H. George Frederickson

H. George Frederickson (July 17, 1934 – July 24, 2020) was born in Twin Falls, Idaho. He was a generalist in the field of public administration with particular interests in public things, theories of public administration, systems of multi-level governance, and American local government. He served as the Edwin O. Stene Distinguished Professor of Public Administration at the University of Kansas. Frederickson was the founding editor of the Journal of Public Affairs Education (JPAE) and was founder and editor-in-chief of the Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory (JPART).

Major influences on public administration

Minnowbrook II Frederickson is responsible for coordinating the second Minnowbrook Conference, Minnowbrook II, held in 1988. The conference was held at Syracuse University's conference center in the Adirondack Mountains. Lasting a total of four days, Minnowbrook II gave Frederickson and his colleagues the chance to reexamine the impacts of Minnowbrook I on the field of Public Administration.

Social equity In 1968 Frederickson came up with "a theory of social equity and put it forward as the "third pillar" of public administration." Frederickson was concerned that those in public administration were making the mistake of assuming that citizen A is the same as citizen B; ignoring social and economic conditions. His goal is: for social equity to take on the same "status as economy and efficiency as values or principles to which public administration should adhere."

High reliability organizations In the article, "Airport Security, High Reliability, and the Problem of Rationality", Frederickson "applies the concepts and logic of high reliability organizations to airport security operations". Frederickson examines both the internal and external properties of High-Reliability Organizations (HRO). He argues, after September 11, 2001, the American commercial air travel industry needs to be operated as a HRO in order to prevent future catastrophes. "For commercial air travel to be highly secure, there must be very high levels of technical competence and sustained performance, regular training, structure redundancy, collegial, decentralized authority patterns, processes that reward error discovery and correction, adequate and reliable funding, high mission valence, reliable and timely information, and protection from external interference in operations." Gaus Award, American Political Science Association

Publications

Recent publications Up the Bureaucracy: A True and Faultless Guide to Organizational Success and the Further Adventures of Knute and Thor by H. George Frederickson. Lawrence, KS: Better Bureaucracy Press. 2005. . Public Administration with an Attitude by H. George Frederickson. Washington, DC: American Society for Public Administration. 2005 Ethics in Public Administration by Richard K. Ghere and H. George Frederickson, editors. Armonk, NY: M. E. Sharpe, 2005 The Adapted City: Institutional Dynamics and Structural Change by H. George Frederickson, Gary A. Johnson, and Curtis H. Wood. Armonk, New York: M. E. Sharpe. 2003. . The Public Administration Theory Primer by H. George Frederickson and Kevin B. Smith. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 2003

Forthcoming publications Accountable Governance: Promises and Problems (M. E. Sharpe, forthcoming, 2011) edited by Melvin J. Dubnick and H. George Frederickson

Other publications To see a complete list of all publications from H. George Frederickson, including other books, monographs, symposia and special issues, articles, book chapters, major speaking, and papers presented, visit H. George Frederickson's personal website.

Death

Frederickson died on July 24, 2020, in Lawrence, Kansas.