The 2017 John Gaus Award Lecture: What If We Took Professionalism Seriously?

It is a distinct honor to be recognized for career achievements with the John Gaus Award. My choice of topic for this essay--professionalism in public administration--is a product of my experiences as Public Administration Review's editor. My topic also has roots in my graduate student days, when I first became concerned about what public administration represented and what that meant, not only for the field's identity, but for my own identity, too. My thesis: Public administration would be well served to pursue professionalism as a core theme because it is a central construct for understanding and acting in public administrative contexts. Although public administration has occasionally embraced professionalism, such efforts have failed to stimulate a critical mass of scholarly and practitioner activity. This essay presents the case for professionalism in three stages. First, I highlight literature that emphasizes professionalism as a means of establishing an identity for public administration, and I assess progress to date. Next, I offer some ideas for setting a course to make professionalism a robust feature of public administration. I conclude with a discussion of benefits that could accrue from pursuing these proposals.