Carolina MPA Student Digest 1/7/22:
Carolina MPA Calendar
  • January 9: PUBA 746 Portfolio starts
  • January 10: First Day of Classes in January/Spring Term
  • January 11: Meet the New MPA Faculty, 12-1, Zoom (details below)
  • January 14: Development Finance Initiative Session, 12:30-1:30 Eastern, Zoom (details below)
  • January 26: Advancing Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion in the Workplace Workshop (details below)
  • February 2-4: NCCCMA Winter Seminar, Winston-Salem, NC
  • February 18-19: Revised meeting dates for PUBA 769 (seats still available; register by January 14)
  • March 3-5: MPA Immersion
  • May 6-8: Spring Graduation Events
MPA News
DFI Information Session in January
Friday, January 14, 2022, 12:30-1:30 pm EST

The Development Finance Initiative partners with local governments in North Carolina to attract private investment for transformative projects by providing specialized finance and development expertise. DFI partners with communities on projects including master-planned developments, urban infill redevelopment, downtown revitalization, and neighborhood redevelopment. Join DFI staff to learn more about summer fellowship opportunities. 

DFI Fellowships do satisfy all PWE requirements. Find out more information about the fellowship and application process here.
Student Shoutouts: Tiffany Oliva & Abby Gostling
Great news from MPA Instructor Kara Millonzi:

"I just wanted to brag on Abby Gostling and Tiffany Oliva. They have been working with me on several projects related to the ARP. They have done a great job with each project, despite ever-changing information and lots of moving targets. They both have just rolled with the flow and been willing to change gears quickly as new priorities spring up. On Friday, they both presented in our ARP course—teaching LG officials how to use resources that they created to make it easier for local governments to track information for reporting and auditing purposes. To say their resources were appreciated by the audience is an understatement. I’m still getting email “thank yous” from participants. And they had great presentation skills to boot. Overall, they have just done a terrific job and I’m so grateful for their assistance."

We all need more good news, and are happy to share it! If you have a shoutout for a fellow classmate, an instructor, or one of your students, please let Elizabeth know! 
Have you read the MPA Matters blog recently? It's a great way to hear about what your classmates are working on, learn about their PWEs, and more. Student bloggers provide the content on a variety of subjects. Online format student Stephen Thompson is currently taking on the job, so please check it out!
University & Beyond Events

