FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Kay Goss, executive in residence in political science, has been elected as a Fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration. New fellows were introduced to the academy during its 2013 fall meeting in Washington, D.C., before their formal induction during the academy’s James E. Webb Lecture, which was held at Grand Hyatt Hotel.

The National Academy of Public Administration is an independent, non-profit and non-partisan organization established to assist government leaders in building more effective, efficient, accountable and transparent organizations. Academy fellows include more than 750 individuals who have served as cabinet officers, members of congress and governors, as well as prominent scholars, business executives and public administrators.

“I am very excited to welcome this new group of outstanding individuals to the Fellowship,” said Dan G. Blair, academy president and CEO. “Fellows are nationally recognized for their significant contributions to the field of public administration and today’s incoming class exemplifies this commitment to public administration. Elected by their peers, these inductees will drive the important work of the academy in addressing emerging issues in government.”

Fellows are chosen for their expertise in areas such as financial management, human resources, technology and administrative functions at all levels of government. Fellows serve as the cornerstone of the organization by providing general guidance and contributing insight and experience to the oversight of its projects.

Goss is an internationally recognized lecturer, author and public servant. She is a highly respected authority in the fields of emergency management, risk communication and general resiliency.

Goss is on campus this spring as the university’s first Executive in Residence in political science. The program, created by the department of political science in the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences, brings high-ranking managers in the service professions and career executives to campus to interact with undergraduate and graduate students through lectures and professional seminars.  

Early in her career, Goss served as senior assistant for intergovernmental relations for Governor Bill Clinton, a position she held for more than 10 years. She moved from the state capitol to the federal government where she became the first woman to hold the position of assistant director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency in charge of national preparedness, training and exercises, presidential appointee, U.S. Senate, confirmed.

Additional work experience includes serving as senior associate for Emergency Management and Homeland Security for Booz Allen Hamilton in McLean, Va., senior principal and advisor for Emergency Management and Continuity Programs at Systems and Research Applications International, in Arlington, Va., and senior advisor for Emergency Management, Homeland Security, Business Security at Electronic Data Systems Corp, in Herndon, Va.