Inaugural Michael and Enid Mescon Leadership Lecture Features Rutgers Distinguished Professor

ATLANTA — Norma M. Riccucci of Rutgers University recently presented a lecture on leadership and the relevance of critical race theory (CRT) for the launch of the Michael and Enid Mescon Leadership Lecture Series at Georgia State University. 

“Critical race theory is a controversial topic in contemporary public affairs and public policy,” said Professor John C. Thomas, who holds the Michael and Enid Mescon Endowed Chair. “Dr. Riccucci provided an excellent analysis of the theory, including its implications for practicing public administrators.”

Riccucci’s lecture, “The Relevance of Critical Race Theory to Public Administrative Practice: The Role of Leaders,” was hosted by the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies and Georgia Policy Labs.

The Mescon Leadership Lecture Series brings experts to Georgia State’s downtown campus to talk about contemporary leadership issues. Honoring the late Michael Mescon’s personal leadership, the series was created to carry on the tradition he established of teaching leadership in the Andrew Young School. The Mescon family designed and generously endowed the chair in 2019 to broaden recognition of their late husband and father’s groundbreaking career in management and leadership development in the private, public and nonprofit sectors, along with his gifts in teaching the next generation of public service leaders.

Riccucci, a Board of Governors Distinguished Professor at the School of Public Affairs and Administration at Rutgers University, Newark, has authored several books in the areas of public sector human resource management and public management. A fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration, she has received some of the most prestigious awards in public administration, including the Public Management Research Association’s H. George Frederickson Award and the American Political Science Association’s John Gaus Award. She is a fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration.

“Dr. Riccucci is best known for her work on representative bureaucracy and social equity,” Thomas said. “Her leadership focus linked the lecture to Mike Mescon’s leadership work, including, of course, the undergraduate leadership classes he taught for us. Her diversity focus linked the lecture to an important element of what we’re about as a school. I couldn’t be more pleased that we were able to attract one of the top scholars in public administration to present our inaugural lecture.”