Welcome to my page! I am an Associate Professor at the O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs at Indiana University Indianapolis. This webpage provides an overview of my work, including my curriculum vitae, publication records, and course syllabi. I also share additional resources of interest here. Feel free to contact me at sangheep@iu.edu or connect with me on Twitter and LinkedIn. Thank you for visiting!

My research lies at the intersection of public administration, public policy, and political science, focusing on how public organizations achieve their goals and impact people’s lives. My work spans three key areas:

1. Political-Administrative Relationships, Governance, and Collaboration

I study political–administrative relationships, public sector governance, and cross-sectoral collaboration. My dissertation examined political patronage in Korea, and my research since then has expanded to bureaucratic politics, organizational and structural reforms (including agency creation and termination), soft budget constraints, and the effects of board governance on public sector performance. More recently, my work has focused on how policy adoption and artificial intelligence shape public service delivery, citizen–government relationships, organizational performance, and policy outcomes.

I hold a PhD from Seoul National University, and my training outside the United States provides a built-in comparative perspective. Notable studies include Park (2021, PMR), which analyzed gendered leadership during COVID-19 and received the Kooiman Best Paper Award (Second Place). Additional publications include Park and Kim (2013, POR), Park and Cho (2014, PPMR), Park (2013, IPMJ), Park (2016, POR), Park (2019, PPMR), Park and Fowler (2021, IJTOB), Park (2021, JPS), as well as two major Korean-language contributions: Kim and Park (2010, 한국행정연구) and Park and Kim (2012, 한국행정학보). Vallett and Park (2023) examined the role of policy entrepreneurs in the adoption and diffusion of Erin’s Law on child abuse prevention.

2. Equity and Representation in Public Policy and Administration

I investigate minority issues and related concepts of diversity, representation, equity, justice, and inclusion. I am particularly drawn to the theory of representative bureaucracy, which illuminates enduring tensions between politics and administration, legislators and executives, and responsibility and efficiency, as well as the varied impacts these dynamics have on policy outcomes. My research examines how institutional efforts—such as affirmative action and quotas—shape demographic composition, organizational dynamics, and policy results (Park, REP, 2022; Park, WSIF, 2020). I also employ experimental designs to explore these questions (Park, 2021, PMR; Kim, Park, & Kwon; Park, Liang, & Xu; Stelbotsky & Park, 2024, PMR; Park & Stelbotsky). I study how intergovernmental representation influences policy outcomes (Park & Mwihambi, PAR, 2021; Park & Mwihambi, 2025, PPMR; Park, Shin, & Liang, 2025). Park and Mwihambi (2021), published in Public Administration Review, received the 2022 Rosemary O’Leary Award.

My interests extend beyond gender and race/ethnicity to other dimensions of identity, including sexuality, nationality, and disability status. Policy impacts are examined in various domains, including social welfare (Park, 2014, JPP), environmental policy (Liang, Park, & Zhao, 2020, PAR), law enforcement (Park & Mwihambi, 2025, PPMR), education (Simila & Park, 2024), transportation (Park, Shin, Liang, 2025), and immigration (Liang, Park, & Laurito, 2025). The contexts span various levels of governments: local (Park, 2014, JPP), state (Park and Vallett, 2024, PPA; Park, Shin, & Liang, 2025), international (Park, 2014, ARPA; Park, 2019, PPMR; Park, 2020, WSIP; Park and Mwihambi, 2021, PAR) and comparative perspectives (Park and Liang, 2019, PAR; Park, 2022, REP). 

3. Public Management and Administrative Performance

My third research stream examines how governments manage personnel, financial, and organizational resources across local, state, federal, and international levels. I analyze how public administrators’ incentives, capacity, and discretion influence resilience and performance. Park (2019, PMR) investigated staffing and cutbacks in county policing across California, Florida, and Texas, revealing that initial cost reductions can boost performance but eventually reach a threshold where further cuts degrade effectiveness. This project was supported by the Paul Volcker Junior Scholar Research Grant (APSA Public Administration Section, 2017). 

More recently, my coauthors and I explored how resource cutbacks—both in staffing and spending—affect organizational goals and outcomes. Park and Liang (2023, PAR) examine goal dynamics in environmental enforcement, highlighting effectiveness-equity tradeoffs. Liang, Park, & Li (2024, PMR) examined how bureaucratic representation moderates the effects of cutbacks on minority communities. More contributions include Park (2013, IPMJ), Park (2014, JPP), Park (2017, LGS), Park (2016, POR), Smith, Park, & Liu (2019, IJPA), Park & Liang (2019, PPM), Park & Jeon (2021, IJPA), and Kim & Park (2021, IJPA). 

Together, my three research streams overlap and reinforce one another. I am excited to continue bridging these areas using diverse theoretical frameworks and methodological approaches. 

A bit about myself: I received a PhD and an MPA from Seoul National University and a B.A. from Yonsei University in South Korea; I completed a postdoc at the University of Southern California with support from the National Research Foundation of Korea (2009-2013). On September 3, 2018, I received a kidney transplant after a 20-year battle against lupus. I am indebted to so many people - family, friends, colleagues, and mentors, near and far, including the anonymous donor. I will do my best to make my life meaningful to myself and others. During the pandemic, I adopted a baby grand piano and have been practicing it ever since as an adult learner and amateur player. I’m happy to share some of my playing here.