On Monday, April 7, a retirement party was held for Dr. Pat Shields, a Regents’ Professor in the Department of Political Science. Around 40 faculty, staff, and students attended to celebrate Dr. Shields’ contributions to the department and university over her 47 years of service. The party included speeches and refreshments, including cake.
Dr. Shields received a PhD in Public Administration in 1977 from Ohio State University. She joined the faculty of the department’s Master of Public Administration program in 1978. She is a Fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration. She was awarded the rank of University Distinguished Professor in 2020 and Regents’ Professor in 2021.
Dr. Shields served as the Director of the Master of Public Administration Program for 18 years and during that time served on the accrediting body for public administration programs and on the council of the National Association of Public Affairs and Administration.
She has been published widely in areas such as civil-military relations, peace studies, military recruitment, pragmatism and public administration, women in public policy, research methods and public finance. She won the Presidential Seminar Award for research (the university’s highest award for scholarship) in 1984. Since 2001, she has edited Armed Forces & Society, a leading journal in military studies. She received a career achievement award from the Inter-University Seminar on Armed Forces & Society in 2017.
