march 2012 newsletter
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March 2012 issue of the KU School of Public Affairs and Administration NewsletterTRANSCRIPT
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Greetings from Lawrence!
As you fill in your basketball brackets, we have great news on rankings that rivals the excitement of March Madness: we’re #1! US News and World Report has just released the 2013 rankings of Best Graduate Schools and we maintained the first place ranking in City Management and Urban Policy among Public Affairs programs, a spot which we’ve held since 2004. We moved from #7 to #5 in Public Management Administra-tion, we’re #16 in Public Finance and Budgeting, and have the
#9 spot in Public Affairs programs overall.
The US News rankings come from assessments provided by academicians work-ing in the field of public affairs and administration—our peers—in institutions all over the country. These latest numbers indicate that our reputation remains solid and strong. As faculty travel to conferences and interact with their colleagues from other schools, their work demonstrates the high quality of research and teaching that is at the core of our programs. And as you, our alumni, interact with your professional colleagues and tell the KU story, your passion bolsters this reputation every time a sought-after student chooses KU for their MPA.
We know that the value of what we offer to our students is far greater than what’s captured in the rankings. But we also know that rankings matter and we’re thrilled that we once again have bragging rights.
It is no surprise that we are so well positioned among our peers—you know that we have been well served by the leadership of our faculty. This academic year we are celebrating the contributions of the Edwin O. Stene Distinguished Professor H. George Frederickson. Starting with the 2011 KUCIMAT banquet at ICMA, we have been reflecting on Dr. Frederickson’s legacy and the truly remarkable impact his work has had on our profession. In April faculty from all over the world will gather in Lawrence to honor Dr. Frederickson’s contributions to the literature of public affairs at the Frederickson Festschrift and Symposium. During the event, we will be presenting a memory book to Dr. Frederickson and his family; on page 4 you’ll find information about how you can contribute.
Also in April we will be honoring Bob Kipp, KU MPA 1956, who is being recog-nized with the highest honor given by the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, the Distinguished Alumni Award. His contributions to the Kansas City region and to the profession of city management exemplify the best of public administration. We hope you’ll join us for the Transforming Local Government conference and then stick around to help us celebrate Bob on Saturday April 21 (more details inside this newsletter).
Wishing you a great March and wonderful spring. We hope to see you soon!
Marilu Goodyear
March 2012 FROM theDIRECTOR
IN THIS ISSUE Upcoming Events 2 Student-Created Resource
Promotes City Management 3 Celebrating Dr. George
Frederickson 4 SPAA Faculty Educating Military
Leaders 5 Current Faculty Research 6
Undergraduate Majors Get Research Experience 8 Staff Profile: Alecia Gray 9 Alumni Profiles: KUCIMATs on
Mount Oread 10 SPAA’s Super People, Activities and Achievements 12 Giving Back: The Clara Schneider
Perkins Scholarship 14 Seeking Intern Placements 15 KUCIMAT News 17
Letter from President Phil Smith-Hanes KUCIMATs Bob Kipp and Jerry Fox Honored KUCIMAT Board Members
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Save the Date: Inspiring Women in Public Administration ConferenceJune 28, 2012
Mark your calendar and plan to join us to celebrate the contributions of women public administrators and engage with colleagues to explore some of the unique challenges women face in the profession. • We’ll hear from keynote speaker Sheryl Scully, City Manager of San Antonio (pictured), as she reflects on her
experiences in local government. • Join colleagues and students, including young women leaders from Arab countries who’ll be visiting KU this
summer and spending the day with us.The conference committee is planning an inspiring program that will allow for connecting with others and identifying ways to grow your own leadership contributions.
Watch the School’s website for more information: www.kupa.ku.edu.
UPCOMING EVENTSKU - CH2M HILL Free Pre-Conference on Public-Private CollaborationTuesday, April 17, 2012, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.Westin Crown Center, Kansas City, MO
Join us for this pre-conference program exploring the condi-tions that lead to excellence in contracting. The schedule will feature:
• A keynote address by David Kaufman, FEMA Direc-tor of the Office of Policy and Program Analysis, on how FEMA works to partner with local communities for improved commu-nity planning and management,
• A presentation on the elements necessary to move from contracting to collaboration given by Barbara Romzek and Marilu Goodyear,
• An opportunity for participants to engage in a simulation of collaborative relationships, and• A format that encourages speaker and audience engagement on new approaches to meeting some of our more daunting public
service challenges. There will be a reception following the pre-conference. For details and/or to register, visit www.tlgconference.org.
You’re welcome to attend the April 17 pre-conference even if you won’t be participating in other sessions at the Transforming Local Government event. Please contact Alecia Gray at [email protected] or 785-291-3158 for this.
KU School of Public Affairs and Administration Graduation Receptionand BanquetFriday, April 20, 2012, 5:30 p.m. (reception) & 6:30 p.m. (banquet)Kansas Memorial Union (5th floor), Lawrence, KS
Please join us to honor our 2011-2012 graduates!
Graduates – Free ¨ Guests – $40 ¨ Current SPAA Students – $20Children ages 2-10 – $15 ¨ Children under 2 – Free
RSVP by April 17: http://www.kupa.ku.edu/news/GradRegistration/
Celebration of Robert A. Kipp (MPA ’56) College Alumni Distinguished Achievement Award RecipientSaturday, April 21, 2012, 6:00 p.m. (program) &7:00 p.m. (reception)KU Edwards Campus, BEST Conference Center,12600 Quivira Rd., Overland Park, KS
Dean Danny J. Anderson and the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences cordially invite you to celebrate and recognize Bob Kipp for his many contributions to the Kansas City region and the profession. See page 18 in this newsletter for details about Bob’s career and the April 21 event as well as an invitation to contribute to a “Memory Book” that will be given to Bob and his family.
Please RSVP by April 13, 2012 at www.kualumni.org/claskipp. There is no charge for this event.
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what I had envisioned for the actual interviews, Justin and Paul not only took everything I said into consideration and made it into something better.
So with John’s support, we arranged and completed interviews with 11 professional managers during the 2010 ICMA conference in San Jose, California. This project opened my eyes to the wide variety of personalities that can be successful and satisfied working in local government. Sheryl Scully of San Antonio, Texas and Cheryl Hil-vert of Montgomery, Ohio, for example, are completely different in-dividuals, but each has found happiness and success in the field of city management.
These interviews showed us that our future success in public service (as well as in the game of life) depends on choosing the right op-portunities that fit our own values and personalities. As the post-modern philosopher John Nalbandian once said, one of the worst career mistakes an individual can make is to implement the advice received from someone who has a completely different set of values and motives. After working on this project, John’s lesson truly reso-nated with us.
We had a lot of time to ponder this lesson: after recording the inter-views at ICMA, the production of the videos themselves took nearly a year. Nevertheless, those long and tedious hours of editing were worth every minute once I saw the final videos.
I have to note that Justin and Paul were the true geniuses behind this project; they made my initial idea into a better reality than I could have imagined. I thank both of them wholeheartedly for their help, their patience with my endless requests and the amazing final product.
