Frances Berry, the Reubin O’D. Askew Eminent Scholar and the Frank Sherwood Professor of Public Administration in the Askew School of Public Administration at Florida State University, has won the John Gauss Award from the American Political Science Association. The award honors “a career of exemplary scholarship in the joint tradition of political science and public administration.”
When notified of the honor, Professor Berry joked that the award means she’s getting old but expressed delight in the recogition, saying: “All the people who have gotten this award are people who I respect. There’s a little bit of awe that people would acknowledge me for my work.”
She added that “where I’ve tried to do a lot and where we’ve learned a lot from diffusion studies is to help us do a better job not just writing good policy but getting that policy implemented and then used.”
Professor Berry joined the faculty at Florida State University in 1990. She served as director of the Askew School from 2003 to 2009. Dr. Berry has served as president of the Public Management Research Association and president of the Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs, and Administration. She was elected a member of the National Academy of Public Administration in 2006.
Dr. Berry received a bachelor’s degree in political science from Washington University in St. Louis. She holds a master of public administration degree, a master’s degree in political science, and a Ph.D. in political science from the University of Minnesota.