Dana Michael Harsell
-
Professor and Interim MPA Director, Political Science & Public Adm
- Public Administration and Public Management, Government Performance, Public Service Provision, Public Arts, State and Local Government
Contact Info
- Email: dana.harsell@UND.edu
- Office: 701.777.3832
- Dept: 701.777.3831
Office Address
Nistler Hall Room 324P
3125 University Avenue, Stop 8379
Grand Forks, ND 58202-8379
Curriculum Vitae
Websites
Biography
Dana Michael Harsell is Professor of Political Science and Public Administration at the University of North Dakota, where he teaches courses in state and local government, public administration, the intersection of business and government, and the presidency. During his recent tenure as Master of Public Administration Program Director, he led the program through a successful reaccreditation cycle; the exemplar self-study report can be found as a best practice on the Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs and Administration’s (NASPAA) website. Harsell holds a BA in political science and psychology and an MA in political science, both from the University of Montana, and a PhD in political science from Syracuse University.
Dana’s research interests include public sector strategic planning, performance and accountability, public service provision, and arts and culture policy. Harsell was awarded a National Endowment for the Arts, Artworks: Research grant to study how changes in levels of state legislative appropriations for state arts agencies influence appropriation levels in bordering states. A recent publication, Park Free or Die: Rural Consciousness, Preemption, and the Perennial North Dakota Parking Meter Debate apears in PS Political Science.
Harsell has accrued an extensive list of leadership experience, holding positions of Director of Government for the North Dakota Girls State program, board of executive directors (three years as president) for the North Valley Arts Council (NoVAC), and University Senate chair. He served on the Nistler College of Business and Public Administration Strategic Planning Task Force and co-chaired the UND strategic planning committee, which culminated in the OneUND 2017-2022 Strategic Plan, and represented NCoBPA as member of the UND Taskforce on the Future of Education. As an American Council on Education Fellow in Residence at Lewis & Clark College (2020-2021), Dana collaborated closely with the College of Arts and Sciences Dean’s Office to lead a year-long strategic planning initiative. In close collaboration with faculty and administrative colleagues, he advanced key institutional priorities by helping to refine the faculty evaluation process, streamline shared governance and election procedures, and gather and prepare data for Board of Trustees meetings.
Dana has conducted numerous accreditation site visits for NASPAA and was elected to the NASPAA Executive Council in October 2024. Harsell also serves as a Community Chair for the Society for College and University Planning (SCUP) Community Engagement Committee and as a member of the American Council on Education's Council of Fellows' Professional Development Committee.
Harsell received the UND Foundation/Thomas J. Clifford Faculty Award for Graduate Teaching Excellence in 2016, the UND President’s Service Medal in 2017, and the UND Foundation / Lydia & Arthur Saiki Faculty Award for Excellence in Service in 2021.
Juried/Refereed Publications
Wood, Robert, Dana Michael Harsell, Rebecca Romsdahl and Andy Hultquist (2023). “Mitigation from the Policy Regimes Perspective: Unpacking Climate Change Policies in the Communities of the Great Plains” State and Local Government Review (Revise and Resubmit).
Harsell, Dana Michael, David T. Flynn, & Mark S. Jendrysik (2023). “Park Free or Die: Rural Consciousness, Preemption, and the Perennial North Dakota Parking Meter Debate” PS: Political Science, 56(1): 3-9. https://doi.org/10.1017/S104909652200107X
A shortened version appears as Harsell, Dana Michael, David T. Flynn, & Mark S. Jendrysik (2023). “What North Dakota’s perennial parking meter debate can tell us
about the politics of rural resentment and preemption.” LSE USAPP Blog https://bit.ly/3GS01R7 20 January 2023.
Harsell, Dana Michael, Christina Barsky, & Supriya Golas. (2022). “Simulation efficacy and applicability: Reported learning from a virtual computer-based pandemic simulation on skill-based competencies among public affairs students” Journal of Public Affairs Education. 1-29. 10.1080/15236803.2021.2011665.
Romsdahl, Rebecca, Robert Wood, Dana Michael Harsell & Andy Hultquist. (2019). “Framing Local Climate Change Policies in the US Great Plains” Journal of Environmental Policy & Planning.
Hultquist, Andy, Dana Michael Harsell, Robert S. Wood, and David T Flynn. (2017). “Assessing the Impacts of Rapid Growth on Local Government Service Provision and Delivery Arrangement Choices in North Dakota” Journal of Rural Studies, 53(July):14-25. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrurstud.2017.05.003
Butz, Nicholas. T., Stupnisky, Robert. H., Pekrun, R., Jensen, Jason. L., & Harsell, Dana. M. (2016). The impact of emotions on student achievement in synchronous hybrid business and public administration programs: A longitudinal test of control-value theory. Decision Sciences Journal of Innovative Education, 14(4), 441-474.
Harsell, Dana Michael, 2013. “My Taxes Paid for That?! Or Why the Past is Prologue in Public Arts Funding.” PS: Political Science & Politics, 46(1): 74-80.
Harsell, Dana Michael & Mark Jendrysik. 2013. “Egalitarian Populism on the High Plains. Or, Why Are There No Parking Meters in North Dakota?.” The Journal of Popular Culture, 46(2)
Harsell, Dana Michael. 2010. “Wikis in the Classroom: Faculty and Student Perspective.” Journal of Political Science Education, 6(3):310-314
Jones, Dale and Dana Michael Harsell. 2007. "Learning to Build Capacity: Applying the GPP Model to Other Governments." In Pursuit of Performance: Management Systems in State and Local Government, edited by Patricia Ingraham. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. 195-211
Andersen, Kristi and Dana Michael Harsell. 2005. "Assessing the Impact of a Quantitative Skills Course for Undergraduates." Journal of Political Science Education 1(1):17-27.
Ph.D. Political Science, Syracuse University
M.A. Political Science, University of Montana
B.A. Political Science and Psychology, University of Montana
State and National
https://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/politics-government/article231949383.html
https://www.prairiebusinessmagazine.com/news/4307752-und-cuts-credit-hours-needed-graduation
https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/an-extra-ingredient-in-north-dakota-politics-oil/
https://learningenglish.voanews.com/a/every-bill-gets-a-vote-in-north-dakota-obama/3469329.html
Education
https://www.clsgbatten.org/posts/simulation-workshop-at-naspaa-conference
UND
https://ndus.edu/2020/01/13/how-und-it-improves-the-campus-experience/
http://blogs.und.edu/uletter/2016/06/und-hosts-70th-annual-girls-state-program/
https://www.prairiebusinessmagazine.com/news/4307752-und-cuts-credit-hours-needed-graduation