Student-Created Resource Offers New Way to Promote Careers in City/County Management By Matt Monedero (KU MPA 2011)with contributions from Paul Lampe (KU MPA 2012) and Justin Pregont (KU MPA 2011)
At the onset of my studies at KU, I frequently wondered why I was never assigned a book entitled something like City Management: An Introduction to Theory and Practice. After extensive online search-ing, I realized that no such book existed. This was baffling. City management was not some sort of new field in the realm of public administration; it had been around for 95 years! Surely some aca-demic could have written a pioneering piece of research for aspiring, young professionals in the field. But alas, there was no such book. So I was assigned reading on topics like public policy, urban planning, leadership, HR, budgeting, leadership, governmental accounting, public law, and did I mention leadership? But not on city manage-ment.
It was not until my 2nd year internship that I realized why there was no particular book on city management: there is no single path to resolve the tribulations city managers face every day. Each school of public affairs and/or administration has its own outlook regarding public sector leadership and administration. Furthermore, within those schools, every student will approach a public sector issue with a different management methodology. Is it any wonder why there is no customary book on city management? The book would be longer than George Frederickson’s curriculum vitae and, much like the lat-ter, no one would read it.
Still, I wanted to gain a better understanding of the profession from a city manager’s perspective and thought I could create a resource that would be helpful to others, too. I wanted to interview a diverse group of city managers and ask them some basic questions I had about the profession. For example, how does one know they want to become a city manager? What was intriguing about the profes-sion? How has the profession evolved over time? What advice would you give to aspiring city managers? As captivating as I thought this interview idea was, I had one big problem: I had zero social capital amongst city managers.
Enter John Nalbandian. I approached John with the interview idea and explained what I believed would be helpful, if not enticing, to those prospective students who were undecided about what school to ultimately choose for their MPA. I hoped a resource like these interviews would give KU a competitive edge. As with any initiative that will spread the word to those with a passion for public service, John jumped on board immediately and said he’d gladly provide anything I needed to complete the project. It turns out that John’s name and reputation was one of the single most helpful resources.
However, I still had another problem: who was going to produce the videos? I had no experience with production, and I wanted the interviews to look as close to something directed by the Coen Broth-ers as possible. As it turned out, the Coen Brothers were unavailable, but I got the next best thing: Justin Pregont and Paul Lampe.
Justin was one of my classmates in the MPA Program and Paul was part of the graduating class after mine. Their knowledge of technology, journalism, and video production was everything I could have asked for (and more) in co-producers. When I explained
Link to interview with Tansy Hayward, Assistant City Manager, Tacoma, Washington
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And finally, a word on John Nalbandian. Without John’s confidence in us, his constant encouragement, and his overall reputation with-in the field of city management, this project would not have taken flight. So thank you, John, for kindling the flame that is your stu-dents’ imaginations.
Link to interview with Calvin Williford, Chief of Intergovernmental Operations and Communiation, Jackson
County, Missouri.
Check out the videos on the School’s website at http://www.kupa.ku.edu/resources/city.shtml. And, more impor-tantly, share the link with colleagues and young people who you believe should consider a career in city management. Practitioners interviewed include:
Tansy Hayward, Assistant City Manager, Tacoma, Washington
Maria Lara, Assistant to the City Manager, Pleasanton, California
Eric Anderson, City Manager, Tacoma, WashingtonDavid Mora, Retired City Manager, Salinas, California &
Current West Coast Director, ICMACalvin Williford, Chief of Intergovernmental Operations
and Communication, Jackson County, MissouriCheryl Hilvert, City Manager, Montgomery, OhioClay Pearson, City Manager, Novi MichiganDave Limardi, City Manager, Highland Park, IllinoisRegan Carrizales, Civic Council of Greater Kansas CityKaty Simon, County Manager, Washoe County, NevadaSheryl Scully, City Manager, San Antonio, Texas
Contribute to the George Frederickson Memory BookOur friend and colleague George Frederickson is retiring this spring. We are inviting all those who wish to do so to contribute to a special gift that will be presented to George and his family at a retirement event this April. We are calling the gift a “Memory Book”
and we anticipate that it will include an abundance of anecdotes, remembrances, expressions of grati-tude, photographs, and other reflections on George’s life and influence. This will be a lasting personal tribute to our friend, mentor, colleague, and teacher. We would love for the book to leave George a little speechless (if only for a moment).
Contributions may be a few sentences, a couple of paragraphs, or longer. Please send your memory book item, either in paper copy or electronic copy, to:
Marilu GoodyearKU School of Public Affairs & Administration1445 Jayhawk Blvd, 4060 Wescoe HallLawrence, KS 66045
Phone: (785) 864-3039Fax: (785) 864-5208Email: [email protected]
Submission Deadline: April 13, 2012. However, if you want your contribution to be included in the “placeholder” book that George and his family will receive at the retirement event, please send your contributions sooner.
Matt Monedero is a budget and management analyst for the City of El Paso, Texas.
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Contribute to the George Frederickson Memory BookOur friend and colleague George Frederickson is retiring this spring. We are inviting all those who wish to do so to contribute to a special gift that will be presented to George and his family at a retirement event this April. We are calling the gift a “Memory Book”
and we anticipate that it will include an abundance of anecdotes, remembrances, expressions of grati-tude, photographs, and other reflections on George’s life and influence. This will be a lasting personal tribute to our friend, mentor, colleague, and teacher. We would love for the book to leave George a little speechless (if only for a moment).
Contributions may be a few sentences, a couple of paragraphs, or longer. Please send your memory book item, either in paper copy or electronic copy, to:
Marilu GoodyearKU School of Public Affairs & Administration1445 Jayhawk Blvd, 4060 Wescoe HallLawrence, KS 66045
Phone: (785) 864-3039Fax: (785) 864-5208Email: [email protected]
Submission Deadline: April 13, 2012. However, if you want your contribution to be included in the “placeholder” book that George and his family will receive at the retirement event, please send your contributions sooner.
Public Administration Faculty Contribute to Educating Military LeadersFor career military personnel, Professional Military Education require-ments map out specific educational requirements as service members move up in the ranks. Those at the rank of major attend Intermediate Level Education (ILE) between their 10th and 14th year of service. For majors serving in special operations forces (SOF)—including Green Berets and Rangers in the Army, Navy SEALS, and Air Force Security Forces among others—ILE brings many of them to Fort Leavenworth.
And for a select group of these officers, those identified as having the potential to become high-level leaders in their branches of the military, their time at Fort Leavenworth leads to a University of Kansas mas-ters degree focused on Interagency Studies. Two public administration courses (6 credits) are included in the requirements for their 33-hour degree.
One of these courses is PUAD 845: Organizational Analysis, co-taught by Professor Barbara Romzek and Associate Professor Holly Goerdel. After their first year with the program, Barbara and Holly requested that their course be placed first in the degree sequence. They wanted to have an early influence on shaping how the students approached their academic work during their time at Fort Leavenworth. “We learned that military personnel are accustomed to following templates in their approach to problem-solving. So we wanted to get them early to establish the understanding that in graduate school it’s not about the answers, it’s about the questions.”
The other public administration course that makes up part of the Fort Leavenworth degree is PUAD 839: Interagency Collaboration, an elective designed by Assistant Professor Chris Silvia specifically for the program. With Chris’s background including service in two branch-es of the military (see Chris’s profile in the November 2011 newsletter), it offers him an excellent opportunity to bring together his various experiences and bases of knowledge.
