MPA DirectorAssociate Professor of Public Administration and Policy

Curriculum Vitae

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Eric Zeemering is MPA Director and Associate Professor in the Department of Public Administration and Policy at the University of Georgia. His research investigates local governance and intergovernmental relations, including interlocal contracting for municipal service delivery and the design and performance of networks for local environmental governance. He has received funding from the Canadian government to analyze intergovernmental coordination on sustainability efforts by local governments across the border between the U.S. and Canada. During the winter semester of 2014, he was Fulbright Visiting Research Chair in Governance and Public Administration at the University of Ottawa.

Dr. Zeemering’s interest in local government led to his elected service on the city council in Rockford, Michigan (1999-2001), and appointed service on the Kent County Housing Commission (2003-2006) and the Daly City Parks and Recreation Commission (2009-2011). He received his Ph.D. in political science from Indiana University in 2007 and his B.A. in political science from Aquinas College in 2001.

Education
  • PhD, Indiana University, Political Science, 2007
  • BA, Aquinas College, Political Science, 2001
Areas of Expertise
  • Local governance
  • Intergovernmental relations
  • Environmental policy
Honors, Awards, and Achievements
  • SPIA Excellence in Teaching Award, 2022
  • Recognized by MPA students as Professor of the Year at Northern Illinois University in 2017 and 2018
  • Fulbright Visiting Research Chair in Governance and Public Administration, 2014
Research Interests
  • Local governance and city management
  • Advice networks and institutional design for metropolitan governance
  • Interlocal contracting for municipal service delivery
  • US/Canada cross-border environmental governance
  • Intergovernmental program design for Great Lakes governance
  • Urban sustainability
Selected Publications

Zeemering, E. S. (2023). “Mayors’ attention to metropolitan policy: exploring communication and engagement patterns in Rockford, Illinois.” Urban Research & Practice 16(3): 311-331.

Zeemering, E. S. (2021). “Functional fragmentation in city hall and Twitter communication during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Evidence from Atlanta, San Francisco, and Washington, DC.” Government Information Quarterly 38(1): 101539.

Hanson, R. L. and E. S. Zeemering, Eds. (2021). Cooperation and conflict between state and local government. Lanham, MD, Rowman & Littlefield.