David H. Rosenbloom

David H. Rosenbloom (born 1943) is a scholar in the field of Public Administration. He is the Distinguished Professor of Public Administration at the School of Public Affairs at American University in Washington, D. C. An authority on issues related to administrative law and constitutional aspects of public sector personnel policies, Rosenbloom is known for his approach emphasizing understanding American public administration from the three perspectives associated with the constitutional separation of powers: law, politics and management. He advocates establishing "constitutional competence" as a basic standard for public service professionals.

Rosenbloom earned a BA in political science at Marietta College in 1964. He holds a Master of Arts (1966) and in PhD (1969) in political science, both at the University of Chicago. His Ph. D. dissertation, "The Relationship Between the Citizen and the State In Public Employment in America,” was the basis for his first book, Federal Service and the Constitution: The Development of the Public Employment Relationship (1971). He received an honorary doctorate of law in 1994 from Marietta College.

Rosenbloom was an assistant professor in political science at the University of Kansas from 1969 to 1971. From 1971 to 1973, he visited Tel Aviv University, where he was a senior lecturer in political science. From 1973 to 1978, he was an assistant and associate professor of political science at the University of Vermont. From 1978 to 1990, he was a faculty member at The Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University. He was professor of public administration from 1979 to 1988, and professor of political science from 1987 to 1990. He was also an adjunct professor of law from 1985 to 1989. At the Maxwell School he was distinguished professor of public administration from 1988 to 1990. Presently, in addition to being a distinguished professor at American University, he is the chair professor of public management in the Department of Public and Social Administration, at the City University of Hong Kong (visiting). In 2014, he served as book series editor for the American Society for Public Administration indicating that the disability fields do not constitute a categorical system of state agencies and services in the US.

Rosenbloom contends that contemporary public administration is based primarily on three approaches: management, politics/policy, and law. Managerial The Managerial foundation is used to manage the performance of organizations. Key areas include administrative decision making, managerial techniques, leaders, and employee contributions. By these elements working together, organizations can operate successfully. Political/Policy The Political approach discusses how political officials oversee the different administrative decisions. Politicians have the final say on the laws that public administrators are tasked with executing. Within Rosenbloom's editorial "Have an Administrative Rx? Don't Forget the Politics!" he writes about the Politics/Administration Dichotomy – a principle developed by the Civil Service Reforms of the 1870s and the 1880s stating that politics and administration should remain separate in the public sector. That is a strange idea according to this article, in which he argues that if politics and public administration were separate, this approach would not work, emphasizing their inevitable interconnection. Legal The most crucial, according to Rosenbloom. The Rule of Law involves orderliness and comprehension, and spells out when and how tasks will be completed. Rosenbloom argues that in order to carry out their tasks, public administrators must be competent in their legal and constitutional obligations and restrictions. Rosenbloom's argument is that to understand public administration, it is not sufficient to use just one approach, but to think of all three at the same time. Rosenbloom documents that in 1946, by making major reforms, Congress became the central authority in how public administration operated in the federal government, incorporating all three approaches. Rosenbloom argues that public administration at other levels should operate in the same way.

Stream Leader, Public Policy and Management, Department of Public and Social Administration, City University of Hong Kong, 2009–2010. Acting chair of the Department of Public Administration and Policy at American University from 2005 to 2006. Chair of the American University Faculty Senate from 2004 to 2005. Member of the board of trustees at Marietta College from 2003 to 2009, life associate trustee in 2009. Member of the academic advisory board of Partnership for Public Service since 2003. Member of the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation Graduate Scholarship Program Review Panel from 2003 to 2008. Appointed member of the Clinton Gore Transition U. S. Presidential Transition, from 1992 to 1993. Received a fellowship from the Government Operations Cluster for U. S. Office of Personnel Management. Elected to the National Academy of Public Administration in 1986.

In 2009, Rosenbloom earned the Scholarship in Public Sector Human Resources, Section on Personnel Administration and Labor Relations, from the American Society for Public Administration. In 2008, he received the Mosher Award for Best Article by an Academician, which is in the Public Administration Review for "Reinventing Administrative Prescriptions: The Case for Democratic Constitutional Impact Statements and Scorecards.”

In 2006, he received the Best Article Award, American Review of Public Administration for the journal "Outsourcing the Constitution and Administrative Law Norms, co authored with Suzanne Piotrowski. In 2005, he received a guest professorship at Northwest University in Xi'an, PRC. In 2004, he received the Excellence in Teaching Award at the First Annual American University School of Public Affairs Ph. D. Students' for Outstanding Contributions to PhD Students. In 2003, he received a guest professorship at People's University of China, in Beijing, PRC. In 2001, he received the National Academy of Public Administration Louis Brownlow Award. He received the John Gaus Award for Exemplary Scholarship in the Joint Tradition of Political Science and Public Administration, from the American Political Science Association. He was named Scholar/Teacher of the Year at the School of Public Affairs. In 2000, he received an outstanding scholarship in research and other professional contributions from the School of Public Affairs. In 1999, he received the Dwight Waldo Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Literature and Leadership of Public Administration Through an Extended Career. He received the Outstanding Service Award from the School of Public Affairs. In 1996, he was the recipient of the Thomas Dye Award for Outstanding Service from the Policy Studies Organization. In 1994, he received an Honorary Doctor of Laws at Marietta College. In 1993, he received the Charles H. Levine Award for Excellence in Public Administration from the American Society for Public Administration/National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration. In 1992, he received the Distinguished Research Award from the National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration/American Society for Public Administration. In 1988, he was appointed first distinguished professor in the history of the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University. In 1986, he received the Syracuse University Chancellor's Citation for Exceptional Academic Achievement.

Rosenbloom has written extensively on the role of management practices, politics and political oversight, and administrative and constitutional law in public administration.

The United States Civil Service Commission's Role in the Federal Equal Employment Opportunity Program, 1965–1970. Washington: U. S. Civil Service Commission, 1970. Principal Author. 69 pp. Core Competencies for Federal Facilities Asset Management Through 2020: Transformational Strategies. Committee on Core Competencies for Federal Facilities Asset Management, 2005–2020, National Research Council of the National Academies. Washington, DC: National Academies Press, 2008. Committee member. 121 pp.