APPAM is delighted to honor Samuel Myers Jr., Hubert H. Humphrey School of Public Affairs, University of Minnesota professor, with our Policy Field Distinguished Contribution Award. This award was created to honor those who have made significant and long-term contributions to the development and growth of Public Policy Analysis and Management as a field, including through research, teaching, and contributing to policymaking, to APPAM, and to the Journal of Policy Analysis and Management. Over his career, Samuel Myers Jr. has contributed to each and every one of those critical tasks.
He is an accomplished scholar who has contributed significantly to the study of racial disparities and social justice among other topics in policy analysis. He has published 10 books, over 90 peer-reviewed academic articles, and has served on several external committees including those for the National Academy of Public Administration and the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs (OJP) Science Advisory Board. Additionally, he has contributed to policymaking by providing expert witness testimony, litigation support and serving as a consultant to policymaking groups such as the U.S. Civil Rights Commission, the FTC, and more.
Samuel has also been a generous contributor to our field as a whole. He has served on the Policy Council (2015-2019) and as vice president and president (1997-2001). Additionally, he has served on the Journal of Policy Analysis and Management (JPAM) editorial board (1997-2013) and has participated in many APPAM conferences.
As his nominator wrote, “though our relatively new field has been fortunate to have many distinguished contributors, I know of no single person who has contributed so significantly and over such a span of time to the rigorous study of racial disparities and the importance of equity and inclusion to policy analysis broadly and APPAM in particular."