exchangeNewsletter of the School of Public Administration

University of Nebraska at OmahaSpring 2011

THE

Tribute to the SPA Women in Public Administration!By Mary Hamilton, Ph.D.

When I was Executive Director of the American Society for Public Administration (ASPA) from 1997 – 2004, I became quite familiar with a lot of public administration graduate programs. I got to know the UNO School of Public Administration (SPA) early and often because so many UNO SPA faculty are nationally recognized in the field and they were active in ASPA. I was impressed early in my ASPA tenure with the diversity of the UNO SPA faculty. There were faculty from the whole spectrum of public administration—budget and finance, critical theory, local government management, administrative law, health administration, human resource management, and more. The coverage of the field by this program was and still is very impressive. The UNO program also

had more women faculty than I had seen in most other programs. Currently, there are 14 public administration faculty in SPA, 7 of whom are women. In addition, the three fabulous staff for the program are all women.

But diversity alone is not impressive if it leads to factions and hostile rivalries, as it does in some programs. What I saw from a distance in the UNO program was collegiality. It appeared to me that SPA faculty genuinely respected each other and enjoyed each other’s company—not a common occurrence in many other programs. I believe the presence of so many accomplished women on the faculty influenced the culture and helped create an environment of respect and mutual support.

When it was time for me to leave ASPA in 2004 and move closer to my parents in Holdrege, NE, I was delighted that UNO

wanted me to join the SPA faculty. I had been telling friends in my last years at ASPA about my impressions of UNO/SPA and that, given what I’d seen of other programs, there were only a few PA programs in the country that I would want to be part of—and UNO was number one.

In my six years with SPA I have enjoyed the collegiality of the School immensely and have greatly appreciated the warm support. And what a treat to be able to work with so many incredible women! (continued on page 3)

Mary Hamilton

“The education and empowerment of women throughout the world cannot fail to result in a more caring, tolerant, just and peaceful life for all.”

- Aung San Suu KyiNobel Peace Prize Laureate, leader of Burma’s democracy movement

From the Director’s DeskBy John Bartle, Ph.D.

It is entirely appropriate that this edition of The Exchange focus on women in public administration. There has been a strong trend for several years of increasing the presence of women in the public sector. And in the nonprofit sector, most organizations are staffed and run by women. I also see it among our faculty which is half women, our students where women significantly outnumber men, and our staff which is all female.

Despite this progress, there is still a “glass ceiling” where many of the top jobs are held by men despite the presence of many well qualified women. In my own research on women in public budgeting and financial positions, no woman has ever served as Secretary of the US Treasury, Deputy Secretary, or even Under-Secretary. At the state level things are only

somewhat better: 16 states have a female treasurer/comptroller and 17 had female chief budget officers.

This issue is important to all of us -- men and women -- because equity is important. We want the best person for the job without the formal or informal barriers that have existed. Organizations with sensible gender balance in their staffing (as well as racial, ethnic and class balance) tend to do a better job in making and implementing policies because there is a broader understanding of how citizens and stakeholders will respond.

I am reminded by a comment of former Congresswoman Bella Abzug who said, “women will change the nature of power, rather than power changing the nature of women.” I hope that this is true, for the sake of all of us.

Best Wishes to Dr. Box on His Future Endeavors!After 13 years as a professor in the UNO School of Public Administration, Richard Box, Ph.D., will be retiring from his academic position following the spring semester of 2011. During his tenure with SPA, Dr. Box was instrumental in revamping the Urban Studies curriculum and moving it to an online program. He also served as chair of the doctoral program and is instrumental in continuing to foster quality in that program. Dr. Box is known and respected for his professionalism and high academic standards. The SPA faculty, staff, students and alumni will miss him and wish him well!

FACULTY & STAFF

SCHOOL OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION

(402) 554-2625John Bartle, Director

Robert BlairRichard BoxCarol Ebdon

Angela EikenberryMary HamiltonBryce Hoflund

Dale KraneKen Kriz

Gary MarshallJames B. Milliken

BJ ReedChris Reed

Russell SmithArwiphawee Srithongrung

Jay WhiteEthel Williams

Mary LopezRhonda Sheibal-Carver

Meagan Van Gelder

AVIATION INSTITUTE(402) 554-3424

Scott Tarry, DirectorDavid Byers

Patrick O’NeilDavid SmithScott Vlasek

Gayle Lokey Sara Martin

NASA OFFICE(402) 554-3772Michaela Lucas

Michael Sibbernsen Melissa Wragge

2 SCHOOL NEWS

http://www.facebook.com/unospa http://twitter.com/unospa

UNO’s School of Public Administration is on FACEBOOK and TWITTER!For the latest School of Public Administration news and happenings visit:

Farewell and Thank You to Theresa SwezeyThe School of Public Administration’s work study student, Theresa Swezey, is graduating from UNO this spring with a BS in Business Administration, majoring in Marketing. Theresa has been a valuable member of the SPA family since February of 2009. The faculty and office staff depend on Theresa for her clerical support and general office management. According to her supervisor, Rhonda Sheibal-Carver, “Theresa’s a self starter, she has a knack for knowing what to do and how to do it calmly and professionally without much guidance.” SPA wishes Theresa the best in her future career!

SPA WOMEN

Now I want you to meet the wonderful women—faculty and staff--who I believe help make PA at UNO such a success nationally and locally. I’m going to focus on them as people, so will leave out a lot of their professional accomplishments. You can find those at http://spa.unomaha.edu/facstaff.php. I want to give you a sense of what I see each of them contributing to the extraordinary environment of SPA.

Christine Reed is a Regents/Foundation professor in the School and Director of the Nebraska Municipal Clerks Institute and Master Academy. She is active and well known in PA nationally and locally. In her spare time, she is a wife and mother, an advocate for children with disabilities, a horsewoman, a photographer, and she studies and plays classical piano. I appreciate Chris’ good sense and her dignity. She commands respect with her quiet, calm, deliberate, and caring approach to thorny problems and her generous support for her colleagues and students.

Ethel Williams is the Associate Director of SPA, Director of the MPA program, and a full Professor. She is active and well known in PA both nationally and locally. In her spare time she sings in her church choir and spoils her adorable grandchildren. I appreciate Ethel’s bracing wit, her incredible work ethic (I used to think I worked hard!!) and her unflinching ability to ‘speak truth to power’ respectfully and articulately with no pulled punches. Carol Ebdon is an Associate Professor in SPA. She recently returned to UNO after spending five years as the Director of Finance for the City of Omaha. Carol is active and well known in PA nationally and locally. In her spare time, Carol enjoys the Omaha Symphony and dog sitting for many of her friends. I appreciate Carol for her ability to understand complex budget and finance issues (and explain them to me!), her love of animals, her growing appreciation for UNO women’s soccer, and her strong support for her friends.

