Mission: The School of Public Affairs advances   excellence in governance by creating, sharing, and applying knowledge   of public administration.

In support of this mission, we are  committed to enabling students to analyze public problems, communicate,  collaborate, make decisions,  and manage public institutions  effectively, ethically, and  democratically; teaching and providing  continuing education at times  and locations appropriate for working  students and practitioners;  identifying emerging public issues,  applying research to public  programs, disseminating information, and  proposing solutions to public  problems; assisting public, private, and  nonprofit organizations;  facilitating community discourse on public  issues; contributing to  public affairs scholarship; and fostering the  next generation of public affairs scholars.

The new  demands on public leadership in the context of global  urban governance are  unprecedented in complexity and scope. The ASU  School of Public Affairs  believes that the most influential  contributions we can make are the development  of multiple, useful, and  realistic models of governance with accompanying  processes for extended civic engagement and the training of a new generation of  urban leaders capable of addressing the questions raised by the rapid growth of   urban citistates.  We consistently rank  in the top twenty-five public  administration schools nationally and offer the  only program in the  region accredited by the National Association of Schools of  Public  Affairs and Administration (NASPAA), uniquely positioning us to respond  to these opportunities.

Research Areas

• Community and Organizational Resilience
• Comparative Public Management and Comparative Local Government
• Economic Development
• Leadership and Creativity
• Public Administration Theory
• Public Finance
• Public Policy/Social Welfare Policy

Recent Major Publications

• “Origins of Shareholder Advocacy” by Jonathan Koppell

   

• “World Rule: Accountability, Legitimacy and the Design of Global Governance” by Jonathan Koppell
• “Handbook of Adult Resilience” edited by John Hall
• “Navigating the Fiscal Crisis: Tested Strategies for Local Leaders” by Gerald Miller and James  Svara
• “The Art and Science of Leadership” by Afsaneh Nahavandi”Fabricating the People” by Thomas Catlaw”American Public Policy” by N. Joseph Cayer
• “The Dance of Leadership” by Robert and Janet Denhardt“Public Personnel Administration” by N. Joseph Cayer

Major Grants

• Research  on the  Korean People-State Relationship (Yushim Kim): $300,000
• Center  for Nanotechnology  in Society (Elizabeth Corley, co-principal investigator): $6.5M
• Assessing the LIFE (Learning in Informal and Formal  Environments) Center: A Scientific and Technical Human Capital  Evaluation Model, National Science Foundation (Elizabeth Corley,  principal investigator): $905,000
• Central Arizona-Phoenix Long Term Ecological Research: Phase 2, National Science Foundation (Elizabeth Corley, senior personnel): $4.4M
• Decision Center for a Desert City, National Science Foundation  (Elizabeth Corley, Senior Investigator; co-leader of Decision Science  Team, participant in Science and Technology Policy Team): $6.9M
• Resilience and Health in Communities and Individuals (John Hall, co-principal investigator): $2.2M

Outreach & Service

• International programs with Moscow State University (Russia),  Santa Catarina University (Brazil), Pristina University (Kosovo), Wuhan  University (China), University of Nijmegen (Netherlands), University of  Siena (Italy) and Yerevan State University (Armenia)
• Community resilience workshops (Hall)
• Public policy projects through policy analysis class (Peck)
• Valley Citizens League board of directors  (R. Denhardt)

Academic Areas 2011- 2012

• Urban & Metropolitan Studies
• Public Service & Public Policy
• Creative City
• Public Management & Administration
• Leadership & Ethics
• Public Service & Public Policy Concentration (Business)
• Urban Policy Concentration (Business)
• Master of Public Administration
• Master of Public Policy
• Marvin Andrews Program in Urban Management
• Joint Master of Public Administration/Social Work
• Doctor of Philosophy Public Administration
• Doctor of Philosophy Public Administration – Urbanism Concentration