The Balanoff Good Government Award

Dr. Howard R. Balanoff is the William P. Hobby Endowed Professor for Public Service at Texas State University and directs the university’s William P. Hobby Center for Public Service. A nationally recognized leader in the field, he is an elected Fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration and the 2019 recipient of the International City/County Management Association’s Academic Award for Excellence in Education.

A native of New York City, Dr. Balanoff earned his B.A. in political science and history from Hunter College (CUNY) and his master’s and doctorate in urban and regional planning from Texas A&M University. Before joining Texas State, he served three years as a planning coordinator with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. He also completed 20 years of service in the United States Air Force—seven on active duty and thirteen in the Reserves—retiring as a Major and proudly serving as a veteran of the Vietnam era.

A public administration generalist, Dr. Balanoff teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in public policy, international and comparative public administration, and personnel and human resources administration. He advises MPA students on internships and teaches the PA 5389 MPA Internship course; serves as faculty advisor to Pi Alpha Alpha, the Public Administration National Honor Society; and is Editor in Chief of Good Governance Worldwide, the official journal of the American Society for Public Administration’s Section for Public Management Practice. He also directs the Visiting International Scholars in Texas (VISIT) Program, which brings international faculty and students to Texas State, and co-directs the Texas Certified Public Manager Program in Arlington.

Marilyn Balanoff serves as Program Faculty in Continuing Education in the Political Science Department at Texas State University, where she also administers the University’s Public Funds Investment Act (PFIA) Online Program and co-directs the Dallas/Fort Worth (Arlington) Texas Certified Public Manager (CPM) Program. In these roles, she supports the professional development of public sector leaders across Texas and beyond.

For more than 20 years, Marilyn has been an active member of the American Society for Public Administration (ASPA) Central Texas (CENTEX) Chapter. During her tenure, she has served on the Executive Board and held multiple leadership positions, including Treasurer, Vice President, and President, contributing significantly to the chapter’s growth and professional impact.

She previously represented Texas State University on the Governing Council of the National Certified Public Manager Consortium, serving a three-year term and later joining the Consortium’s Executive Board. She was elected Secretary of the Executive Board and went on to serve as Secretary, Vice Chair, and Chair of the National CPM Consortium, reflecting her national leadership in public management education.

Marilyn has presented on the National and Texas CPM Programs at major public administration conferences in the United States and Europe, including ASPA and IASIA events. She has also co-authored The National CPM Program with Dr. Howard R. Balanoff, published in The Public Manager, the ICMA Journal.