Latest Breaking News




Graduate Education Under Tax Attack in the United States-Act Now!
In the United States, there has been a flurry of Congressional action in recent weeks that affects graduate education and graduate students (including international students). In combination, these bills are likely to have a significant impact on graduate education for public service. This article provides some background on two key bills, and then provides an action plan including talking points for those deans and directors at public affairs schools interested in getting involved. We want to stand up for graduate education: it increases economic growth and productivity in the US economy and around the world, but there is also the specific NASPAA point that US tax policy should help students who want to do public service at the local, state, and national levels, not hurt them by exacerbating their debt burden.
The Policy Issues Committee of NASPAA would especially like to call the attention of schools located in the House Districts of members of the Congressional Conference Committee* who will be deciding the fate of the graduate education-related provisions of the tax bills. Please consider contacting your representative directly to ask them to drop the taxation of graduate tuition waivers from the final version of the Tax Bill. You can also work through the government affairs office of your university, or through your school's membership in the AAU. Please contact Don Kettl, chair of the NASPAA Policy Issues Committee ( [email protected]) or Laurel McFarland at NASPAA ( [email protected]) if you contact your Representative, and what their response was!

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Student Simulation Competition is only a few months away!








2018 NASPAA-Batten Student Simulation Competition:  16 sites:  2 dates: 1 competition

The incidence of natural disasters worldwide has steadily increased. Infectious disease is the next big global security risk - as many global governments are ill-prepared for a global pandemic. It is our responsibility to train and empower our students to be ready to handle the next global crisis - to be able to efficiently and effectively respond to a pandemic outbreak of deadly infectious disease. 








If your students are interested in crisis management and global health, the simulation competition will serve as the perfect learning opportunity for them.
It is not too late for them to join us on competition day.

Non U.S. schools have until December 23 to nominate their students and students may also apply to compete  until December 23. 

U.S. students have until December 23 to apply.  We urge students to submit their applications ASAP, as sites are filling up fast.

Introducing Baruch College Marxe School of Public and International Affairs Site Judge:  Dr. Wilmot James
Dr. Wilmot James

Dr. Wilmot James is an academic and former politician from Cape Town, South Africa. He is the author of three and editor or co-editor of 14 books that include the presidential speeches of Nelson Mandela. Dr. James built his academic career in the United States, United Kingdom, and South Africa in public policy relevant areas such as immigration, refugee protection, electoral reform, bioscience and health. Dr. James led the Institute for Democracy in South Africa (IDASA) which assisted in the transition to democracy in South Africa. Starting in 2009, he served as a Member of Parliament for the official opposition directing most recently the health portfolio until stepping down in June 2017.   Dr. James left parliament for a professorship in the U.S. focusing on the global fight against infectious epidemics. He currently is a visiting professor of pediatrics (non-clinical) and international affairs at the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University.  We are so honored to have Dr. James join us as a competition judge!                                                                                            
Prizes
The University of Virginia's Center for Leadership Simulation and Gaming (CLSG) at the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy will award US$1,500 to each student on the winning team and US$500 to each student on the team that places second!
The Student Simulation Competition, now in its fourth year, brings students together to compete in a daylong educational simulation developed by the CLSG. Teams compete by participating in the simulation and making a final presentation to the regional site judges. Regional winners are sent to the super judges, who determine the ultimate winner.

The 2017 Food Security Simulation is Ready to be Adapted for Classroom Use
We are so excited to announce that the University of Virginia's Center for Leadership Simulation and Gaming (CLSG) at the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy has developed the condensed, shortened version of the simulation navigated by students during the 2017 competition. Faculty members and students across the globe may now use this simulation at their own leisure (for free!).

