by Joan Slattery Wall

Professor Katherine Willoughby of the University of Georgia and John Glenn College of Public Affairs Professor Jos Raadschelders have been selected as editors-in-chief of Public Administration Review, the flagship professional journal of the American Society for Public Administration.

The two aim to advance the collaboration between practitioners and academics in public administration.

Raadschelders explained that public administration journals have increasingly focused on research, developing and testing theory.

“While this is very important, we believe it is critical, especially now and certainly going forward, that the bridge between practitioners and academics be strengthened,” he said.

“We consider PAR to be the foremost professional outlet for scholarship and perspectives to fortify this bridge,” Willoughby said. “We hope to secure PAR as the premier channel for the discovery of solutions to multifaceted public sector problems of today and into the future.”

Raadschelders and Willoughby, whose editorial terms are 2024 through 2026, also seek to open up the journal to more diverse populations and through multiple platforms, reaching scholars, practitioners, teachers, students and the general public worldwide in timely and seamless ways.

“The Glenn College is proud to partner with the School of Public and International Affairs at the University of Georgia in hosting one of the field’s seminal journals, Public Administration Review,” said Glenn College Dean Trevor Brown. “Jos and Katherine will make a great team in shaping the future direction of the journal.”

Raadschelders, the Glenn College associate dean for faculty and faculty director of the college’s professional development programs, conducts research and teaching about public administration theories, history of government, comparative government and civil service systems. His research focuses on the structure and functioning of governments at large from a historical and comparative perspective. He served as managing editor of Public Administration Review from 2006 to 2011.

“Much of my scholarly work concerns the nature of the study and the position and role of government in society,” Raadschelders said, “and thus having the opportunity to serve PAR again is just wonderful.”

Willoughby is the Golembiewski Professor of Public Administration and PhD director in the Department of Public Administration and Policy at the University of Georgia’s School of Public and International Affairs.

“In addition to my scholarship in public management, budgeting and finance,” she said, “I have spent considerable time throughout my career interacting and consulting with and teaching and learning from practitioners. Developing research that informs practice in real time is an essential concern of mine. I am very grateful for the opportunity to promote this concern in service to PAR.”

The two selected Glenn College Associate Professor Hongtao Yi, director of graduate professional studies, to serve as editor of Public Administration Review. His research interests focus on network governance, collaborative governance, policy process and policy analysis in the context of energy and environment.

“He has made a name for himself in network governance, public policy process and environmental policy, and he has many connections to China, one of the expanding public administration markets,” Raadschelders said.

The team plans to reach out to colleagues in countries in locations such as Central and South America, Africa, and South and Southeast Asia that are not often found in PAR’s pages. They also will promote the influence and outreach of PAR through their connections to scholars and practitioners at various other professional associations, including the National Academy of Public Administration, Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management, American Political Science Association and Public Management Research Association.

“For more than 80 years, PAR has been the preeminent vehicle for advancing the academic field of public administration, as well as its practice,” stated Allan Rosenbaum, president of the American Society for Public Administration. “Not only has the journal presented cutting-edge empirical research, but also its articles have significantly influenced government management and policy. Central to its role as a primary source of innovation for the field has been that its editors have represented a ‘Who’s Who’ of intellectual leadership. I am proud to appoint Jos and Katherine as the next co-editors. Together, they bring an extraordinary combination of experience and wisdom that will continue the journal’s role as the foremost source of front line research in effective governance and democratic accountability, nationally and globally.”

The team will start reviewing submissions in July with a goal to publish their first issue in January and February 2024.

Public Administration Review journal