Office Hours
By Appointment
Education
Ph.D., Florida State University, 2025
MPA, University of Kansas, 2019
BA, University of Kansas, Public Administration, 2015
BA, University of Kansas, Law & Society, 2015
About Me
Collin D. Cox is an Assistant Professor of Public Administration in Auburn University’s Department of Political Science. His research lies at the intersection of public management, ethics, and leadership. His work explores how bureaucrats and employees engage in transgressive modes of leadership by using coping strategies and ethical disobedience as tools for addressing destructive leadership and policies in the workplace. Professor Cox’s work aims to advance how organizations learn and build resilience to institutional dysfunctions and failures. His work has been published in flagship journals including Public Administration Review, Public Management Review, Review of Public Personnel Administration, and Administrative Theory & Praxis.
Areas of Expertise
Public management, ethics, leadership, organizational behavior; conflict management
Research Interests
Bureaucratic dissent; guerrilla government; transgressive leadership; ethical disobedience
Publications
Cox, C. D. (2024). Leading with dissent: guerrilla government and the ethical art of disobedience. Public Management Review, 1–19. https://doi.org/10.1080/14719037.2024.2315564
Cox, C. D. (2025). Systematic Review and Metasynthesis: Dissent and Guerrilla Government in Public Administration Research. Public Administration Review, 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1111/puar.70024.
Wright, J. E., II, Cox, C., & Pham, V. (2026). Code Red: Fighting Fires, Racism, and Policies in Emergency Safety Services. Review of Public Personnel Administration, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/0734371X251411200
Hazleton-Boyle, J, & Cox, C. D. (2026). Guerrillas in the library? Public libraries as sites of ethical resistance. Administrative Theory & Praxis, 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1080/10841806.2026.2689837