Monty Van Wart, professor of public administration, has just met a career goal of more than 10,000 Google Scholar citations.

“None-too-soon,” quipped Van Wart, as he noted his semi-retirement to FERP status next year. The numbers are pretty impressive given that he has been at a teaching institution for the last 19 years.

“I have about 150 significant publications, and I think I have done over half of them here,” he said, referencing Cal State San Bernardino. He currently has over 73 publications with at least 10 citations and seven with over 500 citations.

Asked about where he finds the time, he said it was not always easy. “I devote most weekends and summers entirely to research. Because it is a passion for me, however, I find the time no matter what other responsibilities I have.” 

He said that his advice to new scholars coming into CSUSB was threefold: build research into your schedule, and do not let it get pushed out. Have a detailed research agenda to keep yourself motivated, strategic, and organized. And finally, find ways to overlap your research with other aspects of your job, if at all possible, for synergy.

His research areas are diverse and so he said some of them he only rotates back to every three or four years. His top research areas are leadership, public sector management, ethics, and human resource management.

Monty Van Wart Google Scholar graphic

Because of his work with the Online Learning and Education Research Program, he has been spending a lot of time the last five years researching online education, which led to National Science Foundation funding.

But that is not his latest area. “Some of my newest research focuses on social psychology, leadership and the negative effects of radicalization. To that end, I have done analyses of inclusive and divisive political leaders, how to tackle pervasive and dysfunctional social exclusion we are experiencing in our own country, and even an historical comparison of the pre-Civil War 1850s and today.”

He said he is concerned that his field, public administration, is not as well equipped to deal with the political challenges he sees as continuing to rise in society.

Van Wart’s accomplishments in research have been well recognized in the past. He was the 2022-23 Outstanding Professor, CSUSB’s first Outstanding Research and Creative Activities Award winner, and winner of numerous awards from professional organizations. Perhaps most impressive is the fact that he has served as a distinguished professor at a half dozen of the top universities in the world, including KU Leuven, Arizona State, the University of Hong Kong, Rutgers and the National University of Ireland. Next year, he will be a distinguished professor in residence for several months at Tsinghua University in Beijing, ranked by Times Higher Education as best university in Asia and the 12th best university in the world. 

“I feel so lucky to be able to continue to teach and do research even as I begin partial retirement,” Van Wart said as he smiled.