Kenneth Kickham, Ph.D.

Kenneth Kickham, Ph.D., holds a B.S. in accounting from OSU, an MPA from OU, a Ph.D. in political science from OU and a master's in adult education from UCO. For several years, he was a bureaucrat with the Department of Human Services, Oklahoma’s largest agency in terms of personnel. As an agency comptroller, Kickham exercised budget responsibility for more than $350,000,000. His research has been published in public administration, political science, business and anthropology journals, and he is a former president of the National Association for Welfare Research and Statistics (2003-04).

I teach classes in statistics, research methods, policy analysis, program evaluation, organization theory, budgeting, intergovernmental relations and ethics.

• Ph.D., Political Science, University of Oklahoma, 2000
• M.Ed., with honors, Adult and Higher Education, University of Central Oklahoma, 2016
• MPA, Public Administration, University of Oklahoma, 1994
• B.S., Accounting, Oklahoma State University, 1992
   

ACADEMIC APPOINTMENTS

• Chair, Department of Political Science, University of Central Oklahoma, 2019 – present
• Assistant Chair, Department of Political Science, University of Central Oklahoma, January – June, 2019
• Professor of Political Science, University of Central Oklahoma, 2014 – present
• Associate Professor of Political Science, University of Central Oklahoma, 2010 – 14
• Assistant Professor of Political Science, University of Central Oklahoma, 2005 – 10  
• Instructor in Political Science, University of Oklahoma, August 2001 – 2010
• Instructor in Statistics, Oklahoma State University, 2004
• Graduate Research Assistant and Teaching Assistant, University of Oklahoma, 1996 – 99

OTHER PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Comptroller
Budget Unit, Finance Division, Oklahoma Department of Human Services 
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
October 2004 – August 2005

Senior Researcher
Office of Planning, Policy and Research, Oklahoma Department of Human Services
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
September 2000 – October 2004

Management Analyst
Planning and Research Unit, Oklahoma Department of Human Services
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
October 1999 – August 2000
 

9 a.m.-5 p.m., Monday through Friday

Sharp, Brett S., Grant Aguirre, and Kenneth Kickham. 2016. Managing in the Public Sector: A Casebook in Ethics and Leadership (2^nd Edition). New York, NY: Routledge.

Kickham, Kenneth. 2023. “Oklahoma’s Governor and Elected Executives,” in Jan C. Hardt, John R. Wood, Brett S. Sharp and Christopher L. Markwood (eds.), Oklahoma Government and Politics: An Introduction (8th Edition). Dubuque, IA: Kendall-Hunt.

Wood, John, and Kenneth Kickham. 2023. “Pernicious Campus Polarization Over Critical Race Theory: A Case Study,” Journal of Political Science Education (published online June 8, 2023). DOI: 10.1080/15512169.2023.2216885

Horowitz, Mark, Anthony Haynor, and Kenneth Kickham. 2023. “Undeserved Grades or Underserved Students? Faculty Anxieties and Conflicting Values in the Corporate University,” Higher Education Politics & Economics 9(1): 43-84, DOI: 10.32674/hepe.v 9i1.5088

Wood, John, and Kenneth Kickham. 2021. “How Managers and Students View Public Service: The Theoretical vs. Practical Divide,” Teaching Public Administration 40(2): 209-230, DOI: 10.1177/01447394211013068

Horowitz, Mark, William Yaworsky, and Kenneth Kickham. 2019. “Anthropology’s Science Wars: Insights from a New Survey,” Current Anthropology 60(5): 674-698, DOI: 10.1086/705409

Horowitz, Mark, Anthony Haynor, and Kenneth Kickham. 2018. “Sociology’s Sacred Victims and the Politics of Knowledge: Moral Foundations Theory and Disciplinary Controversies,” The American Sociologist June: 1-37, DOI: 10.1007/s12108-018-9381-5

Wood, John, Ryan Kiggins, and Kenneth Kickham. 2017. “Food or Thought? Assessing Internal and External Factors Affecting Evaluations of Instructor Effectiveness,” Journal of Political Science Education 13(4): 373-388, DOI: 10.1080/15512169.2017.1329089

Yaworsky, William, Mark Horowitz, and Kenneth Kickham. 2015. “Gender and Politics Among Anthropologists in the Units of Selection Debate,” Biological Theory 10(2): 145-155, DOI: 10.1007/s13752-014-0196-5

Horowitz, Mark, William Yaworsky, and Kenneth Kickham. 2014. “Whither the Blank Slate?  A Report on the Reception of Evolutionary Biological Ideas among Sociological Theorists,” Sociological Spectrum 34: 489-509, DOI: 10.1080/02732173.2014.947451

Kickham, Kenneth, and David A. Ford. 2013. “Effect of Divorce on State Medicaid Expenditures,” Journal of Poverty 17(1): 1-12, DOI: 10.1080/10875549.2012.748001

Yaworsky, William, and Kenneth Kickham. 2012. “Who Participates in Mexico's Program for Migrant Agricultural Laborers? Explaining the Distribution of Communities in Ahuacuotzingo, Guerrero.” Culture, Agriculture, Food and Environment 34(2): 148-160.

