O'Neill faculty to make impact at ABFM Conference in Atlanta

Researchers and students from the Paul H. O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs will be active during the 37th Association for Budgeting and Financial Management (ABFM) Conference, Oct. 23–25, in Atlanta.

The conference provides a forum for advancing knowledge and practice in public financial administration, and O’Neill faculty and students will contribute a wide array of presentations, panels, and discussions that reflect the O’Neill School’s leadership in the field.

“ABFM has long been the intellectual home for public finance researchers,” said Justin Ross, a professor at the O’Neill School and the chair of ABFM. “I’m proud to see so many of our O’Neill colleagues and students sharing their research and engaging in conversations that will shape the future of budgeting and fiscal policy.”

Beyond Ross, O’Neill faculty include Associate Professor Christian Buerger, Professor Denvil Duncan, Lecturer Annie Yu-Hsin Hsu, Professor Craig Johnson, Associate Professor Temirlan Moldogaziev, Associate Professor Sanghee Park, and Professor David Swindell.

Additionally, Marc Plooster, a Ph.D. candidate in public financing and budgeting at the O’Neill School, has been awarded the prestigious Michael Curro Award for best graduate student paper.

“I am truly grateful to the ABFM Executive Committee and the selection committee for recognizing my paper,” Plooster said. “I am honored to join the distinguished list of scholars who have received this award, many of whom are O’Neill School Ph.D. graduates, and deeply appreciative of ABFM’s support for graduate student research in public finance.”

The O’Neill School will also send a dozen current students to the ABFM conference, highlighting the school’s strong tradition of mentorship and student engagement.

“These students represent the next generation of scholars and practitioners in public finance,” Ross said. “Their participation underscores O’Neill’s commitment to hands-on research training and collaboration between faculty and students.”

The O’Neill School is proud to sponsor the Thursday evening reception at this year’s conference, supporting opportunities for networking and collaboration among public finance scholars and practitioners.

For more information about the ABFM Conference and how to find O’Neill attendees, please visit the event’s program site.

Media Contact

Ken Bikoff, Faculty Liaison and Public Relations Officer
Paul H. O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs | Indiana University
onnews@iu.edu

About the O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs

The O’Neill School is a world leader in public and environmental affairs and is the largest school of public administration and public policy in the United States. In the 2025-26 U.S. News & World Report "Best Graduate School" rankings, the O'Neill School is listed as having the top Master of Public Affairs among public universities and ranks #2 overall out of 269 public and private institutions. In addition, the O’Neill School’s Bloomington campus received #1 rankings in the specialty areas of environmental policy and management, nonprofit management, public finance and budgeting, and public management and leadership.