On Thursday, June 13, the Public Management Research Association (PMRA) announced School of Government faculty member Leisha DeHart-Davis as the association’s new vice president. Furthermore, PMRA announced that DeHart-Davis will take on the mantle of president in 2020. The announcement was made at this year’s edition of the Public Management Research Conference (PMRC), which was hosted by the School of Government on June 11­–14 in Chapel Hill.

Before taking on this latest appointment, DeHart-Davis served as the 2019 PMRC Host Committee chair. PMRC is an annual conference featuring cutting-edge management research. It is described as “the foremost gathering of public management experts in the world.” PMRA seeks to further relations among researchers working in public policy, public management, the nonprofit sector, and various governance disciplines. In addition to organizing and sponsoring conferences and symposia throughout the year, PMRA also holds the annual PMRC event.

DeHart-Davis joined the School’s faculty in 2012 and is a professor of public administration and government. She is a National Academy of Public Administration Fellow and recipient of the 2019 Gary Cornia Distinguished Lecturer given by the Romney Institute of Brigham Young University (link to article). Last year the Carolina Center for Public Service recognized DeHart-Davis as a Thorp Faculty Engaged Scholar. She also directs the Local Government Workplaces Initiative through which she conducts research for North Carolina cities and counties regarding public organizational behavior. As a faculty partner in the Engaging Women in Local Government program, she seeks to equip women to pursue public service leadership positions.

DeHart-Davis has published in the Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, Public Administration Review, International Public Management Journal, Administration and Society, and Review of Public Personnel Administration. In 2017, Georgetown University Press published her book, Creating Effective Rules in Public Sector Organizations which has won best book awards from both the American Society for Public Administration and the Academy of Management Public and Nonprofit Division. DeHart-Davis holds a Ph.D. in public policy from the Georgia Institute of Technology.