Findley, Dean A., and Kenneth Kickham. 2012. “Politics, Policy and Presidential Disaster Declarations: Is There a Good Time (or Place) to Have a Disaster?” The Researcher: An Interdisciplinary Journal 25(3): 1-21.

Yaworsky, William, and Kenneth Kickham. 2009. “The Pull of the Marketplace: Colonia Growth and Regional Migration in Guerrero, Mexico,” The Latin Americanist 53(4): 29-48, DOI: 10.1111/j.2153-9561.2012.01074.x

Kickham, Kenneth, and David A. Ford. 2009. “Are State Marriage Initiatives Having an Effect? An Initial Exploration of the Impact on Divorce and Childhood Poverty Rates,” Public Administration Review 69(5): 846-54, DOI: 10.1111/j.1540-6210.2009.02034.x

Salehezadeh, Zohre, and Kenneth Kickham. 2005. “How Public Policies Affect Work and Marriage Incentives,” Oklahoma Business Bulletin 73(1): 9-21.

Salehezadeh, Zohre, and Kenneth Kickham. 2003. “Baby Boomers’ Retirement: Are We Prepared?” Oklahoma Business Bulletin 71(3): 3-15.

Morgan, David R., Kenneth Kickham, and James T. LaPlant. 2002. “State Support for Higher Education: A Political Economy Approach,” Policy Studies Journal 29(3): 359-71, DOI: 10.1111/j.1541-0072.2001.tb02098.x

Morgan, David R., and Kenneth Kickham. 2001. “Children in Poverty: Do State Policies Matter?” Social Science Quarterly 82(3): 478-93, DOI: 10.1111/0038-4941.00037

Morgan, David R., and Kenneth Kickham. 1999. “Work and Welfare in the American States: Analyzing the Effects of the JOBS Program,” Political Research Quarterly 52(4): 867-83, DOI: 10.1177/106591299905200410

Morgan, David R., and Kenneth Kickham. 1999. “Changing the Form of County Government: Effects on Revenue and Expenditure Policy,” Public Administration Review 59(4): 315-24, DOI: 10.2307/3110114

Morgan, David R., and Kenneth Kickham. 1997. “Modernization among the U.S. States: Change and Continuity from 1960 to 1990,” Publius: The Journal of Federalism 27(3): 23-39, DOI: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3330595

PROGRAM EVALUATIONS AND OTHER REPORTS

Plateaus and Cliff Effects in Oklahoma: Understanding How Public Supports and Income Interact for Low-Income Oklahomans, Tulsa, OK: Oklahoma Policy Institute (with Paul Shinn, December 2020).

Cliff Effects of Tax and Transfer Programs in Oklahoma, Tulsa, OK: Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation Institute (with Paul Shinn and David Blatt, August 2019).

Early Childhood School Readiness Assessment: Analysis of a Teacher Survey, Oklahoma City, OK: Oklahoma Partnership for School Readiness Foundation (June 2018).

Analysis of Survey Results: Families of Children under Five Years Old, Oklahoma City, OK: Oklahoma Partnership for School Readiness Foundation (May 2018).

Belief in Observational Assessment Data: An Early Learning Feasibility Study, Oklahoma City, OK: Oklahoma Partnership for School Readiness Foundation (April 2018).

Economic Impact of DHS Services, Oklahoma City, OK: Department of Human Services (July 2017).

Online Budget Guide: 2016 Update, Tulsa, OK: Oklahoma Policy Institute (with Paul Shinn, David Blatt and Gene Perry, January 2017).

“SOONER Than Later: Testing a Predesigned Performance Measure Data Warehouse Model,” Office of Child Support Services and Data Services Division, Oklahoma Department of Human Services, Oklahoma City (with Krista S. Schumacher, February 2013).

“Preserving Reliable Support for Children of the Recession: Automation of the Out-of-State Unemployment Insurance Benefits Process,” Center for Coordinated Programs, Office of Child Support Services, Oklahoma Department of Human Services, Oklahoma City (with Krista S. Schumacher, February 2012).

“Measuring the Impact of Raising A Reader in a Native American Community,” Oklahoma Child Care Resource & Referral Association, Oklahoma City (August 2007).

The State of Working Oklahoma: The Uneven Recovery Leaves Many Behind, Tulsa, OK: Community Action Project (with Jim Alexander and David Blatt, January 2007).

“Assessing the Effects of Raising A Reader in Oklahoma,” Oklahoma Child Care Resource & Referral Association, Oklahoma City (July 2006).

“Oklahoma City and General Motors: Assessing the Alternatives,” United Auto Workers, Oklahoma City (December 2005).

Leaving Welfare Behind: The Oklahoma TANF Leavers Report, Oklahoma City, OK: Department of Human Services (with Angela Harnden, Kim Sasser, Nury Effendi and Robert Bentley, October 2000).