Angie Eikenberry is an Associate Professor in SPA. She is the Advisor for the Nonprofit Concentration in the MPA Program. Angie is active and well known nationally and locally for her

work with nonprofits. In her spare time she is a wife and mother, and an avid bicyclist. I appreciate Angie’s seemingly inexhaustible energy, her dedication to dragging SPA into the modern age of social media, and her outstanding ability to integrate, conceptualize, and clearly articulate issues and problems.

Arwiphawee Srithongrung (“Sai”) is an Assistant Professor in SPA. Sai is active nationally and locally in PA and budget/finance organizations. I appreciate Sai for her willingness to help where and when she is needed, for her love of numbers—and her ability to make them speak to those of us who are numerically challenged, and for how hard she works. For more on Sai, see this issue’s Faculty Profile.

Bryce Hoflund is an Assistant Professor in SPA. In her spare time she enjoys travel, reading, fine cuisine, architecture, decorating, and interior design. I appreciate Bryce’s work as liaison with the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) for the MPH program. I also appreciate her openness to new contacts and experiences in the short time she’s been at UNO.

Now the staff...

Mary Lopez is the Career Services Director for PA and earned her MS and MPA from UNO. Mary is well known and very active in community organizations, especially in the area of philanthropy development and awareness. I appreciate Mary for her commitment to students and her creativity in meeting their needs. She is hard working, tenacious, and very supportive of students and colleagues. Mary enjoys travel, reading and being with her family.

Meagan Van Gelder is the Academic Program Coordinator for the MPA Program. Her Ed.D is from Eastern Michigan University. In her spare time, she is a wife and mother and enjoys running, hiking, golfing, gardening and reading. I appreciate the positive energy, humor, and joy which Meagan brings to her work and with which she infects all of us who have the opportunity to work with her.

Rhonda Sheibal-Carver is the Staff Assistant for SPA and the Assistant

Director of the Nebraska Certified Public Manager® (CPM) Program. Rhonda earned her CPM in 2010. In her spare time, Rhonda enjoys hiking, camping, gardening and her two lovely miniature schnauzers. I appreciate Rhonda for her consistently upbeat approach to life and to her work. She anticipates what is needed and provides it with a smile. She is creative and willing to suggest better ways to do things. She juggles numerous balls each day and manages to keep them all going until she is ready to bring them down. She is amazing!

These are the women I have the opportunity to work with in SPA. They are quite different from each other, but together with their impressive male colleagues, they have managed to create an environment where professionals in PA can thrive and grow and enjoy the process.

Editor’s Note…

I asked Mary Hamilton to write this article because of her national stature in the PA field and the respect she has from everyone who has ever been privileged to work with her. It is so wonderfully characteristic of Mary to shine a light on the “person” side of the SPA women, rather than a compilation of resumes. However, she left out one of our favorites – herself! What follows are some observations from Mary’s colleagues about the tremendous person and public administrator Mary Hamilton.

Mary Hamilton is Director of the Nebraska Certified Public Manager (CPM) Program and Senior Executive in Residence with SPA. In her spare time, Mary and her husband Jack have great fun with their little brother through Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Midlands. Mary is an avid UNO sports fan and strong booster for women’s athletics. She is an advocate for all things Nebraska – from the state overall…to the University and SPA…to each and every one of the CPM graduates. We all agreed that what sets Mary apart from the rest is her ability to see the best in people and her art of gentle, yet strong persuasion on issues that matter most.

Thank you Mary for seeing the best in all of us!

Tribute to the SPA Women in Public Administration!(continued from page 1)

Doctoral Students’ Activities Are Impressive - From Research to FundraisingBy Ken A. Kriz, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Doctoral Program Director

4 SCHOOL NEWS

The late fall and early winter period has been another productive one for the PhD program. Courtney Jensen and Gerard Wellman were very busy interviewing during this period, with many campus visits. Courtney has accepted an offer to join the faculty at Georgia Southern University next year. Her supervisory committee is hoping to be able to visit her there each winter! Gerard is continuing with his interviews and making tremendous progress on his dissertation. He successfully defended his dissertation proposal and is completing the data gathering phase of his research, which deals with social justice in transit systems.

Three students took and passed their field exams. Levi Thiele followed up her success by quickly defending her dissertation proposal. She is in the process of a major data gathering and analysis push, analyzing the websites of several municipalities looking for evidence

of good e-governance initiatives. Sikarn Issarachaiyos has finished a draft of her dissertation proposal examining the development of municipal bond markets internationally and hopes to defend the proposal within the next month or two. She will be presenting a case study from her dissertation research at the Western Social Science Association conference this semester. Changsoo Song has been working on a draft of his dissertation proposal and has also presented his work on Information Technology and microenterprise development at various conferences.

Aside from the research orientation of the PhD program, students in the program have also been actively supporting the mission of SPA through their teaching. This semester, Gerard Wellman, Anthony Campbell, Michael Pippin, Changsoo Song, and Michael George are teaching classes on the Omaha campus. Kristina

Muhhina, Courtney Jensen, Levi Thiele, and Sikarn Issarachaiyos are teaching online classes, which is a new experience for most of them and will give them a unique set of skills as they move forward onto the academic job market. Can Chen is working with the SPA alumni group, PAGO, to develop the “Online Alumni in the Classroom” program.

Finally, under the capable leadership of Anthony Campbell, Michael Pippin, Gang Chen, and Lora Frecks, the Waldo Society student organization has been very active in the past few months, organizing brownbag and dinner presentations on topics ranging from manuscript review and publication basics to job search strategies and field exam preparation. They have also been organizing a First Fridays film series on topics related to public administration and policy. They also supported a “phonathon” to help raise funds for student scholarships.

In the last newsletter the MPA Program reported how the program was gearing up for its year of self-study. This issue finds the program in the midst of collecting and recording data and writing the final report. Participating in the reaccreditation process demonstrates the program’s commitment to quality public administration education and to the peer review process.

The MPA Program is accredited by the National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration (NASPAA). The NASPAA Standards are the quality benchmark used by graduate public service programs around the world. NASPAA’s accreditation process is mission-based and driven by public service values. Accredited programs must contribute to the knowledge, research, and practice of public service, establish observable goals and outcomes, and use information about their performance to guide program improvement (http://www.naspaa.org/about_naspaa/naspaa.asp).