  • UNC MLK Celebration Events Announced
  • Free Statistical/Data Science Consulting
  • February 17: NC Child Hunger Leaders Conference ONLINE
UNC MLK Celebration Events Announced
UNC-Chapel Hill’s 2022 Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration Week, which honors the bridge-building legacy of Dr. King, Jr., kicks off on Jan. 16 and includes events that highlight the intersectionality of diversity, equity, inclusion and social justice. The annual MLK University/Community Banquet will provide the traditional start to the week of activities, highlighted by the MLK Keynote Lecture and Awards Ceremony on Jan. 19, a week-long “Letters of Hope” student service effort and other opportunities for cross-cultural and intergroup dialogue. All events are designed to celebrate and educate the UNC-Chapel Hill community about the legacy of Dr. King, Jr., using the theme, “What are we striving for?”
The MLK week of events at Carolina is co-led by the MLK Student Planning Committee, comprised of representatives from Campus Y, Carolina Union Activities Board (CUAB), Graduate and Professional Student Government, Queen in You, Student Life & Leadership, Undergraduate Student Government and the University Office for Diversity and Inclusion.
MLK University/Community Banquet – Sunday, Jan. 16, 6 p.m. Now in its 37th year, the Banquet is hosted by the MLK, Jr. Corporation, in partnership with the University Office for Diversity and Inclusion. The event, held virtually this year, will feature Elmira Mangum, Ph.D., as the keynote speaker. In 2014, Dr. Mangum became the first woman to permanently hold the position of President of Florida A&M University in its 128-year history.
Dr. Mangum will be joined by North Carolina Congressman (4th district) David E. Price, Chapel Hill Mayor Pam Hemminger, Carrboro Mayor Damon Seils and Chapel Hill-Carrboro NAACP President Dawna Jones. In addition, the MLK/Edith Wiggins High School Senior scholarships, Citizenship awards and Bridge Builders awards will be presented. Tickets to the event are $30. To purchase tickets, please go to mlkpc-ch.org. For additional information, please contact the University Office for Diversity and Inclusion at 919-843-6086 or diversity@unc.edu.
The MLK Lecture and Awards Ceremony – Wednesday, Jan. 19, 6:30 p.m. at the Carolina Union Great Hall. The event, celebrating its 41st year, will include the presentation of the MLK UNC Scholarship for UNC juniors and the MLK Unsung Hero awards. La Tosha Brown, co-founder of the Black Voters Matter Fund and Black Voters Matter Capacity Building Institute and an expert on Black voting rights and voter suppression, Black women’s empowerment and philanthropy, will deliver the keynote lecture. Tickets are available through the Carolina Union Box Office.
For additional information about the full roster of events, visit diversity.unc.edu/mlk.
This message is sponsored by: University Office for Diversity and Inclusion
Free Statistical / Data Science Consulting
The UNC Department of Statistics and Operations Research announces the availability of free statistical / data science consulting. Our goal is to teach this important skill to graduate students, but you can get some free data analytic assistance in the process.
The course format involves clients giving a presentation about the problem at hand. This generates a question and answer dialog, which by itself has proven to be useful in helping clients formulate their ideas. Then typically one student is assigned to work on the actual data, with a final written report expected.
In the past we have worked with a very wide range of clients, from Masters students needing help with the statistical end of their dissertation, all the way up to distinguished professors. While there are limits to what can be done in the context of this course, some contacts initially made through this course have led to ongoing joint research, grant proposals and published papers in very diverse fields.
To sign up for this type of consulting, or to discuss this further, please contact Steve Marron, Department of Statistics and Operations Research, UNC, CB 3260, Email: marron@unc.edu. Additional information is available at the web address:
This message is sponsored by: Statistics and OR
The NC Child Hunger Leaders Conference will return for its 11th annual event on Thursday, February 17, 2022. This day of celebration and inspiration is for anyone involved in or interested in making sure kids have access to the healthy meals they need, at school and beyond. This year’s theme is “Celebrate Silver Linings,” focusing on stories of hope, innovation, and perseverance that have emerged from a challenging year. More details on the agenda will be announced soon. Last year’s speakers included Governor Roy Cooper, the NC Teacher and Principal of the Year, and nutrition professionals from across the state. Register FREE for this VIRTUAL event at CarolinaHungerInitiative.org/Register.
 
 
NC Child Hunger Leaders Conference
·      Thursday, February 17, 2022.
·      9:30am to 4:00pm (schedule subject to change).
·      This year's conference is ONLINE via Zoom!
·      This year's conference is FREE!
·      If you are currently engaged in the work of feeding kids, fighting food insecurity in children, or nutrition education for kids — or want to be — THIS CONFERENCE IS FOR YOU!
·      The conference is hosted by Carolina Hunger Initiative, a part of the UNC Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention. The conference was started by the team at No Kid Hungry NC, which is a partnership between UNC and Share Our Strength supported by the same team as Carolina Hunger Initiative.
·      Speaker and agenda information will be shared soon. Last year's speakers included Governor Roy Cooper, State Superintendent Catherine Truitt, the NC Teacher and Principal of the Year, and nutrition professionals from across the state. Click here to see highlights from last year's virtual conference.
·      Consider sharing a short video with your story, innovation, or "silver lining" related to fighting food insecurity in children. Select videos will be shown during the conference, and made available on demand for conference attendees and the public.
·      More than 930 people from across the state attended the 2021 virtual conference!
·      Register for free at CarolinaHungerInitiative.org/Register
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