2026-2027 COPRA Chair, Dr. Shaoming Cheng

We are excited to announce the appointment of Dr. Shaoming Cheng as Chair of the Commission on Peer Review and Accreditation (COPRA) for the 2026-2027 term. Dr. Cheng, who served on COPRA from 2022-2025, brings extensive expertise and experience in advancing public service programs. We are thrilled that he accepted this role and look forward to his continued contributions to the public service education community!

More about Dr. Cheng:

Shaoming Cheng is a Professor in the Department of Public Policy and Administration at the Steven J. Green School of International and Public Affairs of Florida International University. Previously, he was the Department Chair, MPA Program Director, and Interim Director of Ph.D. in Public Affairs. He earned his Ph.D. degree from the School of Public Policy, George Mason University.

He served NASPAA as a COPRA Commissioner, Chair of the Eligibility Committee, Member of the Data Committee, and site visitor and site visit team chair. He is active in the American Society for Public Administration (ASPA), with service on the National Council, the Finance Committee, as Program Co-Chair for the 2023 Annual Conference, and as a Board Member of the Section on Chinese Public Administration, as well as an enthusiastic supporter of ASPA’s South Florida Chapter. He was a Member of the Graduate Education Committee of the International City/County Management Association (ICMA) and the faculty advisor of the ICMA Student Chapter at FIU (ICMA@FIU). He is the Managing Editor of Public Administration Quarterly.

His research, funded by NSF, USDA, EDA, DOJ, Kauffman Foundation, Florida Center for Cybersecurity, and Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, is devoted to evidence-based and data-augmented decision making that informs effective and efficient public policy and administration options and designs.