Profile

Anna Amirkhanyan

Associate Professor
Department of Public Administration and Policy

  • Professor Amirkhanyan’s research and teaching focuses on public and nonprofit management, public sector reform, organizational performance, social policy, research methodology, and intellectual history of public administration. Amirkhanyan’s articles have been published in the Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, Public Administration Review, the Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, the Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, the Journal of Public Management and Social Policy, and the International Journal of Public Administration. Professor Amirkhanyan has recently received 2006 National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration Annual Dissertation Award, 2007 SPA Award for Outstanding Service to the University Community, and 2008 SPA Faculty Award for Outstanding Teaching.

  • Degrees

    Ph.D. Public Administration, Syracuse University
    M.S. Nonprofit Management, New School University
    Ph.D. Philosophy, Yerevan State University
    M.A. Philosophy, Yerevan State University
    B.A. Philosophy, Yerevan State University

  • Languages Spoken:

    English, Armenian, Russian
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Teaching

Scholarly, Creative & Professional Activities

Research Interests

My research agenda focuses on a number of central themes in public and nonprofit management and organizational theory.  I am particularly interested in privatization reforms involving partnerships between government agencies and nonprofit or forprofit service providers.  I am also interested in comparative studies examining various organizational characteristics and outcomes across public, nonprofit, and forprofit sectors.  Specific organizational processes I have focused on in my studies include decision-making, collaboration, organizational performance, and performance measurement. 

Selected Publications

 

Amirkhanyan, A., Kim, H.J., & Lambright, K. T. (in press). Closer than “Arms Length”: Understanding the Factors Influencing the Development of Collaborative Contracting Relationships. Forthcoming in The American Review of Public Administration (accepted 02/ 2011).
 
Amirkhanyan, A. (2010). Monitoring across sectors: Examining the effect of nonprofit and forprofit contractor ownership on performance monitoring in state and local government contracts. Public Administration Review, 70(5), 742-755.
 
Wolf, D.A., & Amirkhanyan, A. (2010). Demographic Change and Its Public Sector Consequences. Public Administration Review, Special Issue Symposium (peer-reviewed), 70(S1), S12-S23.  
 
Amirkhanyan, A., Kim, H.J., & Lambright, K.T. (2010). Do Relationships Matter? Comparing the Performance of Relational and Classic Contracts. Public Performance & Management Review, 34 (2), 189-220.
 
Amirkhanyan, A. (2009). Collaborative Performance Measurement: Examining and explaining the prevalence of collaboration in state and local government performance monitoring.  Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 19(3), 523-554.
 
Amirkhanyan, A.A., Kim, H.J., & Lambright, K.T. (2009). Faith-based Assumptions about Performance: Does Church-affiliation Matter for Service Quality and Access? Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 38(3), 490-521.
 
Amirkhanyan, A.A. (2009). Rejecting privatization: Case study analysis of local government decision-making. The Journal of Public Management and Social Policy, 15(1), 163-192.
 
Amirkhanyan, A.A. (2008). Privatizing public nursing homes: Examining the effect on quality and access. Public Administration Review, 68(4), 665-680.
 
Amirkhanyan, A., Kim, J., & Lambright, K. (2008). Does the public sector outperform the nonprofit and for-profit sectors? Evidence from a national panel study on nursing home quality and access.  Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, 27(2), 326-353.
 
Amirkhanyan, A.A. (2007). The smart-seller challenge: The determinants of privatizing public nursing homes. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 17 (3), 501-527.
Amirkhanyan, A.A., Kim, H.J., & Lambright, K.T. (2007). Putting the pieces together: A comprehensive framework for understanding the decision to contract out and contractor performance. International Journal of Public Administration, 30, 699-725.
Amirkhanyan, A.A., & Wolf, D.A. (2006). Parent care and the stress process: Findings from panel data. Journals of Gerontology: Social Sciences (JG: SS), 61B(5), 248-255.
 
Amirkhanyan, A.A., & Wolf, D.A. (2003). Caregiver stress and noncaregiver stress: Exploring the pathways of psychiatric morbidity. The Gerontologist, 43, 817-827.