Since September members of the MPA Committee have worked together in groups, and as individuals, to answer the questions raised by each of NASPAA’s seven standards. The accreditation Standards have a new focus with this reaccreditation cycle – student competencies and program outcomes. The Standards include:

1) Managing the Program Strategically

2) Matching Governance with the Mission

3) Matching Operations with the Mission: Faculty Performance

4) Matching Operations with the Mission: Serving Students

5) Matching Operations with the Mission: Student Learning

6) Matching Resources with the Mission

7) Matching Communications with the Mission

Responding to these standards elucidates what we want students to know and what competencies they should possess at the end of 39 hours. What has emerged during the self-study process? One of the many benefits of the seven-year program cycle and the self-study year is that it provides the opportunity to hold the program up to the “light” and ensure its commitment to academic excellence. This year’s review has illuminated the program’s strengths but it has also shown areas where we are less strong and that need to be strengthened.

The Self-Study Report must be submitted to NASPAA on, or before, August 15. Following the Report’s submission, it is reviewed by the Commission on Peer Review and Accreditation (COPRA), followed by a site visit during the spring of 2012. Final determination of conformance to standards and decisions on reaccreditation will be made in June 2012.

Self Study Process Shines Light on MPA Program Commitment to Academic ExcellenceBy Ethel Williams, Ph.D., Professor, MPA Program Director and Associate Director of SPA

SCHOOL NEWS

Over 200 people gathered at the Thompson Alumni Center on February 16 to hear George Whitesides, CEO and President of Virgin Galactic, give the 2011 Durham Lecture. The UNO Aviation Institute and the NASA Nebraska Space Grant hosted the event and presented Whitesides with the William F. Shea Award for his contributions to aviation and aerospace.

Students, faculty, and guests from the community got the chance to learn firsthand about Virgin Galactic, which is the first US-based space tourism company. Whitesides described the company’s vision and the role that company founder, Sir Richard Branson, has played in bringing space flight to the public. Virgin Galactic will soon offer space flights to civilians and at least 400 people have already placed deposits with the company for the opportunity to experience weightlessness and spectacular views of the Earth from the company’s spaceships, which will carry a two-person crew and six passengers. The spacecraft will launch from Spaceport America in New Mexico, where Virgin Galactic has signed on as a long-term tenant.

Virgin Galactic CEO Presents Durham LectureBy Scott Tarry, Ph.D., Professor, Aviation Institute Director

The Master of Science in Urban Studies program strives to prepare students to meet the challenges facing large and small urban centers in areas such as development, inequality, and the environment. Courses in the MSUS give students the conceptual knowledge and technical skills to understand and analyze the physical, social, economic, and political environment of cities and towns. Graduates take positions in public, nonprofit, and private organizations, in management, planning, technical, and other professional roles, and they have opportunities to work on important issues in contemporary urban society, including, encouraging citizen participation and neighborhood activities, developing affordable housing, maintaining and expanding infrastructure, and building local economies.

A brief summary of the work of a select number of recent MSUS graduates shows they are meeting the goals of the program. Jamie Grayson-Bergland is Director of Community Development for Destination Midtown. Mike Robinson, served as Director of Development for Family Housing Advisory Services, and recently joined the Special Olympics Nebraska. Pamela Goodriaan works for the Rotterdam, Netherlands Chamber of Commerce. Grant Anderson is Assistant Planner for Community Development for the Metropolitan Area Planning Agency. Cory Scott works for RDG Planning and Design. Andrew Rainbolt serves as a workforce development consultant for the Omaha Chamber of Commerce. Lina Traslavina Ramirez is a community outreach coordinator for the University of Nebraska at Omaha. Garry Clark serves as the Executive Director of Cuming

County Nebraska Economic Development. Elizabeth Fimbres works for the Nebraska Investment Finance Authority as the Outreach Program Coordinator. Annette Artherton is the Planning, Research and Special Projects Coordinator for the Omaha Economic Development Corporation. Rick Abboud serves as the City Planner for Homer, Alaska. Aleksandra Tepedelenova works as a transportation planner for the Association of Monterey Bay Association of Governments in California and Athena Ramos is President of the Heartland Latino Leadership Conference.

This is only a brief example of the ways MSUS graduates are helping meet the challenges of 21st century urban America. For more information, please contact Dr. Robert Blair, Director of Urban Studies at rblair@unomaha.edu

Urban Studies Graduates Making a DifferenceBy Robert Blair, Ph.D., Professor, Director of Urban Studies Program

William Shea (left) and Dr. Scott Tarry (right) present Virgin Galactic CEO George Whitesides (center) with the William F. Shea Award for his contributions to aviation and aerospace.

NASA Space Grant Supports Student Travel for Women in AviationBy Michaela Lucas, Associate Director for NASA Nebraska Space Grant and EPSCoR

The UNO Maverick Chapter of Women in Aviation headed to Reno, Nevada in February for the 22nd annual conference. The conference provided inspirational speakers, workshops, career strategies, and networking opportunities for students and seasoned veterans in the workforce. This is the 18th consecutive year that UNO had a contingent of students attending. NASA Nebraska Space Grant provided funding support for the student travel. Additionally, faculty advisor Michaela Lucas moderated the College / University Student Seminar. This year’s conference keynote speakers included Catherine Lang, FAA Acting Associate Administrator for Airports; Maria Sastre, Chief Operating Officer for Signature Flight Support; and Lt. Col. Maryse Carmichael, Snowbirds Commander for the Canadian Defense Forces.

6 SCHOOL NEWS

2010 Graduates of The Nebraska Certified Public Manager® (CPM) Program The 2010 class of The Nebraska Certified Public Manager® (CPM) Program graduated and received their certification on December 10, 2010. Nebraska Lt. Governor Rick Sheehy presided over the ceremony with the assistance of UNO Senior Vice Chancellor Terry Hynes.

Front Row, Seated: UNO Senior Vice Chancellor, Terry Hynes; Nebraska Lt. Governor, Rick Sheehy; Director of the Nebraska CPM Program, Mary Hamilton.

Back Row--Graduates: Kevin Conlon, Captain, Douglas County Sheriff’s Office; Jason Weiss, Lead Electronics Technician, Southwest Public Power District, Palisade, NE; Pamela Richter, City Clerk/Treasurer, Kimball, NE; Dan Esch, Administrative Assistant, Douglas County Clerk/

Comptroller’s Office; Rosemarie Russell, City Clerk/Executive Assistant to the City Administrator, Gering, NE; Dawn M. Schmidt, Municipal Clerk/Treasurer, Yutan, NE; Erin Reinders, Long Range Planning Supervisor, Department of Planning and Sustainability, Franklin, TN; William Brecks, Chief Building Inspector, Lexington, NE; Rhonda Sheibal-Carver, Officer Manager/Staff Assistant, UNO School of Public Administration. Front Row - Senior Vice Chancellor Hynes, Lt. Gov. Sheehy and Dr. Hamilton.

