School of Public Affairs and Administration highlights 2025-26 speaker lineup
LAWRENCE — The School of Public Affairs and Administration (SPAA) is spotlighting its 2025-26 speaker lineup, which features thought leaders addressing some of today’s most pressing issues in governance, policy, and public service. Two of the events, the fall and spring Ethan Allen Lectures, are part of the Future of Democratic Governance discussion series hosted by the Center for Democratic Governance (CDG). The CDG was created by SPAA’s Edwin O. Stene Distinguished Professor, Christopher Koliba, and is part of KU’s Institute for Social & Policy Research.
All are welcome to attend these lectures. These annual speaker events are funded by the Ethan Allen and Ed Stene lecture series.
Fall Ethan Allen Lecture: Pamela Herd (event recording available)
Administrative Burden as a Mechanism of Inequality in Policy Implementation
Pamela Herd, the Carol Kakalec Kohn Professor of Social Policy at the University of Michigan, opened this year’s series on September 23. Herd’s lecture examined how administrative burdens—complex paperwork, confusing processes, and other hidden barriers—widen inequalities, hinder access to essential services, and reinforce systemic obstacles. She also shared solutions for reducing these burdens to promote equity, expand public access, and strengthen democratic governance.
Missed the event? Watch the full lecture here.
Upcoming featured speakers
Return to the Roost: Edmund C. Stazyk | Register here!
Navigating turbulent waters: how political opposition conditions the motivating potential of performance information and goals
10 a.m. | Tuesday, November 18th | Centennial Room Kansas Union
Edmund C. Stazyk, Ph.D., Professor in the Department of Public Administration and Policy at the University at Albany, SUNY, returns to KU—where he earned his Ph.D.—for this year’s Return to the Roost lecture. Stazyk’s research explores public management, organizational behavior, and public service motivation, with a focus on how workplace dynamics shape performance and employee well-being in public organizations.
This lecture will explore how political and partisan conflict affects the ability of public managers to use performance information to revise organizational goals. Drawing on survey data from employee respondents across 24 federal executive agencies, Stazyk will share how political opposition diminishes the connection between availability of performance information and how agencies revise program goals —ultimately impacting managers’ ability to recognize high-performing employees.
Spring Ethan Allen Lecture: Mirya Holman
The Power of the Badge: Sheriffs and Inequality in the United States
Time TBD | Wednesday, March 11th | Kansas Union
Mirya Holman, Professor of public policy at the University of Houston’s Hobby School of Public Affairs, will present The Power of the Badge: Sheriffs and Inequality in the United States. This talk will explore the unique role sheriffs play in American politics and how their authority intersects with issues of inequality and justice. Holman is a leading scholar of women and local politics whose work examines how gender, race, and power intersect in shaping governance. Her research has appeared in top academic journals and outlets including NPR, The New Yorker, and The New York Times. Registration for this event will be available spring 2026.
The School of Public Affairs and Administration educates exceptional leaders for public service who provide solutions to the most pressing community challenges at all levels of governance. With roots in local government management and urban policy, we advance the public good, democratic values, and ethical public management practices.