Rebecca Tekula, Ph.D., is Interim Associate Provost for Pleasantville and Partnerships, Professor of Public Administration, and Executive Director of the Helene and Grant Wilson Center for Social Entrepreneurship at Pace University. Her leadership and scholarship focus on higher education strategy, community-engaged research, nonprofit management and finance, social entrepreneurship, impact investing, behavioral health systems, workforce development, and cross-sector partnerships. She has led major university initiatives connecting academic programs, faculty expertise, student opportunity, public investment, and regional needs, and has secured and managed significant external support for research, scholarships, internships, faculty fellowships, and community partnerships. Her work emphasizes translating rigorous research into practical policy, institutional strategy, and measurable public value.
PhD, University of Lugano, Switzerland: Department of Public Management and Economics, Lugano, Switzerland, 2009
Economics / Public Management and Finance
MPA, Pace University, New York, NY, 2009
Nonprofit Management
MBA, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom, 2006
Social Entrepreneurship, Finance and Strategy
BA, Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, NY, 2000
English Literature
Rebecca Tekula’s research spans higher education strategy and governance; nonprofit management, finance, and governance; social entrepreneurship; social enterprise; social finance and impact investing; community-engaged research; behavioral health systems and workforce development; civic education; and the public purpose of universities. Her work examines how universities, government agencies, nonprofit organizations, philanthropy, and community partners can build durable cross-sector collaborations, mobilize resources, strengthen educational and workforce pathways, and improve the delivery of social and healthcare services. She is particularly interested in participatory and community-engaged research models that treat affected communities and organizations as equal partners and translate rigorous evidence into public policy, institutional strategy, organizational decision-making, and practical systems improvement. Her emerging work also considers universities as regional anchor institutions and the role of academic leadership, external partnerships, and public investment in advancing institutional transformation and measurable public value.
Tekula, R. 2026. Mother Cabrini Health Foundation, Private. Currently Under Review. Health and behavioral health education funded fellowships.
Pace-Westchester Behavioral Health Center of Excellence
Tekula, R. 2026. TBD, Other. Currently Under Review. Lead development of $25M funding request for regional behavioral health workforce development, applied research, provider support, training, evaluation, and systems improvement. Coordinating academic, government, healthcare, finance, advancement and government relations contributors.
Q-STRONG NY: Quantum Strategies for Transforming Resilience and Opportunity in New York.
Tekula, R. 2026. Economic Development Administration, Federal. Currently Under Review. Co-Principal Investigator and Pace co-lead for the proposed Quantum Institute for Workforce Education and Development. $10 million Pace component within a $50 million regional Economic Development Administration proposal with Columbia University, New York University, and other partners; submitted 2026.
Helene and Grant Wilson Center for Social Entrepreneurship
Tekula, R. September 2008. The Carlisle Foundation, Other. Funded.
“City and the Sea” Grant for Undergraduate Fellowship in Civics and Public Service.
Tekula, R., Bolton, M., Scutelnicu, G. & Magaldi, J. June 2025 - June 2028. The Teagle Foundation, Private. Funded.
New York State Career Pathways Training Program
Tekula, R. 2025 - 2026. New York State, State. Funded. Project lead in securing $9.6M in full-tuition scholarship funding supporting Pace students preparing for high-need healthcare careers.
THRIVE Youth Mental Health Systems of Care Initiative.
Tekula, R. July 2026 - June 2010. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Federal. Funded. Co-Principal Investigator/institutional lead for Pace’s research, evaluation, workforce, and campus-partnership components in collaboration with the Westchester County Department of Community Mental Health and University partners. Approximately $3M awarded of a total $4M budget from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration in July 2026.
Westchester County Nonprofit Compensation and Benefits Study
Scutelnicu, G., Henley, T. J. & Tekula, R. 2025 - 2025. The Nonprofit Westchester, Pace University. Funded. Compensation and Benefits Study of Nonprofits in Westchester County.
