Doctoral Alumni

Our DPA graduates have produced an impressive array of research. Below is the list of our completed Doctor of Public Administration dissertations since January 2024: 

  • Romeo Solano Roca, defended July 2026 – “Need-Supportive Digital Transformation in Public Administration: Technical Enablers, Managerial Support, Employee Engagement, Resistance.”
  • Becky Dragoo, defended May 2026, "Directed In-Service Training for Serious Nursing Home Deficiencies: A Neglected Remedy to Improve Quality of Care in CMS Region V Nursing Homes."
  • Jason Kosowski, defended May 2026, "Yesterday's Dump to Today's Solution: Solar Energy Development on Contaminated Lands to Advance Illinois's Renewable Energy Portfolio Standards.
  • Nina Perkins, defended May 2026, - “The Role of Public Organizations in Electrifying and Decarbonizing Low-Income Residential Buildings in the United States: Promoting Equity and Justice.” 
  • Isaac Amponsah, defended April 2026, "Treatment Completion and Relapse in Substance Use Disorder: Analyzing Patient, Medication, Condition, System, Socioeconomic, and Policy Predictors —The United States Experience."
  • Saud Alenazi, defended April 2026, "E-Government Transformation and Openness in Saudi Arabia: A New Public Management Perspective."
  • Nicha Pankaew Gerrard, defended December 2025, “A Case Study Analysis of the Impact of COVID – 19 Pandemic: Factors Affecting Student Mental Health in Illinois Public Universities.”
  • Jacob Brockhouse, defended April 2025. “Adverse Selection and Crop Insurance Participation: A County-Level Analysis of Farmer Participation on Illinois Corn and Soybean Crops.” 
  • Kevin Catlin, defended April 2025, “Exploring the Influence of Body-Worn Cameras on Police Officers' Behavior and Decision-Making: A Medium-Size Suburban Police Department Extraordinary Case Study.”
  • Tatenda Perry, defended April 2025, "Unveiling Inequities: Racial Disparities among Women Living with HIV and the Call for Healthcare and Social Justice Reform."
  • Julie Staley, defended March 2025, “Media Misinformation: How Journalists Respond to the Decline of Salience in Traditional Journalism in the Age of the Internet.”
  • James Arthur, defended January 2025, “Assessing the Impact of the HIPC Initiative on Public Sector Innovativeness in Recipient African Countries.”
  • Amy Wheeler, defended January 2025, “Giving Voice to Public Servants: Experiences of Child Protection Workers’ Repeat Exposure to High Stress Work on the Frontline.”
  • Allen Adomite, defended December 2024, “Local Determinants of Video Gaming Policy Diffusion in Illinois Municipalities.”
  • Robert Kerr, defended August 2024, “An Exploratory Analysis of Participants in the Illinois Angel Investment Tax Credit Program.”.”
  • Rebecca Dieken, defended November 2024, “Risky Relations: The Impact of Community on Traffic-Related Drug Consumption Among Serious and Fatal Crash Outcomes.”
  • Manuel Román-Basora, defended Spring 2024, “Revisiting the Category of U.S. Unincorporated Territory and the Applicability of Certain Federal Programs in Puerto Rico.”
  • Kathleen Jacoby, defended January 2024, “Impact of Job Satisfaction on Illinois Community College Police Officers.”
  • Scott Swinford, defended January 2024, “The Impact of Freedom on Recovery: A Study of How Personal Freedom Impacted a Nation’s Economic Recovery From the COVID-19 Pandemic.”