24: Public Administration

Sally Selden, Lynchburg College, selden@lynchburg.edu

The meeting's overall focus on "Politics in Motion" is especially appropriate for the study of public administration given how much the field has changed and evolved due to sustained pressure on public organizations to be more accountable, efficient and effective. The effects of globalization and technology are visible at all levels of government. Proposals for papers, panels, and posters fitting into the conference's broader themes are welcome. How does the field of public administration keep up with changes while staying reflective and grounded? What are the emerging trends in public administration? What are the implications of those trends for preparing the next generation of public leaders? How do we distinguish the proximate from the persistent, the time-bound from the timeless in our discipline? What impact is the polarization in U.S. politics having on public administration and public managers? How will rapid aging and other changing demographics affect public administration and current human resource management systems and practices?

While proposals on all aspects of public administration are welcome, we are particularly interested in papers and panels that address the theme of change, complexity, and practical impact. Consistent with the conference's theme, papers addressing methodological and theoretical challenges posed by complexity and change are invited, as are papers that highlight the multiplicity and variation of the phenomena we study in public administration.