Hispanic Population Community Needs Assessment
Tekula, R. & Scutelnicu Todoran, G. September 2024 - April 2025. Westchester County Hispanic Advisory Board to the County Executive, Local. Funded.
Council of Family and Childcare Agencies Financial Health Status
Scutelnicu-Todoran, G. & Tekula, R. February 2024 - December 2024. Council of Family and Child Care Agencies, NY, Other. Funded. Dr. Gina Scutelnicu-Todoran, Professor of Public Administration and Dr. Rebecca Tekula, Professor of Public Administration and Executive Director of the Wilson Center for Social Entrepreneurship were awarded an external grant award by the Council of Family and Child Care Agencies (COFCCA), a nonprofit organization in New York City to assess the financial status of approximately 75 agencies under its umbrella. These agencies include those providing child welfare services –foster care, preventive services, and juvenile justice services. Dr. Scutelnicu-Todoran and Dr. Tekula worked in collaboration with two graduate students to conduct a financial analysis of cumulative organizational revenue and expenditure, endowment, and other investments among other things. The researchers at Pace prepared a final report and delivered several presentations to executive and legislative leadership and staff at the New York state and New York City level.
The City and the Sea: A planning grant for a NYC undergraduate fellowship in civics and public service
Tekula, R., Scutelnicu, G., Bolton, M. & Kolenda, R. February 2024 - December 2024. The Teagle Foundation, Private. Funded. To develop an undergraduate fellowship program in public service, a two course sequence and summer placement, with the aim to support and empower Pace University’s diverse trove of first generation students to become the future civic leaders of New York City. https://www.teaglefoundation.org/Newsroom/News/Articles/Teagle-in-the-News/Pace-University-Receives-$25,000-Teagle-Foundation
Community Needs Assessment of Bronxville, Tuckahoe and Eastchester, NY
Tekula, R. & Scutelnicu, G. November 2022 - April 2023. The Community Fund of Bronxville, Tuckahoe and Eastchester & The Wilson Center for Social Entrepreneurship, Other. Funded.
Westchester County Nonprofit Compensation and Benefits Study
Tekula, R. & Scutelnicu, G. February 2022 - December 2022. NonprofitWestchester, Other. Funded.
Tekula, R. 2014 - 2017. Richmond Community Savings Foundation, Other. Funded. Funding for scholarship and funded student internships.
Tekula, R. 2013 - 2017. New York Community Bank Foundation, Other. Funded. Funding for scholarships and funded student internships.
Doctoral Fellowships
Tekula, R. 2006 - 2009. Swiss National Science Foundation, Federal. Funded.
Doctoral Fellowship
Tekula, R. 2006 - 2008. Swiss Public Administration Network, Federal. Funded. Swiss Public Administration Network ProDoc Grant in Public Administration
Westchester County Opioid Response and Overdose Prevention Initiative, Primary Prevention Service Assessment
Tekula, R. 2003 - 2005. Westchester County, Local. Funded. Community-engaged research and evaluation partnership with The Harris Project, Partnership to End Addiction, Westchester Jewish Community Services, and other regional partners.
Public Awareness and Physician Education Program: Primary Immune Deficiency
Tekula, R. 2002 - 2003. National Institutes of Health, Federal. Funded.
GEP 050: Social Entrepreneurship
PAA 101: Public Admin & Its Environment
PAA 601: Public Admin & its Environment
PAA 644: Seminar in Gvrnmnt MGT Topics
PAA 670: The Not-for-Profit Sector
PAA 671: Law & Brd Govrnc: Nonprft Mgrs
PAA 673: Fncl Rsrce Dvlpmnt for Nonpft
PAA 681: Adv Smnr for Nonprft Mgt Iss
PAA 695: Intrnshp-HlthCre,Gvrnmnt,NnPrf
Strengthening youth resilience: A comprehensive approach to co-occurring disorder prevention in Westchester County high schools – Curriculum and assessment report for the Opioid Response Initiative.
