NASPAA ANNOUNCES FIVE MORE YEARS OF THE STUDENT SIMULATION COMPETITION, PARTNERING WITH UVA FRANK BATTEN  SCHOOL OF LEADERSHIP AND POLICY 
IN THIS ISSUE

Don't miss this Summer Vacation Special on NASPAA's job board!

PublicServiceCareers.org, the job board of NASPAA/APPAM/ASPA celebrates summer vacation with a special 50% discount for 30 day postings for the month of July  Use this coupon code:  7312016
 
Each year, more than 100,000 users from around the world have visited the board to find the perfect job for their skills, experience, and public policy and administration degrees.

Join the hundreds of employers who have used PublicServiceCareers.org to find the most qualified and experienced candidates.

To post a position, go to
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And click through the "basic listing" category, entering your coupon code when prompted.

Offer valid during the month of July only!


In Memoriam:
Senator George V. Voinovich


On June 17, the Deans of Ohio University's Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Affairs and College of Business joined a delegation led by President Roderick McDavis to the memorial service for Senator George V. Voinovich.  The 90-minute event at Cleveland City Hall paid tribute to the former Cleveland Mayor, Ohio Governor and U.S. Senator who passed away a week earlier at the age of 79.  
 
Speakers, which included Ohio Governor John Kasich and the Mayor of Cleveland, remembered Voinovich as a great person and tremendous public servant.  Deemed the most successful politician in Ohio history during the service, he was a principled pragmatist who worked with others to find workable solutions for important public policy issues.  A significant part of his platform for success was the creation of public-private partnerships beginning with his work with the business and nonprofit communities to bring Cleveland back from financial collapse.   
 
In 1998, the Ohio University Board of Trustees renamed an existing Center after then Governor Voinovich, a 1958 graduate of Ohio University.  In 2007, the Trustees created the first ever multidisciplinary School at Ohio University, the George V. Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Affairs.  In 2011, following his retirement, the University named him Ohio Professor of Leadership and Public Affairs.  He was also named a senior policy fellow at Cleveland State University.
Senator Voinovich always encouraged the Voinovich School to design and deliver practical solutions to wickedly difficult problems; expand higher education public-private partnerships; and, most importantly, educate, mentor and develop people from every sector and walk of life engaged in public service.   He was a "policy and management wonk" with a deep appreciation for practical solutions and an intuitive understanding of the importance of team and team building.  He had an amazing range of knowledge, experience and interests in economic and business development, health care, education, and the environment.  He loved working, talking with and mentoring students.  Senator Voinovich's visits with students over a 17 year period were always the highlight of his time at Ohio University.
 
Public service education was part of the Senator's calling.  As he stated,  
"I believe the government's highest calling is to empower people and galvanize their energy and resources to help solve our problems, meet our challenges, and seize our opportunities."  "My legacy?" Voinovich answered, rhetorically, in a November 2013 interview with the  Columbus Dispatch  was, "I want it to be that I've touched peoples' lives and I've made things better." His legacy lives on through the Voinovich School and Voinovich Archives at Ohio University.   He often mentioned that the creation of the School was the greatest honor of his life. 
 
The honor is ours, Senator. 


Brief Message from NASPAA Executive Director Laurel McFarland


Not only was Senator Voinovich instrumental in advancing Ohio University's commitment to public service education, but as the leading light of federal hiring reform in the US Congress in the 2000s, he was a friend to NASPAA and all of our schools.  Senator Voinovich's support for the federal workforce included a heartfelt interest in the recruitment and development of the next generation of highly skilled students from our graduate schools.   In 2010, as he approached his retirement from the Senate, he and his colleague on the other side of the aisle, Sen. Daniel Akaka (D-Hawaii), introduced one last bill, The Federal Hiring Process Improvement Act (S. 736).  During the period that bill was under consideration, I had the privilege of talking with him and his staff on a regular basis about the purpose and progress of the bill.  He told me during that time that while he felt strongly about other legislative efforts he had led in the Senate, such as creating the Great Lakes Compact,  nothing was as important to him as strengthening the federal workforce. Hiring the most committed and competent young people, and supporting their work once there, he said, was the most important part of that, and he wanted that to be his Senate legacy.  So I would like add my grateful thanks for George Voinovich, for his stalwart voice on behalf of students seeking to make a difference through Federal service.    


