Biography

John Stavick is an Assistant Professor of Budget and Finance in the Howard H. Baker Jr. School of Public Policy and Public Affairs at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. His research interests include state tax administration and the consequences of budget balancing decisions on the public workforce. 

Stavick earned his Ph.D. in Public Affairs from Indiana University’s O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs, where he specialized in public finance and policy analysis. He also holds an M.A. in Economics and a B.A. in Economics from Georgia State University’s Andrew Young School of Policy Studies. Before joining the Baker School, he was an Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science at Oakland University and served in applied policy roles with the Nebraska Department of Revenue and OpenSky Policy Institute. 

His peer-reviewed publications have appeared in Public Budgeting & Finance, Public Finance Review, and American Review of Public Administration. His work evaluates how budgeting strategies, fiscal institutions, and compensation structures influence state and local government operations. He also actively contributes to applied scholarship, including an ongoing evaluation of budget analyst training programs with the UNC-Chapel Hill School of Government. 

Stavick’s research has been presented at national conferences including the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management (APPAM), the Association for Budgeting and Financial Management (ABFM), and the National Tax Association (NTA). His scholarship has been supported by institutions such as the Institute for Public Leadership at the University of Maryland. 

At UT, Stavick teaches public financial administration and brings over a decade of experience in both academic and applied public finance settings. He is committed to equipping students with practical and analytical tools to navigate complex fiscal systems in the public sector. 

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Education

• B.A., Economics, Georgia State University
• M.A., Economics, Georgia State University
• Ph.D., Public Affairs, Indiana University Bloomington

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Research

Leaving Money on the Table: Nudging Taxpayers to Claim a Refundable State Income Tax Credit

Organizational Memory and Snap Back Performance in Public Agencies

Use Tax Administration and Revenue Production in the States

Do State Budget Maneuvers Reduce Future Budget Resiliency? Evidence Following the Great Recession