Travis Bland has been named the new interim dean of the University of Illinois Springfield College of Health, Science and Technology. He will serve as interim dean-designate until formal approval by the Board of Trustees. He is expected to start his new role on July 1.

Bland currently serves as associate dean of the UIS College of Public Affairs and Education and the director of the Doctor of Public Administration program. He joined UIS in 2012 as an associate professor of public administration.

“The search committee noted Bland’s clear vision for guiding the college during the transition, his expertise in improving organizational health and promoting collaboration and his data-driven approach to resource allocation,” said UIS Chancellor Janet L. Gooch.

“I am deeply honored by the opportunity and trust placed in me to lead the College during this consequential time,” Bland said. “The disciplines within the College are at the forefront of society's most pressing challenges and technological advancements. The immense potential is exciting, and I am eager to work with faculty, staff and students to grow the College both in number and impact.”

Bland specializes in evaluating public programs and is a strategic planning and organizational health and design consultant. His research interests include social welfare policy, front-line behavior, employee well-being and motivation and behavioral approaches to decision-making and ethics.

He is a contributing author to “Community Action Leaders: Rooting out Poverty at the Local Level” (New York: Routledge). His research has been published in Public Management Review, Review of Public Personnel Administration, Public Integrity, Public Organization Review, the Journal of Public and Nonprofit Affairs, Public Administration Quarterly, The Innovation Journal and the Global Encyclopedia of Public Administration, Public Policy and Governance.

Bland has many research projects that are still in progress and recently helped secure over $1 million in grants for process/outcome evaluations from the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority.

He is a 2021 graduate of the University of Illinois President’s Executive Leadership Program and was honored with the Department of Public Administration’s Exceptional Merit Award in 2017 and 2018.

Bland earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from Radford University and a master’s degree and doctorate in public administration/public affairs from Virginia Tech. He is a tenured faculty member in the UIS School of Public Management and Policy.