Master of Public Administration Faculty and Staff
For 15 years, Deborah Elwell Arfken served as the dean of the
Graduate School at The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga as
well as a tenured full professor in the department of Political Science,
Public Administration and Nonprofit Management. She is now
responsible for coordinating the implementation of the university’s
strategic plan and teaches in the MPA program. Her research interests
include work/management concerns, especially as they relate to
nonprofit organizations. She holds a bachelor’s degree in English from The College of Wooster,
a master’s in American Civilization from The University of Pennsylvania, and a doctorate
Supervision and Administration from The University of Tennessee. Currently, she serves as
president of the board of directors for the Partnership for Families, Children and Adults in
Chattanooga. She is an active member of the Chattanooga Rotary Club and the parent of two
adult sons.
Dr. Stephanie Bellar
Stephanie L. Bellar is currently serving as the Interim Dean of the
Graduate School and she is president of the Tennessee Conference of
Graduate Schools. Dr. Bellar has been at UTC for 20 years where
she has taught in the MPA program and the undergraduate political
science programs. Her research publications are in the area of
women’s leadership and government accountability. Dr. Bellar is a
member of the Women’s Studies faculty. She teaches graduate
courses in community building and public policy. She is a founding
member and current treasurer of the board of the Chattanooga
Women’s Leadership Institute. Dr. Bellar has worked with the Community Research Council on
a project to develop community based performance measures and the Why Know Abstinence
Education organization for program evaluation. She earned her B.S. in Political Science and
Sociology from Austin Peay State University and her PhD in Political Science from the
University of Kentucky.
Teaching Areas
- American Government
- Bureaucracy
- Politics of Child Care
- Women in Politics
- Politics of Budgeting
- Budget/Finance
- Public Agencies (Graduate)
- Public Administration (Graduate)
Doctor of Philosophy (1973) - Emory University
Master of Arts (1971) -Emory University
Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Sociology (1964) - University of Denver
While at Emory University, Dr. Brodsky specialized in American government, political parties, research methods, and comparative public administration and policy. Since coming to UTC in 1971 he has taught not only in the Department of Political Science but also in the School of Human Services, the Criminal Justice program, and the Brock Scholars program.
His current research focuses upon electoral politics in Tennessee and the South, leadership on the local government level, and attitudes and communication patterns among grassroots party activists in the South.
Teaching Areas
- American Government
- Political Behavior
- Religion, Values, Politics
- Perspectives on Affirmative Action
- Southern Politics
- Policy Issues in Aging
- Political Parties & Elections
- Public Policy (graduate)
- Metropolitan Politics and Policy (graduate)
Dr. David Edwards
Doctor of Public Administration (1994) - University of Georgia
Master of Public Administration (1987) - Valdosta State College
Bachelor of Arts (1979) - University of Georgia
Dr. Edwards is the Coordinator of the MPA program. His research interests include organizational behavior and management issues, local government structures and processes, and abstinence-based sex education programs. In addition to his role at UTC, Dr. Edwards is the City Manager of Lakesite, Tennessee. His abbreviated vita is here.
Teaching Areas
- Public Administration
- State and Local Government
- Organizational Theory and Administrative Behavior
- Human Resources Management
- Government and Nonprofits
- Intergovernmental Relations
Dr. Christopher Horne
Doctor of Philosophy, Public Policy (2005) - Georgia Institute of Technology and Georgia State University, Joint Program in Public Policy
Master of Science in Social Work (2000) - University of Tennessee, Memphis
Bachelor of Arts in Sociology (1996) - Berry College
Dr. Horne joined the UTC faculty as Assistant Professor of Public Administration in Fall 2006. His research focuses on the effects of public policies on the nonprofit sector, the role of the nonprofit sector in public policy implementation, and the revenue of nonprofit organizations. His work has been published in Administration and Society, International Journal of Public Administration, Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, Social Work and Christianity, and Journal of Family Violence. Dr. Horne's teaching areas include public policy, policy analysis, research methods, decision analysis, and nonprofit organizations. He also assists government agencies and nonprofit organizations with strategic planning and program evaluation.
