The Reubin O’D. Askew School of Public Administration and Policy is a pillar of the College of Social Sciences and Public Policy (COSSPP) at Florida State University. Florida State was one of the earliest institutions in the country to teach public administration, beginning in the 1930s when the university was named the Florida State College for Women (FSCW).
At the end of World War II, as FSCW became coeducational to accommodate several thousand returning veterans, FSCW President Doak Campbell created five new departments to house professional programs. The Department of Public Administration was one of them, and in 1947 when Florida State University was established, the Department became an independent professional school: the School of Public Administration.
In 1959, in an effort to prioritize liberal arts studies over professional education tracks, FSU President Robert Strozier combined public administration with political science in the Department of Government, eliminating the School of Public Administration. While the public administration master’s program began with the school’s founding in 1947, few students were enrolled in the program during the School of Public Administration’s absence.
In the early 1970s, Augustus B. ‘Gus’ Turnbull, Ph.D., joined the public administration faculty and led an effort to demonstrate the need for further resources for the graduate program. The small public administration faculty, containing only four members, began teaching night classes to accommodate working students, which quickly filled up. In response to the demand for more courses in the field, the university established the Department of Public Administration within the College of Social Sciences in 1976.
In 1990, it was recommended that the department be designated a professional school. As a result, the department was renamed the School of Public Administration and Policy, and in 1994, the faculty voted unanimously to name it after its most distinguished graduate – Governor Reubin O’Donnavon Askew.
During his time as an undergraduate student at Florida State, Reubin Askew was elected as president of student government. He graduated in 1951 with a B.S. in Public Administration and entered the U.S. Airforce as a military intelligence officer during the Korean War. He had previously served in the U.S. Army as a paratrooper before attending Florida State.
In 1956, Askew earned his law degree from the University of Florida, and it wasn’t long before he was elected to the Florida House of Representatives in 1958. Two terms later, Askew was elected to the state senate in 1962, where he served as president pro tempore before resigning to run for governor in 1970. In 1974, he became the first governor in Florida history elected to a second consecutive four-year term.
As governor, Askew fundamentally changed Florida’s Constitution and governmental processes. He led successful efforts to create more balance in the state’s tax structure, bring greater transparency through some of the first Sunshine laws in any state, modernize Florida’s antiquated court system, and establish a framework for managing growth and environmental protection. He was also one of the first U.S. governors to promote civil rights. His actions in this arena included appointing the first Floridians of African ancestry to top positions in the Supreme Court and state agencies.
In 1995, Governor Askew joined the faculty of FSU’s Reubin O’D. Askew School of Public Administration and Policy and continued teaching as an active colleague until his passing in 2014. He worked to raise endowed funds to support the Askew Educational Endowment Fund and the Reubin O’D. Askew Eminent Scholar Chair in Florida Government and Politics. He was elected as a fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration, received honorary doctorates from fifteen universities, including FSU, and earned other significant awards, such as those he received from the governments of Israel and Japan.
Professor Emeritus and Former Askew Director William Earl Klay, Ph.D., gave remarks at the school’s 75th anniversary, and he explained, “…our faculty chose to put Governor Askew’s name on our school to help perpetuate his legacy … a legacy of enhancing the public’s trust in government through values like honesty, transparency, and inclusion.”
Today, the Askew School of Public Administration and Policy offers the Master of Public Administration (MPA) in Florida, which is one of the highest ranked in the Southeast. As of the 2023-2024 academic year, 356 FSU students are enrolled in programs at the undergraduate and graduate levels, and our program’s 2,321 graduates are making differences in their communities around the globe.
Undergraduate Minor and Certificates
The Askew School offers an undergraduate minor in public administration for students in all majors except political science, as undergraduate courses in public administration are applied directly to the political science major. The minor in public administration consists of four courses, and the school recognizes successful completion of the minor with an undergraduate certificate in public administration.
For students interested in emergency management, the school also offers undergraduate certificates in Emergency Management and Homeland Security, the Application of Unmanned Aircraft Systems, and U.S. National Intelligence Studies. Courses in emergency management are foundational for careers in emergency management and are useful for students entering careers in business, government, and non-profit organizations.
Combined Bachelors to MPA Pathways Program
The combined pathways program allows advanced, high-performing undergraduate students to take courses for graduate credit while still pursuing their bachelor’s degree. Students accepted into the Combined Bachelor’s/Master’s Pathway Program may take up to 12 credit hours of graduate courses in public administration. These credits count toward completing their bachelor’s degree and a Master of Public Administration upon admission to the MPA program.
Master’s Program and Graduate Certificates
For the past four decades, the Askew School’s Master of Public Administration program has been the top-ranked program in Florida and in the top 10 among more than 270 programs in the nation in research productivity. The school’s faculty includes former practitioners, many of whom have won teaching awards and serve as members of the prestigious National Academy of Public Administration. The current co-directors of the MPA program are Portia Campos, Ph.D., and Danielle Atkins, Ph.D.
MPA students are highly diverse and include those who come directly from undergraduate studies (pre-service students) and those with previous work experience (in-service students). The program expanded in 2020 with the creation of an online MPA track, allowing connection with students worldwide and the continuation of instruction and inspiration for new generations despite barriers of travel and housing. The program requires a total of 42 credit hours, which are rounded off by the completion of an applied research Capstone project.