Typically, students in the Interagency Studies program have been deployed three to four times to Iraq or Afghanistan. They have been part of units who are deployed ahead of regular military personnel to work with NATO, foreign governments and non-governmental or-ganizations to assess conditions and anticipate/plan for issues that the military may encounter; many also have spent time serving in U.S. embassies. Most are in their 30s and most are married with children. Congruent with the profile of SOF personnel generally, over 90% of the students in the program are men.
For Barbara Romzek, the only downside to her involvement in the program has been that she hasn’t been in the classroom with the SPAA’s regular MPA students in several years. But the trade-off has been valuable. “I’ve appreciated being able to contribute to shaping a highly educated military,” she says.
Dr. Barbara Romzek leading class for students in the Interagency Studies program at Fort Leavenworth.
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Current Faculty Research:Chuck Epp and Steven Maynard-Moody
This book breaks new ground on the controversial topic of racial disparities in American life. In a country of avowed racial egalitarians, African Americans fare worse than whites in many areas of life. Efforts to address these disparities commonly assume that the source of the prob-lem is the persistence of racial bias: either frank racism or implicit racial stereotypes. While racism and racial stereotypes undoubtedly contribute to racial disparities, we suggest that the common focus on wrong belief is only part of the explanation and that another key part is the contribution of official policies. Unlike inchoate prejudices, policies may be amenable to reform.
Our focus is the police stop, the point at which law enforcement meets the public and the first step in a process that leads to grossly disproportionate rates of imprisonment among African Americans. While dozens of studies show that African Americans are stopped at higher rates than whites, most of these studies have not addressed two key questions: Why? And what is the impact on African Americans? Using an innovative survey method and drivers’ narratives of stops, the book examines racial disparities in traffic stops and in drivers’ interpretations of stops. We supplement these data with focus groups with police officers and traffic officer stop stories.
The book goes considerably beyond past research in identifying the sources of racial dispari-ties in a widespread policy: the commitment of professional policing to use investigatory stops as a key crime-fighting tool. This policy, in conjunction with widespread racial stereotypes, racially frames who is stopped, what happens during the stop, and how drivers understand and evaluate the stop.
We show how, over the past generation, professional policing developed and re-fined the investigatory stop, how professional support for the policy deepened as police leaders responded to the racial profiling crisis of the late 1990s, and how the policy is now supported by an interlocking consensus among leading police researchers, police professional associations, and the federal courts. We summarize the extensive research on implicit racial stereotypes and how these stereotypes characterize African Americans as prone to criminality. We show how investigatory stops, unlike other police stops, are likely to activate these racial stereotypes and lead to disproportionate stops of African Americans.
Using our survey data from 2,329 drivers and narratives of police stops from a systematic subsample of these drivers, we demonstrate that police are not more likely to stop or search African Americans than whites in traffic-safety stops but are dramatically more likely to stop and search African Americans in investigatory stops. We then show that the experience of investigatory stops erodes African Americans’ perceptions of the legitimacy of police stops and of
the police generally and leads African Americans to be less trusting of the police, to be less willing to call the police for help, and to self-censor their clothes and where they drive out of fear of the police. Whites are comparatively free of these experiences and some openly recognize that their freedom reflects a special status in relation to African Americans.
Professors Chuck Epp and Steven Maynard-Moody, together with colleague Donald Haider-Markel in KU’s Political Science Department, have completed work on a manuscript entitled Pulled Over: Racial Framing of Traffic Stops. The book is currently under review for publication in late 2012 or early 2013.
Steven Maynard-Moody
Chuck Epp
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By demonstrating for the first time that many police stops are not racially biased and that racial disparities and African Americans’ distrust of the police arise from a particular type of police stop, this book opens the possibility for reforms aimed at addressing this key source of disparities and of African Americans’ distrust of the police. In the book’s conclusion we suggest possible elements of such reforms and how they might be made to work.
More broadly, the book also offers insights into how a policy—here, investigatory stops— that is implemented to address an identified com-munity problem can have farther reaching implications for the relationships between some groups of citizens and the state, eroding the very trust that an earlier generation of reforms was meant to bolster.
Chuck, Steven and Don have been presenting this research at a number of academic conferences. If you’re interested in reading more about this project, click here for a PDF of one of their conference papers.
Upcoming Opportunities at Our Public Management Center
The Heart of True Leadership: Supervisory Training for the Public WorkforceThis award-winning 3-day training is offered through our Public Management Center. The course is designed to be practical, engaging, and relevant for both new supervisors and experienced leaders.
In most organizations staff receive supervisory training when they first take on supervisory responsibilities. But roles evolve, the workforce changes, and new research on effective manage-ment practices emerges. Our program is designed to make sure participants walk away with enhanced skills and new strategies to manage staff effectively whether they are new to a supervisory role or have held those responsibilities for years.
Each class brings together supervisors working in a variety of public service organizations so attendees benefit from the variety of perspectives in addition to gaining new skills and ideas from the course materials. Class size is limited to ensure individual attention.
Where & When: Overland Park – April 3-5, 2012 Topeka – June 19-21, 2012 Overland Park – September 18-20, 2012Time: 8:30am to 4:30pmCost: $350 per participant for the three-day course
Making Your Life Work:Organizing & Balancing Work & HomeHave you ever felt that your work is out of control? That others are controlling your time? That you need a better way to organize things? Do you worry that you’re not spending your time on the right things? The focus of this workshop will be how to manage yourself in order to manage your work both at work and at home. Learners will gain skills in planning work, dealing with inevitable interruptions, and in balancing work and home obligations. Participants will take away new skills and a new plan for organizing their life. The book Getting Things Done by David Allen is included in the registration cost and will be provided to attendees.
Where & When: Topeka – Thursday, June 14, 2012Time: 8:30am to 12:00pmCost: $109Presenter: Dr. Marilu Goodyear, Director, KU School of Public Affairs & Administration
Click here to listen to a brief description of the course from Marilu. Note: The podcast refers to the date the last time the course was offered. The upcoming date is June 14.
Visit www.kupmc.org for more information or to register.
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Hands-on Learning: The Undergraduate Research ExperienceBy Emily KnightAs part of their work toward the major in public administration, un-dergraduate students can elect to participate in a research experience course that gives them a hands-on opportunity to participate in the research projects of faculty members.
In PUAD 692, students are paired with faculty who would like as-sistance with current projects. Each semester different projects ex-ist based on what faculty members are working on. The goal of the course is to serve as an introduction to research, but also to allow students to contribute to current research. “We are a research insti-tution and it makes sense for students to have an opportunity to get involved in that,” said Dr. Heather Getha-Taylor, who serves as the School’s undergraduate coordinator. By opening the research pro-cess to undergraduates, students are exposed to topics and processes in a depth they don’t encounter in the classroom.
For the fall 2011 semester, I was one of three students who enrolled in PUAD 692 to work with Dr. Marilu Goodyear and Dr. Getha-Taylor on a grant studying data sharing across State of Kansas agen-cies. With a reflection paper at the end of the semester as the only pre-determined assignment, flexibility is one of the benefits of the course. The class is not regularly scheduled, and assignments related to the project are assigned as needed.
The one-on-one exposure to the researchers and their process meant that my experience was tailored to my interests and strengths. I was in-vited to participate in interviews, attend research meetings, and help with the final layout of the grant. These diverse assignments reinforced ideas I had learned in the classroom, but also showed that alternative approaches and ideas are continually developing.
