Carolina MPA Digest 6/19/20
Carolina MPA Student Digest:
Carolina MPA Calendar
  • July 20-27: May Term Oral Exams
  • July 13: Registration opens for online September term (fall on-campus registration ongoing)
  • July 26: Last Day of May term
  • August 4: Summer graduation degree date
  • August 10: Fall on-campus courses start UPDATED
  • September 7: September term online courses start

*** TBD: Upcoming Commencement Ceremonies. Details will follow university announcement.***
MPA Happenings
Portfolio Information Session Recording
Missed last month's Portfolio Information Session with MPA faculty member Emily McCartha ? She has graciously recorded the content again for easy access anytime. Check out the video here and the Powerpoint here . Thank you for helping our students, Ms. McCartha!
Dr. Dehart-Davis Published
MPA Faculty Member Dr. Leisha Dehart-Davis, along with colleagues Amy Smith, Shahidul Hassan, Deneen Hatmaker, and Nicole Humphrey, recently published ). "Gender, Race, and Experiences of Workplace Incivility in Public Organizations" in the Review of Public Personnel Administration. Past and present issues of this journal are available electronically via UNC Libraries.
University & Beyond Events
  • Virtual Opportunities to engage:
  • Town of Carrboro Online Juneteenth Celebration view anytime
  • Carolina Performing Arts at Home: Stream of Martha Graham Dance Company's Immediate tragedy, June 19, 7 pm EDT
  • Intergalactic Soulstice, the Ackland Art Museum's first virtual Afrofuturist Arts Festival, June 19-21
  • The Talk performed by Sonny Kelly from UNC's PlayMakers Repertory Company (stream now through July 10)
  • Take a Virtual Tour of the NYC Tenement Museum, ongoing
  • Campus Rec Workouts from home available
  • Volunteer Opportunities
  • Call for Blog Posts from ELGL
  • Literacy Volunteers Needed

Current and former African American elected officials of Orange County have come together to share a Resolution in Recognition of 400 Years of the African American Story. This resolution is being read by the elected officials, who then recognize past and present African American elected officials in Orange County. Following the resolution and recognition, Dr. Freddie Parker, Professor Emeritus of History at North Carolina Central University, gives a presentation on the history of Juneteenth. This event includes Carolina MPA alum and Hillsborough Town Commissioner Matthew Hughes.
Commissioned by The Soraya,  Martha Graham Dance Company (MGDC) and Wild Up will premiere  Immediate Tragedy , a digital dance inspired by archival remnants of Martha Graham's 1937 lost solo of the same name.
Streaming this Friday, June 19 at 7 PM EST, the reimagined version features 14 MGDC dancers and includes new music composed by Christopher Rountree of Wild Up, who were part of our 18/19 season.
The world premiere showing will also include interviews with the collaborators and a screening of a recent performance of Graham's Deep Song, a companion to the original Immediate Tragedy. Join us Friday on Facebook Live for this unforgettable dance collaboration! #CDAatHome
PLAYMAKERS REPERTORY COMPANY IS PARTNERING TO SHARE THIS ARCHIVAL RECORDING OF THE BULLDOG ENSEMBLE THEATER & STREETSIGNS CO-PRODUCTION
WRITTEN & PERFORMED BY SONNY KELLY
DIRECTED BY JOSEPH MEGEL
In  Sonny Kelly’s  one-person show, the playwright, performer, and dad finds that the information his son needs to survive has radically expanded. And it’s up to him to give THE TALK. A virtuosic one-man show about the difficult conversation a father must have with his son in a racially-divided America.

Stream HERE through July 10.
The Tenement Museum in New York City is offering a wide variety of virtual exhibits and events while they are closed due to COVID-19. Current offerings include a look at how the US Census and past pandemics have affected the residents of the Lower East Side.
Did you know that UNC Campus Recreation has a number of fitness opportunities available to students during the COVID-19 pandemic that you can access anywhere? Check out their workouts on Facebook Live, join fellow Tar Heels on Strava, and find so much more on their website. Special thanks to MPA Student Stephany Pizano for letting us know what all Campus Rec is offering this summer!
Call for Blog Posts from ELGL

Hello -

For those of you I have yet to meet, my name is Christian M. Williams. I am a member of the ELGL Board of Directors as well as a (City) Planner in Goodyear, Arizona.

Last week, I wrote a blog for ELGL about my experiences as a Black American, and how tough it was to watch the events that took place in Minnesota, re-open my past wounds and engage in difficult conversations nationwide. Here's the link to the blog post: https://elgl.us5.list-manage.com/track/click?u=2065f75380b9b3e8378f54aa4&id=359bd8d238&e=7108f3d8d1

Sharing my thoughts with ELGL provided me with an opportunity to express my perspective as well as continue the larger conversation about race, justice, and equity.

I'd like to reach out to ELGL members, and in particular our Black members, to lean on ELGL right now (Open Ears, Open Hearts, Open Shoulders), as a place to share your own thoughts and ideas.

We believe that local government is stronger when we share our stories; talking about our experiences with race, inequity, and violence is a way to further shine a light on the realities we face in local government.
I encourage ALL ELGL members to take the time to ask those difficult questions, even if they may seem <dumb/uncomfortable/confusing>.

Without asking those questions and having those open and frank conversations, we remain strangers - we fear and act out on unreal fears and we never get to know each other and learn from one another. ELGL provides for a great space to have these much needed conversations and share those important unheard stories.

ELGL accepts anonymous blogs if you do not feel comfortable putting your name on what you write. We know that everyone is in different places and it's ok if you want to share what you're feeling without sharing your name and organization.

Writing for ELGL is straightforward. We look for blogs between 500-1,200 words (we can accept longer pieces, but typically break them into two parts for readability).

We encourage you to use a tone that matches your personality (I want to hear from you, the real you, it doesn't need to be perfect) - storytelling is incredibly powerful when we can learn from your voice.

You can submit posts to our executive director [Carolina MPA Alummus] Kirsten Wyatt at kirsten@ELGL.org. Let her know if you want to post anonymously. You can also feel free to reach out to any board member if you have a personal question or thoughts you would like to share.

I'm also here if you want to bounce any post ideas off of me or ask any questions you aren't sure about. And if writing isn't your thing, we also would love your ideas and suggestions for future GovLove podcast episodes, webinars, and virtual hangouts.

Thanks for reading this and considering this offer to share your story with ELGL. I truly appreciate your involvement with our organization.

Take care,

Christian M. Williams
Every year, over 150 volunteers support Orange Literacy by providing office support and vital tutoring services to adults throughout Orange County. Without volunteer power, we would need almost twice as much income to reach the number of adults we serve each year. Learn more here!
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