Former Rutgers SPAA Dean Charles E. Menifield Appointed University Professor

The Rutgers University Board of Governors appointed Charles E. Menifield, who has served on the Rutgers University–Newark faculty and was Dean of the School of Public Affairs and Administration (SPAA) from 2017-22, a University Professor effective January 1, 2024.

A renowned scholar whose research focuses on budgeting and financial management, public health and welfare, use of lethal force by police, public management information systems, education finance, and public administration education, Menifield bolstered the school’s reputation by cultivating and elevating faculty, staff, and student accomplishments. He established the Office of Community Engagement, implemented a new strategic plan and revitalized the SPAA Alumni Association.

In addition to earning numerous honors and awards for his research and service, Menifield has authored several books and book chapters, and co-edited the award-winning Politics in the New South: Representation of African Americans in Southern State Legislatures. He has received over 100 invitations to serve as keynote speaker, lecturer, or conference presenter and served on editorial boards of leading disciplinary journals.

A fellow in the National Academy of Public Administration and former Ronald E. McNair Scholar, Menifield served on the Executive Council of the Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs, and Administration, the Commission on Peer Review and Accreditation, and was President of the International Conference on Local Government. He has twice been a Visiting Scholar at the Congressional Budget Office in Washington, D.C., where he did extensive research on state implementation of the Children’s Health Insurance Program.

Menifield arrived at Rutgers from the University of Missouri, where he was Associate Dean for Academic Programs at the Truman School of Government and Public Affairs. Prior to that, he spent nine years at the University of Memphis, where he was a professor and associate professor and served as director of the public and nonprofit administration program.

A 1990 graduate of Mississippi State University with a Bachelor of Arts in political science, Menifield received a Master of Public Policy and Administration from MSU in 1992, before earning a Ph.D. in political science from the University of Missouri Columbia in 1996.