Robert B. Denhardt (1942 – March 19, 2025) was an American scholar of public administration theory, organizational development, and leadership. He was a past president of the American Society for Public Administration (ASPA) and a member of the National Academy of Public Administration.
Early Life and Education
Denhardt was born in Kentucky in 1942. He earned his Ph.D. in Political Science and Government from the University of Kentucky in 1968.
Academic Career
Denhardt held faculty positions at multiple universities, including the University of New Orleans, the University of Kansas, the University of Missouri, the University of Colorado, the University of Central Florida, and the University of Delaware. He served as Regents Professor and Director of the School of Public Affairs at Arizona State University, where he held the Lattie and Elva Coor Presidential Chair and the Lincoln Professorship of Leadership and Ethics. Later, he was Professor and Director of Leadership Programs (including the Executive Master of Leadership) at the Sol Price School of Public Policy at the University of Southern California. He was also a Fulbright Scholar in Australia (1990).
Contributions to Public Administration
Denhardt is best known for his work on the New Public Service model, articulated in his influential 2000 book The New Public Service: Serving, Not Steering (co-authored with his wife, Dr. Janet V. Denhardt). The accompanying article, "The New Public Service: Serving Rather than Steering," was published in Public Administration Review and was later selected as one of the 75 most influential articles in the journal's history (since 1940).
Publications
Denhardt authored or co-authored 21–22 books and more than 100 journal articles. Major works include:
- Theories of Public Organization
- The New Public Service (with Janet V. Denhardt)
- Managing Human Behavior in Public and Nonprofit Organizations
- The Pursuit of Significance
- In the Shadow of Organization
- The Dance of Leadership (with Janet V. Denhardt)
- Public Administration: An Action Orientation
- Just Plain Good Management
- Letters to a Young Leader
Awards and Recognition
- Dwight Waldo Award (2004) for lifetime achievement in scholarship from ASPA
- Past President, American Society for Public Administration
- Founder and first chair of ASPA's National Campaign for Public Service
- Member, National Academy of Public Administration
- Fellow, Canadian Centre for Management Development
Death
Denhardt died on March 19, 2025, in Chandler, Arizona, at the age of 82.
