Jason L. Jensen

Associate Professor

MPA Director
Gamble Hall Room 265E

701 777 3547

jjensen@business.und.edu

Fall 2009 Courses:

Pols 300: Introduction to Research Methods
Pols 551: Health Organization and Administration

Spring 2010 Courses:

Pols 300: Introduction to Research Methods

Pols 437: Administrative Processes

Jason Jensen grew up in Minnesota.  After several stints at various undergraduate institutions (he was an itinerate basketball player), he graduated from Bemidji State University (Minnesota) with a bachelor’s degree in psychology.  While working in the juvenile corrections area, he also earned a master’s degree in applied behavioral science, with an emphasis in public service management.  He continued working with troubled youth in various treatment settings, eventually becoming director of a nonprofit treatment facility for adolescents.  Wanting more administrative training, he earned a master’s in public administration, with a cognate in quantitative methods, at the University of North Dakota.

The opportunity to begin Ph.D. studies presented itself and Jason eventually earned a doctorate in public administration from the Martin School of Public Policy and Administration at the University of Kentucky.  Building on a long-held interest in research methodology and statistics, he became involved in several policy analysis projects, encompassing the areas of health, transportation, and the environment.  His Ph.D. emphasis was in organizational theory; thus, much of his research has been on the intersection of public policy and organizational theory.  He has taught across a wide area of public administration (budgeting, intergovernmental relations, personnel) as well as methodology (policy analysis, research methods).  Because of his professional experience, he also has research and teaching interests in health administration and nonprofit management.  His newest passion is social entrepreneurship, which stems from his professional experience and teaching interests in nonprofit management.  Acting on this interest, he initiated an interdisciplinary graduate certificate in social entrepreneurship during the 2008-2009 academic year, which has received approval and is under development.

Jason was hired by UND in 1999 to teach public administration and health administration courses.  His research has appeared in such outlets as Public Administration Review, the Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, and Policy Studies Journal