MISSION VISION The UNO PhD in Public Administration creates a supportive, collaborative, and rigorous environment for students to develop their intellectual identites and a comprehensive understanding of the field and a range of research traditions.
Our students and alumni will make siginificant contributions to theory, policy, research, and practice towards enhancing a democratic society.
A MESSAGE FROM THE PHD CHAIR Welcome! Our PhD program is unique in creating a supportive, collaborative, and rigorous environment for students to develop their intellectual identities and a comprehensive understanding of the field and a range of research traditions. The UNO School of Public Administration is ranked 25th in Public Affairs in U.S. News and World Report. Our graduates typically complete the PhD program having at least one or two publications and substantial teaching experience. We have a strong record of placing our students in faculty positions as well as in government and private positions focused on applied research, evaluation, and consulting. Throughout this annual report you can see the significant contributions and milestones achieved by our stellar students. We hope you will consider joining us in Omaha!
VALUES
Intellectual openness, collaboration, diversity, and excellence.
Angela Eikenberry PhD Doctoral Program Chair School of Public Administration University of Nebraska at Omaha aeikenberry@unomaha.edu
PHD PROGRAM HISTORY In May of 1994, the Board of Trustees of the University of Nebraska approved a PhD program for the School of Public Administration with classes to begin in the Fall semester of 1995. Since that time, we have been providing graduates with the ability to achieve scholarly distinction in higher education or leadership positions in public and nonprofit management. 80% of graduates are employed in academic positions in the U.S. and elsewhere; the remaining are in upper-level administrative positions in public, nonprofit, and for-profit organizations.
Our graduates have been placed at Virginia Tech, Rutgers, SUNY Albany and a host of other universities in the U.S. and around the world. The remaining are in upper-level administrative positions in public, nonprofit, and for-profit organizations such as working in the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration; the Vice-Mayor of Nanchang, the capital city of Jiangxi province in China; and the Nebraska Children and Families Foundation. The PhD program emphasizes both the empirical and normative dimensions of the field.
Rooted in History, Forming the Future
It recognizes multiple ways of knowing by teaching interpretive, critical and post-traditional approaches in addition to more traditional positivist knowledge development. Students learn to translate knowledge to solve organizational challenges, community problems, and societal needs in the U.S. and across the globe. As a result of the commitment of our faculty, our PhD graduates are well prepared for the job market and well trained to become independent academics. Intellectual identity, academic rigor and democratic purpose are central to the program’s success. Students experience a culture of openness, coupled with opportunities to conduct research with faculty, funding to attend academic conferences, and chances to teach undergraduate courses online and in person.
Typically, by their third year, students are assigned to teach at the undergraduate level. The courses they teach support the Emergency Management undergraduate program, the Bachelor of Multidisciplinary Studies concentrations in public administration and nonprofit management, as well as the campus-wide nonprofit management minor. The PA Ph.D. program is now one of seven at the University of Nebraska at Omaha and has been extremely successful in fulfilling the initial goal of the program in enhancing the national reputation of the School and University.
WHO ARE WE?
We are a powerhouse of social innovators, thinkers, and scholars ready to take on today’s challenges in the public and nonprofit fields.
The School of Public Administration is made up of nationally-ranked and accredited graduate degrees that are a force to be reckoned with. Powerful programs. Unfogettable reputation. We are the School of Public Administration.
PHD PROGRA BY THE NUM
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19 PhD students funded fully or in pa
$15,500 in travel funding was provided to students through Gradu
22 conferences attend
$40,000 in research funding provided through the (GRACA) to eight students
21 publications with PhD stud
26 courses taught by PhD students as
AM 2019MBERS 2020
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art through graduate assistantships
uate Studies and the School of Public Administration
ded
e Graduate Reasearch and Creative Activity Award
dents as single- or co-authors
s instructors of record
DEMOCRATIC. SOCIAL INNOVATORS. SCHOLARS. The PhD in Public Administration at the University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO) creates a supportive, collaborative, and rigoruous environment for students to develop their intellectual identities and a comprehenisve understanding of the field with a range of research traditions. Throughout the PhD program, we will empower you to establish a strong intellectual identity. You will be introduced to different knowledge traditions and
become thoroughly immersed in the discourse of public administration and its integration of theory and practice. We foster a unique culture of openness where the process of knowledge creation among students is a common enterprise. As our students move through the program, they have opportunities to teach and to work one-on-one with faculty. When you graduate, you will be prepared to understand and help solve public problems as an academic or a practitioner.
Student Honors and Awards Conferences In additon to excellence in the classroom, our PhD students are also scholars and award-winners in the field.
