Dr. Brian Pugh serves as a lecturer and public service mentor for the Shackouls Honors College. He is also the executive director of the Stennis Center for Public Service (a federal, legislative branch agency). He previously served as deputy executive director for the Mississippi Department of Finance & Administration, as director of finance for the Office of the Governor, and as a legislative budget analyst for the Legislative Budget Office. 

With an interest in public finance and budgeting, Dr. Pugh received a Certificate in Public Financial Management from the Center for State and Local Finance at Georgia State University. He is also a member of the Association for Budgeting & Financial Management and the American Society for Public Administration. Furthermore, in 2021, he was unanimously elected as a Life Member of the National Association of State Budget Officers. 

Dr. Pugh is the author of the book, “Chaos and Compromise: The Evolution of the Mississippi Budgeting Process,” published by the University Press of Mississippi in 2020. He is currently working on another book titled, “Weak Governor Still? Legislation, Litigation, and the Control of Budgetary Power.”

• BA, Political Science - Mississippi State University (2007)
• MPPA - Mississippi State University (2008)
• Ph.D., Public Policy & Administration - Jackson State University (2014)
• Certificate in Public Financial Management - Georgia State University (2020)