Contact: Sarah Nicholas

STARKVILLE, Miss.—A faculty member in Mississippi State’s Department of Political Science and Public Administration is now the editor-in-chief of Public Integrity, an American Society of Public Administration scholarly journal.

Associate Professor Michael R. Potter now guides the direction of the journal, housed on MSU’s campus. Established in 1998, Public Integrity articles analyze ethical issues of importance to the public, such as government, business, criminal justice and environmental and human rights.

With ratification by the society’s national council this spring, ASPA President Paul Danczyk appointed Potter as editor-in-chief at the organization’s yearly meeting in Washington, D.C. His three-year term began July 1.

Potter said the journal’s focus on the academic study of public service ethics is very timely at all levels of government, and housing the journal at MSU will be a benefit to students and faculty members.

“For a lot of graduate students and junior faculty, academic publishing can be a mystery. Allowing them to better observe the function of a journal in our department helps them understand what editors and peer-reviewers are looking for in rigorous publications,” Potter said. “I hope to make the journal more accessible to junior faculty and broaden the academic understanding of ethics, while increasing the journal’s impact. Since journals are a rigorous exchange of ideas, I want to provide a place where good research is shared, even if it is a little different. That is how paradigms begin to shift.”

ASPA works to advance excellence in public service, connecting public administration scholarship and practitioners in the field, providing networking and professional development opportunities for public service employees and finding solutions to the challenges of governance.

“Dr. Potter is very well qualified for this position,” said P. Edward French, head of the PSPA department. “His work ethic and ability to work with students and other faculty make him an ideal editor.

“He will have the opportunity to read current research available for the field of public administration,” French said. “His access to new discourse will allow him to filter the most up-to-date information to his students and the rest of our faculty.”

A native of Waynesboro, Virginia, Potter received his Ph.D. in 2012 and master’s degree in 2005 from Virginia Tech. He earned a bachelor’s degree in 1998 from West Virginia University. Potter graduated from a French immersion program in 1998 from l'Université du Québec, in Chicoutimi, Québec.

Potter has authored a monograph with Lexington Books and has published articles in Administration & Society, Public Integrity, the International Journal of Public Administration, Global Virtue Ethics Review, and Public Administration Research. His research interests focus on ethics and regulatory policy.

U.S. News and World Report ranks MSU’s Department of Political Science and Public Administration in the top 75 best public affairs programs. Published bimonthly, Public Integrity is one of three top-ranked public administration journals under MSU leadership. French serves as associate editor of Public Administration Review, while Associate Professor Christine Rush serves as associate editor of Review of Public Personnel Administration. 

MSU’s College of Arts and Sciences includes more than 5,300 students, 300 full-time faculty members, nine doctoral programs and 25 academic majors offered in 14 departments. Complete details about the College of Arts and Sciences or the Department of Political Science and Public Administration can be found at www.cas.msstate.edu or www.pspa.msstate.edu.

MSU is Mississippi’s leading university, available online at www.msstate.edu.