Assistant Professor of Public Administration & Policy Lewis Faulk has been awarded the 2012 Gabriel G. Rudney Memorial Award for Outstanding Dissertation by the Association for Research on Nonprofit Organizations & Voluntary Action. The award is bestowed upon one dissertation per year that "contributes to the advancement of theory, conceptualization, research, or practice in an area closely related to nonprofit organizations or voluntary action." It is the highest honor awarded to a dissertation in the field of nonprofit studies.

Faulk joined the AU faculty last fall after completing his PhD in public policy from Georgia State University and Georgia Institute of Technology. His dissertation, Nonprofit and Foundation Behavior in Competitive Markets for Grants, was directed by Dennis Young, the Bernard B. and Eugenia A. Ramsey Professor of Private Enterprise at Georgia State University.

In addition to his dissertation research, Faulk's interests include foundation grant-making, competition in the nonprofit sector, diversity and wages in the nonprofit workforce, and nonprofit management. He teaches courses in nonprofit management, nonprofit advocacy and law, and nonprofit resource development.

The Association for Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Action is the leading scholarly association in the field of nonprofit studies. Faulk will receive his award at the association's annual conference this fall in Indianapolis, Indiana.