Students took part in the 22 conferences and meetings in the U.S. and beyond. These included:
Morgan Vogel - won the 2019-20 University of Nebraska Presidential Fellowship. Dell Gines - selected for 2020 Black Achievers Award, Greater Kansas City. Xian Gao - won the 2019 Digital Governance Junior Scholar Award sponsored by ASPA’s Section on Science and Technology in Government. Wei-Jie Liao - won the 2020 Outstanding Graduate Paper Award (First Prize), Western Social Science Association. Jiseul Kim - won the 2020 ASPA Section on Transportation Policy and Administration Best Student Paper Award. Elizabeth Gillespie - received a research grant from the Women’s Philanthropy Institute, Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, Indiana University, funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation ($60,020)—with Dr. Eikenberry. Yunseung Kim – won a 2019-20 UNO Dissertation Scholarship. Ming Xie – won a 2019-20 UNO Dissertation Scholarship and the UNO Helen Hansen Outstanding Graduate Student Award. Felipe Blanco – was selected for a 2019 APPAM Social Equity and Inclusion Fellowship. Ming Xie and Gabrielle L’Esperance – selected for the ISTR PhD Student Seminar. Megan McGuffey – was selected for the 2019 Emerging Engagement Scholars Workshop.
•American Society for Public Administration (ASPA) •Association for Budgeting & Financial Management (ABFM) •Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management (APPAM) •Association for Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Action (ARNOVA) •California Sociological Association (CSA) •Collective Impact Convening •Conference of Minority Public Administrators (COMPA) •Elevating Public Service Motivation •GlobalMindED •Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR) •Kauffman EShip Summit •Midwest Public Affairs •National Communication Association •Office of Personnel Management’s (OPM) Senior Executives Service (SES) Orientation •Public Administration Theory Network •Public Management Research (PMRC) •Race, Ethnicity and Social Stratification •SciComm •Social Equity Leadership •Urban Affairs Association •Urban Food Systems Symposium •Western Social Science Association (WSSA)
Service of Note
Dell Gines – volunteer consultant, Black Men United. Emily (Newman) MacNabb – member UNO Schwalb Center for Israeli and Jewish Studies and Nebraska chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness Boards. Lora Frecks - Treasurer for ASPA’s Section for Science & Technology in Government (SSTIG). Melanie Chapman – member Oak Park Runners Club Board. Ming Xie - elected to the ARNOVA Early Scholars leadership team. Minshuai Ding – news editor for Long Island Chinese American Association. Morgan Vogel – student representative on ASPA-Nebraska Council Nick Juliano – member Nebraska Juvenile Justice Association and the Boys Town South Omaha Advisory Boards. Xian Gao – member Program Committee of the 20th Annual International Conference on Digital Government Research (dg.o2019).
24 PhD students were provided with conference travel funding awards from UNO Graduate Studies and the School of Public Administration, totaling $15,500.
Waldo Society Leadership Team 2019-2020 •B.J. Fletcher •Josephine Hazelton •Megan McGuffey •Minshuai Ding •Morgan Vogel •Yeonkyung Kim
Defended Dissertation Proposal
Six students defended their dissertation proposals: • Del Bharath •B.J. Fletcher •Lora Frecks •Ming Xie •Nick Juliano •Morgan Vogel
NU System Awards SPA PhD Student with Presidential Fellowship -University Communications
The prestigious Presidential Graduate Fellowships are awarded to a select group of NU graduate students each year on the basis of high scholastic performance and personal accomplishment. Fellows receive a stipend provided through the University of Nebraska Foundation that allows them to pursue their studies full-time. Presidential Graduate Fellows are some of the best and brightest students at the University of Nebraska. Morgan Vogel (pictured above) was selected for her impressive research and scholarship, strong community and professional engagement, and passion for public service.
As a third year PhD student, Vogel is already turning her scholarship into research for the academic community. Earlier this year, she and colleagues contributed a book chapter on the topic of mobility management and sustainable economic growth through public transit. As part of her Ph.D. program at UNO, Vogel has been involved in several projects including K-12 data compilation, project management associated with mobility management for rural transit, rural transit research and participation with the Metropolitan Area Planning Agency’s Coordinated Transit Subcommittee. She received the Outstanding Student Award from the University of Dayton’s Master of Public Administration program, where she earned her MPA and bachelor’s degree in political science.