Prior to coming to UTC, Dr. Horne served on the public administration faculty at Kennesaw State University and conducted research with the Applied Research Center and Nonprofit Studies Program at Georgia State University.
Dr. Marcus D. Mauldin
Ph.D., Public Administration (2005), The Florida State University
Master of Public Administration (1999), The University of Alabama at Birmingham
Bachelor of Arts, Psychology (1996), The University of Alabama
Dr. Mauldin joined the Political Science, Public Administration and Nonprofit Management faculty in Fall 2008. His research interests include state and local economic development, public management, and policy innovation and diffusion.
Prior to joining the UTC faculty, Dr. Mauldin served as the director of the Office of Research and Evaluation within the Florida Department of Education’s Division of Accountability, Research and Measurement. In this capacity, he conducted research in the areas of education accountability including school grades and educator misconduct.
Before joining the Florida Department of Education, Dr. Mauldin was a Senior Legislative Analyst with the Florida Legislature’s Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability (OPPAGA). At, OPPAGA he primarily conducted evaluations of state economic development initiatives. Such initiatives included the Florida Enterprise Zone Program and the Florida Black Business Investment Board/Black Business Investment Corporations Capitalization Program. In this capacity, he had the opportunity to work closely with the Governor’s Office of Tourism, Trade and Economic Development and Enterprise Florida, Inc. which is Florida’s economic development public-private partnership.
Teaching Areas
- Budgeting and Finance
- Introduction to Public Administration and Nonprofit Management
- Fiscal Management
- Applied Financial Management (Graduate)
- Economic Development (Graduate)
Dr. Fouad Moughrabi
Docteur es Sciences politiques (1972) - University of Grenoble
Master of Arts (1965) - Duke University
Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Economics (1964) - Duke University
While engaged in graduate studies, Dr. Moughrabi's focal points of studies were international relations, international law, Middle Eastern politics, comparative politics, and Arab nationalism and ideology.
Since coming to UTC in 1969, his research has focused on American policy towards the Middle East, American public opinion and the Palestine question, the political beliefs of Palestinian-Americans, and peace initiatives in the Middle East.
Dr. Moughrabi also serves as the Department Head.
Teaching Areas
- World Politics
- Political Psychology
- Public Opinion
- Politics & Communication
- Contemporary Political Ideas
- Ethno-Nationalism
- The Politics of the Middle East
- Theories of International Relations
Faculty Members from the Ochs Center for Metropolitan Studies
David R. Eichenthal
President and Chief Executive Officer of the Community Research Council Inc.
Dr. Bill Tharp
BA from the University of Texas (1990)
MPA from Texas State University (1994)
PhD in Urban and Public Affairs from the University of Louisville (2004)
Dr. Tharp has over a decade of public sector experience and an established record of research and teaching. His most recent experience as practitioner involved serving as a Finance Officer within the Metropolitan Government of Nashville's Office of Management and Budget, where he was responsible for fiscal management of economic development and infrastructure activities, strategic planning and performance budget development, and revenue estimation. Previously, Dr Tharp served as Research Analyst for the Nashville Career Advancement Center (NCAC), Nashville Metropolitan Government's office responsible for workforce development. In this capacity, Dr. Tharp authored NCAC's strategic plan, performed ongoing labor market analysis, and wrote approximately $10 million in funded program and research grants, including a $4 million federal Welfare-to-Work implementation grant.
Dr. Tharp is currently a Senior Policy Analyst at the Ochs Center for Metropolitan Studies, a non-profit policy research organization located on campus at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC). His research interests lie in local economic development, regional economic analysis, strategic planning, and public finance and budgeting. Most recently he authored Environment 2008 State of Chattanooga Region Report for the Ochs Center for Metropolitian Studies.Dr. Tharp has previous teaching experience at the University of Louisville and Vanderbilt University. Here at UTC, he is currently teaching Budgeting and Finance in Public Agencies in the MPA Program.
