Public Administration and Urban Studies News

The Sisters of Charity Foundation of Canton has announced its newest program associate is Vashon W. Williams, a December 2008 graduate of the MPA program. Until being hired by the foundation, Vashon worked as a research assistant for the Institute for Health and Social Policy at The University of Akron.  He also served for a short time as an intern for the foundation. In his new position, Vashon will be responsible for working with the president and other staff to assist in defining and developing program areas, provide technical assistance to applicants and grantees, review grant applications, provide staff reviews for the Board’s Distribution Committee and Directors, and monitor existing grants to support the foundation’s mission.  In addition, he will be responsible for working with the president and other staff on implementation of strategic initiatives and other focus areas as assigned.   Congratulations Vashon!

Jeremy Dubois (2008) accepted a position recently with The Kroger Company in Cincinnati.  He is now in their Management Development I Program, which will prepare him to be a store manager. The program runs 20 weeks and includes classroom and on-the-job training. Jeremy said he expects to apply much of what he learned about organizations and management in the MPA program. Congratulations Jeremy!

Linda Githiora (2008) recently started her new position as coordinator of grants development with the Center for Sponsored Research and Programs at The University of North Carolina – Pembroke. Linda’s responsibilities are to work with faculty and staff to identify grant opportunities; to work with the director and faculty committees to ensure universitywide compliance; to review grants, contracts, and agreements to ensure accuracy and timely completion; to respond to questions and requests from principal investigators; to conduct grants workshops; and to assist professors with creating user accounts for electronic research administration databases. Congratulations and best wishes to Linda!

Dr. Peggy Stephens and Margaret Baughman have received funding for a three-year ($60K per year) Cleveland Drug Court Cannabis Youth Treatment Enhancement Grant (RFA No. TI-08-007). The grant is funded by the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment. Peggy and Margaret will begin collecting data from drug court enrollees to evaluate the process and outcomes for participants from 18 to 25 years old. The study focuses on male felony offenders diverted to substance abuse treatment from the Cleveland Municipal Court. The project will run through September of 2011. Congratulations Peggy and Margaret!

PAUS will be well represented at this year’s Conference on Minority Public Administrators (Feb. 8-11), with faculty, a recent graduate, and current Ph.D. students taking roles in three panel discussions.

1. Dr. RaJade M. Berry-James, Dr. Cryshanna Jackson, and Hope Moore are taking part in a panel titled Faith Based and Community Approaches to Social Engagement.
2. Jade and Cryshanna are also part of a panel titled Crucial Conversations — Seven Competencies for Public Managers.
3. Dr. Julia Beckett, Jade, and Juanita Elton will participate in a panel titled Dismantling the School-to-Prison Pipeline: Disproportion Minority Contact.

Well done!

Recent MPA graduate Ed Stazyk (2006) is nearing completion of his PhD at Kansas University.  Ed recently announced that he has accepted a tenure track faculty position at American University. He will be starting in fall 2009. Congratulations Ed! you can read more about what is going on with Ed at his UK Web site: http://ecstazyk.com/default.aspx.

The International City/County Management Association recently notified MPA Student Tom Reynolds that he has been selected as a finalist in the ICMA’s local government management fellowship program. During the next couple of months, Tom will be interviewing with cities around the country in hopes of receiving one of the coveted fellowships. Congratulations Tom!

The Golden Key International Honour Society inducted PAUS PhD students Keba Scylla and Steven Wright into their esteemed ranks on Sunday, November 9th. Golden Key International Honour Society, founded on 29 November 1977, is an academic society that recognizes and encourages scholastic achievement and excellence among college and university students from all academic disciplines. Congratulations Keba and Steven!

Members of PAUSSA joined fellow students, campus employees, and citizen volunteers on October 25 for a day of community service as part of Make-a-Difference Day. Students engaged in service projects such as painting, working with older adults, landscaping, and street cleaning. The day began on campus with a light breakfast before students, sporting matching t-shirts, loaded buses to go out to various service sites in University Park and the greater Akron community. PAUSSA students painted and wallpapered a center for older adults in the Manchester area. The event seemed to be a great success. PAUSSA students were happy to have lent a helping hand and to have made a difference that Saturday.

Welcome all new students, and welcome back all returning students. The halls will be bustling this semester with the addition of 50 new students to the department’s graduate programs. This semester continues an upward trend in enrollment for the department.

There are two new faces to be found among the faculty and administration in the department. We welcome Associate Dean Annabelle Foos, who is serving as interim chairperson. Dr. Foos will be in late afternoons and can be found in the corner office nearest the main entrance to the department. We also welcome Annemarie Scarisbrick-Hauser, who is serving in the role of visiting assistant professor.

You may notice that two regular faces around the department are missing. Dr. Ramona Ortega-Liston is on sabbatical for the semester. She will return in January. Also, as mentioned earlier in the newsletter, Dr. Ralph Hummel retired in May. There are reports that he can be found sailing off the coast of Maine.