ASPA Announces Awards Program Honorees

ASPA is pleased to announce it will honor more than 40 individuals and organizations when it convenes its 2023 Annual Conference next month. These awards, as well as a number of Section awards, will be presented throughout the event. (Section award honorees will be announced in the awards brochure distributed at the conference.)

National Public Service Award (NPSA)

• Jocelyn Benson (Secretary of State, State of Michigan)
• Daniella Levine Cava (Miami-Dade County, Florida)

• Janice Underwood (Office of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility, U.S. Office of Personnel Management)

• Michael Massiah (Ret., Former Chief Diversity Officer, Port Authority of New York and New Jersey)

• Alan Kennedy (William & Mary)

• Parris Glendening (John Hopkins University; formerly Smart Growth America)

• Mark Pisano (University of Southern California)

• James Perry (O'Neill School, Indiana University)
• Akhlaque Haque (University of Alabama—Birmingham)

• Sanjay Pandey (Trachtenberg School, The George Washington University)

• James Herbeg (Ret., Orange County Sanitation District)
• Meta Loftsgaarden (U.S. Mount Hood National Forest)

• Colia Liddell Lafayette Clark
• Janice Underwood (Office of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility, U.S. Office of Personnel Management)

• Louis Brownlow Award: Stephen Coulthart and Ryan Riccucci—"Putting Big Data to Work in Government: The Case of the United States Border Patrol"
• Laverne Burchfield Award: Uday Desai—"Inequality, Federalism, and Politics in the U.S.: A Review Essay, A Review of Donald F. Kettl, The Divided States of America: Why Federalism Doesn't Work and Thomas E. Mann and Norman J. Ornstein, It's Even Worse Than It Looks: How the American Constitutional System Collided with the New Politics of Extremism"
• William E. Mosher and Frederick C. Mosher Award: Ayesha Masood and Muhammad Azfar Nisar—"Repairing the State: Policy Repair in the Frontline Bureaucracy"
• Chester A. Newland Award: Galia Cohen and Brad G. Fortune—"Pandemic, Protest, and Unrest: Lessons Learned from a New Chief's First 100 Days"

• Calin Hintea and The Network of Institutes and Schools of Public Administration in Central and Eastern Europe (NISPAcee)

• Aline Alves da Costa (Vote Smart)
• Gretchell Cano (Florida International University)
• Min-kyeong Cha (Georgia Institute of Technology)
• Kelsey E. Edmond (University of Massachusetts—Boston)
• Sun Gue (Susan) Yang (University of South Carolina)
• Meng Ye (Georgia State University)

• South Asian Section for Public Administration

• Emerging Leaders Award of Excellence: Rafael Baptista (Buncombe County, NC), Leah Tivoli (City of Seattle, WA) and Thomas Tippett and Sarah Dickinson (Montgomery County, MD)
• The Harry Hatry Distinguished Performance Management Practice Award: Cheryle Broom
• The Joseph Wholey Distinguished Scholarship Award: Bert George, Sanjay K. Pandey, Bram Steijn , Adelien Decramer and Mieke Audenaert—"Red Tape, Organizational Performance, and Employee Outcomes: Meta-analysis, Meta-regression, and Research Agenda"
• Organizational Leadership Award: City of Alexandria, Virginia

ASPA Annual Conference Gloria Hobson Nordin Social Equity Lecture to Be Given By Michael Massiah

ASPA is pleased to announce that retired Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Chief Diversity Officer Michael Massiah will be honored with the 2023 Gloria Hobson Nordin Social Equity Award during this March's Annual Conference.

First awarded in 2003 to honor those who have made social equity a focal point throughout their careers, the Gloria Hobson Nordin Social Equity Award is given to those with lifetime achievements in the public sector. We look forward to honoring Massiah's work during this plenary lecture.

Michael Massiah recently retired from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey as its first chief diversity officer. He started at the agency as a management trainee and rose through the ranks in the human resources department to become manager of HR employment in 1990. He was appointed director of the Office of Business and Job Opportunities in 1996 but returned to HR in 1999 when he was appointed deputy director.

In the aftermath of September 11, Massiah oversaw the Family Liaison program, setting up crisis centers, and became the agency’s first African American director of human resources in 2003. Shortly thereafter, he led the Office of Organizational Effectiveness and Change Management, resulting in agency-wide initiatives that reduced operating expenses by $150 million. In 2006, he became director of the management and budget department. In 2014, Massiah was promoted to chief of capital planning and asset management, working with a cadre of seasoned leaders overseeing broad functional areas and multiple departments. He was appointed to chief diversity and inclusion officer in 2018.

Massiah was appointed chairperson of the Port Authority’s Leadership Steering Committee on Race Dynamics in 2020, following the murder of George Floyd. Under his leadership, the committee listened to more than 2,400 employees, analyzed data and produced action teams to raise standards for workplace fairness and equity. In his early retirement, he has co-chaired the advisory committee working to launch ASPA's H. George Frederickson Center for Social Equity.

Massiah holds a bachelor’s degree from Le Moyne College and a master’s in public administration from the State University of New York, Albany.

This lecture and award ceremony will take place on Wednesday, March 22 at 2:00 p.m. Register today (currently $349 for members; $449 for nonmembers) to be in the audience for this important event.

More announcements are on their way as we get closer to launching this event. Keep checking our website for updates and remember to register! Not only will you gain access to the conference as it happens March 20-24, but also you'll be able to view all recordings for up to two months after the conference concludes. We look forward to seeing you online with us this March!

