Dr. Gregory Porumbescu Awarded Stipend from ARRC to Advance Research on Federal Workforce Changes

Dr. Gregory Porumbescu, associate professor in the School of Public Affairs and Administration (SPAA) at Rutgers University–Newark, was awarded a stipend from the Accountability and Reform Research Consortium (ARRC), a cross-university research collaborative formed to advance research on federal workforce changes.

Dr. Porumbescu, along with with L. Jason Anastasopoulos of the University of Georgia, will compare how performance and agency ideological orientations under the Biden and first Trump administrations predict layoffs, and provide insights into how political climate shapes federal talent pools. They will also explore whether an “America First” programmatic orientation, measured by the extent to which agencies distribute resources internationally, independently predicts workforce reductions. The findings will provide a baseline for understanding which agencies lost personnel and why.

The Volcker Alliance awarded six stipends to support research teams across nine universities that seek to analyze the impact of recent reductions to the federal workforce on public service delivery, citizens, and democratic governance. This is the inaugural round of stipends issued by the AARC. The findings and tools produced by these researchers will be made public and accessible on the ARRC webpage this summer.

About the Accountability and Reform Research Consortium (ARRC)
AARC is a cross-university research collaborative, convened by the Volcker Alliance, to deliver rigorous and timely research on the impact of cuts to the federal workforce and programs on public service delivery, citizens, and democratic governance in the United States. Rutgers University-Newark is a founding member.