The simulation consists of 30 indicators or data points that give a picture of food security in a specific country and region. Players are tasked with improving food security in their region, and working toward the U.N. Sustainable Goal of a hunger-free world by 2030. Students have the opportunity to make important funding and programming decisions as they work together to improve food security. To access the simulation, click


#NASPAA2018 Conference Update

Conference Chair Announced: Chris Koliba, University of Vermont
Chris Koliba
NASPAA President, Jack Meek of the University of La Verne, has  announced that Chris Koliba of the University of Vermont will chair the 2018 NASPAA Conference in Atlanta. Chris recently chaired the Northeast Conference on Public Administration (NECOPA). We look forward to work with him to begin crafting this year's program. Upon his appointment, Chris shared:

"I was honored to be asked by Jack to undertake the role of Program Chair for the 2018 NASPAA conference in Atlanta. The conference occurs at a time when our field is confronted with unprecedented challenges and opportunities. My hope is to have the conference serve as an important inflection point for our schools and programs."

Chris's Bio:
Chris Koliba is a Professor in the Community Development and Applied Economics Department at the University of Vermont (UVM), the Director of the Master of Public Administration (MPA) Program, the Co-Director of the Social Ecological Gaming and Simulation (SEGS) Lab (www.uvm.edu/~segs) and a fellow at the Gund Institute on the Environment. He possesses a Ph.D. and an MPA from Syracuse University's Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. His research interests include environmental governance, governance networks, community resilience, network performance and accountability, with applications to water quality, food systems, energy systems, emergency and disaster response, and sustainable transportation systems. He has served as Principal Investigator (PI), Co-PI or Science Leader on grants from the National Science Foundation, the United States Department of Transportation, the United States Department of Agriculture, the Corporation for National and Community Service, the Vermont Department of  Education, and the Spencer Foundation. Koliba is the science leader for the social systems team of Basin Resilience to Extreme Events (BREE) project of Vermont EPSCoR. He is the lead author of Governance Network in Public Administration and Public Policy published by Taylor & Francis and has published articles in many of the leading public administration and public policy journals. He is recent past chair of the Complexity and Network Studies section of the American Society of Public Administration. He teaches courses pertaining to public policy and public affairs, public administration, organizational theory and behavior, systems analysis and strategic management, and the intersection of science and society.


SAVE THE DATE: NASPAA 2018
Please mark your calendars - we are excited to see you in Atlanta for the 2018 NASPAA Annual Conference! 
October 10 - 13, 2018
Westin Peachtree Plaza Hotel, Atlanta, GA

Hosted by:

 


What are conference attendees looking forward to? 

Why do attendees return year after year?





Welcome New Members

Fulbright School of Public Policy and Management 

FUV is the first Vietnamese private, not-for-profit university, 
FSPPM Student in Graduation Ceremony
which was announced by President Barack Obama during his state visit to Vietnam in May 2016. FUV's first academic unit - The Fulbright School of Public Policy and Management (FSPPM) - builds upon a two-decade long initiative of Harvard University to incubate a center of public policy research and teaching in Ho Chi Minh City, the Fulbright Economics Teaching Program (FETP). In the fall of 2016, Harvard transferred the people and programs of FETP to FUV. These unique intellectual assets are now the nucleus of the FSPPM. Among FSPPM's activities are a fulltime Masters in Public Policy (MPP) program; the Vietnam Executive Leadership Program (VELP), a policy dialog initiative for senior Vietnamese government officials; and the Lower Mekong Public Policy Initiative (LMPPI), a research program focused on transnational policy challenges at the intersection of environmental and development policy. FSPPM aims to run the Master in Public Administration focusing on public management and leadership next year. Being a NASPAA member is the very first step of FSPPM toward its ambitious goal of becoming an internationally recognized graduate professional school that prepares students for positions of leadership in all sectors of society and contribute to the resolution of the grand challenges facing Vietnam, the region, and the world through policy engagement, analysis, and research. 


Nazarbayev University's Graduate School of Public Policy

The Graduate School of Public Policy (GSPP) is delighted to become a member of NASPAA as it provides the opportunity of peer learning and sharing ideas and best practices in the academic field.   
NU
Watch a video about GSPP
GSPP's mission is to train professionals and leaders to understand and implement sound public policy and good governance to improve the quality of life of people. We do this by pursuing excellence in teaching, research and executive development that focus on key policy and leadership challenges. Since its launch in 2012, GSPP has maintained a strong strategic partnership with the National University of Singapore's Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy. Together we have been working closely to establish GSPP as the public policy school of choice in Central Asia. GSPP incorporates scientific research into its teaching to provide one of the most innovative and progressive Master's and PhD programs in the Central Asian region. GSPP's degree programs include the Master in Public Policy, Master in Public Administration, and the PhD in Public Policy. 




