Kathy Brock

Kathy Brock

MPA Program Director, Professor and Senior Fellow

School of Policy Studies & Political Studies

Dr. Kathy L. Brock is a Professor, School of Policy Studies and cross-appointed to the Department of Political Studies, Queen’s University. She has held a number of national appointments including serving as Chair of the National Accreditation Board for Programs in Public Administration, President of the Canadian Association of Programs in Public Administration, and National Research Chair for the Institute of Programs in Public Administration.

Her research has been inspired by an interest in understanding how governments can serve diverse societies better and covers Canadian and comparative politics and government, federalism and constitutional matters, Indigenous governance and financial accountability,  and the judiciary and executive. Her thinking on these matters has been stimulated by her activity in public affairs as a nonpartisan advisor to federal, provincial and territorial governments, political parties, an Indigenous organization/leaders, & non-profit organizations.

A dedicated professor, she received the 2008 Pierre De Celles IPAC Award for Teaching Excellence in Public Administration (national award) and the 2009 Frank Knox Award (Queen’s University) for Teaching Excellence and was a finalist for the 2020 Queen’s Alumni Award for Teaching Excellence.

Current Projects

Forthcoming Book: Co-Edited with Geoffrey Hale, Managing Canadian Federalism beyond the Pandemic (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, forthcoming 2022).

Kathy Brock’s current projects cover four primary subjects. She is co-authoring with Geoffrey Hale, Federalism in the Constitution of Canada, a book in the Understanding Canada series being published by Irwin Law and the IPPL in 2023. A second sole authored manuscript on Managing Canadian Federalism, for University of Toronto Press, is a study of how social diversity is addressed in the federation.

Work Integration Enterprises in the Mental Health Sector
Funding Agency: Employment and Social Development Canada, 2017-2022
Amount: $300,000

The Research Team of Rosemary Lysaght, Agnes Fecica, Michael Roy, Kathy Brock, Terry Krupa, Kelley Packalen, and Lori Ross will also be wrapping up its studies of “Work Integration Social Enterprise (WISE) as a Source of Personal and Community Empowerment for People Experiencing Mental Health Challenges” with a report to the federal government and a series of articles.

Kathy is continuing her work on Indigenous governance and issues in Canada, including a joint authored commentary for the CJPS by the founders of the Race, Ethnicity and Indigenous Peoples section at CPSA over 10 years ago on “Reflections, Projections, Challenges for the Study of Race, Ethnicity, Indigenous People and Politics.”