GOING BIG WITH THE GLOBAL STUDENT SIMULATION COMPETITION: NASPAA ANNOUNCES A FIVE-YEAR AFFILIATION AGREEMENT WITH  UVA FRANK BATTEN SCHOOL OF LEADERSHIP AND POLICY 
 

UVA Batten Dean Allan C. Stam and NASPAA Executive Director Laurel McFarland sign the 5-year student Simulation Competition affiliation agreement. Also shown: Bill Ashby, Senior Associate Dean for Administration at UVA Batten and Leigh Anne Elliott, NASPAA's new Education and Events Manager. 



NASPAA announced this week a five-year affiliation agreement to partner with the University of Virginia Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy for its Student Simulation Competition. This collaboration will allow NASPAA and the Batten School to develop and operate a world-class quality competition. It will also further the nonprofit education and research missions of NASPAA and the Batten School. The agreement was signed this week in Washington, D.C. by NASPAA Executive Director, Laurel McFarland, and the University of Virginia Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy Dean, Allan C. Stam. The Simulation Competition will be named "The NASPAA-Batten Student Simulation Competition," and it will take place annually in February.

"This affiliation reinforces NASPAA's commitment to quality in public policy education through the alignment of the Simulation Competitions with NASPAA's universal competencies and public service values, and demonstrates the tremendous learning opportunities gained by using simulations to immerse students in scenarios where they are able to immediately see the complexities and systemic aspects of public policy and management challenges," said McFarland. 

The additional outcomes of this competition include opportunities to showcase MPA/MPP students' skills and abilities for the public, prospective students and employers, while bringing awareness to excellence in public service education at public policy schools. In addition, the partnership will popularize simulations for use in public policy school educational pedagogy and demonstrate the value of the simulation platform as a vehicle to advance system thinking about public policy/management problems. Furthermore, this will provide an opportunity for MPA/MPP students to rapidly perceive the complexity of public policy problems, to experience unintended consequences of actions and to see intergenerational impacts of public policy decisions in order to gain a greater appreciation of the systemic effects of their actions. This will also provide an opportunity for MPA/MPP student engagement with public policy problems of global interest. 

"The UVA Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy is delighted to be partnering with NASPAA on the international Student Simulation Competition. We believe that computer-assisted models and simulations are the way forward for schools of public affairs, public administration and public policy in the 21st century. Students gain valuable leadership experience in these simulations which prepare them for the challenges of the modern world," said Dean Stam.

Member Spotlight
Student Competition Winner: Hanh Nguyen, School of Public Policy, Central European University, internship at the G20 Research Group in Canada
Hanh Nguyen

My three-month internship at the G20 Research Group in Canada promises meaningful experiences for me, especially in the context of the upcoming G20 Summit in September. It not only fits well into my areas of interest in climate change and gender studies, but also will help me develop the necessary knowledge and skills needed to orient my future career. I feel lucky to be a student from the NASPAA Simulation Competition to receive this honor.

The G20 Research Group provides a good learning and working environment where I can apply what I learn through my academic and work experiences to research. I am currently contributing to the climate change compliance report aiming at assessing the commitment of G20 members to different areas. This task is adding my strong background and professional experience in a number of climate change projects, such as "Agriculture-Farmers-Rural Areas development" by IFAD, "Mekong Adaptation and Resilience to Climate Change" by USAID, and "Environmentally and Socially Responsible Tourism" by the European Union. In addition, I am in charge of data analysis and building best-fit regression models to evaluate the impact of different potential predictors on the variance of average compliance value. From it, I further develop my strong quantitative analysis skills, including Stata, SPSS, and Excel, to become more adept at evaluating and predicting the efficiency of public policies. Taken together, my work will contribute to help identify feasible and evidence-based policy recommendations for the G20's Hangzhou Summit.

I find the knowledge and experience that I gained from the NASPAA Climate Change Simulation competition very valuable. During my research, I encounter many concepts and ideas from the competition. For example, when it comes to carbon pricing, green growth or energy efficiency, I can easily refer to our policy recommendation package. Various concepts and methods that I learned from competition and G20 Research Group will also help me develop ideas for my intended thesis on green economy for emerging markets.

I believe that internship at G20 Research Group will help deepen my knowledge about global governance with the emphasis on G7, G8 and G20. Moreover, it is also a valuable chance for me to get to know more about Canadian culture and politics. I really appreciate this opportunity with NASPAA. I will be sharing more about my experience here, by writing blogs and articles, which will be published on NASPAA's website. In the intensive environment of the internship, I can offer my flexibility, enthusiasm and great interest in being part of the association.