SPA and the faculty and staff of The Nebraska Certified Public Manager® (CPM) Program welcomed the 2011 CPM class January 19-22. The welcome began with a reception the evening of January 19, followed by Orientation on January 20, and their first course--Knowing and Managing Yourself, January 21-22.

There are eleven (11) participants in the new class, representing all levels of government and two nonprofit organizations. One person is from Iowa, the rest are from Nebraska. Five of the nine participants from government are from two Nebraska state agencies--the Department of Correctional Services (DCS) and the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). Of the remaining four government participants, one is from local government, one from the federal government, one from UNO, and the other from an economic development district in west central Nebraska. The 2011 class participants are listed below.

Introducing the 2011 Class of The Nebraska Certified Public Manager® (CPM) ProgramBy Mary Hamilton, Ph.D. Director, Nebraska CPM Program & Senior Executive in Residence in the School of Public Administration

Trisha BrockmanNebraska Department of CorrectionsNebraska Correctional Youth Facility

Karl ElmshaeuserWest Central NE Development District

David John EricksonNebraska Department of Correctional Services

Bryan Leroy FreemanVII Finger ProductionsTM

John (Rick) HargreavesNebraska Department of CorrectionsLincoln Correctional Center

Matthew HarveyU.S. Department of Agriculture

Heike LangdonRainwater LLC

Colleen LawryCity of Gretna, Nebraska

Ross David RippeUniveristy of Nebraska OmahaCenter for Collaboration Sciences

David SkowNebraska Department of Correctional ServicesLincoln Correctinal Center

Colleen SvobodaNebraska Division of Public HealthCommunity Health & Performance Mgmt

SPA STAFF

Meagan Van Gelder, Ed.DI am the Academic Program Coordinator for the School of Public Administration. I am the first point of contact for prospective students interested in our graduate degree programs. If you can recommend someone to UNO’s MPA, Master’s in Urban Studies, PhD in Public Administration, or the Graduate Certificate in Public Management, please send them my way! For our students, the School’s faculty provide excellent teaching and research while the staff provide excellent academic services.

I like to say my role in the School has evolved into an “informal advisor” because I oftentimes work with our current students to determine their course loads and schedules and to make sure they are set to graduate. I talk with students about their capstone projects, careers, and simply how to juggle the many balls in life.

I came to UNO in 2004 from Portland State University. My education background is education administration which lends itself well to maneuvering through the organizational and administration forces that encompass a university so that I may best serve our students who go on to do good in the public service and in our communities.

I am passionate about education and being a former teacher, I value quality teaching. Thus, I am exploring the traits good practitioners possess so these traits can be taught in the classroom. The goal here is to provide excellent education and preparation for our students who will lead and manage public and nonprofit organizations.

Mary Lopez, MS, MPAI started to work for the University of Nebraska in 1980 when I was hired as an Educational Therapist in the Department of Psychiatry at UNMC. Over the course of the next 31 years, I held subsequent positions within the university system, primarily with UNO as graduate assistant, director of Safe Futures, (an outreach program of CPACS), and internship coordinator for the School of Public Administration, which evolved into my current position as career services director for SPA. During this time, I also completed a Master of Science with Thesis in Special Education in 1983 and a Master of Public Administration in 1998.

What I have loved most about each of my jobs are the people – from my clients at UNMC to the collaborative development I did with community groups through Safe Futures to the students, alumni, faculty and staff of SPA – I thrive on the positive energy and creativity of working with people! Some of the duties of my current position include overseeing the internship programs at SPA, providing career guidance and support for our graduate students, coordinating special career seminars, editing the SPA newsletter and serving as SPA’s liaison to our alumni group, the Public Administration Graduate Organization (PAGO).

I have always been a strong supporter of volunteerism and giving back to the communty. My service activities have been as diverse as starting a reading club for children living in public housing to my current focus on philanthropy development and awareness. As in the case of my jobs, the best parts are the people with whom I have had the privilege to work!

If you are a student of SPA or one of our alumni, I would love to hear from you. I am available to discuss internships, volunteer and professional development opportunities, career advising, (including resume review), and ways to get involved with the Public Administration Graduate Organization and stay connected to UNO’s School of Public Administration. I am always in search of interesting updates on students and alumni to include in the SPA newsletter.

I can be reached by e-mail at mlopez@unomaha.edu or call me at (402) 554-4978.

Rhonda Sheibal-Carver, CPM

I started my career at UNO back in the mid-eighties and after nearly 25 years I’ve settled comfortably in the School of Public Administration. It didn’t take long after starting my position in the School to realize I was in the right place, with the right people. The faculty and staff are not only outstanding in their fields, but outstanding colleagues.

When you arrive at UNO’s School of Public Administration you will find me front and center. This is not just the location of my desk but how I do my job. As the staff assistant/office manager I’ve been told “you’re the glue that holds the place together” and “when you’re not here the place falls apart”. I take these comments lightly knowing that the place would not really “fall apart”, but take some gratification in knowing that I’m doing my job and making a difference.

I’ve work in the School now for nearly ten years. Over those ten years I’ve learned a great deal about Public Administration and just recently learned a great deal more by completing the Nebraska Certified Public Manager program. The education I received gave me the skills and tools I needed to become a better manager and leader, but most of all it gave me a better understanding of what it means to be a public servant. Public service is the heart of Public Administration, we don’t do what we do for fame and fortune, we do it because we’re passionate about it.

In addition to my staff position in the School I’m a University Ombudsperson and I recently accepted the position as the Assistant Director of the Nebraska Certified Public Manager Program. My typical day might include reconciling ledgers, developing surveys, processing HR paperwork, helping a fellow staff member with a difficult co-worker, helping a student find a classroom, updating Nebraska CPM courses on Blackboard….. all are equally important to the School’s mission and the mission of the University.

I too am passionate about what I do and know that being front and center is the place to be.

8 FACULTY NEWS

Dr. Arwiphawee Srithongrung is an Assistant Professor in the School of Public Administration at UNO, joining the SPA in fall 2006. Prior to that she was a full-time graduate student at the University of Illinois at Springfield where she earned her Doctor of Public Administration (D.P.A.) and worked part-time as a Doctoral Research Associate. She earned her M.P.A. from the Bloch School of Business and Public Administration, the University of Missouri-Kansas City, and her B.S. in Industrial Psychology from Kesetsart University, Bangkok, Thailand.

