About Us

What is Public Administration and Nonprofit Management?

Public administration is the implementation of government policies and the management of public programs.  Public administrators are responsible for the organization and operation of government agencies, ensuring that our laws, policies, and programs are effectively administered to serve the public.  Public administrators work in institutions at the local, state, federal levels as well as supranational organizations.  Public administrators engage in policy implementation, public service delivery,  government accountability, intergovernmental relations, and public sector management.  

Closely tied to the work of government are nonprofit organizations, many of which deliver government services on the behalf of the public through government contracts and grants or meet the needs of the public that government can or does not in a wide range of areas from social services to the arts.  Nonprofit managers must be conversant in fundraising and resource development, program management, managing and recruiting volunteers and their staff, financial oversight, advocacy, and community engagement. At Buffalo State we train current and future managers through courses in budgeting, human resource management, strategic planning, leadership, research methods, data analysis, program evaluation, organizational structure, and policy analysis. 

History

SUNY Buffalo State University is the only public college or university in the Buffalo-Niagara region offering degrees, certificates, and minors in the field of public administration.  Our faculty and alumni led the effort to establish the Buffalo-Niagara Chapter of the American Association for Public Administration   (ASPA) (a commitment that continues to this day).  Further evidence of Buffalo State's commitment to state-of-the art education and nonprofit management was admission to the Network of Public Administration and Public Affairs (NASPAA) in 2011.  Much of the credit for the department’s early efforts in teaching public administration goes to Dr. Keith Henderson who was the first to teach undergraduate public administration courses at Buffalo State and oversaw the public administration minor for over 40 years until he passed away in an automobile accident in 2014.  Dr. Henderson's family endowed an annual scholarship for an MPA student in his name.

Our public administration faculty have been guided by our mission to serve the City of Buffalo, Western New York, the State of New York, and beyond by training civic and community-engaged leaders to start or enhance their careers as managers in the public and nonprofit sectors.  Our public administration alumni have served from the White House to village hall, from banking to industry,  from large, well-funded nonprofits to storefront neighborhood voluntary associations, and higher education.  

We nurture alumni-student interactions by inviting our alumni to campus to share their expertise with students and faculty, such as the City of Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown who co-created our NYS Government & Budget class (MPA); serving on our MPA advisory board;  serving as panel chairs and discussants in conferences; supervising undergraduate and graduate internships;  and, overseeing MPA project research at their government and nonprofit agencies.  New York State government has recognized our leadership in training public administrators by including our MPA in the Excelsior Service Fellowship Program, which has accepted a number of our MPA graduates for two-year, full-time fellowships in NYS government agencies and state authorities.

Our department is a member of NASPAA, the leading group supporting MPA education and the accreditation body for the MPA program.

Faculty Diversity

A balance of expertise, academic training, scholarship, teaching excellence, and community engagement

Our MPA Program Committee is comprised of six full-time faculty who hold the doctorate degree and one professor of practice who served for almost 20 years as mayor of the City of Buffalo. Our MPA faculty hold postgraduate degrees in business administration, economics, finance, leadership, political science, public administration, and social work.  We are accomplished scholars who publish our scholarship and present our findings at academic conferences.   We are also active in the public and nonprofit communities.  (See our faculty profiles.)  

MPA Advisory Board

The MPA Advisory Board is comprised of professionals in the field who ensure the MPA is meeting workforce needs in New York State and beyond.  

Department Organization 

Public administration programs are housed in the Economics, Finance, and Public Administration Department.  On August 1, 2025, a new merged department committed to state-of- the-art management training for the public, nonprofit, and private sectors  - Department of Business, Economics & Finance, and Public Administration - will be located in the School of Professions.  This merger will enable students and faculty to realize additional synergies in research, teaching, cohort work, course offerings, and community outreach and support.