PPIA Special Feature on Public Service Weekends
Q&A with Simone Gbolo,  PPIA's New National Dir ector 
Simone Gbolo

How will you be working with NASPAA in particular with your new role with PPIA?
Currently PPIA and NASPAA are working together to recruit students for our Public Service Weekends. 

Public Service Weekends were created to introduce a broadly diverse population of students to opportunities in public service. 

This year we have three 2016 conferences that will be hosted nationally:  Carnegie Mellon University's Heinz College in DC from July 29-31, the School of Public and Environmental Affairs at Indiana University- Bloomington from October 20-23, and at Binghamton University from October 28-30. Information about the public service weekends can be found below and online at  ppiaprogram.org/ppia/dDYtU

What are your goals in working with NASPAA to instill public service values in our students via public service weekends?
The PPIA program values the opportunity to develop meaningful programs and our partnership with NASPAA. Our partnership allows our efforts to be promoted nationally to ensure that we are reaching institutions that support, and coach students to pursue a career in public service. One of my goals is to work collaboratively in order to ensure that we are identifying and developing programs that provide high impact, and meaningful engagement.

Would you mind briefly discussing the plans for the upcoming public service weekends and how NASPAA schools can help?
Our Public Service Weekends are three-day conferences that intend to expose students to opportunities in the field of public service. Each campus host has worked diligently to develop a program the reflects the strengths of their programs, and intend to generate relevant discussion around the future of the field. NASPAA schools can support our programs by encouraging students from their institutions to apply and consider this opportunity.

Public Service Weekends: 
Tell Your Undergraduates!


PPIA's mission and overall focus is to increase the participation and inclusion of traditionally underrepresented groups at the highest level of public sector leadership. NASPAA, the membership association of graduate programs in public administration, public policy, and public affairs, supports these goals and shares PPIA's vision in creating a new generation of diverse students to enter graduate programs and pursue careers in public service. PPIA is thrilled to announce the Public Service Weekends being planned in 2016 to introduce more students to the wide range of opportunities available in the field of public service.

2016 CONFERENCE HOSTS
NASPAA Welcomes Leigh Anne Elliott as New Education and Events Manager

Leigh Anne is responsible for NASPAA's Student Simulation Competition, Annual Conference and other events. She brings over 10 years of professional experience in event management and donor relations roles with nonprofit institutions. Leigh Anne earned an MPA at the School of Public and Environmental Affairs (SPEA) at Indiana University Bloomington.
Program Director's Corner
Call For NASPAA Executive Council and  Vice President Nominations 2016-17
In September 2016, the Nominating Committee of NASPAA (the Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs, and Administration) chaired by Ed Kellough, Immediate Past President, will be recommending a slate for  FIVE members of the Executive Council
and  Vice President/President Elect of the Council.  The Nominating Committee welcomes recommendations for nominations from NASPAA member schools. Recommenders should note that Council positions require a significant commitment of time and effort on the part of the individual and support from his or her home institution.   More details .

NASPAA announces a supplementary "Call for Panels," for a new track at the October 2016 NASPAA conference: "Conversations about Nonprofit at the Core of Public Service Education." 
If you're interested in submitting a proposal, please contact NASPAA Education and Events Manager Leigh Anne Elliott (ellliott@naspaa.org) for details, or watch for the full announcement next week.  

NASPAA's 2016 Alumni Survey is now open!

It's not too late for your school to participate! Interested in finding out how to participate? Contact Stacy Drudy at  drudy@naspaa.org, or go to the  Alumni Survey website.

ASPA has launched a search for the next Public Administration Review 
Editor-in-Chief. 
More information here.

Journal of Public Affairs Education: CALL FOR PAPERS

DEADLINES & SAVE THE DATES: 
 
 
October 19 - 21, 2016NASPAA Annual Conference in Columbus, OH 
October 20 - 23, 2016:  Moving the World Forward: Exploring a Future in Public Service (for undergraduate students)
December 7 - 9, 2016:  NASPAA Career Directors Conference at the University of Virginia Frank Batten School of Leadership & Public Policy


Member News

Change of name at UMASS Amherst
The Center for Public Policy and Administration (CPPA) at the University of Massachusetts Amherst is now the School of Public Policy!   See more

The Partnership for Public Service released its latest research
T he Partnership for Public Service released its latest research report, "A Pivotal Moment for the Senior Executive Service: Measures, Aspirational Practices and Stories of Success." Read more.


Marjory Blumenthal Appointed Director of the RAND Science, Technology, and Policy Program
Blumenthal previously served as executive director of the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology. 
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