Gang Chen

Gang Chen is an Associate Professor in Public Administration at the University at Albany’s Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy. He co-founded and co-directs the State and Local Government Finance Project (SLGF) at the Center for Policy Research at Rockefeller College. As a Public Administration scholar specializing in public budgeting, finance, and financial management, Dr. Chen’s research is dedicated to addressing a variety of critical and pressing financial management challenges currently facing governments. His current research initiatives focus on four main topics: (1) analyzing fiscal risks and liabilities within government employee retirement systems, (2) evaluating government preparedness and response strategies for natural disasters, (3) advancing fiscal transparency through enhanced financial reporting practices, and (4) examining financial management practices within New York State and local governments.

Dr. Chen's work has been published in leading academic journals, including the Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory (JPART), Public Management Review (PMR), American Review of Public Administration (ARPA), Public Budgeting & Finance (PBF), Administration & Society (A&S), Journal of Pension Economics and Finance (JPEF), Public Finance Review (PFR), Local Government Studies (LGS), Public Money and Management (PMM), and Public Performance and Management Review (PPMR). He has obtained research grants and served as Principal Investigator (PI) or Co-Principal Investigator (Co-PI) in research projects funded by the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB), Society of Actuaries (SOA), the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College, the Equable Institute, the Crane Foundation, the Laura and John Arnold Foundation, the Reason Foundation, the Spencer Foundation, and the Pew Charitable Trusts.

At Rockefeller College, Professor Chen teaches PAD 316: Methodological Tools for Public Policy, PAD 501: Public and Nonprofit Financial Management, PAD 505: Applied Statistics for Public Managers and Policy Analysts, PAD 642: Public Budgeting, and PAD 705: Advanced Quantitative Analysis. He also serves as a consultant and instructor in the Zimbabwe Parliamentary Strengthening Program (PSP). Dr. Chen earned his Ph.D. in Public Administration from the University of Nebraska at Omaha in 2013.