As a Doctoral Research Associate, Dr. Srithongrung conducted applied research to understand Central Illinois counties’ economic bases, studied the job generating effects of new business establishments and investments, and recommended strategic development plans for future local economies. The projects focused on counties where population and value- added jobs were declining, and took Dr. Srithongrung to many citizen forums and governments in small cities in Illinois. These experiences were especially valuable to Dr. Srithongrung, a native Thai, as they allowed her to become familiar with American culture and life styles beyond what she had read about the US.

Dr. Srithongrung’s research and teaching interests are in the area of public management including budgeting, financial management, and organizational

behavior. In the budget and finance area, she has conducted empirical studies on public capital management, planning, and budgeting. Her publications in this area include the impacts of systematic capital management and budgeting on state economic performance, the effects of results-oriented management on public spending, and the effects of institutional arrangements on capital investment practices.

Dr. Srithongrung is also interested in studying government budgeting and financial management at the international level. Some of her publications include a comparative case study of public capital improvement programs in six countries including China, Indonesia, Bulgaria, Poland, Slovakia, and the United States; a study of performance budgeting in Thailand; and a study of the efficacy of Thai budget and financial management policy. Her most recent work focuses on comparative practices of government performance measurement in four Asia-Pacific countries including Thailand, Taiwan, China and the Philippines. In the organizational behavior area, Dr. Srithongrung’s most recent work focuses on the antecedents and outcomes of organizational commitment based on contemporary transformational leadership literature. (See Srithongrung, A. (in print). The Causal Relationships among Transformational Leadership, Organizational Commitment, and Employee Effectiveness. International Journal of Public Administration.)

In the summer of 2008 and again in 2009, Dr. Srithongrung spent time studying performance-based budgeting in her home country. She had the unique opportunity to interview key government officials and economists and will visit the Thai Bureau of Budget again this coming summer to gain insight into the public capital investment process in Thailand, as part of a larger scale comparative study of Asia-Pacific countries.

On the UNO campus, Dr. Srithongrung serves as a Faculty Senator and on the School’s MPA committee. In the community, she is a co-investigator for the City of Omaha’s Revenue Forecasting project. She just finished her term as Council Member for the Nebraska Chapter of American Society for Public Administration in 2010. In her free time, she enjoys Omaha and Nebraska sightseeing.

Dr. Bryce Hoflund Continues to Share Health Care Policy Information with Norwegian OfficialsA. Bryce Hoflund visited Agder University in Norway for a second time in late October/early November 2010. During her visit, she and Professor Dag Olaf Torjesen from the University of Agder interviewed officials from two municipalities about how the proposed Norwegian health care reform bill might affect health care delivery. Professor Torjesen presented the preliminary results at the 5th Nordic Conference on Health Organization and Management in Copenhagen, Denmark in January 2011. Dr. Hoflund also presented an overview of the U.S. health care reform law to Professor Torjesen’s Public Policy class. Hoflund is pictured here with the Flekkefjord Mayor’s Chief of Staff.

Faculty ProfileArwiphawee Srithongrung, Ph.D., Assistant Professor

FACULTY/STAFF

Dr. John Bartle

Book, Chapter in Textbook-New, Accepted, “Overview: Management and Local Government Finance,” in Bartle, J., Hildreth, W. B., Marlowe, J., Management Policies in Local Government Finance, International City Management Association, 6th.

Book, Chapter in Scholarly Book-New, Published, “Women in Budgeting and Financial Management,” Rubin, M. M., Bartle, J., Jones and Bartlett. Chapter 11 in edited book titled, Women in Public Administration: Theory and Practice.

Book, Textbook-Revised, Submitted, Management Policies in Local Government Finance, Bartle, J., Hildreth, W. B., Marlowe, J., International City Management Association, 6th. Edited volume

Journal Article, Academic Journal, Published, “Tea Parties, Whigs and Compromise: The Historical Roots of US Government-Business Relations,” Bartle, J., International Journal of Organization Theory and Behavior.

Journal Article, Academic Journal, Accepted, “Local Government Revenue Trends and Challenges,” Bartle, J., Kriz, K., Morozov, B., Journal of Public Budgeting, Accounting and Financial Management.

Book, Chapter in Scholarly Book-New, Published, “Foreword,” Bartle, J., in M. Niu, Zero-based Budgeting in China’s Local Governments: A Multiple Case Study. Translated into Chinese

Magazine/Trade Publication, Published, “Members Help Organize Symposium on China Studies,” Bartle, J., Hamilton, M., Hou, Y., Wu, Y., PA Times, 33, 6, p. 23.

Book, Non-Scholarly-New, Published, Sustainability Makes Dollars and Sense, Bartle, J., Wellman, G., Environment Omaha.

Dr. A. Bryce Hoflund

Torjesen, Dag Olaf and A. Bryce Hoflund. “Municipality Cooperation in Health Services: A Comparative Research Project in Three Regions in Norway.” Paper presented at the 5th Nordic Conference on Health Organization and Management, Copenhagen, Denmark, January 13-14, 2011.

Hoflund, A. Bryce. “Conducting a Dissonant Symphony: A Case Study of Network Leadership in the National Quality Forum.” Paper presented at the Southern

Political Science Association’s 82nd Annual Conference, New Orleans, LA, January 6, 2011. Hoflund, A. Bryce. (invited chair and discussant). Legislative and Bureaucratic Politics Panel. Southern Political Science Association’s 82nd Annual Conference, New Orleans, LA, January 7, 2011.

Hoflund, A. Bryce. “U.S. Healthcare Reform: Overview and Implementation Issues.” Presented to Dag Olaf Torjesen’s Public Policy Class, University of Agder, Kristiansand, Norway, October 29, 2010.

Faculty/Staff Fast FactsAngela Eikenberry is the recipient of the 2011 CPACS Teaching Award. Dr. Eikenberry and other teaching award winners from UNO were recognized at the UNO Faculty Honors Breakfast on Thursday, April 7th.

Mary Hamilton and Ethel Williams were awarded the 2010-2011 Chester Newland Presidential Citation of Merit by the American Society for Public Administration on March 14th for their work toward improved public perception of the public service and advocacy on behalf of public service.

Mary Lopez joined the United Way of the Midlands (UWM) Board of Directors and Executive Committee in March 2011 and began a term as Chair of the UWM Tocqueville Women’s Initiative and Women’s Leadership Council.