The Strathmore Institute of Public Policy and Governance

Strathmore Business School  Building
The Strathmore Institute of Public Policy and Governance (SIPPG), formerly the Centre  for Public Policy and Competitiveness, was set up in 2011 in Kenya in Eastern Africa. A major event was the New Constitution in Kenya that was passed by referendum in 2010. The Centre acted as an avenue for generating and channeling Strathmore University public policy research output to society and to the economy. With an expanded mandate, the Centre transformed into the Strathmore Institute of Public Policy and Governance (SIPPG) to serve the region in a better way. The Institute seeks to promote world class graduate and executive public affairs education, interdisciplinary policy research, documentation of generated knowledge, translation and dissemination of research finding to society and building a community of thinkers through our Master of Public Policy and Management (MPPM) student body. The Institute has collaborative research agenda with the Institute for Strategy and Competitiveness at the Harvard Business School, guided by the current national and regional drive to create a region able to compete against the best in the world. The Master in Public Policy and Governance students also attend their study abroad programme at New York University's Wagner School of Public Policy in June every year.
The Institute has three major functions:
1. We offer The Master of Public Policy and Management (MPPM) which attracts students from Kenya and the region.
2. We hold Executive courses in Public Policy.
3. We carry out interdisciplinary research in public policy aimed at providing a solution to many of Africa's multi-faceted problems.

SIPPG sought NASPAA membership because NASPAA represents the global standard in public policy and public affairs education. As a NASPAA member the Strathmore Institute for Public Policy and Governance would also like to seek eventual accreditation for its Master in Public Policy and Management programme as a way of maintaining the rigour and relevance of its courses. NASPAA membership also provides an opportunity to partner with and learn from other NASPAA member schools.



California State University Channel Islands
 
California State University Channel Islands (CSUCI) is currently developing a Master's Program in Public Affairs with the goal of offering courses beginning in Fall 2019 or 2020. An MPA program fits extraordinarily well within CSUCI's mission:
Placing students at the center of the educational experience, California State University Channel Islands provides undergraduate and graduate education that facilitates learning within and across disciplines through integrative approaches, emphasizes experiential and service learning, and graduates students with multicultural and international perspectives.
In creating this program, we aim to enhance, diversify, and enrich public service in Ventura County and beyond. We are building our program with the intention of seeking accreditation after 4 years of operation and aim to become a vibrant, active full member of NASPAA.



West Virginia State University's MPA Program
 
West Virginia State University's Master of Public
Administration  Program is a community-  focused program geared toward providing students the necessary tools to be effective public and non-profit managers.  Situated in the heart of the governmental and population center of the  state, our MPA Program focuses on state and local service provision and governance, and how it relates to organizations which operate in both the public and non-profit sectors.  The MPA curriculum includes the elements of traditional public administration programs, with a focus on creating better managers, to create better organizations, to make our communities better.  The program of study is designed to prepare students for careers in the public and non-profit sectors, and offers those already in public service
the opportunity to enhance and hone their competencies. Utilizing a cohort model with a mix of evening and online courses, our MPA Program is geared specifically towards busy professionals. Potential students include public service professionals interested in enhancing their credentials, those seeking a career change and recent college graduates.

WVSU's Master of Public Administration Program is a relatively new program, currently in its third year, and becoming a NASPAA Member School affords us several advantages.  Member school status allows us to demonstrate that the program is aligned with best practices, and remains current in the field, of public administration education.  Member school status provides opportunities for students and faculty to participate in field specific conferences, and is the first step in reaching the end goal of full NASPAA Accreditation.  


Doha Conference Recap

 
NASPAA, in partnership with the Doha Institute, held an international conference: Toward a Quality Public Service Education, in Doha, Qatar November 13-14th. 

The conference provided an opportunity for those involved with public administration and public policy in the Arab world to investigate avenues for cooperation in the region and beyond. Conference attendees discussed means for active ongoing cooperation and partnership to confront current and future challenges facing the Arab world, particularly in terms of program design, graduate employment, development of research areas, and other such challenges.  In addition to discussing program design and challenges, the conference looked at the regions role in discussing sustainable development goals, and other avenues of public administration research in the region.

