Ahn Makes Many Contributions to the Field of Public Administration

Assistant Professor Michael Ahn joined the Department of Public Policy and Public Affairs at the McCormack Graduate School of Policy and Global Studies in 2009. 

In service to the field of public administration, Ahn makes extensive contributions - especially through the local and national branches of the American Society for Public Administration (ASPA), the largest and most prominent professional association in this field.

At the state level, Ahn was voted as president-elect of the Massachusetts Chapter of American Society for Public Administration (MassASPA), a position he has held since July 2011. The MassASPA chapter is an organization of professionals employed in federal, state and local government, non-government organizations providing public interest services, and professors and students of public administration at local universities. In this role, he leads the educational programming, oversees the scholarship and awards competitions, manages the communications of the organization, facilitates planning for the annual meeting and social events, and expands partnerships with local universities and colleges. To showcase the academic offerings at the McCormack Graduate School of Policy and Global Studies, he coordinated the panel discussion "Emerging Issues Facing American Public Administration and Massachusetts" held at UMass Boston last semester.

In November, his peers in the field chose him as president-elect for the Northeast Conference on Public Administration (NECoPA) which incorporates various ASPA state chapters and academic and public institution members in the northeast region of the country. In that role, he will be coordinating the 2012 NECoPA conference to be held here at UMass Boston on November 2-3, 2012 with the sponsorship of the McCormack Graduate School. Along with his conference committee, he will be planning the myriad details of registration and event planning including selection of the keynote speaker and planning receptions, business meetings, some tourist activities, and dozens of panels and workshops.

Also, at the national level, Ahn has been elected as a committee member for the Section on Science and Technology in Government (SSTIG) for ASPA. This section assists interested public administrators in learning about the uses and limitations of science and technology in government. In addition, the section promotes awareness of programs involving science and technology to permit the results of these programs to be used to improve government performance. Ahn’s own areas of expertise include e-government and e-democracy.

Not only is Michael Ahn building his service portfolio to contribute to his tenure case, but he is effectively positioning the McCormack Graduate School and the University of Massachusetts Boston in the higher education marketplace in the fields of public affairs and public administration. 

Michael Ahn earned his PhD and MPA in public administration from Syracuse University. His research focuses on the effects of the new information and communication technologies (ICTs) on government performance, accountability, and political dynamics. He has conducted research on state and local e-government in the U.S., the effect of e-government on government transparency, and bureaucratic reform through innovative performance appraisal systems. Currently he is examining the role of rapidly emerging image-oriented web communication (such as YouTube) on the communication of public policy between citizens and the government. This year, his articles on e-government appeared on journals such as Public Administration Review, American Review of Public Administration, and Government Information Quarterly.

Learn more about the academic offerings in the Department of Public Policy and Public Affairs