Routes to Scholarly Success in Public Administration: Is There a Right Path?

• Date: 01 February 2004
• Author: Ora‐orn Poocharoen,Larry Schroeder,Rosemary O'Leary,Dale Jones
• Published date: 01 February 2004
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-6210.2004.00349.x

92 Public Administration Review •January/February 2004, Vol. 64, No. 1

Larry Schroeder

Rosemary O’Leary

Dale Jones

Ora-orn Poocharoen

Syracuse University

Routes to Scholarly Success in Public

Administration: Is There a Right Path?

The Successful Scholars Project examined the determinants of successful public administration

scholars. We surveyed the top 89 public administration scholars alive today (nominated by lead-

ers of five national organizations) and asked them to rank a set of characteristics and behaviors

that may have helped them achieve their success. We then analyzed the curricula vitae of 63 of the

scholars. This article reports our study’s findings and the recommendations of our successful schol-

ars. Scholars heralded good methodological training and quality mentoring as significant. For

research, choosing important, cutting-edge issues to write about, not following fads, being one-

self, and publishing quality works were touted as important. Presenting research at national con-

ferences also was highly recommended (while chairing committees and serving as discussants

were not). Most scholars recommended steering away from administrative positions and university

politics. We conclude with lessons for budding public administration scholars as well as lessons for

designing public administration doctoral programs.

In any intellectual discipline, scholars are the explorers

and developers of cognitive knowledge. Yet once fully im-

mersed in a discipline, one looks around and wonders, why

do some scholars flourish while others do not? Is it be-

cause they are so much smarter than the rest of us? Be-

cause they work harder? Because they tackle the big ques-

tions in the field? Because they graduated from a strong

PhD program? Because they know the right people? Or

because they are lucky? What makes a successful public

administration scholar successful? Just as important, what

do the scholars’ characteristics and behaviors suggest for

current PhD students hoping to become successful public

administration scholars?

These are the questions we set out to answer in our Suc-

cessful Scholars Project (SSP).1 The approach we took (see

the Research Design section of this article) was first to iden-

tify the successful living scholars in the field. Once we had

identified them, we attempted to answer the questions in

two ways. First, we asked the scholars, through a mailed

survey, to rank a set of characteristics and behaviors that

may have helped them achieve their status. Second, we re-

Larry Schroeder is a professor of public administration at the Maxwell School

of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University. He is a senior asso-

ciate in the Global Affairs Institute. His current research focuses on local

government finance, financial management, and intergovernmental fiscal

relations in developing countries. E-mail: ldschroe@maxwell.syr.edu.

Rosemary O’Leary is a professor of public administration at the Maxwell

School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University. She is the

director of the doctoral program in public administration at the Maxwell

School, and senior research associate at the Campbell Public Affairs Insti-

tute. Her research focuses on environmental policy, public management, and

law. Her latest book,

Managing for the Environment

(coauthored with Bob

Durant, Dan Fiorino, and Paul Weiland), won two national “Best Book”

awards. E-mail: roleary@maxwell.syr.edu.

Dale Jones is an associate professor of public administration at the Maxwell

School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University. Between 2000

and 2002, he served as director of the Government Performance Project and

director of the New Jersey Initiative, projects that assessed the management

capacity of state, county, city, and municipal governments. His research fo-

cuses on leadership and management, performance-based management,

and organization theory. E-mail: vdjones@maxwell.syr.edu.

Ora-orn Poocharoen is a doctoral candidate in the public administration

program at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse

University. Currently, she is a research associate at the Campbell Public Af-

fairs Institute. Her research interests are government reforms, comparative

public administration, and development theory. E-mail: opoochar@maxwell.

syr.edu.