NASPAA thanks our leadership and colleagues who traveled to Doha to participate in the conference to provide insight into NASPAA and what we view as quality in public affairs education.






Data Center

US News & World Report 
US News and World Report has sent out the Public Affairs Survey.  IF you are one of the designated voters for your school and you have not received the survey please notify NASPAA at [email protected] ASAP.  The deadline for completing the survey is this Friday,  December 8th. 
 
2016-2017 Annual Data Report
If you have not completed NASPAA's 2016-2017 Annual Data Report, but you would still like to submit your data, contact NASPAA's Data Center Director, Stacy Drudy at 



Accreditation and Standards

2017 Self-Study Instructions Released
COPRA released its annual updates to the  Self-Study Instructions for NASPAA Accreditation earlier this month. The 2017 revisions reflect the work of the Commission on Peer Review and Accreditation (COPRA) working to improve the value of program data collection, specifically with regard to diversity and complexities.
The Self-Study Report form in the NASPAA Data Center will open in January 2018 for those programs submitting reports in August 2018. 


ICYMI: New Diversity Resources
COPRA is pleased to share newly developed resources to help your program think strategically about diversity and inclusion!

Explore the pages on climate, faculty, students , and curriculum, to help support your program's mission-based planning. Don't forget to refer to  peer diversity plans for examples of how accredited programs foster diversity and inclusion.


ICYMI: 2015-16 Accreditation Data Report
COPRA is pleased to release its sixth Annual Accreditation Data Report! The 2015-16 Report provides increased insight into the public affairs field, and the faculty, students, and alumni of our accredited programs. Thank you to each NASPAA-accredited program for providing the data featured in the report.


Pi Alpha Alpha Updates


Pi Alpha Alpha welcomes its two newest chapters:
 

Kentucky State University,
School of Public Administration and Social Work
Susan Blankenship, Advisor

University of Virginia,
Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy
Paul Martin, Advisor




Call for Pi Alpha Alpha Committee members
If you are a Pi Alpha Alpha Advisor at an active chapter and you have an interest in helping shape the direction of the honor society, then we invite you to serve on our governing committee.  Please respond to David Marshall, Director of Membership Development and Global Pi Alpha Alpha Manager at  [email protected], and identify your interest in being nominated.


Watch a Video from NASPAA's Conference

NASPAA's  2017 conference included a track devoted to "Achieving SDG16 through Public Affairs Education: Transparency, Accountability and Ethics in Global Public and Nonprofit Governance." Through the generosity of American University, we were able to film three sessions from that track, one devoted to Transparency, one to Accountability, and one to Participation.  In this issue of the newsletter, we invite you to view the video of "Preparing to Serve Democracy through Election Administration". Thank you to Robert Montjoy and Kathleen Hale for organizing the panel.   This is the panel description:  SDG16 seeks to "promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels."  Electoral integrity deserves attention within this context of improving valid citizen expression and feedback through participation. To promote inclusive societies, elections must be conducted ethically and professionally. To understand how well our elections truly reflect citizen participation, we will outline the international standards of electoral integrity, understand how elections could fail to meet them, and identify tools to effectively address these issues.







Preparing to Serve Democracy through Election Administration






Sustainable Development Goal 16 







Public Service Weekend


Humphrey School's Inaugural Public Service Weekend 

Twenty-three undergraduate students from 10 colleges and universities, all of whom attend school in Minnesota except one from Chicago, took part in the Humphrey School's inaugural Public Service Weekend designed to spark an interest in graduate school and careers in public affairs. Students participated in a variety of activities, including panel discussions with community organizers and Humphrey School alumni; a research training exercise led by representatives of the Government Accountability Office; networking opportunities; and a speech by U.S. Senator Al Franken, D-Minn.



