Thomas Skuzinski

Thomas Skuzinski is Chair and Associate Professor in the Department of Public Administration at Northern Illinois University. He holds a Ph.D. and a Master of Urban Planning, with distinction, from the University of Michigan and a Juris Doctor, magna cum laude, from Michigan State University College of Law. Before joining NIU, he was an assistant professor in the School of Public and International Affairs at Virginia Tech, where he also directed the Master of Urban and Regional Planning program and served as associate director of education with the Virginia Center for Housing Research.

Skuzinski's scholarship examines how legal rules, institutional arrangements, and cultural worldviews shape decision-making within and among local governments. His research addresses regional and metropolitan governance, local government law, land use, transportation, infrastructure and sustainability. His current applied work includes statewide planning and data partnerships with the Illinois Department of Natural Resources and research on sustainability governance in municipalities and park districts. His scholarship and applied research have received support from the U.S. Department of Transportation, the Regional Studies Association, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, and the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity.

An experienced instructor and adviser, Skuzinski has received university and college recognition for teaching excellence, graduate advising, and commitment to diversity. He currently serves as president of the Midwest Public Affairs Conference and is an elected member of the Urban Affairs Association Governing Board.

Areas of Expertise

• Local government law and administration
• Intergovernmental relations and regional and metropolitan governance
• Land use, environmental, and sustainability law and policy
• Infrastructure governance, including transportation, water, parks, and recreation
• Urban and regional planning, including land use and affordable housing

Selected Publications

• Skuzinski, Thomas. 2025. Statewide Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan 2026–2030. Illinois Department of Natural Resources.
• Skuzinski, Thomas, David P. Weinreich, and Carolina Velandia Hernandez. 2024. “How Can We Better Study the Links Between Regional Governance and Public Service Outcomes? Governance Topologies in Metropolitan Public Transportation Systems.” Journal of Planning Education and Research 44(3): 1448–1463. 
• Skuzinski, Thomas, David P. Weinreich, and Carolina Velandia Hernandez. 2023. “Exploring the Link Between Regional Transportation Governance and Outcomes: A Novel Measure of Polycentricity in Metropolitan Public Transportation Systems.” Transport Policy 133: 168–175.
• Skuzinski, Thomas. 2022. “Urban Approaches to Sustainability: Zoning.” In The Palgrave Global Handbook of Sustainability, edited by Robert Brinkmann, chapter 90. Palgrave Macmillan.
• Weinreich, David P., and Thomas S. Skuzinski. 2021. “Organizing Transit Institutions to Facilitate Cross-Jurisdictional Service Integration: A Multi-Region Comparative Case Study.” Journal of Urban Affairs 43(9): 1330–1354.
• Skuzinski, Thomas. 2018. The Risk of Regional Governance: Cultural Theory and Interlocal Cooperation. Routledge.
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Selected Conference Presentations

• Skuzinski, Thomas. “Reimagining MPA Governance: The Inclusive Power of Advisory Boards.” NASPAA Annual Conference, Seattle, 2026.
• Skuzinski, Thomas. “Local Park Districts as Drivers of Sustainability.” Urban Affairs Association International Conference on Urban Affairs, 2025.
• Skuzinski, Thomas. “Park Districts as Avenues for Local and Regional Sustainability: Evidence from Illinois.” Southern Political Science Association Annual Conference, 2025.
• Skuzinski, Thomas, and Rob Pfaff. “The Forgotten E: Equity in the Sustainable Metropolitan Public Transportation System.” Urban Affairs Association Annual Conference, 2024.
• Skuzinski, Thomas, Kate Albrecht, Jason Michnick, Carolina Velandia Hernandez, and Michael Siciliano. “Infrastructure Governance and Constitutive Institutions: The Role of Institutional Imaginations in Intermunicipal Water Collaboration.” Urban Affairs Association Annual Conference, 2023.
• Skuzinski, Thomas. “Infrastructure Regionalism and Sustainability Planning in Illinois Municipalities.” Deil S. Wright Symposium, Section on Intergovernmental Administration and Management, American Society for Public Administration, 2022.
• Albrecht, Kate, Thomas Skuzinski, Jason Michnick, and Carolina Velandia Hernandez. “Putting Fragmentation Back Together Again: Advancing a Typology of Successful Water System Governance.” Deil S. Wright Symposium, Section on Intergovernmental Administration and Management, American Society for Public Administration, 2022.