Join us in welcoming several new faculty members to the Hobby School this fall. They bring diverse experiences, interdisciplinary backgrounds and a passion for our mission that will be invaluable to our students and the continued growth of the school.

Peter Koelling, J.D., Ph.D. is an instructional associate professor of public administration and the director of the Master of Public Administration (MPA) program, bringing nearly 40 years of experience as a licensed attorney, practitioner and lecturer to the classroom and leadership role. Koelling will teach courses on administrative theory, public agency budgeting and innovation in the public sector and work with MPA capstone students.

Joining Koelling to support the MPA program are Instructional Associate Professors Toshiyuki Yuasa, Ph.D. and Sara Sands, Ph.D. Yuasa has taught the next generation of public service leaders for more than 25 years. He specializes in geographic information systems and spatial statistical analysis and teaches statistics and regression analysis policy research methods and data analytics and visualization. Sands is interim associate director of the Elizabeth D. Rockwell Center on Ethics and Leadership at the Hobby School and will work with undergraduates in the public policy laboratory as the newest member of the public administration team.

On the public policy and research side, the Hobby School welcomes Assistant Professors Samuel Arenberg, Ph.D., Yuki Atsusaka, Ph.D. and Katelyn Heath, Ph.D. and Associate Professor Mirya Holman, Ph.D. to support the school’s multidisciplinary teaching and innovative research.

Arenberg will contribute to research in public, health and environmental economics. He has a joint appointment with the economics department as a 2023 Presidential Frontier Faculty, a program to support the university’s commitment to expanding research in health, energy, security and sustainability and addressing societal challenges.

Atsusaka is teaching advanced policy research methods and advanced quantitative modeling. His research interests are at the intersection of electoral systems, race and ethnic politics and political methodology.

Heath is the introductory economics and policy analysis instructor. She brings expertise in the economics of education, special education policy and labor economics to the Hobby School classrooms and research teams.

Holman is well-known for her expertise in criminal justice reform, including sheriffs' accountability to their local communities, and gender and politics. She also focuses on state and local politics and environmental politics. She teaches policy and global justice.

In addition to faculty, the Hobby School has added staff to the administrative rolls, and student enrollment continues to climb. The accreditation of the Master of Public Policy program by the Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs and Administration, the addition of the Master of Public Administration program and the planning of a new building make it an exciting time for the Hobby School community. We look forward to celebrating the school's future and the real-world impact of our students and alumni.

Public Administration

Public Policy and Research

Jim Granato, PhD
Dean
Hobby School of Public Affairs
University of Houston