public administration

Jun 10, 2025

Department of Public Administration Celebrates Milestone in Educating Doctoral Students

NC State’s Department of Public Administration is celebrating a significant milestone: 100 students have now earned their Ph.D. through the program.  This milestone represents more than just a number for the department, which is housed within the School of Public and International Affairs (SPIA). Launched in 1997, the program has built upon the strong foundation…

Jun 10, 2025

William C. Chandler, the First Ph.D. Graduate in Public Administration

William C. (Bill) Chandler, (Ph.D., 2001) was the first student to graduate with a Ph.D. in public administration from NC State and has been a sworn law enforcement officer in North Carolina for more than 47 years.  A retired director of the North Carolina Alcohol Law Enforcement Division (ALE) in the Department of Public Safety,…

May 13, 2025

A Year to Celebrate

Highlights from the 2024-2025 academic year in the Department of Public Administration.

Apr 10, 2025

MPA Students Take Part in Local Government Day

On Friday, March 28, NC State University’s Department of Public Administration held “Local Government Day” at the North Carolina Rural Center in Raleigh. Students in the MPA program learned about local government vocations and asked questions to current leaders as they considered roles that might suit their career aspirations.   MPA director Mandi Stewart and Traci…

Mar 17, 2025

Faculty Spotlight: Jay Rickabaugh

“My mind is constantly trying to solve problems,” said Jay Rickabaugh on how he found himself working in the field of public administration. “I started with an interest in public transportation, which requires a lot of cooperation with different organizations – and saw how solving those issues applied to other fields.” Rickabaugh is an assistant…

Mar 17, 2025

Faculty Spotlight: Graham Ambrose

“How do you help communities come together to make decisions that will help the people in that community?”   That’s a question Graham Ambrose, assistant professor of Public Administration, has been exploring for years, and what he found in his investigations surprised him. “There are a lot of standards that we talk about in theory…

Mar 17, 2025

Update on the PA Alumni Society – Message from President Alexis Addison

The PA Alumni Society exists to convene and serve as an on-going professional association for graduates of the Ph.D. and MPA programs. To achieve our mission to advance and support public sector leaders, we seek to maintain and strengthen the relationship between the program, current students and alumni. In April 2024, we hosted our Annual…

Mar 17, 2025

Update on the MPA Program with MPA Director, Dr. Mandi Stewart

It’s been an exciting year for me, as I have taken on a new role as director of the Master of Public Administration program as of July 2024. This opportunity has given me a new vantage point to examine the appeal of our program to prospective candidates, observe the wealth of experience and potential among our…

Mar 17, 2025

Update on the PA Program – Message from Department Chair Dr. Jerrell Coggburn

Greetings, friends! I am happy to be writing to you in my reprised role as the department of Public Administration (PA) chair at the School of Public and International Affairs, which I resumed last July. It was my good fortune to return to the role right at the time the department began its latest surge…

Dec 9, 2024

NC State Announces Launch of Universitywide Climate and Sustainability Academy

Public administration professor Christopher Galik will take on the role of deputy executive director of NC State's new Climate and Sustainability Academy.