Profile

Dr. David Mitchell is an associate professor and the Master of Public Administration program director at the University of Central Florida (UCF) School of Public Administration. Prior to his appointment at UCF in 2014, Dr. Mitchell completed his doctoral degree at Northern Illinois University (NIU) and served as a visiting assistant professor at the Indiana University School of Public and Environmental Affairs at Indianapolis.

Originally from Kansas, Dr. Mitchell also has seven years of practitioner experience working in the city manager's offices in Kansas City, Missouri and Highland Park, Illinois; starting off as a Cookingham Fellow in Kansas City. During that time, Dr. Mitchell served in a number of roles including management of an organization-wide consolidation and reorganization effort, implementing an employee suggestion/gainsharing program, serving as a budget analyst for most city departments, assisting in the planning and implementation of a 311 call center, serving as the organizational customer service ombudsman, coordinating the city special events program, producing city communication documents, staffing numerous citizen committees, and overseeing an organizational performance management program. His work as a practitioner has been nationally recognized by ICMA and the National League of Cities.

Dr. Mitchell lives in Lake Mary along with his wife, Shabnam, and children, Piper and Ali. He has previously served as treasurer on his homeowners' association board of directors. He also has served as an Orange County election precinct polling clerk. David is a proud alumnus of the University of Kansas and hosts the local alumni chapter's basketball watch parties, rock chalk!

• Public strategic management
• Public budgeting
• Local government

• Ph.D. in Political Science, Northern Illinois University
• MPA, University of Kansas
• BA in Political Science, History, and Geography, University of Kansas

Dr. Mitchell furthers the city management profession and public strategic management discipline by examining municipal strategy implementation, collaboration, budgetary reform, and the role of professional expertise in an age of populism. He has also consulted with a number of local governments in Florida and Illinois. Dr. Mitchell has published his research in Public Administration Review, Public Management Review, Public Budgeting & Finance, Administration & Society, Public Performance & Management Review, Public Administration, State and Local Government Review, International Journal of Public Administration, Public Administration Quarterly, Journal of Emergency Management, Governance and Management Review, and Teaching Public Administration as well as at numerous international conferences.

• Public strategy implementation
• Public budgeting reform and innovation
• Accountability in municipal collaborative service delivery networks
• The role of professional expertise in an age of populism

Dr. Mitchell serves as the academic co-chair of the International City/County Management Association (ICMA) Graduate Education Committee. He is also a past chair for the American Society for Public Administration (ASPA) Section of Public Performance and Management and also has served on the executive committee for the ASPA Section on Public Administration Research. Dr. Mitchell also serves as the faculty advisor for the UCF student chapter of ICMA. He also represented the School of Public Administration in the UCF Faculty Senate for two terms.

• UCF Teaching Incentive Program (TIP) Award, 2020
• CCIE Excellence in Professional Service Award, 2020
• COHPA Excellence in Graduate Teaching Award, 2018
• IUPUI SPEA Undergraduate Teaching Award, 2014
• ICMA Community Health & Safety Excellence Award, 2011
• National League of Cities Innovative Program Award, 2003
• City of Kansas City (MO) Cookingham Fellow, 2002

• PAD 6227 Public Budgeting
• PAD 6335 Strategic Planning and Management
• PAF 7230 Strategic Change and Management in Public Affairs
• PAD 6036 Change Management in Public Organizations
• PAD 6062 Public Administration Capstone