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SPA: Public Administration and Policy 4400 Massachusetts Avenue NW Washington, DC 20016-8070 United StatesOur students learn from and collaborate with the intellectual powerhouse of our faculty—prominent scholar-practitioners whose professional engagements and leading-edge research spans public administration, management, and policy. They are inspiring mentors, and their expertise and research plays a vital role in policy development, both nationally and globally.
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Dr. Morrissey is Associate Dean of Research at the School of Public Affairs and Chair of the Department of Public Administration and Policy. Her work centers on examining and improving public polic…
David J. Schwegman is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Public Administration and Policy. Since July 2025, he has served as the Director of the MPA program. Between 2021 and 2024, he was an …
Marquise J. McGraw is an economist with a keen interest in applying economic principles and methods to affect real-world policy outcomes. He serves as the director of SPA's top-ranked Master's degr…
Dr. Walti is an international scholar of public policy. Her fields of specialization include comparative public policy and public administration, policy analysis, comparative federalism, and environme…
Seth Gershenson holds a PhD from Michigan State University in Economics with a primary focus on education policy. While at Michigan State, he taught several courses and received an Outstanding Teachin…
Khaldoun AbouAssi is the Provost Associate Professor at the Department of Public Administration & Policy. He holds a PhD in public administration from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affa…
Professor Amirkhanyan’s research focuses on public and nonprofit management, organizational performance, public-private differences, and citizen participation. She published one book and over thirt…
Karen Baehler's teaching and research focuses on the craft of policy analysis and the intersection between public policy and public administration, with applications to the social and environmental po…
Dr. Scott A. Bass is Provost Emeritus and Professor of Public Administration and Policy in the School of Public Affairs at American University (AU). Since his arrival at AU in 2008, Dr. Bass has focus…
Diana L. Burley, Ph.D. is currently Vice Provost for Research and Innovation at American University (AU) where she also leads the Khan Cyber & Economic Security Institute and serves as a member of the…
Brandyn Churchill is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Public Administration & Policy at American University. He earned his PhD in Economics from Vanderbilt University in 2021.Professor Chur…
Nicole Darnall is Professor and Arlene R. and Robert P. Kogod Eminent Scholar Chair in Sustainability at American University, with appointments in both the Kogod School of Business and the School of P…
Lewis Faulk is an Associate Professor of Public Administration and Policy in the School of Public Affairs at American University. Dr. Faulk is…
Nathan Favero is a Provost Associate Professor in the Department of Public Administration and Policy. He received a PhD in political science f…
Daniel J. Fiorino is the founding Director of the Center for Environmental Policy and Distinguished Executive in Residence in the School of …
Seth Gershenson holds a PhD from Michigan State University in Economics with a primary focus on education policy. While at Michigan State, he taught several courses and received an Outstanding Teachin…
Derek Hyra is a professor in the Department of Public Administration and Policy within the School of Public Affairs at American University. His rese…
Alison Jacknowitz is the Dean of the School of Public Affairs (SPA) at American University and a Professor in the Department of Public Administration and P…
Professor Johnston’s current research focuses on government contracting, public management, and intergovernmental programs and policy. Her publications can be seen in such scholarly journals as the Jo…
Professor Langbein teaches quantitative methods, program evaluation, policy analysis, and public choice. Her research fields include: theories of bureaucratic discretion, productivity, principal-agent…
Keunyoung (Eli) Lee is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Public Administration and Policy at American University. He holds a PhD in Public Policy and Management from the University of Southe…
Professor Malone is the Director, Key Executive Leadership Programs at American University. He is a frequent guest lecturer on kindness, gratitude, emotional intelligence, compassion, ethics, mindfuln…
Dave E. Marcotte is Professor in the Dept. of Public Administration and Policy. His recent research focuses on inequality and socioeconomic segregation in K-12 education; access and attainment in high…
Jordan Matsudaira is a Professor at the School of Public Affairs at American University. He is also a Nonresident Fellow at the Urban Institute in Washington, DC and a Visiting Scholar at the Federal …
Dr. Howard McCurdy is professor of public affairs in the Department of Public Administration and Policy at American University in Washington, D.C. Publ…
Marquise J. McGraw is an economist with a keen interest in applying economic principles and methods to affect real-world policy outcomes. He serves as the director of SPA's top-ranked Master's degr…
Professor Meier’s research in public policy and administration is characterized by a multi-disciplinary approach that combines both empirical and normative questions. He uses institutional theories…
Dr. Morrissey is Associate Dean of Research at the School of Public Affairs and Chair of the Department of Public Administration and Policy. Her work centers on examining and improving public polic…
Sheeling Neo is an assistant professor in the Department of Public Administration and Policy. She earned her Ph.D. in Public Administration from the Utrecht University School of Governance in the Neth…
Claudia Persico is an economist whose research focuses on environmental policy, inequality, health and education policy using causal inference methods. Persico is also a Research Associate at the Nati…
Dr. Robinson is the Director of the newly created Key Undergraduate Leadership Program (Key) and is an Associate Professor within SPA and the Key Executive Leadership Program. His expertise is on publ…
Dr. Barbara Romzek is Professor of Public Administration and Policy. She served as Dean of the School of Public Affairs at American University from 2012-2017. Prior to her time at American University …
David H. Rosenbloom received his Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Chicago in 1969. He joined American University’s faculty as Distinguished Professor of Public Administration in 1990.…
Professor Sabetghadam is a professorial lecturer and faculty fellow at the Institute for Applied Artificial Intelligence at the Kogod School of Business. She previously served as a SoTL Fellow in the …
David J. Schwegman is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Public Administration and Policy. Since July 2025, he has served as the Director of the MPA program. Between 2021 and 2024, he was an …
Sarah Souders is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Public Administration and Policy at American University’s School of Public Affairs. She earned her PhD in Public Administration from the Ma…
Erdal Tekin is the Fotis Family Distinguished Professor of Health Policy in the School of Public Affairs at American University, a research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)…
Dr. Walti is an international scholar of public policy. Her fields of specialization include comparative public policy and public administration, policy analysis, comparative federalism, and environme…
Vicky M. Wilkins is provost and chief academic officer at American University and professor of public administration and policy. Before assuming this role, she served as the dean of the School of Publ…
Jhacova Williams is an applied microeconomist focusing primarily on economic history and cultural economics. Her previous work has examined Southern culture and the extent to which historical events h…
Dr. Ruth Zaplin is a Senior Executive-in-Residence at American University’s School of Public Affairs (SPA), where she designs and teaches graduate courses in leadership, public policy implementation, …