Tekula, R. (2025). https://www.researchgate.net/publication/395753817_Westchester_County_Co-Occurring_Disorders_Youth_Prevention_Pilot
Correction to: Value, Values, and Valuation: The Marketization of Charitable Foundation Impact Investing
Andersen, K. & Tekula, R. (2025). Journal of Business Ethics. Vol 199 (Issue 1) , pages 229-229. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-025-06006-9
An interesting year: The strength and adaptability of a community foundation amidst the COVID-19 pandemic
Tekula, R., Scutelnicu, G. & Rutter Korb, A. (2025). Cheltenham: UK , UK:Edward Elgar Publishing Inc. https://www.e-elgar.com/shop/usd/case-studies-on-nonprofit-resilience-management-9781035328567.html?srsltid=AfmBOoofySqRg9vz1FM1qwFr_3hBzlrdfv_zKeJ9scx09Jad7A_CltPu
An interesting year: The strength and adaptability of a community foundation (BET) amidst the COVID-19 pandemic
Tekula, R., Todoran, G. S. & Korb, A. R. (2025). Edward Elgar Publishing. , pages 209-217. https://doi.org/10.4337/9781035328574.00037
The financial health of child welfare nonprofits in New York State.
Tekula, R. (2024). https://cofcca.wildapricot.org/resources/COFCCA_Final%20General%20Report%20Jan2025.pdf
Westchester County Hispanic Comunity Needs Assessment.
Tekula, R. & Scutelnicu, G. (2024). https://www.pace.edu/sites/default/files/2025-09/wilson-center-westchester-county-hispanic-community-needs-assessment_0.pdf
Westchester Nonprofit Compensation and Benefits Report
Tekula, R. & Scutelnicu, G. https://npwestchester.org/npw-resources
Community Needs Assessment of Bronxville, Eastchester and Tuckahoe
Tekula, R. & Scutelnicu, G. https://www.thecommunityfund.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Community-Needs-Assessment.pdf
Values, value and valuation: The marketization of charitable foundation impact investing.
Tekula, R. (2022). Journal of Business Ethics. (Issue 179) , pages 1033–1052.
The slippery slope: Struggling for equity in the academy in the era of #MeToo
Knepper, H., Scutelnicu, G. & Tekula, R. (2020). Public Administration Review. Vol 80 (Issue 6) , pages 1111-1117. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/15406210
Why Gender and Research Productivity Matters in Academia: Exploring Evidence from NASPAA-accredited Schools
Knepper, H., Scutelnicu, G. & Tekula, R. (2020). Journal of Public Affairs Education. Vol 26 (Issue 1) , pages 51-72. https://www.tandfonline.com/toc/upae20/current
Why gender and research productivity matters in academia: Exploring evidence from NASPAA-accredited schools
Knepper, H., Scutelnicu, G. & Tekula, R. (2020). Journal of Public Affairs Education. Vol 26 (Issue 1) , pages 51-72. https://doi.org/10.1080/15236803.2019.1565066
The Economic Impact of Pace University Athletics
Tekula, R. & Rivero, A. (2019). https://digitalcommons.pace.edu/wilson/44/
The Economic Impact of Pace University Construction
Tekula, R. & Rivero, A. (2019). https://digitalcommons.pace.edu/wilson/48/
The Economic Impact of Pace University Elizabeth Haub School of Law
Tekula, R. & Rivero, A. (2019). https://digitalcommons.pace.edu/wilson/43/
The Economic Impact of Pace University New York City
Tekula, R. & Rivero, A. (2019). https://digitalcommons.pace.edu/wilson/49/
The Economic Impact of Pace University Performing Arts
Tekula, R. & Rivero, A. (2019). https://digitalcommons.pace.edu/wilson/42/
The Economic Impact of Pace University Pleasantville
Tekula, R. & Rivero, A. (2019). https://digitalcommons.pace.edu/wilson/46/
The Economic Impact of Pace University.
