Cullen Merritt

Associate Professor of Public Management and Research Director of the Institute for Public Leadership, University of Maryland-College Park

Chapter Member: Maryland-Washington, D.C. SSN

Areas of Expertise:

Governance

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About Cullen

Merritt's research focuses on public management and organization theory. A central theme in Merritt's writings is how managers across industries can drive performance to achieve public impact. As Research Director of the Institute for Public Leadership, Merritt develops and leads initiatives to advance public leadership research at the University of Maryland, within the public administration discipline, and across the state of Maryland.

Contributions | No Jargon Podcast | Member Spotlight | In the News | Publications

Contributions

Against Service Shaming

Commentary, March 2025

In the News

Research discussed by Amelia Pak-Harvey, in "Indianapolis Councilors to Consider More than Doubling Their Base Salaries," The Indianapolis Star, April 29, 2022.

Research discussed by Inside INdiana Business, in "Study Shows Room for Improvement at Indy Council,", March 11, 2020.

Quoted by Jill Sheridan in "New Study Examines City-County Council," WFYI Indianapolis, March 11, 2020.

Quoted by Drew Daudelin in "New Study Looks at 'Effectiveness' of City-County Council. What Does That Mean?," WFYI Indianapolis, July 19, 2019.

Publications

"Representation through Lived Experience: Expanding Representative Bureaucracy Theory" (with Cullen Merritt, Morgan D. Farnworth, Sheila Suess Kennedy, Gordon Abner, and Breanca Merritt). Human Service Organizations: Management, Leadership & Governance 44, no. 5 (2020): 434-451.

Draws on the insights of managers in the behavioral health treatment system to explore the value of persons who bring lived experience to their organizational positions.

"Social Equity and COVID-19: The Case of African Americans" (with Cullen Merritt). Public Administration Review 80, no. 5 (2020): 820-826.

Shares early and preliminary lessons and strategies on how public administration scholars and practitioners can lead in crafting equitable responses to this global pandemic to uplift the African American community.

"Do Personnel with Lived Experience Cultivate Public Values? Insights and Lessons From Mental Healthcare Managers" Healthcare Management Forum 32, no. 3 (2019): 153-157.

Conducted semi-structured interviews with senior-level managers of mental health organizations to gain insight into the public values associated with employing persons with relevant lived experience in meaningful organizational roles.

"What Makes an Organization Public? Managers’ Perceptions in the Mental Health and Substance Abuse Treatment System" The American Review of Public Administration 49, no. 4 (2019): 411-424.

Explores the primary influences on an organization’s publicness—influences identified by analyzing data from in-depth interviews with senior-level managers of mental health and substance abuse treatment facilities.

"What Individual and Organizational Competencies Facilitate Effective Collaboration? Findings from a Collaborative Governance Simulation" (with Deirdre C. Kelley). Journal of Public Affairs Education 24, no. 1 (2018): 97–121.

Seeks to elicit insights on the individual and organizational competencies associated with effective collaboration.

"Considering the Effects of Time on Leadership Development: A Local Government Training Evaluation" (with Heather Getha-Taylor, Jacob Fowles, and Chris Silvia). Public Personnel Management 44, no. 3 (2015): 295-316.

Analyzes data from a local government leadership development program to examine training impacts over time.