The Midwest Political Science Association has established a new annual award recognizing outstanding scholarship in politics, public administration, and public policy in honor of Kenneth J. Meier, Distinguished Professor and Director of the Project for Equity, Representation & Governance at Texas A&M University. The inaugural award will recognize the best paper in bureaucratic politics, public administration, or public policy presented at the 2015 MPSA conference and is scheduled to be presented at MPSA’s 74th annual conference in April 2016 at the Palmer House in Chicago.
In addition to serving as the Charles H. Gregory Chair in Liberal Arts at Texas A&M University, Meier also directs the Project for Equity, Representation, and Governance, the Texas Educational Excellence Project, and the Carlos Cantu Hispanic Education and Opportunity Endowment and holds a joint appointment as a professor of public management at the Cardiff University School of Business (Wales). Meier is considered a leading authority in two areas of research – the role of public organizations in public policy and race and politics.
Among Meier’s career achievement awards are the H. George Frederickson Award, the C. Dwight Waldo Award, the John Gaus Award, the Charles Levine Award, and the Association of Former Students Award for Research. He is a member of the National Academy of Public Administration and has been an Advanced Institute of Management Fellow (United Kingdom), a Research Fellow of the Danish Institute for Social Research, and a Big XII Faculty Fellow. Meier has served as president of the Public Management Research Association, the Midwest Political Science Association, and the Southwest Political Science Association. He is also a former editor of the American Journal of Political Science and is currently the editor-in-chief of the Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory.
Perhaps more important than his scholarship, Ken Meier has influenced countless members of the discipline and continues to mentor graduate and undergraduate students while maintaining a highly productive research agenda. He has served as a chair or member on over 60 dissertation committees and over 30 MA committees. The award, proposed and initially funded by Meier’s current and former students in the Department of Political Science at Texas A&M, was first announced at this year’s “Meierpalooza”, an annual celebration held during the MPSA conference.
Individuals serving as Chairs and Discussants at the 2015 MPSA conference may nominate outstanding papers in politics, public administration, and public policy for the Kenneth J. Meier Award at http://www.MPSAnet.org/Awards. Donations may be made to the Kenneth J. Meier Award fund online at https://www.mpsanet.org/about/donate-now/.
On Sept. 1, 2022, the Department of Political Science became part of the Bush School of Government & Public Service.
