Academic Biography

Dr. Cullen C. Merritt is an associate professor and director of the undergraduate honors program in the O'Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI). He studies the implications of an organization's publicness on its management strategy and performance. Additionally, he illuminates the management competencies integral to addressing public service challenges and the strategies that enable organizations to develop these competencies. His research, teaching, and service are motivated by the desire to improve governance and empower managers to address public problems through innovative organizational design.

Dr. Merritt's research appears in Public Administration Review, The American Review of Public Administration, Public Administration, Perspectives on Public Management and Governance, Public Performance & Management Review, and Public Personnel Management, among numerous other outlets. His research has been nationally recognized by the American Society for Public Administration (2021 Article of the Year Award, Section on Democracy and Social Justice) and the American Political Science Association (2014 Paul Volcker Award, Public Administration Section).

As a teacher, Dr. Merritt educates current and aspiring government and nonprofit employees on the strategies and competencies needed to lead their organizations to address public problems. He has formally advised or actively mentored over 20 students on peer-reviewed research, dissertations, and honors projects. For his teaching excellence, he received the Indiana University Trustees' Teaching Award (2018), the O'Neill School's Favorite Professor of Undergraduate Programs Award (2018, 2020), the O'Neill School's Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Faculty of the Year Award (2021), and the IUPUI Athletics Favorite Professor Award (2015, 2019, 2020).

Dr. Merritt has applied his scholarly expertise to make service-related contributions to the O'Neill School, IUPUI, the public administration discipline, and the local community. Most recently, he has served as president of the IUPUI Honors College Advisory Council, an associate editor of Public Administration Review, and co-principal investigator of a contract with the City-County Council of Indianapolis and Marion County to evaluate its effectiveness as a governing body. For his service, he received the 2019 Advocate of the Dream Award from the IUPUI Black Student Union (BSU) for using his professional role on and off campus to serve students and members of the BSU.

A native of Texas, Dr. Merritt earned his Ph.D. in Public Administration and Master of Public Administration from the University of Kansas and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Texas A&M University.

 Faculty Research Lab

Mission

The Project for Research on Organizations, Management, and Publicness Theory (PROMPT), a faculty research lab at IUPUI, was launched by Dr. Merritt in 2019. PROMPT's mission is to produce--and apply--theoretically and practically innovative knowledge about the design and management of public service organizations across policy disciplines, sectors, and society.

To advance its mission, PROMPT pursues excellence in--and identifies synergies across--its research, teaching, and service programs, all of which emerge from Dr. Merritt's scholarly agenda. Under Dr. Merritt's leadership, individuals affiliated with PROMPT seek to

  • Produce peer-reviewed articles in leading public affairs journals,
  • Disseminate research at invited and conference presentations, and
  • Engage in service informed by a clear philosophy of public service.

Student Engagement

PROMPT student research affiliates conduct large-scale, independent research (e.g., dissertation, honors thesis, independent study) or collaborate with Dr. Merritt on data collection, data analysis, and academic writing associated with his ongoing research program. PROMPT is committed to supporting the professional goals and promoting the academic achievements of student research affiliates. Leveraging PROMPT as an intellectual vehicle, Dr. Merritt aims to institutionalize his mentoring of student research affiliates by

  • Actively advising students on conducting social science research, academic writing, and navigating the peer-review publication process,
  • Empowering students to become independent, evidence-based researchers committed to advancing theory and practice at the intersection of organizations, management, and publicness,
  • Assisting students in identifying and seeking resources and opportunities that will enable them to further their academic and professional interests, and
  • Instilling students with the values and skills fundamental to meeting the challenges and opportunities of everyday life.

Impact

To expand its impact, PROMPT will continuously

  • Focus on research topics of local, state, and national importance for which it has laid scholarly groundwork,
  • Cultivate new and existing research partnerships with governments, local organizations, university researchers, and students,
  • Pursue external funding from sources that support its theory-driven and practically relevant research,
  • Target leading peer-review scholarly outlets in public affairs and related disciplines, and
  • Engage in service opportunities to influence organizations in ways that will benefit these entities and the broader community.

 Teaching

Dr. Merritt teaches courses in the Bachelor of Science in Public Affairs and Master of Public Affairs programs in the O'Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs at IUPUI. Regardless of the student audience or course topic, his pedagogical philosophy centers on creating a critical-thinking classroom environment by

  • Providing students with theoretical and empirical foundations on which to understand complex and practically relevant public affairs concepts,
  • Bridging the gap between public affairs theories and practices through in-class simulations, case studies, and interactive activities, and
  • Offering research-intensive course assignments which emphasize practical application and professional development.

Dr. Merritt's scholarly expertise in publicness theory and awareness of the variety of student job placements upon graduation have motivated him to develop students' leadership, management, and collaborative competencies that--while particularly germane to careers in public service--are also applicable to the private and nonprofit sectors.

 Public Service

Dr. Merritt conducts training sessions for government, business, and nonprofit organizations. His training sessions align with his scholarly expertise and focus on developing organizational culture. Organizations are encouraged to contact Dr. Merritt to learn more about his training and development services. Recent collaborators include the Environmental Protection Agency (Office of Administration and Resources Management at Research Triangle Park, North Carolina), IUPUI (Office of Academic Affairs), and the University of North Carolina (School of Government).