Awards Abound Among CPACS Faculty and Doctoral Students

Meet our 2022 spring award winners.

Felipe Blanco | Ph.D. candidate, School of Public Administration

2022 Gould Scholarship, American Society for Public Administration, Section on International and Comparative Administration. International Recognition.

Presidential Graduate Fellowship 2021-2022, University of Nebraska System.  

Area of Expertise: Blanco specializes in social equity and ethnoracial inequalities from a comparative perspective. He landed at UNO for his doctorate after earning undergrad and graduate degrees in Mexico.

“As an immigrant, working around this area allows me to better understand the deep inequalities linked to race and ethnicity in both of my countries (the United States and Mexico), in the hope of contributing to address them.”

Praise for UNO: “Overall, I have had a fantastic experience at UNO and the School of Public Administration. I especially value the openness to and respect for different ways to create knowledge in the field of public administration. The constant support and mentoring received by my advisor (Jodi Benenson. Ph.D.), as well as by the chair of the doctoral program (Angela Eikenberry, Ph.D.) has been fundamental for my academic development and success, including the awards above and several others obtained in the past few years."

Theodore Johnson | Ph.D. student, School of Public Administration; Instructor, Aviation Institute

2022 Student Paper Award, American Society for Public Administration Section on Transportation Policy & Administration. His manuscript was titled “Quieted Voices: A phenomenological analysis of the experiences of Black/African-American collegiate aviation students."

Area of expertise: Johnson specializes in the social equity nexus of aviation and higher education; working towards lasting change that focalizes racial equity within higher education and the aviation industry.

“It is my charge as a Black male educator, scholar, and aviation professional to utilize this power to provide a platform to voice the experiences that have been historically ignored to advance racial and educational equity for minorities.”

Praise for UNO: “My time as a student at UNO and faculty member within the Aviation Institute and the College of Public Affairs and Community Service has been nothing short of extraordinary. The academic and non-academic support I received thus far has been unparalleled. It has empowered me to excel personally, professionally, and academically. Consequently, I have grown as an educator, scholar, and aviation professional."

“If it were not for the supportive, open-minded, and equity-driven faculty within UNO’s School of Public Administration, I would not have had the unwavering confidence to engage in such bold scholarship, the knowledge to navigate the project which led to my national award, or the academic freedom to do so in the academy. UNO’s embrace of academic freedom has enabled me to aggressively explore the multifarious and contentious nature of social equity and develop pointed, implementable recommendations to address racial disparities within higher education and the aviation industry.“

John Bartle, Ph.D. | Dean, College of Public Affairs and Community Service

Truitt-Felbinger Award, American Society for Public Administration Section on Transportation Policy & Administration. This award is presented to one in the field of transportation policy and administration who has made significant contributions.

Area of Expertise: Bartle is a long-standing expert and nationally admired resource in the field of transportation policy. His most recent book, "Innovative Infrastructure Finance," brings together his research and expertise from more than 30 years of transportation finance.

Bartle’s interest in the field piqued during a research project on highway finance while working on his MPA at the University of Texas. Later, at UNO, he found airport finance similarly compelling when the Aviation Institute was merged into the School of Public Administration, causing UNO to be a national leader in this area and over the long-term. Following airport and transportation finance, Bartle’s interests have branched to sustainability and the connections to transportation, and he realized he had interests on a global level.

“Currently, the federal infrastructure bill is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to improve our infrastructure. If we do it right it will put us in a position for greater economic development, equity, and sustainability. Done wrong, it can be a massive waste of funds. We have an exciting range of new opportunities.”

Praise for UNO: “The [College of Public Affairs and Community Service] is a college like no other. The [School of Public Administration] has a world-class faculty. We attract students from all over the world and give them a rigorous, relevant education. It has been a great place for almost 30 years of my career.”

Del Bharath | Ph.D. student, School of Public Administration

Dissertation of the Year Award, American Society for Public Administration, Section on Democracy and Social Justice. Bharath’s specializations are public policy and urban management. Her dissertation is titled “Does Policy Matter? Understanding the Impacts of Pro-Social Policies on the Gentrification Process in Mid-Sized American Cities.”

Mary Hamilton, Ph.D. | Senior Executive in Residence, School Public Administration

NSPA Rosslyn Kleeman Keeper of the Flame Award, American Society for Public Administration and National Academy of Public Administration. Hamilton is a consultant for the Nebraska Certified Public Manager Program® and Midlands Superintendents Academy, and a senior executive in residence at the School of Public Administration.

Craig Maher, Ph.D | Director, School of Public Administration

Excellence in Extension Innovation Award, County Official Online Learning Network, Nebraska Association of County Officials

Top cited paper in Public Administration Review. His work is titled, "Fiscal Responses to COVID-19: Evidence from Local Governments and Nonprofits."