Reflecting her desire to learn about what work goes into an academic journal article, course participant Liese Ridgeway Vanatta worked on transcribing and coding many interviews. After assisting on the study, she had an immense sense of pride in the research outcomes. “Take this class if you can,” Vanatta now advises other undergraduate majors, “It allows you to break past a typical class and learn so much over the course of the semester.”
Seeking the same benefits my classmates and I enjoyed, two students are enrolled for the cur-rent semester. Students interested in PUAD 692 in the future are encouraged to speak with Dr. Getha-Tayor to be matched with faculty members who have congruent interests. Students will find, as I did, that it is exciting to be a part of developing new ideas for public servants com-mitted to making public administration better.
Emily Knight will be graduating in May 2012 with a major in Public Administration and a minor in Global and International Studies.
Emily Knight, center, with MPA students Nancy McCurdy and John Benson, at the Sporting KC Stadium for a project in their Organization Change course during summer 2011.
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Meet Alecia Gray, Events Coordinator ExtraordinaireFor many of us, the internet has become such a crucial tool in our daily lives that we can scarcely remember how we managed with-out it. Likewise, in her few short months on staff with the School in the Public Management Center, Alecia Gray has become just as indispensable.
Hired in September as the PMC’s first marketing and events coordi-nator, Alecia is responsible for helping us promote our professional development programs and manage events for both the PMC and the School. In this role, she has taken some event-related responsibil-ities off everyone’s plates, but especially those of Ray Hummert and Diana Koslowsky. “I’m constantly amazed at what the rest of us were juggling,” says Diana. “I have no idea how we got by without her.”
Alecia comes to us most directly from KU’s School of Engineering where she was an administrative associate in the Civil, Environmen-tal, and Architectural Engineering Department. Before coming to KU she served in a jack-of-all-trades role with Nathaniel’s Hope, a non-profit organization supporting kids with special needs, where she worked on events and marketing.
Her background also includes experience that’s directly relevant to the PMC’s professional development focus: she worked for over five years in training and human resources for Walt Disney World in Or-lando, Florida. (She insists she doesn’t have a princess costume in her closet from her time there, but we suspect she’s holding out on us.)
Alecia grew up in Atlanta. She earned a BA in sociology/anthropology from Randolph-Macon Woman’s College in Virginia, spend-ing her junior year of college studying in London and backpacking across Europe and parts of the Middle East. She’s been involved in choirs since childhood and currently sings in the Lawrence Civic Choir as well as serves on their board.
“Lawrence is a wonderful place to call home. We’ve found everyone to be incredibly welcoming,” Alecia says. She moved to Lawrence in 2008 when her husband, BJ, became a PhD student in Anthropology at KU. His current research is part of the Kansas NSF EPSCoR project, “Biofuels and Climate Change: Farmers’ Land Use Decisions.” In May, 2010, Alecia and BJ welcomed their son, Ben. He has grown to be a funny, talkative, go-go-go little person who brings his parents great joy.
Among the items on Alecia’s to-do list are: coordinating the School’s presence at the Transforming Local Government conference in Kansas City in April, handling logistics for the Women in Public Administration conference planned for June 28th in Lawrence, and assisting with this year’s KUCIMAT banquet at ICMA in Phoenix.
So say hi when you cross paths with her at any of these events and know that her contributions are a key element in their success – and in the rest of us maintaining our sanity. Thanks, Alecia!
Public Service Recognition WeekMay 6-12, 2012
Public Service Recognition Week (PSRW) has been celebrated the first full week in May since 1985. It is a time set aside to honor the men and women who serve our nation as federal, state, county, and local government employees.
This year, KU’s School of Public Affairs and Administration and Wichita State University’s Hugo Wall School of Urban and Public Af-fairs have partnered together to celebrate Kansas public service employees. During PSRW, we will honor those who have chosen public service careers and teach others in our communities about the many ways government services make life better for all of us.
Watch the KU School of Public Affairs and Administration’s website (http://www.kupa.ku.edu) for more information, and contact Ale-cia ([email protected]) if you have suggestions for activities or events to be included in the celebration.
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Alumni Profiles – Close to Home: Putting the MPA to Work at KUTypically, staff working in higher education environments pursue graduate degrees in higher ed administration or in more specialized areas relevant to their work. But in recent years, KU staff have been finding their way to our MPA program as another degree option that can support their work at the University. For this issue’s alumni pro-file, we asked a handful of the KU MPA grads working here at KU about the path that led them to us and their experience in the pro-gram. We’re delighted to confirm that we have some pretty strong advocates right here on Mount Oread.
Abby Coffin (2009) – Director of Student Services, KU School of Engineering
Kip Grosshans (1981) – Associate Director for Administration, KU Department of Student Housing
Jack Martin (2008) – Director of Strategic Communications, KU Office of Public Affairs
Margaret Perkins-McGuinness (2011) – Director of External Affairs, KU Spencer Museum of Art
Kathy Pryor (2008) – Managing Director of Theatre, KU Department of Theatre/University Theatre
How and why did you find your way to the KU MPA program?
Jack: I started the MPA program when I was working for then-Gov-ernor Kathleen Sebelius. I’d worked in government and politics at the state and federal levels and wanted a graduate degree that fo-cused on how public institutions operate. That sort of knowledge is very useful for someone responsible for communicating the ac-tions taken by an institution. I chose the KU program because it has highly regarded professors and is well–known for educating leaders.
Kathy: As I began exploring master’s programs at KU, I happened to stumble across the curriculum online, and I was immediately inspired to investigate the program. The courses looked like they would increase my competency skills in my current position, and the more theoretical courses were intriguing, particularly with the focus on city government – higher education, the arts, and city gov-ernment are long time passions of mine.
So this particular program provided me with a perfect opportunity to combine my passions in a master’s degree. It worked beautifully. As an example, I was able to research the role of the arts in economic development. That research has afforded me the opportunity to be a stronger advocate for embracing the arts as an economic develop-ment tool in the community.
Kip: Back when I was looking for a graduate program (I completed the program in 1981), the KU MPA offered a public health focus. It was a great fit for me. Also, I was working while I was in the program and Dr. Nalbandian was very flexible in allowing me to use some
non-PA courses for my electives, in-cluding business, that allowed me to further make the degree fit. My friend Jack Manahan (KU MPA 1982) and I have remarked that the KU MPA was almost ideally suited for those of us who worked as “practitioners” be-cause our out-in-the-world examples and perspectives were considered to be important parts of discussion along with formal theory from the syllabus.
Abby: I fell into working in higher education. I have a diverse range of interests and didn’t want to be limited in the future by getting a graduate degree specific to higher ed, but I did want a program that would be rel-evant to my role at the University.
I also wanted a program that would challenge my thoughts and world view, that would force me to think beyond myself and what is around me. I wanted to be challenged in the classroom with tough, but meaningful classes. I found that in the MPA. And while I was in the program I was able to promote to a position that really utilized my coursework and I made the decision to continue in higher ed.
Margaret: As a KU social work graduate, I was familiar with the MPA program for its excellent reputation; however, I wasn’t sure that it would be a good fit, given that my true passion was in non-profit research and management. But as I evaluated the coursework and learned more about the instructors, I could see that the Public Service Leadership track applied very closely to my learning and professional development goals – and the flexibility couldn’t have been more appealing. I love my job at KU’s Spencer Museum of Art and couldn’t imagine not working full time while completing the degree.
