Rate My Professor Charles Menifield

Charles E. Menifield is a University Professor and Dean Emeritus in the School of Public Affairs and Administration at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey-Newark, where he served as Dean from September 2017 to June 2022. During his deanship, he led major initiatives including the creation of a Community Engagement Office, development of a new strategic plan, revitalization of the alumni association, and establishment of advisory and advancement boards. Appointed University Professor by the Rutgers Board of Governors in December 2023, Menifield holds an associated faculty position in the Rutgers School of Public Health. His academic career includes serving as Associate Dean for Academic Programs at the University of Missouri-Columbia's Harry S. Truman School of Public Affairs from 2013 to 2017, where he managed graduate programs, ensured NASPAA accreditation compliance, and developed new degrees and certificates. Previously, he was Professor and Director of Public and Nonprofit Administration at the University of Memphis from 2010 to 2012, Associate Professor there from 2004 to 2011, and held tenured positions at Mississippi State University's Department of Political Science, including promotion in 2002. Earlier roles encompass Assistant Professor at Murray State University and various visiting and adjunct positions at institutions such as the University of Nebraska-Omaha, Howard University, and the Congressional Budget Office.

Menifield earned his PhD in Political Science, with concentrations in American Politics and Public Administration, from the University of Missouri-Columbia in 1996; a Master's in Public Policy and Administration from Mississippi State University in 1992; and a BA in Political Science from the same university in 1990. His research focuses on public budgeting and financial management, minority representation, public policy, health disparities, policing and race relations, disaster response, and public administration education. Key publications include The Basics of Public Budgeting and Financial Management: A Handbook for Academics and Practitioners (5th edition, 2025; 4th edition, 2021; 3rd edition, 2017; 2nd edition, 2013; 1st edition, 2009, Rowman & Littlefield/Hamilton Books); Comparative Budgeting: A Global Perspective (2011, Jones and Bartlett); Politics in the New South: Representation of African Americans in Southern State Legislatures (editor, 2005, SUNY Press, winner of the V.O. Key Award); and Representation of Minority Groups in the U.S.: Implications for the Twenty-First Century (editor, 2001, Rowman & Littlefield). Recent articles cover topics such as patterns of change in government form, health literacy in COVID-19 compliance, and police-citizen tensions. Menifield has been inducted as a Fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration (2018) and received the Donald C. Stone Service to ASPA Award (2021).