In their contribution to this journal, Robert F. Durant and David H. Rosenbloom (2017) seek to identify factors that have contributed to shortcomings in linking public administration research and theory to practice. In their view, the field faces a “theory–practice conundrum” (p. 719). They raise a wide range of issues that could be explored further, but we think it is imperative to address one of the arguments in this commentary—that the emphasis on social equity has weakened public administration and should be removed as a central defining value of the field. They “critique the logic and empirical basis of two major pillars of public administration”—efficiency (a topic for another discussion) and social equity (p. 719). They view these normative values as “weak and decontextualized” (p. 720). Some of our work on social equity is highlighted in the discussion and repeats a debate that occurred 15 years ago (Rosenbloom, 2005; Svara & Brunet, 2004, 2005). Some of the key points in the earlier exchange are repeated here, but there have also been advances in research and practice related to social equity that Durant and Rosenbloom ignore. They criticize the weak definition of social equity—it is “still lacking a standard definition” and view it as “almost purely normative—it is an ‘ought’ rather than an ‘is’” (p. 723). The weak definition along with other factors they discuss contribute to “theories” developed by scholars that “lack empirical validity for scholarship and face validity— and thus relevance—for practitioners” (p. 720). It is hard to understand how they could suggest that social equity lacks empirical validity in scholarly research and relevance to practitioners. The definition of social equity is complex, but this is necessary considering the multiple ways that social inequity can be manifested and the range of actions that may be needed to promote social equity. The alleged lack of a definition is a curious criticism. The version they refer to from the Social Equity Panel of the National Academy of Public Administration [NAPA] covers the essential elements: