When I began the MPA program at TESC, the first few quarters focused on public administration and systems theories. At the time, I viewed this as foundational learning that would set the course for successful program completion and might not have utility beyond that. However, I found that there was much more to it than that as I completed my Capstone project, where I applied some of these theories – specifically Weber’s theory of bureaucracy and chaos theory – in practice. In the process of that work, I learned more about complex systems theory and complexity science in general. Although exploring these additional topics went beyond the scope of my Capstone, I wanted to know more because that initial research resulted in so many unanswered questions. For me, graduation from the MPA program did not signal the end, but the beginning of my research into complexity science and its application in public administration.  

To that end, I successfully defended my doctoral dissertation, Toward Socially Equitable Conditions: Change in Complex Regulatory Systems on May 17, 2022. As I await publication, I think back to the origins of this work and what an impact the TESC MPA program had in sparking my research interests. I distinctly remember standing in front of my MPA cohort at some point and indicating that I didn’t know what I would do with my learning. So, while the tables of theories and books about systems initially seemed esoteric and abstract, turns out they were laying the foundation for new knowledge pathways, what could be,  and earning my Ph.D.  

Dr. Kathy Hoffman, MPA ‘16