NASA Nebraska Space Grant & EPSCoR is pleased to report that The Sherwood Foundation and Jerry Bexten have funded student STS-135 flying experiments for Lincoln Public Schools and Potter-Dix school in June.

Michaela Lucas Associate Director for NASA Nebraska Space Grant and EPSCoR was presented the Outstanding Achievement Award at the UNO Chancellor’s Commission on the Status of Women (CCSW) 25th annual awards luncheon March 30, 2011.

Pat O’Neil is leading an initiative on behalf of SPA to create an Emergency Management undergraduate degree program, a collaboration with UNO’s Criminal Justice, UNL’s Fire Services and others.

Pat O’Neil and Ken Kriz have been elected by fellow faculty to serve three year terms with the UNO Faculty Sen-ate.

Scott Tarry has been appointed as a member of the State EPSCoR/IDeA (Nebraska Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research and Institutional Development Award) Committee by Governor Heineman – The Committee oversees the process to build the state’s research capacity and competitiveness, invest in workforce development, and foster public-private partnerships in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (the STEM fields), as well as biomedical research.

Sample of the Scholarly Work of Two SPA Faculty

10 STUDENT NEWS

Student Fast FactsGreta Chapman, a current student of the MPA online program and the Public Library Director for the City of Rapid City in partnership with the Black Hills Area Foundation received a $400,000 grant from the Knight Foundation for the Black Hills Knowledge Network - a library-based information service that connects people to ideas and local information to strengthen communities and grow the economy.

The UNOAI Flying Mavs Flight Team, Sponsored by Jet Linx Aviation, were recently featured in a segment for Omaha’s KETV Channel 7. The piece explored what the flight team does and the preparations that are necessary for the team to compete. The Flying Mavs won their Regional Competition in October and will compete in the National NIFA SAFECON event at Ohio State University in May.

Sharif Liwaru was one of ten young professionals named as “Outstanding Young Omahans” by the Omaha Jaycees on January 26, 2010. The awards honor people between the ages of 21 and 40 who strive for excellence and have a strong commitment to community service and personal and professional development.

Fa’iz Rab, MPA student, was selected for the Intelligence Community (IC) Scholar Program, a Career Mentoring Program meant to augment current academic activities with a focus on Intelligence. The program revolves around five aspects: International study abroad experiences, access to intelligence community events, skills training, career mentoring, and networking within IC agencies. He will be visiting Washington DC in May 2011 and is working on competing for an Arabic study abroad program in the Middle East.

Patricia R. Sullivan was selected as the CPACS Division of Continuing Studies Non-Profit Administration Honors Award Recipient for 2011.

MPA Student Network Social Gathering

Students, faculty and alumni were invited to join the MPA Student Network for an end-of-the semester happy hour social gathering on Friday, April 15 from 5:30 - 7:00 at the Jimmi D’s outdoor patio (6303 Center Street). For more information on future MPA Network events, contact Sarah Hanify at shanify@unomaha.edu, or Dr. Angela Eikenberry at aeikenberry@unomaha.edu.

Muskie Students Represent SPA Favorably at Conference and in MediaYuliya Rashchupkina, MPA student and Muskie fellow from Ukraine, was a speaker for the ZlUKACAMP-event which took place on January 22, 2011 in Chicago. It was a barcamp-conference where Ukrainian students in the USA and Ukrainian Diaspora representatives discussed ways for Ukraine to overcome economic and political crises using knowledge and skills gained at American universities. Yuliya,

in her speech, disclosed the main initiatives of the civil society organizations in Ukraine. She indicated that unless the initiatives of civil activists are known, both to the international and national public, the changes in government decisions will be difficult to achieve. Participants agreed to work collaboratively on further initiatives, actively involving the scientific potential of their respective educational institutions. More information on the initiative of the Ukrainian students in the US may be found by searching “Ukrainian students in USA” on Facebook.

School of Public Administration (SPA) Muskie Fellow Talgat Ayapbergenov authored an article in the February 2011 issue of the newsletter of Aktobe Educational Advising Center (AKEAC), which has a distribution of more than 1200 subscribers . In his article,Talgat described the University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO), SPA, Omaha and Nebraska, in general. He covered issues, from his positive experience as a student, to the fall migration of fans dressed in red to Lincoln, NE to watch Nebraska play football. Talgat also discussed Omaha as having a strong business community, with several Fortune 500 companies, rated #1 as “Most Affordable Places to Live” in a recent Forbes Magazine article and home to internationally known non-profits such as Boys Town. Overall, Talgat’s article reflected positively on his time spent at UNO and in Omaha. To read the entire article, please see - http://akeac.org/web/?page_id=1278

Waldo Society Members Convene Professional and Social Events

The Waldo Society has been very active thus far in the Spring 2011 semester. Two First Friday Film events have been held where attendees enjoyed the documentaries The Art of the Steal and The Pat Tillman Story. The conversations that followed were as invigorating as the films. The highlight of the semester so far was the field exams brown bag. One of the most heavily attended events in the Waldo Society’s short history, attendees learned tips from both Dr. Ken Kriz and doctoral candidates. The energy of the semester will continue in April, as two brown

bags - “UAA/ASPA Recap “and” How to construct an optimal C.V.” - are held. As has come to be expected, the Waldo Society will host an informal gathering at the end of the semester to congratulate the survivors and to wish luck to those moving on to the next stage in their careers. (Pictured left: Doctoral student Courtney Jensen leads the discussion during a field exams brown bag event with fellow students Yan Xiao, Michael “Anthony” Campbell and Michael Pippin.)

DONOR SUPPORT

2008 marked the beginning of a fundraising initiative to create a new scholarship for students in the MPA program. Volunteers from the Public Administration Graduate Organization (PAGO) gave hours of time making phone calls to fellow alumni to find 100 people who will donate $100 each in support of an endowed student scholarship, the Public Administration Centennial Scholarship.

These volunteers were joined in March 2011 by members of the Waldo Society, an association of SPA doctoral students, to continue to raise funds for the Centennial Scholarship. A phoneathon, organized by doctoral student Lora Mae Frecks, PAGO Secretary Lori Bechtold and Mary Kenny from the Nebraska University Foundation (NUF), was held at the NUF offices for four consecutive evenings. One of the student volunteers, Kristina Muhhina described the experience, “Fundraising was not something I had ever done and I appreciated the opportunity to gain some exposure to this area through the phoneathon.”

