Stephen M. King, Ph.D.
Bio
Dr. King received his Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Missouri-Columbia in 1990.
Dr. King has taught in Christian higher education since 1991 and in higher education overall since 1989. His primary areas of teaching are in Public Administration, Public Policy Analysis, Ethics in Public Leadership, and American Government and Politics.
Dr. King has published dozens of articles, essays, book reviews, and policy studies in both academic and non-academic publications. His research covers a wide range of areas including religion and politics, spirituality and the workplace, ethical and moral leadership in public sector organizations, education reform, and civic education. In addition, he has authored and co-authored four books: God and Caesar: The Biblical Keys to Good Government and Community Action (Xulon Press, 2002), co-author with Bradley S. Chilton, Administration in the Public Interest: Principles, Policies, and Practices (Carolina Academic Press, 2009), co-author with Bradley S. Chilton, Viviane E. Foyou, and J. Scott McDonald, The Public Administration Profession: Policy, Management, and Ethics (Routledge, 2018), and Ethical Public Leadership: Foundation, Exploration, and Discovery (Routledge, 2023).
In addition to teaching and research, Dr. King has served in several administrative positions in Christian higher education, including Associate Dean of Academics, Director of MPA Program, and Department Chairman (Patrick Henry College, Taylor University, and Regent University). In addition, he served as Research Vice President at the Public Interest Institute in Mt. Pleasant, IA (2008-2009). He serves on two executive councils: Hampton Roads Chapter of the American Society of Public Administration (2020-2022) and the Section on Ethics and Integrity in Government, American Society of Public Administration (2021-2024). He was invited by C-SPAN to be one of 141 scholars nationwide to participate in its 2021 President Survey.
Dr. King has pastored two churches (1996; 1997-1998), launched his own speaking and writing ministry, Stephen King Ministries (2002-2003), and was a licensed and ordained minister (e.g., Redemption Ministries and Bob Yandian Ministries).
Scholarly Areas of Expertise & Interest
Public Administration (sub-fields: administrative ethics, spirituality, and the public workplace; public management and leadership)
Public Policy (sub-fields: policy analysis, policy development and implementation, general policy)
American Politics (sub-fields: general American politics, religion and politics, state, and local government)
Recent Publications
Stephen M. King, Ethical Public Leadership: Foundation, Exploration, and Discovery. New York: Routledge, 2023. Forthcoming September 7, 2023.
King, S.M., Firestone, S., Henkel, H., & Moore, B.T. (2023). Ethical leadership: Descriptive literature review of the diverse influence and development of ethics upon public sector and military leaders, followers, and organizations, The Journal of Values-Based Leadership: Vol. 16: Issue. 2, Article 1, DOI: https://doi.org/10.22543/1948-0733.1449. Available at: https://scholar.valpo.edu/jvbl/vol16/iss1/2.
Agyapong, E., King, S.M., Roberts, G. (2022). Servant Leadership and Ethics. In: Dhiman, S.K., Roberts, G.E. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of Servant Leadership. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-69802-7_96-1.
Roberts, G.E., King, S.M., Agyapong, E. (2022). Servant Soldiers. In: Dhiman, S., Roberts, G.E. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of Servant Leadership. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-69802-7_51-1.
Bradley S. Chilton & Stephen M. King (2022). Constitutional conscience and plural ethical directionality. Public Integrity, 24(1), 18-32, https://doi.org/10.1080/10999922.2020.1838131.
Stephen M. King (2022) Crisis Leadership: A Case Study of New York’s 2020 COVID-19 Nursing Home Executive Policy Action, Public Integrity, 24(7), pp. 654-663. Published online in 2021, https://doi.org/10.1080/10999922.2021.1960750.
King, S. M., Agyapong, E., & Roberts, G. (2021). ASPA code of ethics as a framework for teaching ethics in public affairs and administration: A conceptual content analysis of MPA ethics course syllabi. Journal of Public Affairs Education, 27(2), 176-197. https://doi.org/10.1080/15236803.2019.1640560.
Teaching Interests
The American Republic
The Making of the Christian Mind
Political Ideologies
State and Local Government
Legislative Process
Introduction to Study of Government
Introduction to Public Policy
Senior Seminar
American Politics I: Founding and Institutions
Professional Service Roles
2024-2025: President, Hampton Roads Chapter of the American Society of Public Administration (HRASPA)
2021-2024: Member of Executive Committee, Section of Ethics and Integrity in Government (SEIGov), American Society of Public Administration
2020-2023: Member of Executive Council, Hampton Roads Chapter of the American Society of Public Administration
Awards & Honors
2023: Wolfgang Pindaur Award for Scholarship, Hampton Roads Chapter of American Society of Public Administration (HRASPA)
2023: Regent Faculty Scholarship Award
2022: Dean’s Scholarship for Research
2022: Faculty Tenure, Regent University
2016-2021: Five Year Service Award, Regent University