What aspects of the MPA coursework have proven particularly valuable to you? Is there anything you find yourself drawing on again and again?
Jack: There were numerous times that I’d learn about something in class and then have it come up in my job shortly thereafter,
Margaret Perkins-McGuinness andJack Martin (right) with Patrick Woods,
Advancement Coordinator for the College at KU and 2011 MPA grad.
Patrick was profiled in theAugust 2011 newsletter.
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sometimes even the next day. The courses on budgeting and public finance were particularly useful. Budgets are often seen as boring, but they’re how institutions make decisions about priorities. If you can understand a budget, you can understand what an institution values and where it is headed. The coursework on the ideals and phi-losophy of public administration and some of the specific work I did in the program regarding lead-ership skills have also been very helpful in my career.
Also, it was helpful to have people with such varied backgrounds and
levels of experience in class. Working with people who have a range of views, experiences and responsibilities teaches you about com-municating and collaborating with diverse groups. And while we might have different roles in our jobs, ultimately we’re all dedicated to public service.
Kathy: Since I had been a practitioner of management for many years before going back to work on my master’s degree, the courses in budgeting, finance, leadership, and statistics were incredibly vali-dating. As an example, there were ways I had instinctually handled budgeting that I realized were valid methods. Also, those same courses provided me with new ways to address many of my respon-sibilities.
I keep coming back to the values of government imparted by John Nalbandian’s research. The values of efficiency, individual rights, so-cial equity, and responsiveness are with me every single day. I am constantly weighing what I do and almost every decision I make in my professional and personal life by weighing the values at stake.
I am so grateful to John and the faculty in the department. Besides John, I was grateful to have taken classes from Chuck Epp, Leisha DeHart Davis and Holly Goerdel. Recently I have had the privilege of working with Marilu Goodyear and I am again reminded of how fortunate we are at KU to have such an amazing group of faculty in the School of Public Affairs and Administration.
Kip: Government budgets are in-teresting beasts and the combina-tion – some would say “collision” – of public service and business courses I completed has been a great fit given my HR, budgeting, and administrative duties in Stu-dent Housing.
Abby: I find myself using much of the knowledge I learned from the finance and budget class because I have to justify almost all of my activities and the programs that I want to implement. The Organiza-tional Management class has proved to be very useful as well.
Margaret: Again and again, I have found that my public administra-tion background has provided me with a broad base of knowledge and a wide range of professional knowledge relevant to the field. I continually draw on the basic premise of public administration ethics – which guides so much of the work that we do as public servants. On a daily basis, we encounter decisions between “right” and “right.” My MPA offered a framework that helps me to evaluate goals, consequences, and benefits from a variety of vantage points. This helps me to make the best possible decision.
Kip Grosshans, Associate Director of Administration
for Student HousingAnother of our many
alumni around campus: Paul Farran, KU MPA 2009, is now serving asthe chief of staff to the
CIO at KU.
Are you as excited as we are about all the great stuff going on around here?
We invite you to translate that excitement into a donation to the School of Public Affairs and Administration. As Marilu noted in her letter on page 1, the US News rankings depend on the School’s reputation among our peers. Making a contribu-tion to the School’s general fund supports faculty research and the conference travel that keeps our peers tuned in to the great work going on at KU. Click here to go to the secure giving page on the KU Endowment website. Thank you so much for the many ways you support us.
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School of Public Affairs and Administration:
Super People, Activities and Achievements
An article by assistant professor Jacob Fowles and co-authors entitled “Teacher Retention in Appalachian Schools: Re-search from Kentucky,” will be published in 2012 in the journal Economic of Education Review. The article analyzes teach-er attrition from Appalachian school districts over nearly twenty years of data. Inter-district mobility is rare in Kentucky, and rarer still among Appalachian teachers. Their research indicates that Appalachian teachers are more likely to exit the profession than move to another district and suggests that improvements to teacher quality in such isolated areas requires a focus on the home labor pool.
MPA student Brian Handshy has been selected as a 2012 Presidential Management Fellow! The highly competitive program offers Fellows a path into leadership roles in the federal government along with professional development support around the setting and reaching of career goals. Brian’s background includes service in a variety of positions in the U.S. Navy, and since August 2011 he has been part of the Kansas Governor’s Executive Fellowship Program. Congratulations, Brian!
MPA student Sandy Zook was one of two awardees for the 2012 National Public Employer Labor Relations Association (NPERLA) Foundation’s Anthony C. Russo Scholarship! The Foundation provides scholarships to deserving graduate stu-dents studying labor and employee relations or a closely related field. Sandy is Deputy City Clerk for the City of Raymore and is active in the Missouri City Clerks and Financial Officers Association where she chairs the Legislative Committee and also serves on the Technology Committee. Hooray, Sandy!
As of July 1, PhD candidate Nathaniel S. Wright will be joining the faculty of the University of Louisville as an assistant professor in the Department of Urban and Public Affairs. He’s currently teaching an undergraduate course on urban rede-velopment and neighborhood change as he completes his dissertation, “Pathways to Change: Explaining the Effectiveness of Community Based Development Organizations.” Bravo, Nathaniel!
Faculty members Heather Getha-Taylor, John Nalbandian and Chris Silvia, together with the ever-fabulous Ray Hummert, received word that their article exploring the KU MPA competencies project, “Competency Model Design and Assessment: Findings and Future Directions,” has been accepted for publication in the Journal of Public Affairs Education. We’ll let you know when it’s published, probably at the end of 2012. In the meantime, you can find the model and current portfolio development guide on our website.
Professor John Nalbandian is one of 16 men who were selected for KU’s 2012 Men of Merit poster. The project recog-nizes men at the University who positively define masculinity through challenging norms, taking action and leading by example while making contributions to the University and/or the community. This is the fourth year of the proj-ect, which aims to increase awareness of the importance of education and involvement in men’s lives, inspire campus men to take an active role in their college experience and provide role models and mentors for men to be successful.
SPAA Director Marilu Goodyear has been selected as the 2012 recipient of the Kathleen McCluskey Fawcett Woman Mentoring Women award “for a woman student, staff or faculty member who has demonstrated outstanding commit-ment to the supporting and mentoring of women at the University of Kansas.” For the women staff and faculty who came together to nominate her, Marilu exemplifies what this award is about. Since coming to KU in 1996, she has held leadership roles in the KU Libraries, in Information Technology and in Public Administration. In each of these areas Marilu has reached out to the women around her to not only encourage their professional development, but also because of her belief in enabling others to see the influence they can have on shaping their units, departments, organi-zation and their profession. Thanks, Marilu, and congratulations!
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The Public Management Center side of the house is currently fulfilling a contract to provide ethics training to most of the staff in the City of Kansas City, Missouri—over 3,000 people. Jonathan Morris is leading the project with instructional as-sistance from other PMC staff and contract instructors. The 3 ½ hour class combines traditional classroom elements with clicker technology to engage participants in interactive learning while also gathering data about course effectiveness.
The November 2011 newsletter included an article about our project with the City of Olathe to provide and evaluate leadership training for all of the City’s supervisors. We are pleased to report that in January the project was recognized by the Kansas City Chapter of the American Society for Training and Development with the Best Practice Award for the category of Workplace Learn-ing and Performance (WLP) through Outcomes. Congratulations to Jonathan Morris and Dr. Heather Getha-Taylor!
