BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - The O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs’ James Perry has been selected to receive the 2021 Keith Provan Award.
Perry, Distinguished Professor Emeritus, is expected to receive the award at the Academy of Management’s virtual conference this summer. The Keith Provan Award recognizes individuals with distinguished contributions to the field of public administration that “integrate diverse research perspectives, offer theoretical empirical contributions, and have made a unique and identifiable contribution to knowledge in public administration research.”
The award was established in 2015 and is presented annually by the Academy of Management’s Public and Nonprofit Division. Perry served as the Division’s chair in 1983-84 during its formative years.
Perry, whose Managing Organizations to Sustain Passion for Public Service was recently published by Cambridge University Press, was cited by the award committee for his wide-ranging influence in the field of public administration.
“Dr. Perry is perhaps best known for his groundbreaking work on public service motivation, but his contribution has been much broader than this, reflecting a curiosity and drive to examine topics that matter,” the committee wrote. “Looking back at his work across the years with scholars from several nations, the influence of different disciplines and contexts shines through in his work.”
The committee was chaired by Prof. Janine O’Flynn at the University of Melbourne (Australia), and included Prof. Julia Carboni (Syracuse University), Yijia Jing (Fudan University, China), Ines Mergel (University of Konstanz, Germany), Donald Moynihan (Georgetown University), Rosemary O’Leary (University of Kansas), and Pablo Sanabria-Pulido (Universidad de los Andes, Colombia.)
Perry’s tenure as editor of Public Administration Review also drew strong praise from the committee, where he helped “shape the field and championed a diversity of scholars.”
O’Neill School Dean Siân Mooney congratulated Perry on his achievements.
“Dr. Perry has been an extraordinary contributor to the fields of public administration and public organization management for decades,” she said, “And he continues producing timely and influential work that resonates across the globe. We’re incredibly proud he’s being recognized by the prestigious Academy of Management.”
Perry's 40 years of scholarship includes expertise in public management, public organizational behavior, government and civil service reform, national and community service, public service motivation, and performance-related pay. He has held faculty appointments at Yonsei University, University of California, Irvine, The University of Hong Kong, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven and University of Wisconsin, Madison.
He joined the O’Neill School in 1985.
About the O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs
The O’Neill School is a world leader in public and environmental affairs and is the largest school of public administration and public policy in the United States. In the 2022 "Best Graduate Public Affairs Programs" by U.S. News & World Report, the O'Neill School is one of the top-ranked programs in the country. Five of its specialty programs are ranked in the top-five listings, including top-ranked concentrations in environmental policy and management; nonprofit management; and public finance.