Happy new year! I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday break and is excited about the Spring 2026 semester. Before I begin, I want to (again) congratulate our Fall 2025 MPA graduates: Candace Kaawaloa, Kevin Kaneshiro, and Seung Yang. They completed their Capstone project with the City and County of Honolulu titled, “Strategic Promotion of the of the Kōkua Command Center (KCC).” Seung Yang also earned a GCERT in Nonprofit Management. I am excited to see what they will achieve next!
As for PUBA faculty, they were productive in research and service. The following lists some of their publications from 2025:
- Jang, S., & Kagan, J. A. (2025). Banning protests at oil and gas sites: The influence of policy entrepreneurs and political pressure. Environmental Policy and Governance, 35(1), 172-184.
- Kagan, J. A., & Katz, J. (2025). Who’s responsible for environmental protection? An examination of U.S. federal district court cases. The American Review of Public Administration, 55(7-8), 581–592.
- Kagan, J. A., & Dodge, J. (2025). Centering third-sector organizations in the environmental crisis: A critical review and agenda for future research. Nonprofit Management and Leadership (OnlineFirst)
- Martin, E. G., Myderrizi, A., Kim, H., Schumacher, P., Jeong, S., Gift, T. L., … & Chesson, H. W. (2025). Disease intervention specialist-delivered interventions and other partner services for HIV and sexually transmitted infections: A systematic review. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 68(1), 182-203.
- Yu, H. H., & Yang, S. G. (2025). Does occupational type matter for female supervisors in federal law enforcement: Exploring the challenges that sworn vs. non-sworn face in the workplace. International Journal of Public Administration (OnlineFirst)
- Yu, H. H., & Alteri, A. M. (2025). Representation of invisible identities in the workplace: Faith, spirituality, or religious beliefs among female civil servants in federal law enforcement. Review of Public Personnel Administration (OnlineFirst)
- Yu, H. H. (2025). Women in state law enforcement: A 20-year review (2000-2020). Applied Police Briefings, 2(4), 9-11.
- Yu, H. H., & Viswanath, S. (2025). Work-family conflict in the federal workforce: How race and gender impacts elder-care responsibilities. Public Administration Quarterly, 49(3), 218-231.
Likewise, Dr. Helen H. Yu and Dr. Jennifer A. Kagan continue to serve as the Editor-in-Chief and Associate Editor respectively of Public Personnel Management and Public Administration Review, two of the premier journals in our field.
Finally, I am excited to report that PUBA has again been recognized as one of the world’s leading research institutions in public administration, ranking #76-100 in the world for 2025 in the Global Ranking of Academic Subjects (GRAS) compiled by the Shanghai Ranking Consultancy, up from #151-200 in 2024. The Shanghai Ranking Consultancy is considered one of the most comprehensive and objective assessments of university performance by discipline. GRAS recognizes institutions that consistently produce a high volume of influential, high-quality research and ranks hundreds of institutions in the subject of public administration. More specifically, the rankings are based on measures such as world-class faculty, world-class research output, high-quality research, research impact, and international collaboration.
In closing, I look forward to working with the PUBA faculty, staff, and students to ensure we maintain the highest standards in our MPA and GCERT programs. Mahalo!