Expertise

• Government reform and transparency
• Military policy issues and social/governing impacts
• Organizational theory and behavior

Education

B.S., Public Administration, University of Arizona
M.S.W., Social Work, Arizona State University
Ph.D., Public Policy and Administration, Virginia Commonwealth University

Accomplishments

Richard Huff is an Associate Professor in the Master of Public Administration (MPA) Program.  He served as Chair of the MPA Program from 2015 –2018, and the Director of Graduate Studies from 2010 –2015 for the L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs.  He attended Cochise Junior College in Douglas, Arizona, then transferred receiving his BS from the University of Arizona and MSW from Arizona State University.  Following a 26-year career with the federal government he earned a Ph.D. in Public Policy and Administration from VCU. He currently teaches courses in the MPA and PhD programs. He was awarded the Wilder School 2021 Excellence in Teaching Award, and best article of the year (2011) Journal of Comparative Policy Analysis (JCPA) (Vol.13) by the International Comparative Policy Analysis (ICPA) Forum. Dr. Huff was invited to serve as an external advisor for the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) from 2010 to 2012 to develop their Open Government Plan. Most recently, he received a Certificate in Applied Psychoanalytic Theory, International Society of Applied Psychoanalysis, Montpellier, France in December 2019.

Selected publications

Huff, Richard F. (2021). Invited book review. Strategies for Governing: Reinventing Public Administration for a Dangerous Century. By Alasdair Roberts, 2019. NY: Cornell University Press, Journal of Political and Military Sociology. Summer edition, 2021. 

Huff, Richard (2018). Symposium editor, “The Mythical World of Public Administration”, International Journal of Organization Theory & Behavior, Vol. 21, Issue 3, pp. 138-223. (A collaboration with David Farmer, Emeritus, VCU; Gary Marshall, UNO; Hugh Miller, FAU; Patricia Patterson, FAU; Aaron Wachhaus, University of Baltimore; Ricardo Schmuckler, University of Buenos Aires.) 

Huff, R., Cors C. (2016). Of Rhizomes and Pointillism: David John Farmer’s Influence, Method and Art in the Field. International Journal of Organizational Theory and Behavior, Issue 1, Vol. 19 (March 2016).

Ruijer, H., Huff, R. (2016). Breaking Through Barriers: The Impact of Organizational Culture on Open Government Reform. Transforming Government: People, Process and Policy.

Huff, Richard F. (2011). Chapter 6, Building a Foundation for Transparency in Government and co-author of Chapter 7, A Framework for Owning Transparency in A Guide to Owning Transparency: How Federal Agencies can Implement and Benefit from Transparency, Burke, W. M., Teller, M. Editors, Open Forum Foundation. https://www.academia.edu/7758087/A_Guide_To_Owning_Transparency_How_Federal_Agencies_can_Implement_and_Benefit_from_Transparency

Huff, Richard F. (2011). Measuring Performance in US Municipalities: Do Personnel Policies Predict System Level Outcomes? Journal of Comparative Policy Analysis, Vol. 13, No. 1, 11-33, February 2011.

Huff, Richard F. (2009). Measuring System Level Performance Outcomes in Local Government: Do Human Resource Management Reforms Really Matter? Saarbrucken, Germany: VDM Publishing.

Huff, Richard F. (2006). Entries for: Transnationalism, Human Capital, Governmentality and Organization Culture. In Mark Bevir (Ed.), The Encyclopedia of Governance. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Huff, Richard F. (2004). Book review. The postnational self: Belonging & Identity. By Ulf Hedetoft and Mette Hjort (Eds.), 2002. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press,Politics & Policy Journal, Vol. 32, No.2, June 2004, pp 385-387.

Huff, Richard F. (2003). Creating the future through relationships: A Native American view of modern administration. Global Virtue Ethics Review Journal, 4, 1, 2003, pp. 4-28

Barrett, K; Brubaker, S.J.; Daniels, S.E.; Holsworth, R.; Huff, R.; Safford, L.; S. Daniels; Sanderson, H. (2002). A preliminary report on studies assessing potential implications of the reauthorization of The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Block Grant (TANFII) for Virginia. Prepared by The Center for Public Policy, Virginia Commonwealth University and submitted to the Virginia Department of Social Services June 30, 2002.