Suzanne Leland

Suzanne Leland

Professor, MPA Director
Political Science and Public Administration
704-687-5937
Fretwell 440B

Professor, Department of Political Science and Public Administration
Professor, Public Policy Doctoral Program

Faculty Website

Research Interests: Policy Process and Administration; Economy; Urban Development; Political Institutions and Public Policy; Transportation Policy; Gender and Race

Dr. Leland received her PhD (1999) in Public Administration, American Politics, and Public Policy from University of Kansas. She Directed the Gerald G. Fox Masters of Public Administration Program from 2012- 2016. Her research interests focus around state and local government service delivery. This includes special purpose governments, business improvement districts, contracting out, the selling of public assets, school choice and public-private partnerships all critical issues facing public administrators at the state and local level. Dr. Leland has also worked on select other sub-national projects with my colleagues involving transportation policy, succession planning for local governments/nonprofits, and studied state legislators career patterns.

Recent Publications:

  • Read, D. C., Leland, S., & Pope, J. (2020). Views from the field: Economic development practitioners’ perceptions about public-private real estate partnerships. Urban Affairs Review, 56(6), 1876-1900.
  • Rassel, G., Leland, S., Mohr, Z., & O’Sullivan, E. (2020). Research methods for public administrators. Routledge.
  • Maestas, C., Chattopadhyay, J., Leland, S., & Piatak, J. (2020). Fearing food: The influence of risk perceptions on public preferences for uniform and centralized risk regulation. Policy Studies Journal, 48(2), 447-468.
  • Leland, S., Mohr, Z., & Piatak, J. (2021). Accountability in government contracting arrangements: Experimental analysis of blame attribution across levels of government. The American Review of Public Administration, 51(4), 251-262.
  • Goodman, C., Leland, S., & Smirnova, O. (2021). The consequences of specialised governance on spending and expansion of public transit. Local Government Studies, 47(2), 296-311.
  • Leland, S., Chattopadhyay, J., Maestas, C., & Piatak, J. (2021). Policy venue preference and relative trust in government in federal systems. Governance, 34(2), 373-393.
  • Leland, S. M., Danis, C., Smith, S., & Boyer, R. H. (2022). The implementation of active transportation policies at the local level: Findings from a North Carolina survey. Public Works Management & Policy, 27(3), 315-332.
  • Leland, S. (2023). Teaching Graduate Students Democratic Values: How Do Current and Future Public Servants Think About Their Roles in a Democracy?. In Teaching Democratic Ideals to Public Affairs Students (pp. 76-87). Routledge.
  • Canales, K., Kropf, M., Leland, S., & Maestas, C. (2023). Revisiting the micro-foundations of the Tiebout theory of local expenditures: are private community amenities substitutes for local public services in residential choices?. Urban Affairs Review, 59(5), 1441-1469.
  • Leland, S. M. (2024). Kansas City/Wyandotte County, Kansas: Reforming Politics Through Reorganization: Consolidation in Wyandotte/Kansas City, Kansas. In Case studies of city-county consolidation: Reshaping the local government landscape (pp. 261-271). Routledge.
  • Goodman, C. B., & Leland, S. M. (2024). What lies beneath these creatures of the state: understanding the death of specialised governments in the US. Local Government Studies, 1-24.
  • Mohr, Z., McDonald, J., Piatak, J., & Leland, S. (2024). Is government escaping blame? the effect of contracting and victim attributes in a prisoner transportation experiment. Public Management Review, 26(11), 3082-3103.
  • Piatak, J. S., T. Mohr, Z., & Leland, S. M. (2024). Blame dynamics across the organizational hierarchy and sectors: How a staffing shortage and ownership shape blame for nursing homes in crisis. International Public Management Journal, 27(1), 18-37.
  • Leland, S., & Read, D. C. (2024). Public perceptions of for-profit and nonprofit affordable rental housing providers. Community Development, 1-13.
  • Leland, S., & Dougherty, G. W. (2025). Succession Planning for the Future of Intergovernmental Organizations in the United States. Urban Affairs Review, 10780874251359466.
  • Leland, S. M., Pinka, R., & Boyer, R. H. (2025). Who shares? Participation in the sharing economy in the US. Journal of Urban Affairs, 47(4), 1437-1462.
    Leland, S., Yusuf, J. E. W., & Smirnova, O. (2025) Public Managers’ Perceptions of Industry Shocks and Contracting During Times of Turbulence: Adapting or Staying the Course. Olga, Public Managers’ Perceptions of Industry Shocks and Contracting During Times of Turbulence: Adapting or Staying the Course.