Robert Bland

Robert L. (Bob) Bland holds the alumni-funded Endowed Professorship in Local Government in the Department of Public Administration. During his 40 years at UNT, he served as the department’s first chair. He also served as interim chair of the Department of Criminal Justice. He holds a PhD from the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs at the University of Pittsburgh, MPA and MBA degrees from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and a B.S. degree from Pepperdine University. He is the author of five books including A Budgeting Guide for Local Government (4th edition). He writes and lectures on issues in local government finance. An earlier book, Financing City Government in Texas, received the "Excellence in Research Award" from the Government Finance Officers Association. On two occasions he conducted AID-sponsored workshops in Poland. He is the first recipient of the Terrell Blodgett Academician Award from TCMA and the Stephen B. Sweeney Academic Award from International City/County Management Association. He is an elected fellow in the National Academy of Public Administration and an Honorary Lifetime Member of ICMA. In 2019, he was the guest of the Chinese government as a visiting scholar at Beijing’s Renmin University. In 2020, he was elected Vice Chair of the Association for Budgeting and Financial Management and became chair in 2022. In 2023, he received the UNT Foundation’s Eminent Faculty Award, the university’s highest faculty award.