Students in the MPA program can further specialize in their degree through numerous graduate certificate opportunities. Graduate certificates include General Public Administration, Florida City and County Management, Financial Management, Civic and Nonprofit Leadership, Emergency Management and Homeland Security, Application of Unmanned Aircraft Systems and U.S. National Intelligence Studies. Both degree and non-degree seeking students can enroll in certificates, and each requires 12-18 hours of coursework in the certificate area.
Joint Graduate Pathways
Joint graduate pathways provide qualified master’s students with an opportunity to earn two master’s degrees or master’s/professional degrees from two academic degree programs. Joint graduate pathways share academic content that allows a student to expand their breadth of knowledge and content expertise to include additional domains not covered in a single degree.
Applicants must complete an application with the Office of Graduate Admissions and be admitted to each academic program separately, meeting all of the admission requirements for the program, such as applicable entrance exams (e.g., GRE, GMAT, LSAT). Students completing joint degrees receive two diplomas, one for each degree.
Doctoral Program
The Public Administration Ph.D. program prepares individuals for roles in academic and applied settings where research competencies are regularly employed. The Ph.D. sequence is designed to develop competencies appropriate to each student’s career objectives. The Askew School faculty believes that students should be exposed to a common body of knowledge in methods, allowing for considerable individual choice. Students are encouraged to develop competency in a wide range of methodological approaches, including qualitative and quantitative tools. The Ph.D. program director during the 2023-2024 academic year was David Berlan, Ph.D., who was succeeded in the role by Danny Fay, Ph.D. in June 2024.
Research and Affiliated Centers and Institutes
FSU’s Emergency Management and Homeland Security (EMHS) program is housed within the Askew School and has been offering emergency management courses since 1996. The program also operates an applied research arm, the Center for Disaster Risk Policy (CDRP). Both EMHS and CDRP are currently directed by David Merrick.
The EMHS program welcomes cross-discipline and non-degree seeking students. Classes cover a range of topics from the core principles of emergency management to related areas in public health and terrorism studies. The program also facilitates internships for undergraduate and graduate students, offering guidance and utilizing its close working relationships with local, state, and federal agencies to help students go beyond the classroom.
The CDRP focuses on translating cutting-edge ideas and policies into practical products and projects for local, state, and federal entities. The center has built statewide bioterrorism exercises, facilitated plan development, worked in emergency operations centers, and more, creating real-world experiences for its students. The center offers training and exercises for organizations, disaster intelligence for crises, and an Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) team for deployment during disasters.
The Florida Center for Public Management is a nationally recognized Certified Public Manager (CPM) program. The program is designed for public managers and supervisors, and its students often complete it in 18-24 months. The first half of the course focuses on the fundamentals of leadership and management, with an emphasis on improving people skills, team leadership, and organizational effectiveness. The second half is designed to improve managers’ understanding of complex organizations, large systems, and policy formation. The center is directed by Linda Jimenez-Lopez, who first began teaching CPM in 2015.
The Sustainability and Governance Lab is an interdisciplinary research hub investigating the planning, adoption, implementation, and effectiveness of policies and programs promoting sustainable development. The lab has several ongoing research programs on topics ranging from climate change and disaster resilience to smart cities and digital governance. The research has been funded by entities such as the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Department of Energy. Tian Tang, Ph.D., and Xue Gao, Ph.D., currently co-direct the lab.
The Social Justice and Innovation Lab provides a physical and virtual space for researchers to examine policies and help make society more just and equitable for all. The lab focuses on four components of social justice: human rights, access, participation, and equity. It is currently directed by Danny Fay, Ph.D.
The department’s faculty teach in various interdisciplinary programs at FSU, including COSSPP’s public health and EMHS programs, to enhance cross-discipline research and engage in community outreach.
The Askew School is also home to the Joe Cresse Ethics in Government Lecture Series, which provides the FSU community with an educational platform and encourages students, faculty and the general public to strive for the highest standards of public policy.
In 2023, ShanghaiRanking recognized the Askew School faculty for their outstanding research, ranking our faculty 6th globally and 2nd nationwide for our exceptionally high productivity in leading academic journals.
Distinguished Faculty
The Director of the Askew School, Keon-Hyung Lee, Ph.D., is the current Arnold L. and Priscilla Moss Greenfield Eminent Scholar Chair in Public Debt Management. Dr. Lee specializes in health policy, performance management, and health finance and has taught master’s and doctoral courses in public administration and public health at FSU since 2007.
Beginning in Fall 2024, Hongtao Yi, Ph.D., will assume the position of Reubin O’D. Askew Eminent Scholar Chair in Florida Government and Politics. Dr. Yi’s research primarily focuses on the intersection of public administration, public policy, and energy and environment, with a research focus on the role of networks as a governance mechanism. Dr. Yi also serves as editor of Public Administration Review, the premier journal in the field.
The Askew School has four professor emeriti who continue to uphold its legacy: Professor Fran Berry, Ph.D., who recently retired after 34 years of service at Florida State University, James Bowman, Ph.D., Lance DeHaven-Smith, Ph.D., and Earle Klay, Ph.D.
For more information about the school’s current programs and activities, visit coss.fsu.edu/askew. For more information about our college’s history as we celebrate our 50th Anniversary, visit coss.fsu.edu/50th.