Program Director's  Corner

INPAE Announces the OSCAR OSZLAK AWARD STUDENT COMPETITION: 
The Inter-American Network for Education in Public Administration (INPAE) and the University Center of Economic and Administrative Sciences of the University of Guadalajara have issued a call for the submission of essays to the competition.   
This competition is open to undergraduate and graduate students. The winner will be presented with the Oscar Oszlak Prize at the XIV Annual Conference of INPAE in 2018.  Each year, the INPAE Network awards the Oscar Oszlak Award for the best presentation presented by the undergraduate and graduate students from member schools in the INPAE network, with the purpose of motivating research and informed opinion among the student population of INPAE member programs.  On this occasion, the Third Oscar Oszlak Award Essay Contest is open to all the students of the universities affiliated with the INPAE Network. On this occasion the theme is the same as the XIV Annual Conference of the INPAE Network:  Environment and territorial development;  Health; Public Security; Public finance;  Education;  Science and technology; OR Inequality.  The competition essays must be related to one of the seven themes.  The problem under analysis must be clearly developed, the analysis must be clear, and the results/findings must be compelling. The winning essay will be presented at one of the conference's working sessions and the speaker will be exempted from registration and lodging costs in the host country. The essays can be oriented towards theoretical approaches, case studies, proposals of action for specific governments, applied research or evaluation of programs and specific projects that show the use from various disciplinary perspectives in the analysis.
 
SUBMITTING ESSAYS TO THE COMPETITION:  
Proposals should be emailed to  [email protected] with the subject "INPAE-essay", with copy to [email protected]. Likewise, for more information you can write to the indicated electronic addresses. The reception of competition essays will begin on November 30, 2017, with a deadline of January 22, 2018. The announcement of the winning essay will be announced on  February 5, 2018. 

The essays must meet the following requirements: 
* They must Include the title of the proposal (no more than 12 words)
* Full name of the author(s) 
* Email of the author 
* Students submitting essays must belong to one of the institutions affiliated to INPAE 
* Country 
* Five descriptors or keywords 
* Thematic area in which the proposal is written 
* Summary of the proposal, no more than 500 words 
* The file must be in word processor format (not PDF) 

COMPETITION DETAILS:  The costs of transportation to Guadalajara and return must be covered by the participant, by finding some institutional support or other source of financing. HEADQUARTERS OF THE CONFERENCE University Center of Economic and Administrative Sciences of the University of Guadalajara (CUCEA-UdeG), North Peripheral  No. 799, Los Belenes University Nucleus, C.P. 45100, Zapopan, Jalisco, Mexico. Web:  http://www.cucea.udg.mx/ E-mail:  [email protected]
  


2017 NASPAA Career Professionals Conference: Omaha Agenda Finalized
The Career Professionals Conference will take place this week at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. It begins Wednesday (12/6) evening with a reception hosted by Maximus and panel sessions and roundtable discussions will take place Thursday (12/7) and Friday (12/8).

Checkout the final agenda here.

Thank you to the 2017 planning committee for their work crafting this year's conference, especially the co-chairs by Meagan Van Gelder, Ed.D., and Megan Nelson, MPA of University of Nebraska at Omaha.


Is Your School Interested in Hosting the 2018 Career Conference?
We are now accepting applications to host the 2018 NASPAA Career Conference. If you are interested in hosting, please submit your materials by Wednesday, January 17, 2017. Application criteria and instructions found  here . 

The host school has tremendous opportunity to shape the agenda and move the conversation forward on many issues that career professionals are facing. The host school will also receive publicity and exposure to the greater NASPAA community as the school will be identified in all promotional materials. Typically, 50 career professionals from NASPAA member schools attend the conference each year.
Member News

Kathy Newcomer, the Director of the Trachtenberg School of Public Policy and Public Administration at George Washington U, and this year's American Evaluation Association president, reports that this year the Association focused on how evaluation and policy analysts might address issues of institutional racism and bias. They held three dialogues on the topic across the country and the Kellogg Foundation supported the development of a video that could be used in classes and training. The link below takes you to AEA's webpage that has the case study used and the video. http://www.eval.org/page/racedialogues It is hoped that NASPAA faculty might find the video useful for their classes.

HAVE NEWS TO SHARE?
Submit your ideas for the next issue of NASPAANews!
Please send a short paragraph, headline, link, and contact details to [email protected].

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