Top 50+ Nonprofit Academics and Researchers You Should Know and Read

One of the reasons why I love going to ARNOVA conferences each year is because I get the opportunity to meet "famous" nonprofit researchers. Well they may not be famous to the general public, however they are well known in the world of nonprofit academia and research.

Since many readers of this blog and my colleague's blog (Lindsey McDougle) are considering a career in nonprofit academia, we decided to create our own Top 50+ list of nonprofit academics whom we really respect and admire because of their research contributions to the field.

* Sal Alaimo, IUPUI (Evaluation)
* Alan R Andreasen, Georgetown University (Marketing, Nonprofit Economics)
* Helmut K. Anheier, UCLA (Nonprofit Workforce, Nonprofit Sector)
* Robert Ashcraft, Arizona State University (Nonprofit Management)
* Carol Barbeito, Consultant (Nonprofit HR)
* Jeanne Bell, CompassPoint (Nonprofit Leadership, Nonprofit Finance)
* Avner Ben-Ner, University of Minnesota (Mixed Economy and Nonprofit Organizations)
* Wolfgang Bielefeld, IUPUI (Faith Based Services, Nonprofit Management, Nonprofit Sector)
* Angela Bies, Texas A & M (Training and Organizational Development, Nonprofit Management, Capacity Building)
* Elizabeth T. Boris, Urban Institute (Nonprofit Sector, Philanthropy, Nonprofit Advocacy)
* Woods Bowman, DePaul University (Nonprofit Accountability)
* Evelyn Brody, Chicago Kent College of Law (Nonprofit Law)
* Jeff Brudney, Cleveland State University (Volunteers, Nonprofit Management)
* Dwight Burlingame, IUPUI (Philanthropy)
* Joanne Carman, University of North Carolina Charlotte (Evaluation)
* Marla Cornelius, CompassPoint (Nonprofit Leadership)
* Christopher Cornforth, Open University (Governance)
* Michael Cortez, University of Denver (Nonprofit Technology)
* Shelly Cryer, American Humanics (Nonprofit Careers, Nonprofit Leadership)
* Ray Dart, Trent University (Nonprofit Strategy and Program Effectiveness)
* Carol De Vita, Urban Institute (Nonprofit Sector, Faith Based Organizations, Capacity Building)
* Peter Dobkin Hall, Harvard University (History of the Nonprofit Sector)
* Joe Galaskiewicz, University of Arizona, (Philanthropy)
* Beth Gazley, Indiana University Bloomington (Volunteers, Service-learning)
* Kirsten Gronbjerg, Indiana University (Nonprofit Sector, Indiana Nonprofits)
* Kyle Farmbry, Rutgers University (Intersectoral Relations, Nonprofit Management)
* Kathleen Fletcher, University of San Francisco (Nonprofit Education)
* Joel Fleishman, Duke University (Nonprofit Law, Philanthropy)
* Mark Hager, Arizona State University (Nonprofit Management, Nonprofit Sector)
* John J. Havens, Boston College (Philanthropy)
* Robert D. Herman, University of Missouri, Kansas City (Governance, Organizational Behavior)
* David Horton Smith, Boston College (Grassroot Nonprofits, Deviance Studies)
* Thomas Jevons, ARNOVA (Ethics, Religious Nonprofits)
* Laura Leete, University of Oregon (Nonprofit Workforce, Nonprofit Economics)
* Pat Libby, University of San Diego (Ethics, Advocacy)
* Paul Light, New York University (Nonprofit Confidence, Nonprofit Workforce, Nonprofit Performance)
* Wes Lindahl, North Park University (Fundraising, Philanthropy)
* Roger Lohmann, West Virginia University (Nonprofit Management, Philanthropy)
* Mary McDonald, University of San Diego (Evaluation, Nonprofit Sector, Nonprofit Education)
* Nancy Macduff, Consultant (Volunteers)
* Debra Mesch, Indiana University Bloomington (Nonprofit HR, Governance, Executive Compensation)
* John McNutt, University of Delaware (Nonprofit Technology, Nonprofit Management)
* Judith Millesen, Ohio University (Nonprofit Management, Capacity Building)
* Debra Minkoff, Barnard College (Social Movements)
* Rosanne Mirabella, Seton Hall University (Nonprofit Education)
* Michael O'Neill, University of San Francisco (Nonprofit Education, Nonprofit Management, Nonprofit Sector)
* Francie Ostrower, Urban Institute (Governance)
* Laurie Paarlberg, University of North Carolina, Wilmington (Nonprofit Management)
* Tom Pollak, Urban Institute (Nonprofit Sector)
* Susan Raymond, OnPhilanthropy (Philanthropy, Civil Society)
* Kevin Rafter, James Irvine Foundation (Nonprofit Technology, GIS, California Nonprofits)
* David Renz, University of Missouri, Kansas City (Nonprofit Management, Governance, Nonprofit Performance)
* Judith R Saidel, University of Albany (Governance, Nonprofit Management)
* Lester M Salamon, John Hopkins University (Nonprofit Workforce, Nonprofit Sector)
* Gregory Saxton, SUNY Buffalo (Social Capital, Nonprofit Technology)
* Tomas Silk, Silk, Adler, Cohen (Nonprofit Law)
*Mark Schlesinger, Yale University (Ownership Related Differences in Healthcare)
* Steven Rathgeb Smith, University of Washington (Nonprofit Management, Nonprofit and Government Relations)
* Carol Silverman, University of San Francisco (Diversity, Nonprofit Sector)
* Richard Steinberg, IUPUI (Nonprofit Economics, Philanthropy)
* Mary Tschirhart, North Carolina State University (Membership)
* Eugene Tempel, Indiana University Foundation (Philanthropy)
* Burton A. Weisbrod, Northwestern University (Nonprofit Workforce, Nonprofit Economics)
* Naomi Wish, Seton Hall University (Nonprofit Education)
* David W. Young, Boston University (Nonprofit Finance)
* Dennis Young, Georgia State University (Nonprofit & Govt. Relations)

Disclaimer: We are still new to the world of nonprofit academia so there are researchers we don't know or haven't read their works yet that are not on this list. So if there is a researcher we should read their work please let us know.

We realize there isn't much diversity to this list. This will change soon because younger scholars coming into the field tend to be more diverse than older generations in nonprofit academia.

On another note, here are four more fabulous nonprofit researchers serving on my dissertation committee.

• Chair: Robert Donmoyer, PhD, Professor of Leadership Studies and Co-Director of the Caster Family Center for Nonprofit Research at USD. He earned his PhD in Education from Stanford University and he was awarded the prestigious University professorship last year.
• Paula Krist, PhD, Director of Assessment for the School of Leadership and Education Sciences at USD. She is formerly Director of Assessment at Central Florida University.
• Mary McDonald, PhD, Assistant Professor of Nonprofit Leadership and Management at USD. She is our first tenure-track nonprofit faculty member and formerly Director of Research at the Johnson Center at Grand Valley State University and former Executive Director of several nonprofit organizations in Michigan.
• Roseanne Mirabella, PhD Associate Professor at Seton Hall University. She is the top nonprofit management education researcher in the field.