Tekula, R. & Rivero, A. (2019). https://digitalcommons.pace.edu/wilson/45/
Consistency is key in online learning: Evaluating student and instructor perceptions of a collaborative online-course template
Scutelnicu, G., Tekula, R., Gordon, B. & Knepper, H. J. (2019). Teaching Public Administration. Vol 37 (Issue 3) , pages 274-292. https://doi.org/10.1177/0144739419852759
Consistency is key in online learning: Evaluating student and instructor perceptions of a collaborative online-course template.
Scutelnicu, G., Tekula, R., Gordon, B. & Knepper, H. (2019). Teaching Public Administration. Vol 73 (Issue 3) , pages 274-292. https://journals.sagepub.com/home/tpa
Clustering social enterprises: A taxonomy based on self-perceptions of social entrepreneurs
Tekula, R. (2019). Social Enterprise Journal. Vol 15 (Issue 3) , pages 397-420. https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/SEJ-12-2018-0081/full/html
The role of government, nonprofit and private facilitation of the impact investing marketplace
Tekula, R. (2019). Public Performance & Management Review. Vol 42 (Issue 1) , pages 142-161.
Clustering Social Enterprises: A Taxonomy Based on Self-perceptions of Social Entrepreneurs
Erpf, P. & Tekula, R. (2018).
The state of women in public administration scholarship: Where we are, why we are here and why it matters
Scutelnicu, G., Knepper, H. & Tekula, R. (2018). PA Times. Vol 4 (Issue 2) , pages 32-33.
The State of the Impact Investing Marketplace: What is the Role of the Public and Nonprofit Sector, and Why?
Tekula, R. (2018). PA Times. https://patimes.org/the-state-of-the-impact-investing-marketplace-what-is-the-role-of-the-public-and-nonprofit-sector-and-why/
Impact Investing: Funding Social Innovation and Related Actors. (Forthcoming 2015) Ed. O.M. Lehner. Routledge Handbook of Social and Sustainable Finance. Routeledge, Oxford, UK.
Tekula, R. M. (2016). Othmar M. Lehner (Eds.), Oxford , UK:Routledge. https://www.acrn-journals.eu/publications/publications/handbookssfii.html
Impact Investing: Actors, Metrics and Interactions.
Tekula, R. & Shah, A. (2016).
Universities as Intermediaries: Impact Investing and Social Entrepreneurship
Tekula, R., Shah, A. & Jhamb, J. (2015). Metropolitan Universities Journal. Vol 26 (Issue 1) , pages 35-51.
Universities as Intermediaries: Impact Investing and Social Entrepreneurship
Tekula, R., Shah, A. & Jhamb, J. (2015). Academy of Management Proceedings. Vol 2015 (Issue 1) , pages 18886. https://doi.org/10.5465/ambpp.2015.18886abstract
Social Entrepreneurship in the United States: Impact and Resilience in Crisis. Eds. Parra, C. and F. y Porta. Social Entrepreneurship: Sustainable Alternatives for a New Economy. J.M. Bosch, Barcelona, Spain
Tekula, R., Morreale, J. & Jhamb, J. (2014). Parra, C. and F. y Porta (Eds.), Barcelona , Spain:J.M. Bosch.
A Replicable Evaluation Method of Social Entrepreneurship Centers and Programs. Eds. Pate, L and C. Wankel. Emerging Research Directions in Social Entrepreneurship. Springer, Dordrecht, UK.
