Higher education in the United States is grappling with turmoil that it has not seen in decades. In the zeal to wrestle with these challenges, the higher education sector offers insights and prescriptions to contend with the present challenges. In these responses, however, insights from public administration research and those individuals that occupy mid-level management positions are often absent. We contend that by examining mid-level managers (e.g. chairs and program directors) through a public administration lens, meaningful and actionable practices to support US higher education might be offered. More specifically, we apply research from public service motivation and front-line workers to explore interview and survey data from more than 70 higher ed mid-level managers. The exploratory findings illustrate why we need to pay attention to the experiences of chairs and directors in public affairs schools given their positionality within an organization, their motivations to support students, and how they navigate workplace challenges (e.g. transition planning, professional development).
Academic programs in public administration are increasingly expected to ensure that students are exposed to and competent in topics related to diversity, equity, and inclusion. Despite the growing prevalence of social equity in public administration, public budgeting and finance remains under-examined in the context of social equity. Through a survey of Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs, and Administration accredited graduate programs in public affairs in the United States and a content analysis of their course syllabi and assignments, this research finds that while social equity is rarely made explicit in public budgeting and finance curricula, the coverage of social equity topics falls in line with the literature review where many aspects of public budgeting and finance education touched on social equity issues. This research helps fill the void of literature and contribute to the pedagogical research on social equity in public budgeting and finance.
This pedagogical practice case examines the true story of “Sara” and her experience encountering sexual harassment in a nonprofit workplace. The article begins by defining sexual harassment and reviewing relevant literature on its prevalence and impact in nonprofit organizations. It then explores principles of organizational justice and their application to nonprofit responses to harassment. Through Sara’s case of nonprofit workplace sexual harassment, we highlight the events leading up to the harassment, her pursuit of justice, and the challenges she faced. Designed for use in classes, workshops, and seminars, this case aims to raise awareness, foster critical discussions, and inspire further research.
Public affairs education in Iran has received limited scholarly attention despite its importance for preparing future public servants to address contemporary governance challenges. This article examines how centralized governance, constrained academic autonomy, and uneven institutional development shape curriculum design, international engagement, and practice-based learning. Using a structured qualitative synthesis of peer-reviewed scholarship, policy reports, institutional documents, and comparative evidence from selected MENA countries, the study analyzes institutional and pedagogical barriers to reform. Rather than treating Iran simply as a case of educational underdevelopment, the article argues that it offers a theoretically important case for understanding public affairs education in politically constrained settings. The analysis identifies context-sensitive opportunities for incremental reform through applied learning, competency-based education, faculty development, and selective adaptation of regional quality assurance practices. The study contributes to public affairs education scholarship by demonstrating how institutional context shapes ethics education, public value formation, and the preparation of future public servants.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is becoming pervasive in all areas of human behavior, including the public and the private sectors. Effective adoption of artificial intelligence systems requires AI-savvy public affairs professionals that engage effectively with the technology and key stakeholders to increase the chances of materializing the potential benefits and minimizing the critical risks embedded in AI. Schools of public affairs need a better understanding of AI itself, as well as all aspects involved in its effective use, particularly in the public sector context. We propose a framework for AI literacy involving five dimensions, four of them discussed in previous research, cognitive, practical, critical and ethical, and a fifth, civic dimension, that aligns with public affairs values. Incorporating competencies across the five dimensions in the MPA curriculum constitutes an evolution that ensures that the core values of public affairs professionals remain relevant and effective in an increasingly technological public service environment.
Artificial intelligence is reshaping public administration, yet public affairs curricula often stress tool proficiency and “human-in-the-loop” cautions without helping students examine how their own assumptions shape AI-assisted analysis. This paper uses learner-centered pedagogy that embeds AI as a “mirror” to surface human biases across problem framing, evidence use, alternative generation, and evaluation in a policy analysis assignment. Drawing on two cohorts in an MPA policy seminar, we compare no-AI-assisted and AI-collaborated cohorts and qualitatively analyze students’ policy analyses and reflections. The AI-collaborated cohort more consistently documented evidence verification, incorporated multiple perspectives, and produced more coherent justifications and comparative alternatives. A policy alternative assessment stage revealed students’ evaluative biases by contrasting their preferred options with AI-generated recommendations based on selected criteria and subsequent feasibility checks. Findings suggest that preserving human judgment does not require rejecting AI; reflective assignment design can build AI literacy and professional agency.
As AI becomes increasingly prevalent in our society, public affairs programs must consider how to integrate this tool into its pedagogy. This research examines how one class across two different universities taught about generative AI in public service while leveraging the use of the tool in the curriculum. The course was designed to promote active learning while avoiding emerging AI threats of cognitive off-loading or reduced critical thinking. The data from MPA students ( n = 22) indicates that a peer-oriented, reflective learning environment invites student learning around ethical AI use, applications for AI, and AI skill development. Students also demonstrated some resistance to the active-learning requirements even though students could identify areas of high growth. The integration of AI in public affairs programs, whether as a singular course or within topic-specific contexts, should aim for a high-level of active learning within a peer-based model.
Public affairs education faces mounting challenges amid policy changes and political volatility under the second Trump administration. This study examines faculty strategies for sustaining democratic learning during upheaval, focusing on curricular adaptation and trauma-informed pedagogy (TIP). Using a cross-sectional survey of faculty in NASPAA-accredited programs, we analyze predictors of curricular adaptation in response to changing policy and factors associated with the adoption of TIP. Results show that faculty widely report observing student anxiety and political exhaustion in the current environment, alongside perceptions of declining institutional legitimacy. We find that higher levels of student distress significantly predict curricular revision toward governance-focused discussion. Public affairs faculty employ foundational TIP strategies, while more structured approaches, such as flexible or differentiated learning plans, are less common. Findings underscore the importance of resilience-oriented pedagogy, targeted professional development, and awareness of TIP, as well as institutional support, to sustain inclusive learning during prolonged political disruption.
Higher education institutions face persistent crises requiring adaptive, communicative leadership. This mixed-methods study examines how middle-level academic administrators (i.e., departmental heads, chairs, school directors, and unit administrators) manage crises, communicate resilience, and sustain engagement. Drawing on Hirschman's Exit-Voice-Loyalty (EVL) framework and Buzzanell's Communication Theory of Resilience (CTR), the study analyzed responses from participants across Arkansas public 4-year universities. Findings show that crisis management constitutes a normative rather than exceptional dimension of contemporary academic leadership. Respondents indicated strong adoption of CTR processes (i.e., crafting normalcy, affirming identity anchors, maintaining networks, and legitimizing negative emotions while foregrounding productive action), alongside significant relationships among EVL variables, indicating that leadership decisions during crises are negotiated rather than binary. Qualitative themes revealed four resilience strategies: strategic unit advocacy (persistent yet often unreciprocated upward communication), strategic emotional labor (mediating institutional stress and faculty morale), personal resilience and caregiving (balancing empathy and endurance), and leveraging external networks (using peer alliances when vertical trust fails).