SPA wishes to thank the following volunteers: (Waldo Society) Catherine Brown, Anthony Campbell, Can Chen, Lora Mae Frecks, Chen Gang, Courtney Jensen, Kristina Muhhina, Shihyun Noh, Yan Xiao; and (PAGO) James Harrold and Mary Lopez. The result of their efforts put the Centennial

Scholarship Fund more than ten percent closer to the goal, with the possibility of more funds coming in the future due to requests for more information - bringing the total raised to almost 75 percent of the goal!

Many thanks to Mary Kenny, Kristen Rock, Robert Reed, Susan Schnase and Mark Stigge from the NUF for their your help in organizing, gathering data, training volunteers, answering questions and supplying pizza!

Most of all, many thanks to all the alumni who have pledged or donated to the PA Centennial Scholarship Fund. Your support of SPA is extremely important as we continue to offer the highest quality education in public administration to our students.

Although our dedicated volunteers plan to continue to make fundraising calls, we encourage alumni to please consider a gift to the fund by visiting <nufoundation.org/publicadministrationscholarship>.

100 from 100 Centennial Scholarship Fund Campaign Grows Nearer to Goal Thanks to Student and Alumni Volunteers

Parents Honor Son Through Memorial Fellowship

Andrew Blair was only 31 when he passed away, but his memory lives on through a fellowship fund established by his parents.

Robert Blair, associate professor in the School of Public Administration, along with his wife, Barbara, set up the Andrew Blair Memorial Fellowship in 2009. This fellowship is for people pursuing a master’s degree in public administration and is a memorial to Andrew, who died from complications after a lifetime battle with heart disease and cerebral palsy. Preference for the fellowship is given to individuals planning work with nonprofit organizations or the disabled.

“Andrew was both physically and mentally challenged, so much of his life was spent working with people in the human service field,” Robert Blair said. “This fellowship is a way to give back to them for contributing to his high quality of life.”

“The goal is to get Andrew’s fund endowed, so it will be perpetual, “said Blair. “My wife and I want it to carry on. This is a legacy that we are providing to him.”

Donations to this fund can be made to: https://nufoundation.org/SSLPage.aspx?pid=1387.

From left - Michael “Anthony” Campbell and Courtney Jensen at Waldo Society enjoy talking with alumni donors

James Harrold (PAGO), Lora Mae Frecks and Shihyun Noh (Waldo Society) participate in phoneathon training.

12 ALUMNI NEWS

On January 20, the Public Administration Graduate Organization (PAGO) board passed revisions to the organization’s five-year strategic plan. Highlights of the new plan include:

Greater emphasis on reaching out to distance learners. • Recruiting alumni to videotape presentations that can • be incorporated by faculty into the classroom. Recruitment of board members from all SPA programs, • including those with a PhD, Certified Public Managers, and BGS graduates in addition to MPA grads.

The board also reviewed the 2010 PAGO Annual Report, which highlighted the accomplishments for the year. Chief among them were fundraising for the Centennial Campaign, enhanced board recruitment, and initial efforts to collaborate with the Nebraska Chapter of the Association of Public Administration (ASPA.)

Now in my second year as president of PAGO, I am eager to move forward in 2011 with projects that will benefit our alumni, current students and our local communities. I want to thank all who have served on the PAGO board this past year, especially our current officers: Dawn Ballosingh, vice president; and Lori Bechtold, Secretary.

If you are interested in serving on the PAGO board, or helping out in any other capacity, please contact Andy Bradley at (402) 231-1910, andyb@goodwillomaha.org; or Mary Lopez at (402) 554-4978, mlopez@mail.unomaha.edu.

PAGO News UpdateAndy Bradley, PAGO President

Andrew Brown (MPA, 2010) took a position with the State of Vermont’s Department of Children and Families as a contracted Quality Improvement Coordinator to help with the development and implementation of a continuous quality improvement plan and data warehouse in an effort to increase efficiency and effectiveness.

Jessica Clem (MSUS, 2010) is working as an Americorps VISTA in Neighborhood Restoration with Omaha Serves through the Mayor’s Office. Throughout the year, Jessica will be working with the Neighborhood Center to increase volunteerism, clean up and restore neighborhoods, and design community development projects.

Lyn Holley (MPA, 1995, Ph.D. 1999) was recognized with a strategic planning award at the Chancellor’s strategic planning session.

Tracey Cullen (MPA, 1996) is consulting for the College of Public Affairs and Community Service, providing support for faculty research and outreach.

Shayna Ray (MPA, 1998) was honored with the Excellence in Public Service Award at the CPACS Alumni Awards Luncheon. Shayna is the first female Lieutenant of the Gang,

Firearms, and Fugitive Units and oversees three Federal Task Forces for the Omaha Police Department.

Catherine Mello (MPA, 2007) joined the University of Nebraska Medical Center Alumni Relations Office as Associate Director for Communication and Outreach.

Sue Murray-Lee (CPM, 2008) City Clerk of South Sioux City, NE, was named 2011 Municipal Clerk of the Year by the NE Association of Municipal Clerks in the first class city or larger category.

Jocelyn Nickerson (MPA, 2001) recently became Nebraska’s first state director of the Humane Society of the United States. Jocelyn’s personal rescue roster coupled with her experience and drive will no doubt be helpful as she directs the Humane Society’s interests and direction at a statewide level.

Laura Peterson (MPA, 2002) is serving in a new position as Director of Risk Management and Insurance for the University of Wyoming.

Beth Riley (BGS, 2007) was one of ten young professionals named as “Outstanding Young Omahans” by the

Omaha Jaycees on January 26, 2010. The awards honor people between the ages of 21 and 40 who strive for excellence and have a strong commitment to community service and personal and professional development. Beth joined the Omaha Public Library Foundation to serve as Executive Director in January 2011.

Jessica Scheuerman (MSUS, 2010) recently wrote a successful grant and is now project manager for the Mt. Pleasant Temporium - a temporary, pop-up retailer that is part of Washington, DC’s new Temporary Urbanisim initiative.

Eric Hughes Shanks (MPA, 1998) completed a public policy analysis report on the funding status of the only coordinated medical disater response program in the U.S. on behalf of the Federal Emergency Management Act.

Bill Boyer Wins 2010 Askew AwardBy Mary R. Hamilton, Ph.D.

Bill Boyer, City Administrator of Bridgeport, NE, received the 2010 Askew Award for best project in The Nebraska Certified Public Manager® (CPM) Program 2009 Class. Bill received his CPM certification in December of 2009.

Boyer is the second recipient of the Askew Award given to a Nebraska Certified Public Manager. The Askew Awards are presented annually by the American Academy of Certified Public Managers (AACPM) to the best project in each CPM program. The award is an impressive engraved medallion.

