Transcription
MPA NewsletterDr. James Chappell RetiresInside this issue:New MPA Director 2AppointedNew MPA MissionStatement Adopted2MPA AdvisoryCommittee Meets3MPA StudentTravels to Tanzania3MPA End of YearEvent4Dr. Ransdell Speaksto Ethics Class4NASPAA Has NewName4GA Appointments & 4Recent InternshipsFaculty News5ASPA Gets New Logo 6Save the Dates6MPA Graduates Spring 62013Dr. James Chappell,who served MPAstudents at WKU forover a decade retiredon June 30, 2013. Heand his lovely wifeGinna returned toMobile, Alabama to becloser to family. Whenasked about his time atWKU as MPA director,Dr. Chappell said, “Iwould like to think thatI made a few good decisions for the MPAProgram.” One of thosedecisions involved greateffort to achieveNASPAA accreditationfor the MPA program in2009. When askedabout advice regardingadministration of theMPA program, he said,“Keep things simple andalways place studentsfirst. Everything else willsort itself out. It isespecially important tomake sure new facultyhave the resources theyneed to be successful.”Dr. James Chappell with Owensboro MPA graduates in 2012Outstanding MPA Students Recognized at AnnualAwards BanquetOn April 26, 2013,several outstandingMPA s tud en t s w er erecognized at the annualPolitical ScienceDepartment AwardsBanquet. Recognized foroutstanding paperswere Stephen Trotterand SheRohn Draper.Recognized asoutstanding graduateswere Shannon Ross andAlan Jones. SheRohnDraper was alsorecognized with theSpirit Makes the Masteraward.
Page 2MPA NewsletterDr. Victoria Gordon Appointed as new MPA DirectorDr. Gordon was appointedas MPA Director effectiveJuly 1st, 2013. However, heron-the-job-training began inJanuary. Dr. Ed Yager andDr. Shannon Vaughan havetaken on many responsibilities in an effort to help herwith her new duties. Shehas kept office associate,Linda Rippy, very busy thissummer making phone calls,running reports andgathering data. Dr. Gordonexpressed how muchharder it would have beento accomplish so much thissummer without the assistance of dedicated facultyand staff. Dr. Gordon hasalso relocated her office toGrise Hall #305 in an effortto have more room tomeet with prospective andcurrent students. Dr.Gordon has logged manymiles on the road thissummer meeting withorganizations for possibleinternship placements, andrecruiting and marketingthe MPA program inOwensboro and Elizabethtown/Fort Knox. At therequest of the militaryprogram’s office, Dr.Gordon has organized aGRE prep workshop to beheld at Fort Knox onAugust 9th, 2013. Whenasked about assuming thisnew role as MPA director,Dr. Gordon replied: “I wasjust not ready for Dr.Chappell to retire yet andwe will miss him, but I lookforward to continuing hislegacy of professionalism,and in following hisexample, I will always putthe needs of students first!”However, Dr. Gordon wasalso quick to note that “anyMPA program does bestwhen it incorporatesmultiple viewpoints into itsgovernance.”New MPA Mission Statement Adopted June 26, 2013Incorporating input from faculty, students, alumni and employers, the followingnew MPA mission statement was formally adopted by the advisory committeeon June 26, 2013:The MPA program prepares graduate students from diversebackgrounds to be productive leaders and managers in public serviceby sharing knowledge, encouraging excellence in research andpractice, and fostering an environment of professionalism within thecommunities we serve.
Page 3MPA NewsletterMPA Advisory Committee Met on June 26, 2013We were pleased to welcome the members of theMPA Advisory Committeet o t h e n e w A ug e n st e i nAlumni Center for abreakfast meeting at whichthey reviewed and adoptedthe MPA Program’s newmission statement. Dr.Shannon Vaughan led themeeting and described theimportance of the advisoryc o m mi t te e t o t he M P Aprogram and thecontributions that its mem-bers make to the continuousimprovement of the MPAprogram. Members agreedto meet three times ay ea r — s u m me r , f a l l a n dspring, and all completed asurvey of their particularareas of interest and howthey think their individualtalents might be mostappropriately used. Severalof the members plan toparticipate in the MPA NewStudent Orientation to beheld on August 24th.Committee members wereasked to share theircomments and perspectivesas employers regarding howprepared our MPAgraduates are to enter theworkforce. A lively andengaging conversationensued and manysuggestions and ideas forimprovement were notedthat could be incorporatedimmediately into the MPAprogram.Front Row from left: Dr. Shannon Vaughan, Michele Tolbert, Kevin DeFebbo; Lauren Cunningham; Dr. VictoriaGordon. Back Row from left: Mark Mudd, Rodney Kirtley, Zack Ward, Dr. Tamela Smith; Kevin Garvin.MPA Student Travels to TanzaniaM P A Gr a d ua t e S t u de n tTimothy Gilliam traveled toTanzania this summer withDr. Saundra Ardrey, wherehe studied and helped teacha class on the politics ofhe a l th c a r e i n Ta nz a nia .While on the trip, the groupmet with Tanzaniangovernment officials, visitedprivate and public healthcarefacilities, and traveled to theU.S. Embassy. Timothy iscurrently in the process ofwriting a paper on womenand healthcare in Tanzaniathat will be presented at theNational Council of BlackStudies Conference in Marchof 2014.MPA student Timothy Gilliam, Political Science Department Head Dr. Saundra Ardrey,and Political Science student Zachary Millermeet with a local political party official at theUniversity of Dar es Salaam.
