Abstract
Over half a century ago, Public Personnel Management was founded by (then) the International Public Management Association for Human Resources (IPMA-HR), recently renamed the Public Sector HR Association (PSHRA) in January 2023. The first-ever issue (Volume 1, Number 1) was published in August 1972, and IPMA-HR proceeded to publish articles, case studies, and commentaries for the next 42 years that expanded our knowledge of emerging trends in public personnel management. In 2012, Public Personnel Management was acquired by SAGE Publications, and the first issue after acquisition (Volume 42, Number 1) was published in March 2013. As the incoming and fourth Editor-in-Chief of Public Personnel Management under SAGE ownership, I humbly join an inspiring list of former and outgoing Editors-in-Chief (i.e., P. Edward French, Mississippi State University [2013–2015], Jared J. Llorens, Louisiana State University [2016–2018], and Heather Getha-Taylor, University of Kansas [2019–2023]) and thank Cassandra Garcia and the SAGE Publications team for entrusting me with this great honor. Grateful for this opportunity, I am fully committed to bridging the nexus between public administration practice and management research by providing a forum for the exchange of ideas between scholars and their respective practitioner communities.
As a “pracademic”—a scholar who is both a practitioner (current or former) and member of the academic community (Posner, 2009)—I bring a unique yet cooperating perspective to the theory and practice of public human resource management. My experience in the field of practice has trained my attention to focus on research outcomes that advance not only academic knowledge but also professional practice. To further bridge this gap, I will be introducing a “Practitioner Viewpoint” section in Public Personnel Management where members of the practitioner human resource community (e.g., Office of Personnel Management and other state, local, and international public human resource management offices), to include select practitioners in the field, are solicited for essays and case studies on evidence-based practices that transform the study and practice of public personnel management. In addition, these essays and case studies will highlight areas of accent that need attention or improvement.
I am also committed to expanding the journal’s scope and impact within the field of public human resource management. Given the current concerns and future challenges facing public managers today both in the United States and abroad, Public Personnel Management is well situated to promote research that both sheds light on enduring questions affecting the field of public human resource management, as well as cutting-edge and (at times) controversial developments. Likewise, as Public Personnel Management becomes more diversified and internationalized, I especially welcome papers from across the globe.
Finally, I would like to close my Editor’s introduction by extending my sincerest gratitude to the outgoing Editor-in-Chief Heather Getha-Taylor and her editorial team. She has been an invaluable resource (and friend) during my transition as the incoming Editor-in-Chief and will remain a member of the Editorial Board moving forward. The first two issues in 2024 will include those articles that were previously accepted under her Editorship. Next, I would like to acknowledge a few Editorial Board members for their past and future service. First, I would like to recognize the following departing members for their years of service to the journal: Casey Campbell (City of North Kansas City, Missouri), David H. Coursey (University of Texas at Arlington), and Russell G. Treadway (City of Sevierville, Tennessee). They were instrumental to the journal by reviewing manuscripts and providing feedback about current and future projects. Second, I welcome three new members to the Editorial Board.
David Lee is an associate professor of public administration at Ewha Womans University in Seoul, South Korea. He earned his Ph.D. from Indiana University Bloomington, and his research interests include cross-sector collaboration, strategic planning and performance management, and workplace fairness and equity in public organizations. Beth M. Rauhaus is a professor and chair of the Department of Political Science at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. Prior to her current position, she was the Master of Public Administration (MPA) program director at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi. Her research explores gender representation and issues of diversity and equity in the public sector. Finally, Shilpa Viswanath is an assistant professor of public administration at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, City University of New York. She earned her Ph.D. from Rutgers University-Newark, and her research focuses on gender equity in public sector human resource management and comparative public administration.
I am delighted these individuals have joined the team and look forward to working with them, as well as all the members of the Editorial Board in the coming years. They are the key to establishing and maintaining Public Personnel Management as a journal committed to preserving the high standards of academic rigor for intellectual and practical study. Last but not least, a special thank you is offered to Kelly Duong, who will be serving as my Editorial Assistant, and the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa for their institutional support of my Editorship and commitment to providing the necessary resources to effectively manage the journal. I look forward to serving the public human resource management community.