Longtime public servant starts first semester as director of KU School of Public Affairs and Administration

Reggie Robinson

Even as many are disillusioned with national- and state-level government, it’s an exciting time to lead Kansas University’s School of Public Affairs and Administration.

So says the top-ranking school’s new director, Reggie Robinson, citing KU’s emphasis on preparing students for leadership roles in municipal government and the “meaningful opportunities” that abound there.

“There are a lot of wonderful things happening at the local level,” Robinson said. “It’s where the rubber meets the road.”

Robinson’s own career includes positions at the national level, including five years as a White House fellow working directly with U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno. He has been president and CEO of the Kansas Board of Regents and chief of staff to the KU chancellor.

Most recently, he was professor of law and director for the Center of Law and Government at Washburn University.

Robinson, whose father was in the military, was born in Panama and lived numerous places before the family settled in Salina, where he graduated from high school. From there he attended KU, where he earned a law degree in 1987. Between undergraduate and law school, he served in the Army.

He first got interested in politics around age 10, inspired by the dramatic 1968 presidential election — won by Richard Nixon in a year that saw Vietnam War protests and race riots spurred by the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. He said that interest led to the “broad world” of public policy and affairs.

In announcing Robinson’s hire, KU cited his record of public service focused on civil rights, juvenile justice and higher education policy.

“Reggie understands government and public service from the inside out,” Steven Maynard-Moody, professor in the school and chairman of the search committee, said in a news release. “He knows how to move policy and institutions forward, often turning obstacles into opportunities.”

Robinson replaces Marilu Goodyear, who directed KU’s School of Public Affairs and Administration for nine years. Goodyear was appointed as the assistant vice chancellor for academic program development for the Edwards Campus and will continue to teach in the School of Public Affairs and Administration.

KU’s School of Public Affairs and Administration is consistently ranked as the best graduate school in the nation in city management and urban policy and is among the top five graduate schools in the nation in public management administration, according to the university.

Robinson said he looks forward to being on campus and working directly with students in his new role. He’s teaching one class this semester, intro to public leadership at KU’s Edwards Campus.

Public affairs and administration draws students like the 18-year-old fresh out of high school, the former teacher looking for a new career or a police officer wanting a masters degree, Robinson said, and that’s invigorating.

He said he appreciates “that thirst for knowledge, and that excitement about how they want to use the knowledge they’re learning in the classroom to pursue their aspirations.”