Page 4MPA NewsletterEnd of the Year EventDr. Gary Ransdell speaks toMPA Ethics classMPA students organized an end of yearbarbeque at a local park on Sunday, May5th . More than twenty students, facultymembers and friends of the MPA programwere in attendance. The MPA students arealready planning a “Beginning of the Yearevent” and activities for Homecoming,which is scheduled for October 26th.On May 1, 2013, WKU President, Dr. GaryRansdell spoke to the MPA Ethics class taughtby Bowling Green City Manager, KevinDeFebbo. Dr. Ransdell focused his remarks tothe class on the relationship between ethics andleadership. He also took time to answerquestions from the MPA students about hisexperiences over the years. Dr. Ransdellreceived a Master of Public Service degree –the precursor to the MPA degree – from WKUin 1974.NASPAA Has New NameIn recognition of its growing international focus,NASPAA has recently changed its name to theNetwork of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs,and Administration. The acronym wasretained, and NASPAA continues to be “theglobal standard in public service education”.Our MPA program has been accredited since2009.MPA Student Abdul Alfurhud and AbdullahAlshomrani enjoy some international dishes.Graduate Assistants Appointed forAcademic Year 2013/2014Nick ConderAmy GambrelTim GilliamJackie StewartBecky GibasRecent Internship PlacementsJackie Stewart, Barren River Health Departmentand the BRADD, Summer 2013.Becky Gibas, the GRADD. Summer 2013.Amy Gambrel, the BRADD, Spring 2013.Jeff Borland, (a recent MPA graduate), HopeHouse, Spring 2013.
Page 5MPA NewsletterFaculty NewsVaughan and Arsneault Co-Author Textbook onNonprofitsNew MPA faculty member, Dr. Shannon Vaughan teamed with Dr.Shelly Arsneault, Professor and MPA Director at California StateUniversity, Fullerton to write Managing Nonprofit Organizations in aPolicy World, published by CQ Press in January 2013. (Some of youmay remember Dr. Arsneault from her time as MPA Director atWKU.) Vaughan and Arsneault believe that it is impossible to fullyunderstand nonprofit organizations without understanding publicpolicy, and that we cannot fully understand policy change withoutconsidering the role of nonprofits. Thus was born the idea for thistextbook that explores the four facets of the nonprofit-policyrelationship – that nonprofits make policy, are affected by policy,influence policy, and are subject to policy. WKU MPA students willhave the opportunity to explore this relationship further in PS 511Seminar in State & Local Government offered in Spring 2014. Dr.Vaughan will use the book as the foundation text for this electivecourse that will focus on the basics of not-for-profit organizationsand how the public, private, and nonprofit sectors are interconnected in the provision of public goods and services.Victoria Gordon is Author of Book on Maternity LeaveDr. Gordon’s book entitled Maternity Leave: Policy and Practiceexamines contemporary maternity leave. It covers the historical andcurrent public policies and their legislative intent, the parameters ofmaternity leave as a public health issue, and types of leave offered asemployee benefits. The book offers an illuminating perspective on howthe policies of maternity leave play out in the practice of common lives.Dr. Gordon interviewed professional women employed by public andprivate sector universities and the pharmaceutical industry. Dr.Gordon will utilize her book in PS 541 Public Personnel Administrationthis fall.
Page 6Enter to Learn. Depart to Serve.ASPA Gets New Logo!The MPA Program would liketo hear from you. Please emailDr. Gordon and tell her yournews– both personal andprofessional. If you areinterested in helping to planthe MPA 40th anniversarycelebration please contact her.The local ASPA chapter reports that the American Society for PublicAdministration has new logo. Metro Louisville chapter of ASPA meeting washeld in January 2013 on the WKU campus. In attendance were Dr. VictoriaGordon, Ashley Simpson, Austin Klaine, Michele Tolbert, Scott Wolfe, ChadPhillips and Matt Summers.Mark Your Calendars and Save the Dates!August 1, 2013 (Thursday) at 4:00 p.m. Metro Louisville ASPA chapter willmeet at Warren County Public LibraryAugust 24, 2013 (Saturday) at 10: a.m. New and Returning StudentOrientation at WKU Garrett Conference Center in the offices of theInstitute for Citizenship and Social Responsibility. Graduate Assistants willmeet at 8:30 a.m. that morning. Faculty will join the students for lunch at11:30am.September 25th -28th SECOPA conference in Charlotte, NC.October 10th -12th NASPAA conference in Washington, D. C.October 26th WKU HOMECOMING, MPA student and alumni eventDecember 6, 2013 (Friday) at 6:00 p.m. Dr. Gordon’s Maternity LeaveBook Discussion at Barnes and Noble, Bowling GreenSpring 2014 MPA program will celebrate 40th anniversary (specific date tobe determined)List of MPA Graduates for Spring 2013Saleh AlbadahMohammad AlmutairiAbdullah AlshomraniSaleh BanjiJeff BorlandAlex BurtonLee CalvertAdam EliasNaomi EnriquezRoxanna GhorbanianAlan JonesJennifer Lewis-SeatonKenneth ThomasMASTER OFPUBLICADMINISTRATIONPROGRAM1906 College Heights BlvdBowling Green, KY 42101Phone: 270-745-6192Fax: 270-745-2945E-mail:victoria.gordon@wku.edu
Our MPA program has been accredited since 2009. MPA students organized an end of year barbeque at a local park on Sunday, May 5th. More than twenty students, faculty members and friends of the MPA program were in attendance. The MPA students are already planning a "Beginning of the Year event" and activities for Homecoming,