Bill received the award for his project “Pay for Performance: A Feasible Approach for Local Government?”. The purpose of this project was to recommend an alternative pay methodology for employees of the City of Bridgeport, which would provide the mayor, city council, and city administrator with a way to compensate employees for increased productivity, and increase the amount and quality of work by the employees. The plan Bill developed could provide a model for other small cities.

Alumni Fast Facts

ALUMNI NEWS

CPACS Alumni Luncheon

The School of Public Administration honored Andy Bradley and Chris Rodgers with the 2011 Alumni Awards for Exellence in Public Service. Jennifer McIntyre received the award from the Aviation Institute. Additionally, another MPA alumna, Shayna Ray received the alumni award from the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice.

Andy Bradley received his Masters of Public Administration degree from UNO in 1996. Currently, he is the Executive Vice President for Goodwill Industries, serving Eastern Nebraska and Southwest Iowa, where he has worked for 22 years. Andy has been active in numerous church and civic organizations. He is currently president of the UNO Public Administration Graduate Organization (PAGO) and chairs the Program Committee for the Kiwanis Club of Omaha, Inc., which meets on the UNO campus. Andy is the former president of the club, and still serves in leadership roles with Kiwanis at the District Level (Nebraska – Iowa). He helped start the local Aktion Club, a service organization sponsored by Kiwanis for persons with disabilities, and chaired the grants committee for the club for several years. An Omaha native, Andy graduated from Creighton Prep. His undergraduate degree is in journalism from the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul.

Chris Rodgers is a new political voice within the next generation of heartland leaders seeking to define a new image of Omaha and Douglas County. Sworn into office as a Douglas County Commissioner on Jan. 4, 2005, and re-elected to a second term in November of 2008, Rodgers is focused on improving the local public health system, strengthening community corrections programs, reforming the juvenile justice system and wisely spending taxpayer’s dollars.

Rodgers is a past chairman of the Board of Commissioners and currently serves as chairman of its Child and Youth Services Committee and co-chair of the Juvenile Justice Coordinating Council. In addition, he is a member of the Douglas County Board of Health and the appointed county commissioner representative on the Nebraska Juvenile Justice Coalition. He formerly served as an assistant to Omaha Mayor Mike Fahey and an elected member of the Metropolitan Community College Board of Governors. In addition to his public service positions, Rodgers works as a senior community service associate at the University of Nebraska at Omaha and is director of its Transformation Project, a privately funded, pilot

recidivism initiative. He also is a workforce development consultant for the Avenue Scholars Foundation.

In the summer of 2010, Rodgers was elected second vice president of the National Association of Counties (NACo), the only national organization representing the interests of America’s 3,068 counties before Congress and the Administration. He is in line to become president of NACo in the summer of 2012. Chris Rodgers was born and raised in East St. Louis, Ill arriving in Omaha in August of 1987 by way of a basketball scholarship from Creighton University. Rodgers was part of the Bluejays 1989 and 1991 Missouri Valley Conference championship teams and NCCA tournament qualifying teams. Rodgers graduated from Creighton in 1992 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism and received his Master of Business Administration degree from Creighton in 1999. Rodgers later attended the University of Nebraska at Omaha where he received a Master of Public Administration degree in 2002.

Jennifer McIntyre is a 1998 graduate of the UNO Aviation Institute, with a BGS in Aviation Studies. She was raised in Grand Island Nebraska where she discovered her love of flight. While attending UNO she completed her Private Pilot license along with Instrument, Commercial, Flight Instructor, and Instrument Instructor ratings. After graduation from UNO, she taught flying lessons at Eppley Airfield in Omaha. In February of 2003 she moved to Rockford, IL where she flew a King Air 200 for Rubloff Aviation and also worked as a Flight Attendant on their Gulfstream. This gave her the opportunity to experience different aspects of charter and corporate aviation. In July of 2003 she moved back to Omaha and became the Pilot and Aircraft Manager for Peak Productions and Carson Wealth Management. She flew and managed their TBM700 as well as handled all travel arrangements for both companies. In 2005 Jennifer completed her Airline Transport Pilot rating and began flying charter in the Diamond and Beechjet 400 for Jetlinx Aviation, and began working for Werner Enterprises in 2007 where she is currently a Captain on both the Falcon 50 and Falcon 900 jets. In addition, she is a part time Simulator Instructor at the Aviation Institute.

Thank you to the following Exchange contributors:

Editor: Mary Lopez

Designer: Sarah Grossman-Lopez

Writers: Talgat Ayapbergenov, John Bartle, Robert Blair, Andy Bradley, Michael “Anthony” Campbell, Mary Hamilton, Bryce Hoflund, Ken Kriz, Mary Lopez, Michaela Lucas, Yulia Rashchupkina, Rhonda Sheibal-Carver, Arwiphawee Srithongrung, Scott Tarry, Meagan Van Gelder, Ethel Williams

Distribution: Melanie Kiper, Rhonda Sheibal-Carver

Telephone: (402) 554-2625Website: http://spa.unomaha.edu/

The Exchange is published twice yearly for the alumni, students and friends of the University of Nebraska at Omaha School of Public Administration.

Suzanne Brodine MPADickie Brown MPAAndrew Brown MPAMichael Cameron MPAJacquelyn Collett MPACharles Cross II MPAJordan Delmundo MPABradley Dirksen MPAPamela Eby MPA

James A. Harrold MPAThomas Johnson II MPASarah Hart MPAJonathan McCoy MPAJoseph Schaaf MPACory Scott MSChuck Steichen MPABrandice Studnicka MPA

The School of Public Administration Congratulates the following Fall 2010 Graduates:

Pi Alpha Alpha Inducts New Members

Pi Alpha Alpha is the national honor society for the field of public affairs and public administration. The purpose of this society is to encourage and recognize outstanding scholarship and accomplishment in public affairs and administration. The society seeks to promote the advancement of quality in the education and practice of the art and science of public affairs and administration.

Faculty Advisor: Dr. Ethel Williams

SPA recognized the following graduates who were nominated and accepted membership into Pi Alpha Alpha:

Fall 2010Jordan DelmundoJames A. HarroldChuck Steichen

Mission Statement“Strengthening public service in a democratic and diverse society by offering nationally-recognized, student-centered educational programs, generating distinctive original research, providing quality service to the university and the profession, and engaging communities in public service programs and activities.”

Jordan Delmundo and James Harrold pose with Pi Alpha Alpha

certificates (not pictured - Chuck

Steichen)Andy Bradley, PAGO President, congratulates new SPA graduates