Faculty

Professor Sheying Chen brings a wealth of teaching, research, and management experience from around the globe to the classroom. He has held administrative roles at multiple universities, including his role as the former associate provost of academic affairs at Pace.

His scholarly interests include social policy, aging, socioeconomics, and community care in international, Asian, and Chinese studies. Professor Chen is an esteemed researcher whose work has been widely-published and presented across the US and China. He has received numerous awards and honors, including being named the Most Influential Scholar in Chinese Social Sciences from the Chinese Humanities and Social Sciences Evaluation Research Center.

Professor Chen is certified in education management and leadership from Harvard University. He earned a PhD in Public Policy and Social Research and a Master of Social Work in Social Welfare from the University of California, Los Angeles. He also holds a Master of Art in Sociology from Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou, China and a college diploma in engineering technology from Central-South University in China.

Education

Certificate, Harvard University, Boston, 2008
Education Management & Leadership

PhD, University of California, Los Angeles, 1996
Public Policy & Social Research

MSW, University of California, Los Angeles, 1996
Social Welfare

MA, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China, 1988
Sociology

College Diploma, Changsha Metallurgical College (Central-South University), China, 1980
Engineering Technology

Awards and Honors

• Springer Nature, January 2020 – China New Development Award
• Xiangnan College, July 2019 – Guest Professor
• Marquis Who’s Who, July 2018 – Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award
• The Royal Society of Arts (RSA), 2017-, 2017 – Fellowship
• Chinese Humanities and Social Sciences Evaluation Research Center CAU, 2017 – Most Influential Scholar in Chinese Social Sciences
• The Journal of Illness, Crisis and Loss, September 1, 2017 – Best Reviewer Award
• Turnitin, August 31, 2017 – Global Innovation Awards 2017 Nominee/Semi-Finalist
• Center on Sino-American Relations, Tsinghua University, May 4, 2017 – Senior Research Fellowship
• Cross-Strait Tsinghua Research Institute, December 7, 2016 – Senior Visiting Scholarship
• Tsinghua University, December 1, 2016 – Senior Visiting Scholar/Director for Social Work Study
• Center for Social Work Education, Tsinghua University, September 2, 2016 – Senior Advisor
• Guangdong Research Center for Social Work and Social Development, January 2016 – Expert
• China State Bureau of Foreign Experts, September 1, 2015 – High-Level Expert
• China National Social Work Training Base at Guangdong University of Technology, June 2015 – Guest Professor
• Guangdong University of Technology, June 2015 – Nominee for Distinguished Visiting Professor
• Guangdong Association for Social Work Education and Practice, May 28, 2015 – Honorary Advisor
• Hunan University, March 5, 2014 – Guest Professor
• International Association of Chinese Social Workers (IACSW), December 15, 2012 – Founding Advisor
• Pace University, April 1, 2012 – Your Excellence Shows Award
• Guangzhou University, November 15, 2011 – Guest Professor
• Chinese-American Association of Experts and Scholars in West Pacific Region, September 1, 2011 – Honorary President
• Shanghai Jiaotong University, July 29, 2011 – Guest Professor
• Indiana University, April 1, 2010 – Award of Excellence
• CASE, April 1, 2010 – Nominee for Best Practice Award
• Hunan and Changde Associations for International Exchange, April 1, 2010 – Overseas Honorary Academic Member
• University of Hong Kong, September 1, 2009 – Distinguished Alumnus Nominee
• Central-South University Policy Research Center, September 1, 2009 – Honorary Advisor
• Chi Alpha Epsilon National Honor Society, September 1, 2009 – Honorary Member
• National Dean’s List, September 1, 2009 – Recognition Award
• Indiana University, April 1, 2009 – Award of Excellence
• Central-South University, December 10, 2008 – Guest Professor
• University of Guam, March 1, 2006 – Administrator of the Year Nominee
• Association for Childhood Education International (ACEI), December 1, 2004 – Guam ACEI/FEGA Award
• Educational Testing Service (ETS), July 1, 2002 – Visiting Scholarship
• Shanghai Normal University, July 1, 2000 – Guest Professor
• The Banner: CSI’s Official College Newspaper, May 1, 2000 – Top Ten List of Coolest Faculty and Staff
• City University of New York, April 1, 2000 – Performance Excellence Award
• City University of New York/CSI, April 1, 2000 – Student Service Award
• City University of New York/CSI, May 1, 1998 – Feliks Gross Endowment Award for Outstanding Scholarly Achievement
• INS, September 1, 1997 – Outstanding Professor Permanent Residency
• Guangdong Association of Social Sciences, April 1, 1989 – Research Excellence Award

Research Interests

• International Development
• Social Policy, Health
• Aging
• Community Care
• Socioeconomics
• China & US; Organization and Management
• Public Administration
• Leadership Development
• Professional Education
• Diversity
• Comparative Research Methodology
• Qualitative-Quantitative Reasoning
• Unidimensionalized Scaling

Professor Tiffany Henley is a dedicated educator and researcher in the field of public administration. Her topics of interest include health policy, public policy, collaboration, and nonprofit management.

Her research explores the implications of healthcare reform and how states make policy decisions. This includes elements of political science, economics, governance, and management. Professor Henley is currently investigating influential drivers of state decisions in Medicaid expansion, and she is also interested in observing how multiple agencies work together to solve societal problems. Her research appears in scholarly publications such as the Journal of Health Economics, Policy and Law, Journal of the National Black Association for Speech-Language and Hearing, and the Journal of Public Affairs Education.

Professor Henley earned a PhD in Public Administration in Public Administration and Urban Policy from Old Dominion University. She also holds a Master of Arts in Government from Regent University and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the University of Rhode Island.

