Rick S. Kurtz joined the College of Arts and Sciences of Ferris State University as Dean in 2012. Prior to this he was employed for several years with Central Michigan University, the National Park Service and Agriculture Research Service. He has served in roles as the Master of Public Administration Program Director, Political Science Department Chair and Associate Dean. Kurtz teaches courses on public administration, organizational management, state and local government and environmental politics and policy. Current research focuses on marine pollution, oil spill mitigation, and oil and gas transportation system safety.
Oil and Gas Transportation Oversight - Land and Water
New Public Management and Crisis Mitigation: the 2007 M/V Cosco Busan Incident, International Journal of Public Administration (2011)
The emergence of New Public Management (NPM) in late 20th century challenged governments to develop...
Oil Pipeline Regulation, Culture and Integrity: The 2006 BP North Slope Oil Spill., Public Integrity (2011)
The 2006 British Petroleum oil spill on Alaska’s North Slope was the largest pipeline incident...
Oil Pollution Act of 1990, Encyclopedia of the U.S. Government and the Environment: History, Policy, and Politics (2010)
The passage of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA 90) was a landmark piece...
Coastal Oil Spill Preparedness and Response: The Morris J. Berman Incident, Review of Policy Research (2008)
On January 7, 1994 the disabled tank barge Morris J. Berman ran aground spilling 750,000...
The M/V Selendang Ayu Disaster: Linkages between Policy Change, Gaps, and Crises, The Social Science Journal (2008)
The 2004 M/V Selendang Ayu grounding in the Aleutian Islands was the worst spill disaster...
Gateway Communities and Public Lands
Public Lands Policy and Economic Trends in Gateway Communities, Review of Policy Research (2010)
From the mid-1960s through 1980 major policy changes were adopted as a result of federal...
Cross-Culture Relationships on the Southeast Alaska Frontier: The Glacier Bay Case, Journal of the West (2008)
This paper examines cross-cultural relations through a case study of the Glacier Bay region. Glacier...
Policy Dilemma in National Parks: A Case Study of Glacier Bay, Journal of the West (2006)
For nearly 100 years the NPS has been caught between competing policy mandates; to provide...
Historic Preservation: A Statutory Vehicle for Disparate Agendas, The Social Science Journal (2006)
During the past 100 years historic preservation has gravitated between portrayals as protector of the...
The Federal Concessioner System: Linking Policy to Opportunities for Local Service Providers, Review of Policy Research (2006)
Every year millions of tourists hit the open road to enjoy America’s public recreation lands....
U.S. Coastal Oil Pollution Policy
Coastal Oil Pollution, Spills, Crisis, and Policy Change, The Library of Essays on Emergency Ethics, Law and Policy (2013)
The federal government’s adoption of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 represented a radical statutory...