Honors, Awards, and Fellowships

 

American University Faculty Research Award ($5,000) with A. Jacknowitz, 2009-2010.
School of Public Affairs Award for Outstanding Teaching. American University, 2008.
School of Public Affairs Award for Outstanding Service to the University Community, 2007. (Work on the Graduate Certificate Program in Nonprofit Management).
National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration (NASPAA) Annual Dissertation Award, Honorable Mention, 2006.
American University Faculty Research Award ($4,500), 2006-2007.
Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs Dissertation Prize, 2005.
Syracuse University Dissertation Prize, 2005.
Syracuse University Graduate Fellowship, 2004-2005.
Graduate Assistantship and Tuition Scholarship, Syracuse University, 2001-2004.
Maureen Roscelli Memorial Scholarship, New School University, 2001.
Edmund S. Muskie Freedom Support Act Graduate Fellowship, 1999-2001.
LaGuardia Scholarship, New School for Social Research, 1999-2000.
David the Invincible Scholarship for Academic Excellence and Achievements, Yerevan State University, 1996-1999.

Professional Presentations

     

    Wolf, D.A., & Amirkhanyan, A. (2011) “Demographic Change and Its Public Sector Consequences.” American Society for Public Administration Annual Conference, March 13, 2011. Washington, DC. Panel “The Future of Public Administration 2020.” (Paper presentation).
    Amirkhanyan, A., Kim, H.J., & Lambright, K.T. (2010). “The Head Start contracts in Ohio: Examining the effect of performance determinants on multiple measures of child care effectiveness.” Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management Fall Conference, Boston, MA, November 2010. (Paper presentation).
    Wolf, D.A., & Amirkhanyan, A. (2010) “Demographic Change and Its Public Sector Consequences”.   Invited talk at Campbell University, NC Public Administration speaker series; 148 attendees.
    Amirkhanyan, A.A. (2010). Invited presentation to a group of Danish government employees participating in the Danish Public Executive Program at American University co-organized with the Copenhagen Business School.
    Amirkhanyan, A., Kim, H.J., & Lambright, K.T. (2010). “The Head Start contracts in Ohio:          Examining the effect of performance determinants on multiple measures of child care effectiveness.”   Presented at the Korean Association for Policy Studies Fall Conference November 15, 2010. (Paper presentation).
    Amirkhanyan, A.A. (2009). Invited presentation to a group of Danish government employees participating in the Danish Public Executive Program at American University co-organized with the Copenhagen Business School.
    Amirkhanyan, A.A. (2009). Invited presentation on nonprofit management and fundraising to a group of NGO representatives from Eastern Europe, organized by the AU Center for Democracy and Election Management and the League of Women Voters.
    Amirkhanyan, A., Kim, H.J., & Lambright, K.T. (2009) “An Empirical Investigation of Relational Contracting Adoption”.  Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management, Fall Conference, Washington, DC, November 2009. (Paper presentation).
    Amirkhanyan, A., Kim, H.J., & Lambright, K. T. (2009) “Closer than “Arms Length”: Understanding the Factors Influencing the Development of Collaborative Contracting Relationships.” Public Management Research Association Conference, September 2009 (Paper presentation, presented by co-author Kristina Lambright).

    AU Expert

    Area of Expertise: Public administration, privatization and contracting out, performance, cross-sector collaboration, organizational theory, nonprofit management

    Additional Information: Anna Amirkhanyan’s     research focuses on public and nonprofit management, public sector reform, organizational performance, social policy, research methodology, and intellectual history of public administration. Her current teaching concentration is nonprofit management, as well as quantitative methods in public management and public policy. Amirkhanyan’s articles are published or forthcoming in the Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, Public Administration Review, International Journal of Public Administration, The Gerontologist, and the Journals of Gerontology: Social Sciences. She has presented papers at the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management (APPAM) Annual Conference, Public Management Research Association (PMRA) Conference, Midwest Political Science Association Annual Meeting, Gerontological Society of America (GSA) Annual Meeting, and other national conferences. Amirkhanyan has recently received the 2006 National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration (NASPAA) Annual Dissertation Award (Honorable Mention), Maxwell’s School’s Dissertation Prize, and the AU Faculty Research Award.

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