Aaron Wachhaus

Biography

Aaron Wachhaus specializes in governance theory, anarchism, and the theory and practice of social networks in public administration. Wachhaus joined UB in 2014 after five years on the faculty of Penn State Harrisburg where he taught in the M.P.A. and political science programs and served as the M.P.A. program and internship coordinator. He believes that it is essential for students to engage directly with government and to apply the lessons of the classroom in their community, city, and profession. He challenges students to use local, community examples of governance models as guides for applying public administration and public policy theories, and to integrate public/private sector engagement into their discussion, research and practice. Wachhaus enjoys an active role in supervising doctoral candidates and mentoring students. Wachhaus has published on topics as diverse as anarchism as a model for governance, municipal dissolution policy, natural disaster network mapping, and the role of sacrifice as a core civic value. His work has appeared in Public Administration Review, Administration & Society, Administrative Theory & Praxis, among other outlets. He is currently engaged in a multi-year longitudinal study of collaborative healthcare networks throughout Maryland. Its aim is to conduct initial mapping of 12 networks, make recommendations for increasing collaboration and effectiveness throughout the networks and assess resultant changes. Wachhaus is President of the Southern Public Administration Education Foundation (SPAEF). Since 2006 he has served as the editor of Public Administration Quarterly. He has consulted with a number of nonprofit and community organizations in the Baltimore area. He has served as an external program reviewer, and serves as a manuscript and book reviewer for a number of journals and publishing houses.

Research Interest

Public administration Administrative Theory