executive in Residence
Patrick Malone
Executive in Residence
Director, Key Leadership Program
Paul Manuel
Distinguished Scholar in Residence
Director, Leadership Program
Anita McBride
Executive in Residence
Constance Morella
Ambassador in Residence
Andrew Rahaman
Executive in Residence
Fernando Reinares Nestares
Scholar in Residence
Robert Tobias
Distinguished Practitioner
in Residence
Reginald Wells
Executive in Residence
Ruth Zaplin
Executive in Residence
Ruth Wagner
Executive in Residence
EMERITI
Christine Ann DeGregorio
Associate Professor Emerita
Robert Durant
Professor Emeritus
Jeff Fischel
Professor Emeritus
Brian Forst
Professor Emeritus
Deirdre Golash
Associate Professor Emerita
Jerome Hanus
Professor Emeritus
David Koehler
Professor Emeritus
Ruth Lane
Associate Professor Emerita
Harvey Lieber
Associate Professor Emeritus
David Saari
Professor Emeritus
Bradley Schiller
Professor Emeritus
Arnold Trebach
Professor Emeritus
Ronald Weiner
Professor Emeritus
Donald Zauderer
Associate Professor Emeritus
School of Public Affairs | 21

Notable
Adjunct Faculty
Jean Accius
Vice President
AARP
Meredith BL Anderson
Senior Research Associate for K-12
Frederick D. Patterson Research Institute
at UNCF
Richard Benedetto
Retired White House Correspondent
USA Today
Yvette Bourcicot
Associate Deputy General Counsel
U.S. Department of Defense
Erich Dietrich
Healthcare Administrator,
U.S. Navy Assistant Director,
Navy Medicine Headquarters
John Firman
Director of Strategic Partnerships
International Association of Chiefs of Police
Katherine Gillespie
Senior Counsel to Deputy Director
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
Jerrold Keilson
Vice President
American Institutes for Research
Linda Kimsey
Master of Health Administration & Policy
Academic Director, U.S. Navy
Libby Nelson
Education Journalist
Vox
Walter Oleszek
Senior Specialist
Congressional Research Service
Jonathan Schwabish
Senior Fellow
Urban Institute
Gwendolyn Sykes
Chief Financial Officer
U.S. Secret Service
Recent PhD
Placements
Chris Birdsall, ’16, Assistant Professor,
School of Public Service at Boise State
University
Maya Barak, ’16, Assistant Professor,
University of Michigan-Dearborn
Stephen Holt, ’17, Assistant Professor,
State University of New York at Albany
(SUNY Albany) in the Rockefeller College of
Public Affairs and Policy
Erin Kearns, ’17, Assistant Professor,
University of Alabama Department of
Criminology & Criminal Justice
Tofigh Maboudi, ’16, Assistant Professor
with a joint appointment in the International
Studies program, Loyola University Chicago
Rhucha Samudra, ’16, Associate Professor,
State University of New York at Brockport
(SUNY Brockport)
Amanda Stewart, ’15, Assistant Professor,
the School of Public and International Affairs
at North Carolina State University
Katie Vinopal, ’16, Assistant Professor, Ohio
University’s Glenn College of Public Affairs
Raymond Zuniga, ’17, Assistant Professor,
Center for Public Administration and Policy
in the School of Public and International
Affairs, Virginia Tech University
Sasha O’Connell
Director, Homeland Security &
Law Enforcement
PwC
Rainey Ransom
Judge
Superior Court of the District of Columbia
William Shields
Executive Director
American Society for Public Administration
22

School of Public Affairs | 23

LOOKING AHEAD:
SPA’S VISION
As we look to the
future, our ambitious
plan builds on our
strengths and honors
our formidable legacy.
Since it was founded nearly a century ago, the School of
Public Affairs has played an increasingly critical role in
building and enhancing careers in public service while producing
transformational research that drives progress in
policy, politics, and public administration.
The school has enjoyed significant success in the past few
years as reflected in increased enrollments, student and
faculty success, greater external funding, ongoing strategic
engagement, and expanded visibility in policy circles as
well as the academic arena.
In the coming years, we see opportunities to continue
SPA’s evolution in the heart of the nation’s capital. In addition
to being knowledgeable, engaged, and globally conscious
citizens, SPA graduates will increasingly apply the
complex problem solving, leadership, and research skills
acquired during their time at SPA. Our research and initiatives
will create an even deeper connection with thought
leaders and decision-makers.
24

American University
School of Public Affairs
Kerwin Hall, Suite 310
4400 Massachusetts Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20016
(202) 885-2940
spadean@american.edu
FACEBOOK
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INSTAGRAM
@au_spa
TWITTER
@au_spa
www.american.edu/spa

American University
School of Public Affairs
4400 Massachusetts Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20016-8022
www.american.edu/spa