On Friday, August 14th 2020, the Texas State University System’s Board of Regents announced their 2020 Regents’ Award Winners. Political Science’s own Dr. Patricia Shields was one of only three faculty members across the state to be named a “Regents’ Professor”, the highest honor awarded by the system. It recognizes Dr. Shields’ “excellence and exemplary achievement in the areas of teaching, research and publication, and service.” “I am thrilled and humbled by this recognition,” Dr. Shields commented, “and I want to thank my family, students and friends in the Political Science Department and throughout the University for all their support and encouragement over the years,” she added.
During her years at Texas State, Dr. Shields has received many awards for excellence in teaching including Texas State’s Presidential Award for Excellence in Teaching and the Texas State Faculty Senate’s Everette Swinney Teaching Award. She directed the Masters of Public Administration Program for 17 years. Her publications include over 60 articles and book chapters on a wide range of subjects including civil-military relations, peace, history of women in public administration, application of pragmatism to public administration and research methods. She has also published four books, the most recent of which is Jane Addams: Progressive Pioneer of Peace, Philosophy, Sociology, Social Work and Public Administration. In 1984, she won the Texas State Presidential Seminar Research Award. In addition, she serves on the Editorial Board for Administration & Society and as a Contributing Editor to Parameters: Quarterly Journal of the US Army War College. Since 2001, she has served as Editor-in-Chief to Armed Forces and Society, the leading peer reviewed journal on civil-military relations.
In 2019, Dr. Shields was elected to the National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA), which was chartered by Congress to provide independent, nonpartisan and neutral advice to government leaders and agencies on all levels of government about emerging trends in governance and public administration. NAPA’s 850 peer-elected fellows include former cabinet officers, Members of Congress, governors, mayors, and state legislators, as well as prominent scholars, business executives, and public administrators. Election to the National Academy is one of the highest honors for those engaged in the study or practice of public administration. Dr. Shields is one of 29 fellows from Texas.
The Texas State University System, founded in 1911, consists of seven institutions educating more than 86,000 students. Member institutions include: Lamar University, Sam Houston State University, Sul Ross State University, Texas State University, Lamar Institute of Technology, Lamar State College Orange, and Lamar State College Port Arthur.
The Department of Political Science is extremely proud of Dr. Shields and her achievements.