For the second year, the School is proud to serve as the academic partner for America’s Leaders of Change (ALOC), a program of the National Urban Fellows with presenting sponsor Walmart. ALOC is a one year intensive executive leadership program for high potential leaders of color and women in public service that combines personal and professional development, enriched knowledge of public service leadership and building capacity for life-long coaching and networking. The 2012 cohort consists of 47 participants. They’ll come together four times for leadership development forums which include academic content provided by School faculty. John Nalbandian has presented on Values, Poli-tics, and Administration and Holly Goerdel has addressed Col-laboration and Leadership. For the upcoming June forum Heather Getha-Taylor will be building on Holly’s presentation with a focus on Collaborative Competencies.
In early February the School welcomed a dozen visitors to campus from the Executive Leadership Institute (ELI) sponsored by the National Forum for Black Public Administrators. ELI was established in 1987 to prepare African American managers for executive positions in pub-lic service organizations. The program is conducted by NFBPA in cooperation with universities around the country; we have been part of ELI for the past 6 years. The program is a significant commitment for participants. They spend 3-5 days together monthly over about nine months to develop skills in areas such as policy development and analysis, strategic visioning, and resource management. While here, this year’s participants had the opportunity to speak with KU Chancellor Bernadette Gray-Little and Kansas City Mayor Sly James in addition to their sessions with School faculty.
Marilu Goodyear introduces Chancellor Gray-Little to the ELI participants. Photo by David McKinney, University Relations.
The ALOC 2012 cohort, with John Nalbandian and Noel Rasor from our Public Management Center among the crowd.
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Endowed funds are extremely important to the present and future of the School. They can be used to recruit promising students, attract and retain renowned scholars, launch promising research, or can be established for any other purpose of your choice. An endowed scholarship can be established with a gift of $30,000 given in full or pledged over a five-year period. The scholarship then exists in perpetuity, providing annual support for generations to come.
Endowed funds can be established in a variety of ways: donating cash; donating securities; creating a planned gift such as a bequest in your will; or a combination of any of these. The donor(s) decides how to name the fund, whether for themselves or for someone they wish to honor. You may also be able to contribute to some existing endowed funds. To learn more about how your gift can help, contact LaRisa Lochner at the KU Endowment Association, [email protected] or 785-832-7471.
Giving Back: THE CLARA SCHNEIDER PERKINS SCHOLARSHIPIn 2008, Jan Perkins (KU MPA 1976) established the Clara Schneider Perkins Scholar-ship Fund to assist and encourage young people to pursue local government manage-ment as a career. Jan has a strong belief in local government as the best way to foster democracy and the well-being of all people in our communities.
The scholarship is named in honor of Jan’s grandmother (pictured), Clara Schneider Per-kins. Clara was born on September 9, 1904 near a hamlet called Wilder, Kansas, south across the Kaw River from Bonner Springs in Johnson County. Wilder had a post of-fice, a one or two room schoolhouse, and a small Santa Fe Railroad Station. Clara had a strong and enduring faith in education. She took business courses after high school and then a number of courses at Kansas City University (later UMKC) in English, philosophy and literature. She inspired her two sons, Courtney and Samuel Parker, to continue their education after high school. Courtney obtained a B.A. in History from the University of Kansas and a J.D. from Columbia Law School in New York. Parker graduated from the Kansas City Community College. Clara had a successful real estate career in the Johnson County/Kansas City area.
Jan knows personally the value of scholarships. She was helped by scholarships at KU, first as an undergraduate by living in Watkins Scholarship Hall, endowed in the name
of Elizabeth Watkins, then as an MPA student through the Mary Morrill Litchfield Scholarship. Jan believes strongly in the value of an MPA degree from the University of Kansas – and the commitment that the KUCIMATS have demonstrated to fostering professional lo-cal government management and in supporting each other. She hopes that the Clara Schneider Perkins scholarship will be another small way to help future local government managers provide the leadership our communities need.
Jan Perkins is an ICMA Credentialed Manager, a former city manager, ICMA Se-nior Advisor, and Board Member of ICMA’s Women Leading Government. She serves as Partner with Management Partners, Inc. Jan has just finished the initial endow-ment for the Clara Schneider Perkins Scholarship, assisted by contributions from her brother Mark Perkins (KU MPA 1989) and her uncle Courtney Perkins. Jan plans to continue to build the fund in the coming years.
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FABULOUS INTERNS SEEK LASTING RELATIONSHIPSMeet the MPA Intern Option Class of 2011-2013! They are in the process of completing their on-campus coursework and have begun the job search for their second year internships. If you know of an opportunity in your area, please contact Ray Hummert at [email protected].
Kyle Burns: Kyle is a Captain in the Army with a Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice from Columbus State University. Prior to joining the MPA program he transitioned from a senior noncommissioned officer to a commissioned officer in 2005. He has held numerous leadership positions ranging from an infantry rifle platoon leader to a battalion assistant staff operations officer. He has honorably served 18 years of active service; upon completion of the MPA program he will transition from the military. Among other awards, he is the recipient of the Silver Star, Bronze Star, and Purple Heart. Kyle can be reached at [email protected].
Ashley Graff: Ashley graduated with BA degrees in Journalism & Mass Communications (Advertising) and Modern Languages (Spanish) from Kansas State University in December 2005. Before joining the MPA program, Ashley worked as a public high school teacher in Texas and later managed after-school tutoring programs in seven Oregon schools. Ashley is an Ethan-Allen Scholar and the recipient of the Harry Nalbandian Award for Public Service. She currently works as the Food Systems Educator for the Douglas County Child Development Association and can be reached at [email protected].
Holly Hayden: Holly, a recipient of the Ethan Allen, the Thomas Page & Barbara Kester, and the Keane Public Admin scholarships, graduated with honors from Azusa Pacific University in 2005 with a bachelors in Political Science. From 2005-2010 Holly served in the U.S. Army as an officer in the Military Intelligence Corps where she filled multiple leadership positions both at home and deployed to Iraq. Holly currently lives in Fort Leavenworth with her husband and twin daughters. Holly can be reached at [email protected].
Ariel Klugman: Ariel, recipient of the Mary M Litchfield scholarship, graduated from Minnesota State University, Mankato with a Bachelor of Arts in Communication Studies and Political Science. Ariel volunteered for Junior Achievement, teaching basic economics to kindergarten and first grade students; organized a suit drive for Dress for Success’ SOS weekend and a campus forum for students, community members and faculty to learn about the Egyptian Revolution. Ariel was mentored by Scott Neal the City Manager in the City of Edina, MN and is currently interning for Johnson County, Kansas. Ariel can be reached at [email protected].
Emily Kotay: Emily graduated with a Bachelor of Arts cum laude in anthropology and a minor in biology in 2007 from Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, MA. Following graduation, she was temporarily appointed as a Program Analyst for the Office of Insular Affairs (OIA), Liaison Division, in the Department of the Interior, Washington, DC. Prior to joining KU’s MPA program, she worked as an English teacher in western Ukraine for 27 months as a United States Peace Corps Volunteer. She is currently an intern with the City of Prairie Village. Emily can be reached at [email protected].
