Faculty member Carl Stenberg testified before a congressional task force on intergovernmental relations on May 17, 2018. The Speaker’s Task Force on Intergovernmental Affairs was created in May 2017 by House Speaker Paul Ryan and Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi to examine ways to restore the balance of power between the federal government and states, tribes, and local governments.

Stenberg is an expert on intergovernmental affairs, among other areas of public administration, and served as a staff member on the U.S. Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations (ACIR) for 16 years.

Stenberg is advising the Task Force on whether or not to reinstate U.S. ACIR and offered his “pracademic” opinion, including concerns around the absence of such institutions. He explores these themes in his new book, Intergovernmental Relations in Transition: Reflections and Directions. Laid out as a series of essays by scholars, thought leaders, and practitioners, this book assesses how a myriad of issues—ranging from health care to climate change to food safety—have markedly altered intergovernmental relations. In addition, contributors explore how these issues will shape the direction of the field moving forward.

This book is useful for students of intergovernmental relations as well as government officials involved in forming public policy. Stenberg edited the book alongside David K. Hamilton, retired professor at Texas Tech University.

Intergovernmental Relations in Transition: Reflections and Directions is available for purchase through Routledge Publishing.

Stenberg joined the School of Government in 2003. He served as director of the MPA program at the School of Government from 2006 to 2011, and is a James E. Holshouser Jr. Distinguished Professor of Public Administration and Government. He teaches local government courses to public officials and Master of Public Administration students. Stenberg holds a BA from Allegheny College and an MPA and a PhD from the State University of New York at Albany.

Faculty member Willow S. Jacobson analyzes the development of internal human resources policies in her latest publication, The Development of County HR Policies: The Perspectives of Counties in Two States. Alongside Kristina Lambright of Binghamton University, Jacobson conducted interviews with 40 county HR directors from New York and North Carolina.

In their findings, Jacobson and Lambright present the HR tactics found to be most and least popular among their interviewees in shaping the direction of office policymaking. The release of this publication helps provide much needed insight into how government HR professionals deploy strategies to develop internal HR policies for their workforces. The Development of County HR Policies: The Perspectives of Counties in Two States is available for download through SAGE Publications.

Jacobson joined the School of Government faculty in 2003. She teaches in the Master of Public Administration program and directs the LGFCU Fellows program, which she helped found in 2011. She also was an integral player in establishing the 2005 inaugural session of the Public Executive Leadership Academy. Her research interests include leadership, organizational theory and behavior, and Strategical Human Capital Management. Much of this research has been featured in Public Administration Review and Public Personnel Management. Jacobson earned a Master’s degree in Public Policy and Management from the University of Oregon and a PhD in Public Administration from Syracuse University.

UNC Master of Public Administration faculty member Kimberly Nelson has been selected to edit State and Local Government Review (SLGR), the premier journal of scholarship on state and local governance. Along with co-editor Eric S. Zeemering, the UGA School of Public and International Affairs Master of Public Administration Director, Nelson will curate the journal and develop its distinctive voice in the areas of state and local government politics, policy, and management.

With the help of an expanded and diversified editorial board, Zeemering and Nelson plan to develop a robust article submission process for the journal and increase the population of peer reviewers. They also plan to increase outreach to professional and academic associations.

For Nelson, this is an invaluable opportunity to further serve the journal’s mission by bridging the gap between practice and policy.

“I’m very excited to take on this role, because SLGR fills such an important niche in public administration and government scholarship,” said Nelson. “State and local governments are closest to the people and improving these governments can lead to meaningful differences in the people’s everyday lives. I look forward to helping connect research with practice in a way that’s rarely seen in academia.”

Historically, the pages of the journalilluminate the challenges faced by state and local policy makers and public managers. Now, as scholars think about the policy and management challenges stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic, the political polarization that strains policymaking at all levels of government, and ongoing pressure for innovation in our federal system, Dr. Zeemering hopes SLGR will be among the first journals they think of as a source for high-quality research.

“Particularly now, scholars need journals to operate efficiently and provide valuable feedback during the process of peer review,” said Zeemering. “We are dedicated to managing a professional and constructive peer review process. We believe authors, reviewers, and readers will be excited about the changes coming to the journal.”

As co-editors, Nelson and Zeemering will work in tandem toward this goal – strengthening a collaborative bond between their respective institutions.

“Eric and I will work as partners, restructuring the journal, promoting it, and determining the content,” she said. “We also see this as an opportunity to develop a partnership between two institutions that are leaders in state and local government education and scholarship.

Founded by the Carl Vinson Institute of Government of the University of Georgia, State and Local Government Review is the official journal of the Section on Intergovernmental Administration and Management (SIAM) of the American Society for Public Administration. Peer-reviewed and published quarterly, the Review welcomes manuscripts that focus on state and local governments and those that explore the intergovernmental dimensions of public sector activity. The journal includes general interest research articles, perspectives essays from leaders in state and local government, field notes (including traditional research notes and examples of innovation from practitioners), and response essays. As they move forward with their planned changes, Nelson and Zeemering will enhance the journal as a venue for dialogue among scholars and public service professionals in state and local government. 

State and Local Government Review is published by SAGE Journals.