UNC MPA in Asheville!

(Re)Connect with MPA students, alumni (and a few staff) for drinks, lite bites, and great conversation in Asheville for a UNC MPA Happy Hour Hub!

Tuesday, May 13, 2025

4:30 PM - 7:00 PM

RAD Brewing Company

13 Mystery St,

Asheville, NC 28801 (map)

MPA Happy Hour to Celebrate the End of Spring Semester!

As we wrap up another incredible year, on-campus SLC is excited to invite you to a happy hour celebration on Wednesday, May 7th at 8:00 PM at TOPO (Top of the Hill) in Chapel Hill!

We’ve planned this event as a fun, low-key way for us all to relax and celebrate the end of the year together. Whether you're graduating, finishing up your first year, or just need a break, we’d love for you to join us. Thanks to generous sponsorship from the MPA Program, appetizers will be provided for everyone to enjoy. There will also be a cash bar available for drinks.

Come for the food, stay for the good vibes—we can't wait to celebrate with you all! All MPA students, faculty, & staff are invited!

Cheers,

Ben and Noah on behalf of the SLC

Grad Student Opportunities at Gillings

The Gillings School of Global Public Health is seeking one or two graduate research assistants for projects studying Medicaid transformation in North Carolina. The project consists of collecting and analyzing interviews with health care providers and Medicaid enrollees in North Carolina and their experiences with the Medicaid program.

This is an hourly position for the Fall of 2025 with the possibility of starting in the Summer of 2025. The position is 20 hours per week, and tuition and stipend are provided. Hourly pay for summer is between $20-27/hour dependent on degree program. Learn more here and apply! (this link will download a PDF)

Join the School of Government at the Annual Durham Bulls Outing!

Dear esteemed SOG Colleagues and Durham Bulls Enthusiasts, 

Please reserve your tickets for the outing by emailing one of us.​

We welcome SOG employees, family members, MPA students and recent alums, and friends.

• The game is Thursday, May 29th and starts at 6:35 p.m.
• Tickets are $16 each.
• Children are free if they can sit in your lap! (and there are usually free seats nearby). 
• Our seats are in Section 211 - https://www.milb.com/durham/ballpark/seating-map
• It is Dollar Hot Dog Night! And “Bark in the Park” https://www.milb.com/durham/tickets/bark-in-the-park
• Parking information: https://www.milb.com/durham/ballpark/parking

Once we have all reservations in place, John or Eric will contact you for providing physical tickets and for payment. We are NOT limited to 40 total tickets, so please keep adding names and numbers. We will make it all work.

Thanks,

Eric Thomas ethomas@sog.unc.edu and John Stephens stephens@sog.unc.edu  

MPA Student Awarded NFBPA Scholarship

Congratulations to on-campus student, Caitlyn Wilson, who was a recipient of the National Forum for Black Public Administrators Forum 2025 conference scholarship. If you'd like to be considered for this program next year, please check out their scholarship page. Congratulations, Caitlyn!

NCLGBA Scholarships Available

The North Carolina Local Government Budget Association is happy to announce two different scholarship opportunities:

NCLGBA Conference Scholarship

The Conference Scholarship provides registration and accommodations for the upcoming Summer Conference to be held in Asheville, July 9-11, 2025. Eligible applicants include first-time professional attendees or student attendees. Interested individuals should submit their application via e-mail to scholarship@nclgba.org with the subject line “#NCLGBA Scholarship Program”. Applications for the conference scholarship are due no later than Friday, May 23, 2025, at 11:59pm EST. Scholarship recipient(s) will receive registration and lodging accommodations for the 2025 Summer Conference. The scholarship application can be found here.

NCLGBA Hurricane Helene Scholarship

The Board is proud to announce the addition to our scholarship offerings to provide for some of our members that have been affected by Hurricane Helene. Many of our local governments that are in the affected disaster areas are experiencing travel freezes or budget cuts to their travel budget that will affect their ability to attend conference.  With our conference being located within the disaster affected region, the board has created an application process for members who were part of the declared disaster area to provide them with conference registration, if they are under a travel freeze or have had their travel budgets cut due to the disaster. Since conference is in the disaster region, this scholarship will only cover registration costs and will not cover lodging accommodations. We are working to have these scholarships sponsored by a vendor and allow everyone that requests assistance to have funding. If we do not have enough funding to cover all applications, a lottery process will be utilized for scholarship selection.  The application can be located here.

Please let Megan Powell (mpowell@withersravenel.com) know if you have any questions. If you have any connections for potential sponsors that might be interested in this special scholarship, please let our sponsorship team know. (sponsors@nclgba.org)

If you would like to be considered for both scholarships, you must complete both applications.

You will not be considered for both scholarships after completing one application. 

Additional information on the conference can be found here: Summer Conference.

Please direct any questions, comments, or concerns to scholarship@nclgba.org.

Fall 2025 Course: PUBH 785 Community Engagement for Governance

3 Credit Elective Course

Instructor: Dr. Karl Johnson

Time: Friday, 9:05AM - 12:05PM

No Prerequisites

Description: This seminar style and practice-oriented course prepares students to understand the work of public health governance. Students will learn to distinguish between governing and administrative functions of the US and global public health systems, identify and describe the roles and responsibilities of organizational governing boards in assuring the health of populations, and understand the importance of working with non-health governing boards to secure vital conditions for health and well-being. With partner organizations, students will work to co-design and develop evidence-driven approaches to strengthen governance practices to better protect and promote population health outcomes.

Registration Now Open for GFOA's 119th Annual Conference!

Join us from June 29–July 2, 2025, at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, DC! Take advantage of 70+ CPE-accredited sessions, inspiring keynotes, and interactive leadership workshops designed to expand your expertise in government finance. Learn directly from leading experts, researchers, and practitioners, and bring invaluable insights back to your organization and community. Plus, network and connect with peers from across the nation and around the world through numerous social and collaborative events!