Morgan Vogel, Ph.D., Assistant Director and Senior Research Associate

I am the assistant director and senior research associate at the Center for Public Affairs Research at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. I work on community-engaged research projects with state and community partners on a wide range of topics, including workforce access and equity, entrepreneurship, rural transit, organizational dynamics and decision-making, and policy learning. I am also a Strategic Data Project Fellow, a program of the Center for Education Policy Research at Harvard University. My research has been published in International Public Management Journal, State & Local Government Review, Public Integrity, and the Journal of Public Affairs Education.

Education and Credentials

Ph.D., Public Administration, University of Nebraska at Omaha (2021)

M.P.A., Public Administration, University of Dayton, Ohio (2017)

B.A. Political Science, University of Dayton, Ohio (2015)

Selected Publications

• Pautz, M. C., & Vogel, M. D. (2025). Engaging administrative state debates in the classroom and motivating future public servants. Public Integrity. https://doi.org/10.1080/10999922.2025.2508629
• Oquendo, P. M., & Vogel, M. D. (2025). The perspectives of STEM faculty toward undergraduate mentorship: A case study. International Journal of Evidence Based Coaching and Mentoring 23(1), 300-315. https://doi.org/10.24384/x7qv-tq75
• Schafer, J. G., & Vogel, M. D. (2025). Managing and mentoring students in applied research: Opportunities and challenges for including students in community-engaged projects. In J. G. Schafer & B. D. McDonald (Eds.), Engaged Learning in the Public Service Classroom. New York, NY: Routledge
• Oquendo, P. M., Vogel, M. D., & Cutucache, C. E. (2024). Undergraduate mentorship in science: A qualitative synthesis. Mentoring & Tutoring: Partnership in Learning. https://doi.org/10.1080/13611267.2024.2380681
• Vogel, M. D., & Hazelton-Boyle, J. (2023). Where do we go from here? A co-authored autoethnographic reflection on the emotional labor of qualitative interviewing and how to navigate it. Public Integrity, DOI: 10.1080/10999922.2023.2219113
• Vogel, M. D. (2021). A pandemic’s reminder: The public service vocation is at the heart of our field. Journal of Public Affairs Education 28(1), 80-90. https://doi.org/10.1080/15236803.2021.1921343
• Vogel, M. D. (2020). When service calls: Public service motivation and calling as complementary concepts for public service. International Public Management Journal. DOI: 10.1080/10967494.2020.1838014
• Pautz, M. C., & Vogel, M. D. (2020). Investigating faculty motivation and its connection to work-life balance: Engaging public service motivation to explore faculty motivation. Journal of Public Affairs Education Symposium. https://doi.org/10.1080/15236803.2020.1776076
• Casey, L. J., & Vogel, M. D. (2019). Preparing for the next generation: Profiles of millennial city managers and their approach to the job. State and Local Government Review 51(2), 122-133. https://doi.org/10.1177/0160323X19889094
• Vogel, M. D., Blair, R., & Deichert, J. (2019). A regional approach to mobility management: Promoting sustainability and economic growth through public transit (pp. 1-24). In O. Smirnova (Ed.), Building a Sustainable Transportation Infrastructure for Long-Term Economic Growth. Hershey, PA: IGI Global

Selected Recent Grant and Contract Projects

• Regional Retention and Attraction in Council Bluffs and Southwest Iowa (2025) - research and analysis
• Impact Study of Arts, Culture, and Humanities in Nebraska (2024-2025) - co-principal investigator
• Report on the Status of Women and Girls (2023) - research and analysis
• Representation and Decision-Making in Nebraska’s Entrepreneurship Ecosystem (2022-2025) - qualitative research lead
• Women in STEM: Listen Then Act - principal investigator

Selected Media

• Silicon Prairie News (August 2025) - https://siliconprairienews.com/2025/08/the-kauffman-foundation-helped-support-nebraskas-entrepreneurs-its-regional-pullback-now-leaves-a-gap-for-local-work/
• Silicon Prairie News (July 2025) - https://siliconprairienews.com/2025/07/nebraska-women-in-stem-celebrate-wins-see-the-state-stumbling-amid-anti-diversity-squeeze/ 
• KETV NewsWatch 7 (October 2023) - https://www.ketv.com/article/uno-researchers-evaluate-do-space-tech-pack-program/45577292