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Master of Public Administration (MPA) and Master of Public Policy programs are training grounds for current and future public service leaders. However, many programs may underemphasize the importance of social equity, a pillar of public administration. Without this training, administrators may be poorly placed to understand the causes of inequities and to develop solutions. This article examines these issues in several ways. First, it argues for greater coverage of social equity in graduate programs. Second, it reviews the literature on calls for how to improve teaching social equity. Third, it presents a content analysis detailing the extent to which social equity is integrated into core courses currently offered across 120 MPA programs in the United States. Finally, a case study discusses the authors’ development and teaching of a stand-alone special topics social equity course in a large Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs, and Administration-accredited program.

This dissertation is interested in social equity in the context of public transportation. Social equity is the commitment to fairness in policy formation, service delivery, implementation, and management of public institutions. Despite 50 years of scholarship, it remains an understudied pillar of public administration. A key methodological barrier to its advancement has been the lack of quantitative tools, indicators, and benchmarks for measuring progress in the pursuit of social equity. This study overcomes this inadequacy by examining two research questions: 1) To what extent is access to work by public transportation associated with the persistence of social inequity over time? and 2) How do public transportation agencies achieve accountability for social equity? The first question tests two competing propositions that suggest increased access to public transit is associated with both increased economic opportunity and residential income segregation. It assesses how one form of social equity can have inequitable effects. Longitudinal data from the Neighborhood Change Database (1970-2010) is used in this quantitative stage. Next, the second question explores what principles guide administrators to address transit equity given its persistence. Content analysis of four diverse metropolitan cases determine what transit equity measures have been incorporated. Key informant interviews with transit administrators responsible for equity and measurement are the primary method of data collection. A mixed-method, social justice research design thus provides qualitative and quantitative results. Findings are compared to determine recommendations valuable to stakeholders and policymakers deciding on issues related to social equity and segregation in their communities. Scholarly implications include advancing the application of social equity indicators and developing an analytical approach to assess fairness in neighborhoods over time through the Persistent Pathways Framework, which contributes to the “unfinished business” of measuring social equity in the discipline.

Larson reviews Essentials of Public Service: An Introduction to Contemporary Public Administration by Mary E. Guy and Todd L. Ely.