Areas of Concentration:  Public Policy, American Politics

Education

MPA, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT (Thesis: The New Governance of America's Airports: How Tool Selection Affects Accountability Structures)
B.A., Westminster College, New Wilmington, PA (Summa Cum Laude)

Research Interests

Institutional Design and Capacity of State Governments
Agenda-setting at the State level
U.S. Presidential Primary elections
U.S. Presidential staffing and appointment process
Governance networks and accountability structures
Multiple governmental entity common-pool resource management

Publications

Koliba, Christopher and Russell Mills. (Revise and Resubmit). "Accountability in Governance Networks: Lessons from Hurricane Katrina." Public Administration Review.

Farley, J. and Mills, R. (2007) Opening the Policy Window for Ecological Economics: Katrina as a Focusing Event.  Ecological Economics.  63(2) 344-354.

Conference Papers

"The Effect of Legislative Professionalism on Agenda Setting at the State Level." Paper presented at the 2008 annual meeting of the American Political Science Association, Boston, MA.

"Using Airports to Develop a Framework for Accountability in Network Structures." Paper presented at the 2008 annual meeting of the Midwest Political Science Association, Chicago, IL.

"Accountability in Governance Networks: Lessons from Hurricane Katrina." (with Christopher Koliba). Paper presented at the 2007 annual meeting of Public Administration Theory Network Association,  Harrisburg, PA.

Awards

Best Paper Award from Johnson Institute for Responsible Leadership: University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public and International Affairs.  "Accountability in Governance Networks: Lessons from Hurricane Katrina" (with Christopher Koliba).  2007-2008. 

Marshall Dimock Award, University of Vermont (For outstanding academic achievement and vision within the field of public administration).

Recreational Interests

Having grown up in the city of Pittsburgh, my main recreational interest is football and particularly the Pittsburgh Steelers.  Also, I am a struggling golfer who enjoys a relaxing Saturday on the course. Finally, I enjoy spending quiet time with my wife, Ashley.