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Kenneth Meier Distinguished Scholar in Residence Department of Public Administration and Policy

Bio

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 of organization and politics applied to a wide range of substantive issues to determine who gets what, when, and how. Past research projects have examined education policy, insurance regulation, access to abortion and family planning, gay rights, drug and alcohol policy, government corruption, agricultural policy, political patronage, public health policies, antitrust policy, child support enforcement, gun control policy, tobacco policy, sexual assault, gender and bureaucracy, and numerous other issues. Key themes in his studies include representation, institutional governance, equity, and institutional interaction.

Current research projects include the cross-national examination of gender equity in education; behavioral public administration projects on government bias, blame shifting through contracting, and citizen evaluation of public services; the comparative study of representative bureaucracy, social capital and race in the United States; Latinx representation and education policy; the management of public programs in education, health care, and local governments; and the development of new theories on representative bureaucracy, organizational stability, and organization environments.

He served as president of the Public Management Research Association, the Midwest Political Science Association (US), and the Southwest Political Science Association (US). He is a former editor of the American Journal of Political Science (1994-97), former editor-in-chief of the Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory (2011-16), the founding editor of Perspectives of Public Management and Governance and one of three founding editors of the Journal of Behavioral Public Administration, and the current editor of the Journal of Policy Studies..

Meier holds appointments as a Professor of Public Management at Cardiff School of Business (Wales), a professor of bureaucracy and democracy at Leiden University (the Netherlands), and a research fellow at the Danish Centre for Social Science Research (Copenhagen Denmark).

He is the recipient of the William Duncombe Award for Excellence in Doctoral Education and mentor awards in public policy, Latino politics, and women and politics.

See Also
Representative Bureaucracy Bibliography
SPA Department of Public Administration and Policy
Personal Website
For the Media
To request an interview for a news story, call AU Communications at 202-885-5950 or submit a request.

Teaching

Spring 2024

  • PUAD-732 Seminar in Policy Implementatn

  • PUAD-898 Doctoral Continuing Enrollment

Fall 2024

  • PUAD-710 Proseminar in Public Admin