Gund Affiliate, Professor, Edwin O. Stene Distinguished Professor of Public Administration, Policy and Governance, University of Kansas

Christopher Koliba is the Edwin O. Stene Distinguished Professor of Public Administration, Policy & Governance at the University of Kansas School of Public Affairs and Administration (SPAA). He possesses a Ph.D. from the Interdisciplinary Social Science Program an MPA from Syracuse University's Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, and a BS in Finance from the Whitman School of Business at Syracuse University.  Prior to joining the SPAA faculty in 2023, he served as Professor in the Community Development and Applied Economics Department at the University of Vermont where he served as the Director or Co-Director of the Master of Public Administration (MPA) Program for many years.  In 2020 he established UVM’s first Office of Engagement to serve as the “front door” to the university and incubator of community-university partnerships.  Chris has had substantial research administration leadership as well, serving as the Co-Founder and Co-Director of the Social Ecological Gaming and Simulation (SEGS) Lab, Associate Director of Vermont EPSCoR, and a fellow at the Gund Institute for Environment. He was elected as a Fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration in the fall of 2023.

Chris enjoys teaching courses pertaining to public policy and public affairs, public administration, organizational theory and behavior, sustainable and resilient communities, systems analysis and strategic management, and the intersection of science and society. He has advised and supported countless students completing their doctoral dissertations, master’s thesis, and undergraduate research thesis.

He is married, father to three children and one grandchild. He likes to paint, hike, paddle, meditate and listen to world music.

Research and/or Creative Works

  • Koliba, C. 2017-2019.  Science Leader. Risk Perception in Provision of Aquatic Ecosystem Services.  D.G. Webster, Principal Investigator. SESYNC NSF. $140,000.
  • Koliba, C. 2016 – 2021. Science Leader. Basin Resilience to Extreme Event. Judy Van Houten, Principal Investigator.  Experimental Program to Stimulate Research (EPSCoR). National Science Foundation. $20,000,000.
  • Koliba, C. 2015-2019. Co-Principal Investigator. A Human Behavioral Approach to Reducing the Impact of Livestock Pest or Disease Incursions of Socio-Economic Importance. Julie Smith, Principal Investigator. United States Department of Agriculture. $7,500,000.

Publications

  • Koliba, C., Meek, J. and Zia, A. 2018. Governance Networks Analysis in Public Administration and Public Policy. (Second Edition). Boca Raton, FL: Routledge Press.
  • Koliba, C., Gerrts, L., Rhodes, M-L., and Meek, J. 2016. Complexity Theory, Networks and Systems Analysis.  Torfing, J. and Ansell, C. (eds.) Governance Handbook.  New York: Springer.
  • Zia, A., Bomblies, A., Schroth, A., Koliba, C., Isles, P., Tsai, Y., Mohammed, I., Bucini, G., Clemins, P., Turnbull, S., Rogers, M., Hamed, A., Beckage, B, Winter, J., Adair, C., Galford, G., Rizzo, D., and Van Houten, J., 2016. Coupled Impacts of Climate and Land Use Change Across a River-Lake Continuum: Insights from an Integrated Assessment Model of Lake Champlain’s Missisiquoi Basin, 2000-2040. Environmental Research Letters.  11(11).
  • Koliba, C. Wiltshire, S., Scheinert, S. Turner, D., Zia, A., and Campbell, E. 2016. The Critical Role of Information Sharing to the Value Proposition of a Food Systems Network. Public Management Review. doi.org/10.1080/14719037.2016.1209235
  • Koliba, C., Zia, A., Schroth, A., Bomblies, A., Van Houten, J., Rizzo, D. 2016. Lake Champlain Basin as a Complex Adaptive System: Key Findings from the Research on Adaptation to Climate Change Project. Vermont Journal of Environmental Law. 17(4): 533-563.

Awards and Recognition

  • 2015 Fulbright Scholar. University of Colombo, Colombo, Sri Lanka.  US-SL Fulbright Scholar Program.
  • 2012 Marshall Dimock Award for Best Lead Article in the Public Administration Review. Accountability within Governance Networks: Lessons from Hurricane Katrina.

Associations and Affiliations

Associated Faculty, Vermont Complex Systems Center, 2011- present.

Treasurer, Complexity and Network Studies Section, American Association of Public Administration, 2011- present.

Areas of Expertise and/or Research

Environmental governance; network governance; social-ecological systems; critical infrastructures: food, energy, water, transportation, health; complex adaptive systems modeling: agent based, system dynamics; behavioral experiments and gaming; decision support tools, mediated modeling workshops

Education

  • PhD, Syracuse University
  • MPA, Syracuse University

CV

PDF icon ChrisKoliba_CV.pdf

Contact

Email:

ckoliba@ku.edu

Website(s):
  1. Profile
  2. University of Kansas