UNC MPA Student Digest | January 5, 2024

UNC MPA News and Events

My First Semester in the MPA Program - Julia Egger

Making the decision to attend graduate school was very daunting. I was both nervous and excited on my first day at UNC. I was not sure what to expect or even if I had made the right decision. Walking into Knapp-Sanders for the first time as a student officially was surreal. I was anxious about what the program had in store for me, and wondered what I would get out of it.

Read the full article here.

MPA Graduate Hogan Medlin Featured in Carolina People Article

With a new master’s degree in public administration, the former student body president wants to lead behind the scenes.

Read the full article here.

MPA Student Shane Digan awarded the Judy Ikerd Endowed Scholarship at the NCLGBA Winter Conference

The scholarship is awarded to students enrolled in MPA programs in NC and includes $1,000 to support a student’s graduate studies.

Congratulations, Shane!

Please register for the 2024 North Carolina City & County Management (NCCCMA) Winter Seminar in Winston Salem, NC. The UNC MPA program has historically had strong participation in this event. You will gain knowledge and great networking opportunities, so we hope you will attend!

Registration Information:

Please click this link to RSVP for the 2024 North Carolina City and County Management Seminar, scheduled for January 31^st - February 2^nd, 2024 at MC Benton Convention Center in Winston-Salem, NC. A draft schedule and more information are available here: https://www.sog.unc.edu/courses/nc-city-and-county-management-association-winter-seminar (please do not register via this link, as we’ll send all student registrations together).
The student registration fee for the conference is $0 and the alumni breakfast is $21.
The MPA Program will cover the cost of your registration, and the alumni breakfast, so it is very important that you attend should you register for the event.
This is an opportunity for you to learn, apply concepts from class, and network with local government leaders in the state take full advantage of this opportunity.
Should you choose to stay in a hotel, that will need to be at your own expense.
There is a tentative Happy Hour for students, alumni, faculty, and staff being planned for Thursday, February 1^st, more details will be forthcoming.

In particular, we ask that you join us at the MPA Alumni Breakfast, 7:30-8:30 am, on Thursday, February 1^st. This is an excellent networking opportunity. If you would like to attend the Speed Coaching session later that day, please also indicate that on your registration form. This is a first-come, first-served limited opportunity.

Speed Networking Event:

You’ll also notice on the draft agenda the opportunity for speed coaching on Thursday afternoon. On the RSVP form you will have the opportunity to indicate your intent in participating in the speed coaching. Please only indicate if you are certain you will participate, as the seminar planning committee will need to make sure there are enough coaches (managers). Students have said year after year that this speed-coaching event has been one of the most helpful aspects of the seminar!

In light of both the professional development opportunity presented through the NCCCMA Winter Seminar, and financial commitments from MPA Program, we hope you consider attending the seminar. We want to underscore that the seminar offers something for everyone – in terms of both substance and networking opportunities. NCCCMA is committed to recruiting the next generation of local managers and leaders, and this event is a key component of the Association’s strategy. The seminar expects a large number of managers to attend and thus is an excellent opportunity for students seeking government positions to make contacts that could help create a larger network leading to increased opportunities for internships and jobs. For those of who are focusing on non-profit organizations, the meeting provides a way to get acquainted with local government managers with whom you might be working in the future.

The deadline to register for the seminar is 5 pm, Thursday, January 18, 2024. If you do not complete the RSVP before that time, you will be required to register yourself and pay the full amount. Please direct any questions to Allison Binkley.

Apply for the NAASPA Student Simulation Competition

In 2016, NASPAA launched its first Student Simulation Competition which took place at five (5) institutions across the US. This year NASPAA will host the latest competition on the Host Nations Simulation by DMS Academy, on February 24^th, March 2^nd, and March 9^th (virtual option) for students across the globe. Please visit the website for more information on this year’s competition.

NASPAA, or the Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs, and Administration, is the global standard in public service education and serves as our accrediting body. It currently has more than 300 member programs located in the US and 14 countries around the globe. They have a twofold mission to “ensure excellence in education and training for public service and to promote the ideal of public service.” The simulation allows them to carry out this mission and allows students to tackle real-world scenarios while networking with MPA/MPP students from across the world.

The UNC MPA Program will guarantee sponsorship of one on-campus and one online student (with the potential opportunity of additional students depending on funding availability). This sponsorship would include payment of registration and travel fees to the location closest to the student’s residence. Students may also request to participate virtually if they are unable to travel to a simulation site. It is a wonderful experience to network with other MPA students from across the globe and gain real-world relevant experience. In the past, we have even had site winners representing the UNC MPA Program!

The competition will take place at 13 sites around the world. Three sites will go live on February 25th, nine on March 4th and one virtual site on March 9th. Details on the sites and dates are noted below.

This experience offers many opportunities to include:

A unique, immersive, experiential learning experience.
A full-day event in which students play on teams and compete with each other to solve a real public service challenge.
A Friday night reception where students meet their teammates and the other participants.
Breakfast, lunch, and snacks provided on Saturday
A chance to meet public service students from other schools and start building your network.
Meet and learn from public service professionals who will be judging the competition and giving a panel on the simulation topic.
A chance to win a $3,000 prize for first place or smaller prizes for second and third place.

If you are interested in participating in this year's competition, please take a moment to complete this short form. The submission deadline is Wednesday, January 24, 2024. The selected students will be chosen by a committee and then be submitted for nomination to NASPAA. If you have additional questions, please feel to reach out to Heather Duhart.

