Bob Blankenberger is a Professor in the School of Public Management and Policy. He has been a faculty member at UIS since 2012. He received his Ph.D. in Public Policy Analysis and Administration from St. Louis University. He was awarded the University's Pearson Faculty Award for Outstanding Teaching in 2023. He served as Interim Associate Vice Chancellor for Undergraduate Education at UIS during the 2016-18 academic years and as chair of the Public Administration Department from August 2015-2020. His most recent position before joining UIS was Deputy Director of Academic Affairs and Student Success at the Illinois Board of Higher Education. Previous to his work at IBHE, he served in a variety of faculty and administrative roles at Springfield College in Illinois - Benedictine University. He has been a member of the American Review of Public Administration editorial board since 2021 and the Community College Journal of Research and Practice editorial board since 2023.
Teaching
Dr. Blankenberger has taught several courses at UIS including among others PAD 653 Public Policy Seminar, PAD 658 Advanced Public Policy Seminar, PAD 659 Dissertation Proposal Seminar, PAD 571 Capstone in Public Administration, PAD 501 Introduction to the Profession, PAD 506 Public Policy for Managers, PAD 534 Program Implementation, PAD 441 Contemporary Issues in Policy, PAD 470. Research Methods and Management, and PAD 471 Public Administration Senior Capstone.
Google Scholar profile - https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=D3xDxwcAAAAJ
ORCID profile - https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5025-4880
Research Gate profile - https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Bob-Blankenberger
Research interests: education policy, evaluation, and educational attainment
Recent Publications
Williams, A., Slagle, D. R., Blankenberger, R. J., Slagle, B. M., & Wuerzer, T. (2025). Comparing cisgender and trans-spectrum postsecondary student alcohol and substance use: Results from the Arkansas Collegiate Substance Use Assessment. American Journal of Health Promotion, 39(4), 658-663. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/08901171241307423
Juma¿h, A. H., Boumediene, S., & Blankenberger, B. (2025, online ahead of print). Progressing student learning in auditing analytics: the impact of continuous feedback on learning outcomes. Journal of International Education in Business. https://doi.org/10.1108/JIEB-09-2024-0116
Sprong, M.E., Hollender, H., Blankenberger, B., Rumrill, S., Lee, Y.S., Bland, T., Bailey, J., Weber, K., Gilbert, J., Kriz, K., Buono, F.D. (2024). The road to reintegration: Evaluating the effectiveness of VA healthcare in vocational rehabilitation and employment retention for Veterans with mental health and substance use disorders. Substance Abuse Rehabilitation, 15,107-123.
https://doi.org/10.2147/SAR.S462882
Blankenberger, B., Kerr, R., & Dooley, T. (2024). Competency Based Education pilot in Illinois: Preliminary findings. Educational Policy, 38(5), 1229 ¿ 1256. https://doi.org/10.1177/08959048231198819
Sprong, M. E., Blankenberger, B., Pierce, S. M., & Hollender, H. (2024). The COVID-19 pandemic¿s influence on employment outcomes of veterans enrolled in VA healthcare vocational rehabilitation. Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation, 60(3), 379-388. https://doi.org/10.3233/JVR-230065.
Gehlhausen Anderson, S. & Blankenberger, B. (2023, joint first authorship). Validation and living learning communities: An evaluation case study. Journal of College Student Retention: Research, Theory & Practice, 25(1), 76-100. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F1521025120970934
Abaidoo, K. & Blankenberger, B. (2022). Lean and public organization performance: The Wisconsin Lean Government Initiative at the Wisconsin Department of Health Services. Public Performance & Management Review, 45(3), 706-736. https://doi.org/10.1080/15309576.2022.2040038
Slagle, D., Blankenberger, B., & Williams, A. (2022, joint first authorship). Are online doctoral program graduates viewed as hireable for academic positions? The case of public affairs programs. The Journal of Continuing Higher Education 70(1), 21-41. https://doi.org/10.1080/07377363.2020.1859349
Blankenberger, B., Gehlhausen Anderson, S., & Lichtenberger, E. (2021). Improving institutional evaluation methods: Comparing evaluations using PSM, Exact and Coarsened Exact Matching. Research in Higher Education, 62(8), 1248-1275. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11162-021-09632-0
Blankenberger, B. & Williams, A. (2020). COVID and the impact on higher education: The essential role of integrity and accountability. Administrative Theory & Praxis, 42(3), 404-423. https://doi.org/10.1080/10841806.2020.1771907
Blankenberger, B. (2020). Higher education policy environment and accountability. In D. Slagle & A. Williams (Eds.), Practicum in Public Administration (pp. 11-43). Birkdale Publishers.
Blankenberger, B., McChesney, K. Y., Schnebly, S. M., Moranski, K. R., & Dell, H. (2017, published Sept. 2018). Measuring racial bias and general education assessment. The Journal of General Education, 66(1), 42-59. https://doi.org/10.5325/jgeneeduc.66.1-2.0042
Blankenberger, B., Lichtenberger, E., & Witt, M. A. (2017). Dual credit participation, college selectivity, and enhanced degree attainment. Educational Researcher 46(5), 259-263. https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X17718796
Bland, T. & Blankenberger, B. (2017). Collaboration challenges and the construction of complex data systems: Lessons from the development of the Illinois Longitudinal Data System. Public Administration Quarterly, 41(4), 695-740. https://www.jstor.org/stable/26420257
Blankenberger, B., Lichtenberger, E., Witt, M. A., & Franklin, D. (2017). Diverse students, high school factors, and completion agenda goals: An analysis of the Illinois class of 2003. Education and Urban Society 49(5), 518-545. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0013124516644047
Blankenberger, B., & Phillips, A. (2016). Implementation of performance funding in Illinois higher education: The roles of the completion agenda, budget environment, and interest group dynamics in the process. Educational Policy, 30(6), 884-915. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0895904814556748
Franklin, D., & Blankenberger, B. (2016). Program evaluation of community college learning assistance centers: What do LAC directors think? Community College Review, 44(1), 3-25. https://doi.org/10.1177/0091552115609998