Education

PhD, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA, 2016
Public Administration

MA, Regent University, Virginia Beach, VA , 2011
Government

BA, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI, 2006
Psychology

Grants, Sponsored Research and Contracts

Henley, T. J. Stakeholder Perspectives of the Needed and Actual Competencies, Values, and Attitudes of City and County Government Procurement Officials.
National Institute of Governmental Purchasings: The Institute for Public Procurement, Private, $20,000.00. Funded

Professor Hillary Knepper spent 20 years working for nonprofits and local governments, where she worked primarily in access to services for vulnerable populations, facilitating collaborations, program evaluation, and board governance. She now teaches healthcare management and policy & public administration courses at Pace University.

Her research focuses on system-level change, how public policies influence outcomes, and the implications of how relationships across sectors affect services. Professor Knepper’s publications appear in scholarly journals such as Journal of Public Management and Social Policy, Public Integrity, Public Administration Quarterly, Public Administration Review, and in practitioner venues such as the PA Times, and at conference presentations across the country. She is the co-editor for the Journal of Health and Human Services and is an active member and past chair for the Section for Women in Public Administration, ASPA.

Professor Knepper earned a PhD in Public Affairs from the University of Central Florida. She also holds a Master of Public Administration from Troy University and a Bachelor of Art in Urban Studies from Hunter College—CUNY.

Education

PhD, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL, 2010
Public Affairs

MPA, Troy University, Troy, Alabama, 2003
Public Administration

BA, Hunter College-CUNY, New York, NY, 1990
Urban Studies

Research Interests

• Nexus of government, nonprofits, and healthcare as they intersect with disparities of opportunity, access, and power
• Policies, both formal and informal, their influence on societal outcomes, and how different sectors influence each other
• Context-healthcare policy
• Gender in public administration

Professor Ric Kolenda’s research interests are broadly in the area of urban economic development, especially inequality and economic mobility in the creative economy; the economic geography of creative industries; innovation and entrepreneurship; and twenty-first century employment structures. His research appears in academic journals such as Economic Development Quarterly, Journal of Urban Affairs, and Urban Studies.

Before joining Pace, he held academic appointments at DePaul University’s School of Public Service, University of Illinois at Chicago’s College of Urban Planning and Public Affairs (CUPPA), Appalachian State University, Georgia State University, the University of North Carolina Wilmington, and Temple University. He has a PhD in Public Policy from Georgia Tech and Georgia State University in Atlanta, an MA in Urban Studies from Temple University in Philadelphia, and a BS in Economics from Grand Valley State University in Grand Rapids, MI.

In addition to his academic work, Professor Kolenda was also a technology and nonprofit entrepreneur, with nearly 20 years in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors. Recently, he has been working with regions like Sacramento, CA, to improve their innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem. He has also written regular columns for mass-market weekly and monthly publications.

Education

BS, Grand Valley State University, Grand Rapids, MI
Economics

PhD, Georgia State University/Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA
Public Policy

MA, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA
Urban Studies

Research Interests

• The economic geography of creative industries
• Urban inequality
• Equality of opportunity & socio-economic mobility
• Twenty-first century employment structures

Professor Gina Scutelnicu is an associate professor and the chairperson of the Department of Public Administration at Pace University. She has over 10 years of teaching experience in higher education. Her teaching interests include intergovernmental relations, municipal management, research methods, ethics, organization theory and behavior, and public policy.

Her research focuses on collaborative governance with a focus on specialized entities of government, social equity and policy, gender equity in academia, and online pedagogy. Her work has been published in multiple peer-reviewed journals among which are Economic Development Quarterly, Public Administration Quarterly, Public Administration Review, Public Integrity, and Teaching Public Administration. Dr. Scutelnicu has been an active member of the American Society for Public Administration (ASPA) since 2009 and served the organization’s sections and chapters in various roles for the past eleven years.

Professor Scutelnicu earned a PhD in Public Affairs from Florida International University. She also holds a Master of Art in Management Services and a Bachelor of Art in Public Administration from Babes-Bolyai University in Cluj-Napoca, Romania.

Education

PhD, Florida International University, Miami, FL, 2010
Public Affairs

MA, Babes-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania, 2001
Management of Public Services

BA, Babes-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania, 2000
Public Administration

Research Interests

• State and Local Government Decision-Making and Collaboration
• Social Equity and Policy
• Gender Equity
• Community and Economic Development
• Online Pedagogy

Professor Rebecca Tekula is an associate professor of public administration and the executive director of the Helen & Grant Wilson Center for Social Entrepreneurship, created to serve the nonprofit and social enterprise and community at Pace University.

Her research examines the sources and uses of funding in nonprofit organizations and social enterprises, including the growing field of impact investing. Professor Tekula is interested in how both philanthropists and investors measure social impact and make investment decisions. She studies the investment behavior of philanthropic foundations and university endowments. Her research appears in scholarly publications in the US and abroad such as the NISPAcee Journal of Public Administration and Policy, Public Administration Review, Public Performance and Management Review, and the Social Enterprise Journal, and she has contributed to The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal.

Professor Tekula earned a PhD in Economics/Public Management and Finance from the University of Lugano in Switzerland. She holds a Master of Public Administration in Nonprofit Management from Pace University and a Master of Business Administration in Social Entrepreneurship, Finance and Strategy from the University of Oxford in Oxford, United Kingdom. She earned a Bachelor of Art in English Literature from Vassar College.

Education

PhD, University of Lugano, Switzerland: Department of Public Management and Economics , Lugano, Switzerland, 2009
Economics / Public Management and Finance

MPA, Pace University, New York, NY, 2009
Nonprofit Management

MBA, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom, 2006
Social Entrepreneurship, Finance and Strategy

BA, Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, NY , 2000
English Literature