Health and Well-Being in Oklahoma: A Long-Term Analysis of Welfare Reform, Oklahoma City, OK: Department of Human Services (with Angela Harnden, Nury Effendi and Robert Bentley, May 2000).

“Oklahoma Seat Belt Observation Study,” Institute for Public Affairs, University of Oklahoma (with David R. Morgan, July 1999).

“Oklahoma Child Restraint Observation Study,” Institute for Public Affairs, University of Oklahoma (with David R. Morgan, July 1998).

“Oklahoma Seat Belt Observation Study,” Institute for Public Affairs, University of Oklahoma (with David R. Morgan, July 1998).

“Oklahoma Child Restraint Observation Study,” Institute for Public Affairs, University of Oklahoma (with David R. Morgan, July 1997).

“Oklahoma Seat Belt Observation Study,” Institute for Public Affairs, University of Oklahoma (with David R. Morgan, July 1997).

“Oklahoma Child Restraint Observation Study,” Institute for Public Affairs, University of Oklahoma (with David R. Morgan, July 1996).

“Oklahoma Seat Belt Observation Study,” Institute for Public Affairs, University of Oklahoma (with David R. Morgan, July 1996).

GRANTS AWARDED

2012, Evaluator for the Oklahoma Department of Human Services, Office of Child Support Services and Data Services Division, on “SOONER Than Later: Testing a Predesigned Performance Measure Data Warehouse Model,” U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families (Grant No.: HHS-2011-ACF-OCSE-90-FD-0175). Total Budget: $100,000.

2010, Project Co-Director for University of Central Oklahoma, on Oklahoma Humanities Council and UCO College of Education and Professional Studies Grant “Teaching Civic Engagement and the Politics of Democracy: Environmental History, Land and Energy Stewardship, and Community in Oklahoma” (Project No.: Y10.501). Total Budget: $17,004.46.

2010, Lead Evaluator for the Oklahoma Department of Human Services, Office of Child Support Services, on “Preserving Reliable Support for Children of the Recession: Automation of the Out-of-State Unemployment Insurance Benefits Intercept Process.” U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families (Grant No.: HHS-2009-ACF-OCSE-FD-0095). Total Budget: $126,487.

2003 through 2006, Lead Evaluator for the Oklahoma Department of Human Services, on U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families Grant No.: 90-CW-1115. Total Budget: $600,000.

1996 through 1999, Project manager and methodologist, Institute for Public Affairs at the University of Oklahoma.  Under contract for the Department of Transportation, conducted 9 seat belt and child restraint usage surveys and reported findings (approx. $360,000).

EXPERT TESTIMONY GIVEN

Oklahoma House of Representatives, Committee on Business and Economic Development (Minimum Wage Bill), Feb. 15, 2006.

Oklahoma Merit Protection Commission, Grievance Adjudication (Sampling Theory), June 24, 2005.

MEDIA INTERVIEWS

Marcus Ruiz Evans (“Pernicious Campus Polarization”), July 12, 2023.

Wallethub.com (“Best State Economies”), May 25, 2023.   

Wallethub.com (“2022 Safest Cities in America”), October 10, 2022.

Wallethub.com (“Best- & Worst-Run Cities in America”), June 21, 2022. 

Wallethub.com (“Most Fun Cities in America”), December 8, 2021.

Wallethub.com (“Most & Least Federally Dependent States”), March 20, 2018.

News9 (regarding the Government Shutdown), October 3, 2013.

OTHER ARTICLES AND PUBLISHED RESEARCH 

“Speaker’s Claims Simply Don’t Add Up,” Oklahoma Observer (with David R. Morgan, May 10, 2007, p. 8).

“Governmental Capacity: Measuring Up in the 21^st Century,” in Strategies for Oklahoma’s Future, The Oklahoma Academy (October 2006).

Modeling Work and Marriage Incentives in Public Policies, Oklahoma City, OK: Department of Human Services (with Zohre Salehezadeh, May 2004).

"The Creative Class: Sooners Strike Out," Oklahoma Observer (with David R. Morgan, March 10, 2004).

Baby Boomers’ Retirement: Are We Prepared? Oklahoma City, OK: Department of Human Services (with Zohre Salehezadeh, January 2003).

In education circles, the term learning community has become commonplace.  It is being used to mean any number of things, such as extending classroom practice into the community; bringing community personnel into the school to enhance the curriculum and learning tasks for students; or engaging students, teachers, and administrators simultaneously in learning - to suggest just a few.  I use the term to convey a sense of what our experience will be like this semester as we participate in an organization characterized by the following elements:

• collegial and facilitative participation of Dr. Kickham, who shares leadership - and thus, power and authority - through inviting student input in decision making;
• shared vision that is developed from unswerving commitment to learning, and that is consistently articulated and referenced;
• collective learning among students and facilitator, and application of that learning to solutions that address the needs of the learning community;
• supportive review of each community member’s classroom performance by peers as a feedback and assistance activity to support individual and community improvement; and,
• physical conditions that support such an operation.