SPAA Board of Governors Distinguished Professor Norma Riccucci Wins John Gaus Award and Lectureship – a Lifetime Achievement Award for Exemplary Scholarship

On Aug. 29, 2018, Board of Governors Distinguished Professor Norma Riccucci received the 2018 John Gaus Award and Lectureship at the American Political Science Association Annual Meeting in Boston. The award is the highest honor in public administration given by APSA and is awarded to scholars with a lifetime of scholarship in both the public administration and political science fields.

“She’s contributed to public administration scholarship on a range of subjects, especially on representative bureaucracy and diversity in public administration,” said Manuel Teodoro, chair of APSA’s Public Administration Section, in his award introduction of Riccucci. “As one of her nominators states, ‘It is difficult to think of any other public administration-political science scholar who has contributed more to our understanding of affirmative action and diversity management in government employment than Professor Riccucci.’”

Gaus honorees receive a $2,000 prize and deliver a lecture at the APSA Annual Meeting. Riccucci delivered her lecture on Aug. 31, 2018. The lecture, “On Our Journey to Achieving Social Equity: The Hits and Misses,” addressed the importance of social equity to the fields of public administration and political science. She argued that while some progress has been made, society still has a long way to go, as indicated by the Black Lives Matter, Time’s Up and #MeToo movements, NFL protests, and the continued use of arbitration clauses and the push for inclusion riders. Riccucci’s remarks will be printed in PS: Political Science and Politics, a prominent political science journal.

Riccucci’s award recognizes a career in which she has published extensively in the areas of public management, affirmative action, human resources and public sector labor relations. As a leading public administration scholar, she has been invited to speak at conferences all over the world, including in Sienna, Milano, Madrid, Leuven, Paris, Warsaw, Prague, and Hong Kong.