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Caitlin Stene: Caitlin, the Thomas Page and Barbara Kester Scholar, graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Public Administration and Marketing from Winona State University in Winona, Minnesota. While attending Winona State, Caitlin was an active member of the campus community serving as Student Senate President and Vice President, a Campus Ambassador, President of Pi Sigma Alpha (the Political Science Honor Society), and active in the American Democracy Project. Currently, Caitlin is interning at Douglas County, Kansas serving as the management intern. Caitlin can be reached at [email protected].
Kelly Unger: Kelly, the Richard B. Chesney Scholar, graduated from the University of Kansas in 2011 with a Bachelor of General Studies in Sociology and a minor in Leadership Studies. During her tenure, Kelly served as the Senior Class President, President of Kappa Delta Sorority, and President of the KU Blood Drive Committee. She is a member of several honor societies including Mortar Board, Order of Omega, and Sigma Alpha Lambda. Kelly is excited about working in the field of public administration and is currently an intern at the City Manager’s Office in Lawrence, KS. Kelly can be reached at [email protected].
Alyssa McMullin: Alyssa, a Daicoff Public Administration scholar and recipient of the Thomas Page and Barbara Kester scholarship, graduated from Cornell College in Mount Vernon, Iowa, with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology and Religion. As an undergraduate, Alyssa served two part-time terms with AmeriCorps – one as an Iowa Campus Compact member and one as a Summer VISTA Associate. Alyssa was also selected for Cornell’s chapter of Mortar Board National Senior Honor Society. Alyssa is currently the budget intern with the City of Olathe. Alyssa can be reached at [email protected].
Jacqueline Schwerm: Jacqueline, an Ethan Allen and Kansas Association of City Managers scholar, graduated magna cum laude from Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, MN with degrees in Political Science with Honors and Communication Studies. During college she served as co-president of the Gustavus chapter of Pi Sigma Alpha and treasurer of the Communication Studies Club. Jacqueline has worked for the City of Blaine in their park and recreation department and in the summer of 2010 she worked as a research assistant on campus. This year, Jacqueline is interning for the City of Edwardsville, Kansas. Jacqueline can be reached at [email protected].
Jamie Shockley: Jamie, an Ethan Allen Scholar, graduated with honors in May 2011 from the University of Central Missouri in Warrensburg, Missouri, with a Bachelor of Science in Political Science. While attending UCM, Jamie served as Vice-President of the Student Government, as well as a Teaching Assistant for the Department of Political Science. While working on her undergraduate degree, Jamie also spent her summers working for a non-profit called St. Louis Arc, Jamie is currently working for the City of Riverside, Missouri as their Community Relations Intern. Jamie can be reached at [email protected].
Wesley Samms: Wesley, an Ethan Allen scholar, graduated from Loyola University New Orleans, LA, Magna Cum Laude, with a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish and Philosophy in 2007. Prior to joining the program, he worked for Catholic Charities for the Archdiocese of New Orleans as the Program Coordinator for Cornerstone Builders. In this position, he administered the expansion of activities for a prisoner reentry initiative which sought to reform ex-offenders through community service in the AmeriCorps program. It was the First AmeriCorps program in the country to employ exclusively former prisoners. Wesley can be reached at [email protected].
Davis McElwain: Davis is a Major in the Army with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business from Wake Forest University. He commissioned in 1999 and has deployed to both Iraq and Afghanistan and supported numerous other overseas contingency operations. He has held several command and leadership positions during his twelve years of service, including Company Commander, Battalion Operations Officer and Battalion Executive Officer. He is a recipient of the Bronze Star Medal and Meritorious Service Medal, among other awards and decorations.
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KU Brand Remains Strong – We Can Help Keep It That Way
One hears a lot these days about applying marketing techniques in government. Whether it’s “sell-ing” our citizens on the need to be involved in their communities, “branding” our agency’s image to attract investment, or using a focus group to gauge support for a tax increase, public managers are more cognizant than ever of things like reputation. Fortunately, we have strong traditions on which to draw: professional organizations such as ICMA have long been about “brand recogni-tion” of public managers and back it up with a Code of Ethics to help maintain a positive image.
KUCIMATs are part of a second strong “brand identity.” We know, take pride in, and remind oth-ers (sometimes a bit too much for their liking) that we represent the Number 1 program in the country in city/county management. We also have an interest in maintaining that brand, whether we are personally working in local government or not. As Jim Collins so eloquently put it in Good to Great, we need to stimulate progress while preserving the core. Or as our own John Nalbandian has framed the question, how do we respect the past while investing in the future?
One question that I have heard repeatedly from alumni is whether the intern-option students these days are really focused on local government. We’ve heard the stories about young people who seem to believe that the non-profit sector rather than the public sector is where they can make a difference. We’ve seen the elimination of internships as a result of tough budget times. And we naturally wonder whether the brand we hold so dear is being diluted.
To answer this question, I went where my KU education taught me to go: to the data. Looking at graduates of the last eight classes from the Edwin O. Stene Program in City/County Leadership (2004-2011) reveals that 75 out of 102 recent alumni are currently employed by cities, counties, or state leagues. That’s 73.5% (wouldn’t you love to win a bond measure by that percentage?), and it doesn’t even count those working for state or federal government, consulting with local governments, or pursuing additional degrees. Less than four percent of graduates from these classes have gone into non-profit work. I think it’s safe to say that our brand remains strong.
That doesn’t mean, however, that we can’t do more to help grow the brand. Do you have a college or university in your community? Have you spoken to undergraduates interested in local government about where they should pursue a Master’s degree? What about students at your alma mater? To maintain a solid brand we need to assist in channeling students who are interested in KU’s strengths to the School. We can also help by continuing to provide support to students once they reach the hallowed halls of KU. Donation to scholarship funds is critical to helping support students, but so is paying your annual KUCIMAT dues. Those dues help support students to attend professional conferences and meet with alumni and assist your board in maintaining connections with faculty, building life-long brand identification.
Phil Smith-Hanes (‘98), KUCIMAT Board PresidentCounty Administrative Officer - Humboldt County, California
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Bob Kipp, (KU MPA 1956),Honoredwith Alumni DistinguishedAchievement Award
We are thrilled to announce that Bob Kipp, has been chosen to receive the College of Liberal Arts and Sci-ences Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award, the highest honor bestowed by the College. The award recognizes graduates’ contributions to KU, their professions or their communities; the School nominated Bob because of his significant contributions in all three areas over the last half century.
After earning his MPA at KU in 1956 Bob served a number of communities in Kansas and Ohio and built his credentials in planning, development, and city management. Then, in 1970, he joined the staff of the City of Kansas City, Missouri. He served for four years as director of development until he was named city manager in 1974. He remained in that role until 1983.
Bob has had a role in shaping almost every important civic initiative in Kansas City for over a generation, and this began with his service as city manager. He helped the City navigate both the opportunities and the challenges in an era of unprecedented growth. These years saw completion of the Kansas City International Airport and Kemper Arena. The Terminal Rail-
road bridges were rebuilt. Bartle Hall was initiated and constructed. He led the City through two strikes by firefighters and was one of several City administrators to impose a salary freeze on themselves to demonstrate the need for more careful spending at city hall. During these years he set a new standard for not only those who would follow him in Kansas City but other large American cities as well.
