Will Swann, Ph.D., Earns Tenure; Promoted to Associate Professor
The School of Public Administration is proud to announce that Dr. William Swann, BCBS Endowed Chair, has been granted tenure and promoted to Associate Professor, effective Fall 2025. The promotion was formally confirmed in a letter from Senior Vice Chancellor Phil He, recognizing Dr. Swann’s academic achievements and impactful contributions to public administration and public health policy.
Dr. Swann’s research focuses on opioid use disorder (OUD) policy, rural health systems, and interagency collaboration. His recent work includes studying the effects of state policy changes on access to treatment, barriers to collaboration in rural opioid response networks, and the expansion of treatment programs in rural jails.
Dr. Swann and UNO Ph.D. student Andrew Burk recently presented their co-authored research at the 2025 Midwest Political Science Association Conference. Their presentation examined how state laws prohibiting prior authorization requirements for OUD medications have diffused across the U.S.—a timely and policy-relevant analysis.
Dr. Swann also recently co-authored a publication in Health & Justice exploring the adoption of medications for OUD in Colorado jails. He is also a member of the Douglas County Overdose Fatality Review team, which examines individual drug overdose cases within Douglas County, with the aims of identifying opportunities for future interventions, improving local response efforts to drug overdose, and preventing future drug overdose mortality.
SPA congratulates Dr. Swann on this well-earned recognition and celebrates the continued success of his students and research team.