Alumni Positions
37 out of 46 (80%) of our graduates hold positions at academic institutions. The remainder are primarily in upper-level professional positions in nonprofit, government, or for-profit agencies. Our Alumni Work at these Academic Institutions: •Bowling Green State University •Bridgewater State University •California Lutheran University •California State University, Fullerton •California State University, Los Angeles •California State University, Stanislaus •College of Brockport State University of New York •Eastern Washington University •Fayetteville State University •Florida International University •James Madison University •University of Tartu •Korea University •Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania •Purdue University •Rutgers University-Newark •Sun Yat-Sen University •Tennessee State University •Thammasat University •University at Albany, SUNY •University of Alabama •University of Colorado-Denver •University of Memphis •University of Nebraska Medical Center •University of North Carolina-Pembroke •University of South Florida •University of Nebraska-Lincoln •University of Nebraska at Omaha
And at these Other Institutions: •AIM Careerlink •Delta Airlines •Developmental Services of Iowa •Nebraska Children and Families Foundation •Nebraska State Education Association •Project Harmony
2019 - 2020 Graduates:
• • •
B. Shine Cho Elizabeth Gillespie, hired at University of Memphis Xian Gao, hired at California State University, Los Angeles
PHD STUDENT PUBLICATIONS Students authored or co-authored 21 publications:
Bharath, Del. M. N. (2019). Ethical decision-making and The Avengers: Lessons from the screen to the classroom. Public Integrity. Bharath, Del. M. N. (2020). Using eService-learning to practice technical writing skills for emerging nonprofit professionals. Journal of Nonprofit Education and Leadership, 10(1), 62–81. Casey, Lucas J., & Vogel, Morgan. D. (2019). Preparing for the next generation: Profiles of millennial city managers and their approach to the job. State and Local Government Review 51(2), 122-133. Chao, C., & Xie, Ming. (In Press). I am in the homeless home or I am always on the way home: Formatting identity and imagined community through ethnic media use. In E. Ngwainmbi (Ed.), Compromised identities: The role of social media in dismantling ethnic and national borders. Routledge. Chen, T., Ran, L., & Gao, Xian. (2019). AI innovation for advancing public service: The case of China’s first Administrative Approval Bureau. In Proceedings of dg.o 2019: 20th Annual International Conference on Digital Government Research, 100-108. Cho, B. Shine, Juye Lee, Wonkang Lee & Hyosang Min. (2019). Changing management strategies of a government-hosted festival: The case of Hi Seoul Festival, South Korea. International Journal of Event and Festival Management. 10(2):174-188. Gillespie, Elizabeth., Mirabella, R. M., & Eikenberry, A. M. (2019). Metoo/#Aidtoo and creating an intersectional feminist NPO/NGO sector. Nonprofit Policy Forum. 10(4).
Gillespie, Elizabeth. (In press). Women’s grantmaking for economic security: The work of one coalition. Foundation Review.
Gines, R. (Dell) L., & Sampson, R. (2019, June). Building Entrepreneurship Ecosystems in Communities of Color. Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City. Jensen, C., Hazelton, Josephine K., & Wellman, G.C. (2019). Finding “Improvement” in the language transportation planners use: A critical discourse analysis to illustrate an automobile-centric bias in transportation policymaking. Public Works Management & Policy. Jo, Geun Sic, O. Young Kwon & B. Shine Cho. (2019). Why do Korean Elected Mayors resign? Applying Dobel’s ethics of resigning model. Public Integrity. Online first. Kwon, O-Young, B. Shine Cho & Youngrok Kim. (2019). A study of Gangwon Province government’s participatory budgeting vitalization strategies. Journal of Social Sciences. 58(2): 57-99. [Written in Korean] Lebovits, H., & Bharath, Del. (2019). Service-learning as a tool to cultivate democratic-minded students: A conceptual framework. Journal of Public and Nonprofit Affairs, 5(3), 277–292. Liao, Wei-Jie., & Kuo, N. (2019). Capital management and budgeting in Taiwan. In A. Srithongrung, N. Ermasova, & J. Yusuf (Eds.), Capital management and budgeting in the public sector (pp. 258-279). Hershey, PA: IGI Global. Maher, C., Majumder, M., Liao, Wei-Jie., & Liao, Y. (2019). Spatial Analysis of Local Government Fiscal Condition in Nebraska. Socialiniai Tyrimai/Social Research, 42(1), 19-31.
Maher, C., Park, S., & Liao, Wei-Jie. (In press). Municipal referenda activity in Colorado: Responding to TABOR. Municipal Finance Journal.
Courses Taught by our PhD Students
Newman, Emily, & Fletcher, B.J., (2019). Hurricanes, disasters, and food insecurity: The intersection of two social events. Emerging Voices in Natural Hazards Research.
Students taught the following courses as instructors of record (26 classes taught in total):
Vogel, Morgan D., & Blair, R. (2019, March 22). Nebraska’s experience shows that regional collaboration is key to creating efficient, cost effective, and equitable mobility management programs. London School of Economics American Policy and Politics Blog. Vogel, Morgan D., Blair, R., & Deichert, J. (2019). A regional approach to mobility management: Promoting sustainability and economic growth through public transit (pp. 1-24). In O. Smirnova (Ed.), Building a Sustainable Transportation Infrastructure for Long-Term Economic Growth. Hershey, PA: IGI Global. Xie, Ming. (In press). Leadership perceptions of social media use by small-to-medium-sized nonprofits. Journal of Nonprofit Education and Leadership, 10(4). Xie, Ming. (In press). News coverage and public perceptions of the social credit system in China. In A. Akande & B. E. Johansen (Eds.), Dissecting “Trumpism:” The global nationalistic surge in historical, sociopolitical, cultural, environmental, and economic context.
•PA 1010: Intro to Urban Studies •PA 2000: Leadership and Administration •PA 2170 Introduction to Public Administration •PA 3000: Applied Statistics •PA 3200: Planning and Evaluation •PA 3500: Nonprofit Organizations and Management •PA 3700: Financial Management for Nonprofits •PA 4300: Public Policy •PA 4390: Public Budgeting •PA 4530: Strategic Planning
Students who Passed Field Exams Eight students passed field exams and became Candidates this past year: •Bit An •Kristin Broyhill •Melanie Chapman •Minshuai Ding •Gabrielle L’Esperance •Wei-Jie Liao •Emily MacNabb •Morgan Vogel