Four years into his service as city manager in Kansas City, Bob was elect-ed president of the International City/County Management Association (ICMA). His presidency came on the heels of the urban upheaval of the 1960s, and, together with the ICMA executive board, Bob established the Future Horizons Committee to undertake a serious, introspective exami-nation of city and county management. For much of the twentieth century government managers were expected to be value-neutral implementers of policy. But the Future Horizons Committee concluded that the effective city manager was a community leader who must deal with an array of conflicting community values, including issues of representation and equity, and who must work in a facilitative style to build consensus. Thus, Bob not only served as a model of how city managers could best serve their communities in this new era but also himself saw the need for the profession to evolve and used his time as president of ICMA to create the framework to support this change in the profession.
And yet all this is really only the beginning. Bob’s contributions continue with the huge role he had in shaping the Crown Center redevelop-ment in Kansas City, his dedication to service and philanthropy for the Kansas City region, and of course his engagement with each new class of MPA intern-option students. We’re so very proud to be part of Bob’s story.
Join Us to Honor Bob!Join us at 6pm on Saturday, April 21 at the KU Edwards Campus for a program and reception to celebrate this award with Bob Kipp. The program will include formal presentation of the award by College Dean Danny Anderson and will feature panelists John Nalbandian, Jewell Scott of the KC Civic Council, Congressman Emmanuel Cleaver II, and Wil-liam Hall, President of the Hall Family Foundation, reflecting on Bob’s many contributions. Follow this link to RSVP.
Whether or not you can attend the program, we encourage you to send notes, photographs, or other reflections for a “Memory Book” that will be given to Bob and his family. Please send your paper or electronic memory book item by April 21 to Patrick Woods, 200 Strong Hall, 1450 Jayhawk Blvd., Lawrence, KS 66045 or by email to [email protected].
Bob with the KU MPA intern-option class of2012 in January.
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UNCC at Charlotte names MPA program after Jerry Fox, KUMPA 1963By Bo Ferguson, KU MPA 1997 City Manager, Hendersonville, North Carolina
On October 27, I represented the KUCIMATs and KU faculty at a ceremony honoring Jerry Fox (KU MPA, 1963). At the ceremony, it was announced that the MPA program at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte (UNCC) would be named in honor of Jerry, recognizing his significant accomplishments and contributions to the UNCC program. It is now the Gerald G. Fox Master of Public Administration Program at UNCC. After retiring as Mecklenburg County Manager a decade ago, Jerry became a faculty member and mentor to students in the UNCC MPA program. In that capacity, he worked closely with Dr. Suzanne Leland, an instructor in the program who received her PhD from KU in 1999.
It was a pleasure to bring greetings to Jerry on behalf of KU in front of a packed room of UNCC faculty, students, and leaders from the Charlotte community. Our congratulations were echoed by Parks Helms, longtime chair of the Meck-lenburg County Board of Commissioners, and Jerry’s lifelong friend and men-tor George Schrader, former city manager of Dallas (KU MPA 1955). In his remarks reflecting on this occasion, Jerry expressed his pride in his KU roots
and his desire to see the highest caliber of education offered to future generations of local government managers. I think it is a fitting tribute that now two MPA programs can be proud to claim Jerry, and that future generations of local government managers will graduate from a program named in his honor.
“While his technical and managerial skills were a prerequi-site for his success as a manager, it was his ability to combine these skills with a highly effective collaborative management style that set Gerald G. Fox apart as an exceptional public leader. One of the defining characteristics of his manage-ment style was his ability to cultivate a cooperative policy-making environment among the major decision-makers of the community. Mr. Fox talks about how his most important job as Mecklenburg County manager after the election of a new Board of Commissioners was to make sure that he was able to foster a team mentality between the county staff and the elected officials. Despite perhaps large ideological differences between different members of the Commis-sion, or despite the cultural and institutional differences between county staff and county commissioners, Mr. Fox was able to bring people together around the idea that they were all there for the same reason, to help tackle the challenges facing the community.”
—Excerpted from UNCC booklet prepared for the naming celebration. Click here to read the full story of Jerry’s contributions to his community and to the profession
Jerry with former student Ashley Levy and UNCC Professor Gary Rassel.
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About the 2011-2012 KUCIMAT Past-President
Clay Pearson (KU MPA 1992) is currently the KUCIMAT past-president and has served as the city manager in Novi, Michi-gan since July 2006. Prior to this he was assistant city manager in Novi and before that in Elgin, Illinois. It was in Elgin that Clay got his start, working for Larry Rice (KU MPA 1963) who passed away in 1997. In Clay’s cur-rent role in Novi he is re-sponsible for the City’s in-ternal operations, consisting
of a 2011/2012 General Fund budget of more than $28 million (in a total budget of $48.7 million) and 238 full-time employees.
Clay is an active member of ICMA and a number of other asso-ciations and organizations. He serves on the Board of Directors for the Alliance for Innovation, the Michigan Intelligent Trans-portation Systems, Michigan Local Government Managers As-sociation, and the Library Network Board.
In addition, Clay serves on the Building Authority Board in Novi which was responsible for the development and construc-tion of the new Novi Public Library. The new library is an inte-gral component of the City’s Civic Center Campus adjacent to the recently developed Fuerst Park.
Clay holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from Gus-tavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minnesota. He lives in Novi with his wife, Jennifer. An interview with Clay about his background and interest in city management is available on the School’s website at http://www.kupa.ku.edu/resources/city.shtml.
On the KUCIMAT board, the past-president, president, and president-elect each serve to lead areas of connections among KUCIMATS. One works with alumni/alumni relations, one on alumni/faculty connections, and the third with alumni connections to on-campus students.
KUCIMAT 2011-2012BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Phil Smith-Hanes (Class of 1998), PresidentCounty Administrative Officer, Humboldt County, CA
Clay Pearson (Class of 1992), Past PresidentCity Manager, Novi, [email protected]
Bo Ferguson (Class of 1997), President-ElectCity Manager, City of Hendersonville, NC
Alan Morris (Class of 1970), Secretary-Treasurer (2011-2013)Retired, Topeka, [email protected]
Board Members, 2011-2013Catherine Tuck-Parrish (Class of 1990)
Associate, The Novak Consulting Group, Cincinnati [email protected]
Claudette Johns (Class of 2009) Executive Director, Kansas NEA, Topeka, KS
Jon Amundson (Class of 2005) Assistant City Manager, Richland, WA
Ray Botch (Class of 1968) Retired, Mount Vernon, [email protected]
Board Members, 2010-2012Penny Postoak Ferguson (Class of 1994)
Assistant County Manager, Johnson County, [email protected]
Jeremy Smith, (Class of 2004) Town Manager, Sussex, WI
Harold Stewart (Class of 2007) City Manager, Knoxville, IA
Tyler Burkart, Ex Officio Member2010-2012 Class President,
Jacqueline Schwerm, Ex Officio Member2011-2013 Class President
Caitlin Stene, Ex Officio Member2011-2013 Class President
Beth Linn (Class of 2003) Ex Officio MemberCity Administrator, Edgerton, KS
2011-2013 Practitioner in [email protected]
KUCIMAT DuesYour dues make a difference by supporting students, professional development of KUCIMATS, enhancing relationships with the fac-ulty and the MPA program, and supporting the profession. The dues form or a link to pay online can be found at http://www.kupa.ku.edu/alumni/kucimat/index.shtml.