Renee Dinsmore

Renee Dinsmore is a doctoral student and Chancellor’s Doctoral Fellow in the University of Kansas (KU) School of Public Affairs and Administration (SPAA). A lifelong jayhawk and Kansas resident, Renee earned her bachelor’s degree in public administration at KU. During that time, she worked as a research assistant on the Sociolegal Justice Project, analyzing explicit and implicit definitions of justice in flagship sociolegal journals. For this work, she received an Undergraduate Research Award and an Outstanding Presentation Award from the KU Center for Undergraduate Research.



Renee’s research interests center on linking public administration practice and population health outcomes.  Her research will explore the ways in which local governments can work with other levels of government and non-health sectors to reduce health disparities.  Using the “Culture of Health Action Framework”, she seeks to understand how collaborative efforts to enhance community development, criminal justice, and environmental policy and implementation can improve population health and well-being over time.



Renee participates in a nested mentoring model, advising undergraduate research assistants. She has shared her experience at Law & Society and KU’s Annual Teaching Summit. She received the 2014-15 SPAA Undergraduate Award and is a member of Pi Alpha Alpha Global Honors Society for Public Affairs & Administration.