Upcoming Event Invitation From the School of Government Environmental Finance Center

From Justin Nolan, project director for the Environmental Finance Center:

We are holding an upcoming event we thought would be a really cool opportunity for your students and wanted to extend the invitation. On January 18^th from 5-7pm we will be having a panel discussion of North Carolina brewers from all over the eastern half of the state in the SOG Atrium. They will be discussing topics ranging from how regulation affects their business to environmental impact and how they are trying to minimize it and even economic development and their place in it. Trophy is donating beer which will be served to attendees so everyone has to be 21+ per university policy. We would love for MPAs to come and interact with some local entrepreneurs and ask some of their questions.

Diversity Gazette: Issue #62, December 2023

Modern Masculinity - by Michael Welker

My wife and I learned not long ago that we are expecting a baby boy, our first child, next spring. Before we found out, I figured that knowing the sex wouldn’t make much difference in how I thought about parenting until our child was a little older. Yet as soon as we learned that we will have a boy, I found myself thinking often about what it means to raise a son in this time.

I grew up as one of three boys and with many close male friends, and from this experience, I’ve seen and experienced tensions in what are considered traditionally masculine traits. For instance, encouraging independence can close men off to asking for help. Competitiveness can turn into aggression toward others. Courage and risk tolerance can end up permitting self-destructive behaviors. It can be too easy to express anger and too difficult to express fear or sadness.

Critiques of the negative aspects of traditional masculinity have become prominent in recent years. The #MeToo movement has exposed how many men in positions of authority used their power to sexually harass and abuse women. Terms like “patriarchy” and “toxic masculinity” are now commonly used to describe how traditional views of masculine roles or traits pose barriers to gender equality. Even the biggest blockbuster of 2023, Barbie, delivers a commentary on how traditional gender roles harm both men and women.

It is simultaneously the case that many men struggle in modern life. In the 2022 book Of Boys and Men, scholar Richard Reeves gathers evidence finding that men today pursue and attain educational credentials at lower levels than women, that industries and occupations that have traditionally skewed toward male employees are in decline, and that men face far higher rates of social isolation, substance abuse, and suicide than women. The problems are especially acute for men of color and from lower socioeconomic statuses. Reeves argues that many of our social institutions have not adapted well to biological and cultural differences between boys and girls. For instance, he suggests that boys should enter kindergarten a year later than girls to account for differences in the pace of their social and emotional development.

I read Reeves’ book before I knew we were having a child (Reeves works in public policy too), but I’ve thought about it a lot since. In particular, I like that Reeves calls for a positive vision of masculinity that neither pathologizes nor mythologizes traditionally masculine traits. He reminds us that traits coded as predominantly masculine or feminine exist on a spectrum, that men and women can often overlap in how much they exhibit those traits, and that those traits can be advantageous or disadvantageous depending on the setting. He values the progress made toward women’s equality, and he also believes that doing more to support struggling boys and men does not mean doing less for women.

These are the types of nuances I’ve been thinking about in looking ahead to raising a boy. I hope that our future son will look at his father, uncles, grandfathers, and other male role models and take the most positive parts of the diverse masculinities that they represent. I hope that he emulates the best of his mother, aunts, grandmothers, and female role models too. I hope he’ll find himself in environments where he can make the most of his unique mix of attributes. Above all, I hope he is compassionate toward and appreciative of all his identities and attributes and that he extends the same compassion and appreciation for others’.

UNC MPA Calendar

Monday, January 8: online classes start
Wednesday, January 10: on campus classes start
Monday, January 15: Martin Luther King Jr. Day
Friday, January 19: Excel Seminar, 9;30 am-2:30 pm, Knapp-Sanders 3301
Wednesday, January 31 - Friday, February 2: NCCCMA Winter Conference

You may also find all calendar events on the MPA Intranet calendar or by adding "UNC MPA Student Calendar" on Outlook.

UNC events and beyond

The MLK Jr. Week of Celebration is part of a campus-wide initiative to honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., his legacy, and his ideals. Carolina began its celebrations of Dr. King’s life and legacy long before there was a federal holiday. UNC is the only university ever awarded the “Making of the King Holiday Award” by the former MLK Jr. Federal Holiday Commission. UNC-CH engages in honoring King’s legacy through several efforts including a community celebration, day of service, lecture & awards ceremony, and a unity event.

The University Office for Diversity and Inclusion hosts this Week of Celebration in partnership with the Carolina Union Activities Board and Student Life & Leadership.

The MLK Jr. Community Celebration, during which the MLK Jr./Edith Wiggins Scholarship, Bridge Builders, and MLK Jr. Citizenship awards are presented.
The MLK Jr. Lecture and Awards Ceremony, during this event the University awards the MLK Jr. and Harvey Beech scholarships. The MLK Jr. Unsung Hero Awards are also presented at the ceremony.
The MLK Jr. Day of Service is dedicated to encouraging and empowering members of the Carolina community to participate in a campus-wide service project.
The MLK Jr. Unity Event brings students, community leaders, organizations, and local residents together to recognize, appreciate, and support the various cultures, backgrounds, and identities that define Carolina’s campus.

Outgoing Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz leaves dual legacy of research, leadership

Kevin M. Guskiewicz, who came to UNC-Chapel Hill in 1995 and has served as chancellor since 2019, leaves the University on Jan. 12.

Read the full article here.

GovFi Prize

GFOA and the Public Finance Journal are thrilled to announce cash awards for answering long-standing public finance questions.

What if there were resources to support, recognize, and reward academic writing in public finance? There now is such financial resourcing for four specific questions. There is $500 for up to four initial proposals for each of the questions below. Articles are required to be produced for publication for each $500 start-up funding to be published in a future edition of the Public Finance Journal. The selected researchers or research teams will be informed in writing, will complete the research as described in proposal, and submit the article for publication to the Public Finance Journal, and agree to all terms to have your article published.

More information and instructions for submitting a proposal may be found here.

Links and resources