Rahman, N. & Tekula, R. M. (2014). Pate, Larry; Wankel, Charles (Eds.), Dordrecht , UK:Springer. https://www.springer.com/gp/book/9789400778955
Responding to Challenge: Comparing Nonprofit Programmes and Pedagogy at Universities in the United Kingdom, Spain, and the United States
Tekula, R. (2014). The NISPAcee Journal of PublicAdministration and Policy. Vol VI (Issue 2) https://digitalcommons.pace.edu/wilson/27/
Researching Artificial Intelligence, Organizations, and Management (Innovating for the Future)
LePere-Schloop, M., Rahman, N. & Tekula, R. (2024). Academy of Management. Public and Non-Profit (PNP) Division of the Academy of Management (AOM),
Researching Artificial Intelligence, Organizations, and Management
LePere-Schloop, M., Rahman, N. & Tekula, R. (2023). Academy of Management. Public and Non-Profit (PNP) Division of the Academy of Management (AOM),
Perceptions of gender equity in the academy: Explaining the research productivity gap in public administration scholarship
Scutelnicu, G. & Tekula, R. (2022). American Society for Public Administration (ASPA) National Conference. American Society for Public Administration (ASPA),
Impact Investing: Funding Social Innovation
Tekula, R. & Shah, A. (2014). Coalition of Urban and Metropolitan Universities (CUMU) Conference 2014. Coalition of Urban and Metropolitan Universities (CUMU),
Characteristics of Pay-for-Performance Behavior in Nonprofit Organizations
Tekula, R. (2012). Association for Research on Nonprofit and Voluntary Action (ARNOVA) Annual Conference . Association for Research on Nonprofit and Voluntary Action (ARNOVA),
Responding to Challenge: Comparing and Contrasting Selected University Nonprofit Programmes and Pedagogy in the USA and Europe
Tekula, R., Murdock, A. & Parra, C. (2012). Association for Research on Nonprofit and Voluntary Action (ARNOVA) Annual Conference . Association for Research on Nonprofit and Voluntary Action (ARNOVA),
Unrelated Business Income in Nonprofits: Does this Earned Income Sustain Programs?”
Tekula, R. (2012). Association for Research on Nonprofit and Voluntary Action (ARNOVA) Annual Conference . Association for Research on Nonprofit and Voluntary Action (ARNOVA),
Responding to Challenge: Comparing and Contrasting Selected University Nonprofit Programmes and Pedagogy in the USA and Europe
Tekula, R. & Murdock, A. (2012). NYU Satter Conference on Social Entrepreneurship 2012. NYU,
The Relationship Between Governance and Performance in Nonprofits: A Quantitative Analysis
Tekula, R. (2011). Academy of Management (AOM) Annual Meeting 2011. Academy of Management (AOM),
Back to Square One: An Examination of Social Enterprise Centers and Programs,”
Tekula, R. & Rahman, N. (2010). NYU Satter Conference on Social Entrepreneurship 2010. NYU,
Social Enterprise: Innovation or Mission Distraction?
Tekula, R. (2010). NYU Satter Conference on Social Entrepreneurship 2010. NYU,
Inefficient Cross-Subsidies in the Diversification of Nonprofit Revenue Streams: How do Financial Gains from Unrelated Business Activities Relate to Program Expenditure?
Tekula, R. (2009). IDHEAP Academic Conference. IDHEAP,
In a recent Hudson Valley Press article titled “Advisory Board Releases Community Needs Study,” Pace University Interim Associate Provost Rebecca Tekula highlighted how the study combines research and community engagement to deliver actionable insights.
Pace has been awarded a $300K Teagle Foundation grant to launch The City and the Sea, a new fellowship for students who aspire to serve the people of NYC by working in government or nonprofit organizations. Through coursework pairing a transformative text humanities education with hands-on internships, fellows will dive into the life of New York Harbor and the future of our city.
Pace’s Master of Public Administration (MPA) program has been recognized by the U.S. News & World Report (USNWR)’s 2025 rankings as one of the Best Graduate Public Affairs Schools, an increase in 61 spots since 2019, and reflecting the Public Administration Department’s growing impact in public service education through the excellent work of faculty and students.