Continue to follow #ASPA2023 on Twitter for updates; contact ASPA staff with questions.

E-Learning at Your Fingertips

ASPA staff work tirelessly to keep your skills up to date and the information flowing all year long through our e-learning program. Visit our website to see more details about upcoming KeepingCurrent, BookTalk and Student and New Professional series programming.


ASPA webinars are on hold until late March so staff can focus on finalizing plans for our Annual Conference. As we schedule events for this spring and summer, you can expect to see topics including:

• Agile government
• Views from law enforcement
• January 6 reactions and responses
• Fighting for democracy
• Building opportunity and equity in the workforce
• Equity in higher education

• have a topic you'd like to present via our webinar program...
• are a Chapter or Section leader and would like to work with us to sponsor an event...
• have published a book you'd like us to feature within our BookTalk series...

... contact us and we'll be happy to work with you to schedule an event in 2023! We're looking forward to a full and exciting year of programming. Look for more news in the coming weeks!

From the Archives
BookTalk: COVID-19, the LGBTQIA+ Community and Public Policy
The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed and exacerbated long-standing inequities, both in the United States and throughout the world. As studies emerge to help us understand the effects of the pandemic on every facet of modern life, it is critical that its effects on the LGBTQIA+ communities not be overlooked. While some studies analyzing the impacts have been conducted, and some efforts are being made to collect data that can impact policy development, reliable data resources are limited to a few enterprising states and have not been systematically shared. This webinar explores how the pandemic has affected these communities and what steps need to be taken to ameliorate those effects.

ASPA Announces Next Editors-in-Chief of Public Administration Review

The American Society for Public Administration has announced the selection of Jos Raadschelders of The Ohio State University and Katherine Willoughby of the University of Georgia (UGA) as the next editors-in-chief of Public Administration Review (PAR), the leading professional journal in public administration research, theory and practice. They will succeed Jeremy Hall, whose term concludes at the end of 2023.

“For more than 80 years, PAR has been the preeminent vehicle for advancing the academic field of public administration, as well as its practice,” stated ASPA President Allan Rosenbaum. “Not only has the journal presented cutting-edge empirical research but also its articles have significantly influenced government management and policy. Central to its role as a primary source of innovation for the field has been that its editors have represented a ‘Who’s Who’ of intellectual leadership. I am proud to appoint Jos and Katherine as the next co-editors. Together, they bring an extraordinary combination of experience and wisdom that will continue the journal’s role as the foremost source of front line research in effective governance and democratic accountability, nationally and globally.”

As editors-in-chief, Raadschelders and Willoughby will take the helm of a journal that has continued to see significant growth in its readership, relevance and impact. PAR sits atop Google Scholar’s Public Policy and Administration rankings, has earned the top ranking in Thomson Reuters’ Journal Citation Reports five-year metrics and holds the number two position in two-year metrics. Two-year citations are up by 130 percent from 2020 and more than 330 percent since 2016.

“PAR has long been considered the go-to source for outstanding theory-to-practice research in public affairs,” stated Matthew Auer, dean of the School of Public and International Affairs at the University of Georgia. “UGA’s School of Public and International Affairs is thrilled to partner with The Ohio State University’s John Glenn College of Public Affairs to chart the next great chapter for PAR.”

“The Glenn College is proud to partner with the School of Public and International Affairs at the University of Georgia in hosting PAR, one of the field’s seminal journals,” stated Trevor Brown, dean at the John Glenn College of Public Affairs at The Ohio State University. “Jos and Katherine will make a great team in shaping the future direction of the journal.”

Sharing full supervisory and editorial roles, Raadschelders and Willoughby will work with Hall, professor and doctoral program director at the University of Central Florida, over the next year on publication, timeline and other transition matters. Published bi-monthly by Wiley, PAR is the journal of record for public administrators, with tens of thousands of institutional and individual subscribers.

“For more than 80 years, PAR has filled a unique niche in serving academics and practitioners alike,” ASPA Executive Director and CEO Bill Shields said. “From addressing current public sector trends to forecasting new ones, the journal is the central platform for ASPA to fulfill its mission: Advancing excellence in public service. It is a mission that is more critical than ever.”

“We consider PAR to be the foremost professional outlet for scholarship and perspectives to fortify the bridge between practitioners and academics,” Raadschelders and Willoughby said. “We hope to secure PAR as the premier channel for the discovery of solutions to multifaceted public sector problems of today and into the future.”

ASPA Section on Criminal Justice Relaunching

ASPA's Criminal Justice Section has a developed a new website, connecting members of the public with the community that values the progress administrators have made in addressing challenges within the criminal justice system. It features a variety of resources including articles, videos and research.

The Section also has developed a newsletter in which members can learn about the various activities and information pertaining to the Section and its current interim board.

The Section is seeking nominations for the executive board; nominations are open and will continue until March 3, 2023. It is looking for academic scholars, professors, advisors, students and independent personnel to join the executive board. Learn more through the website.

For any additional information regarding deadlines, nominations and activities please visit the website or connect with current leadership via email.

Membership Matters: Sponsor a Colleague or Student into ASPA!

Now that the year is underway, think about introducing someone in your life to ASPA! Whether you have a favorite service or simply enjoy being a part of ASPA Chapters and Sections, share those experiences with someone you know today and encourage them to join you. Our community is stronger when more voices are a part of it and peer-to-peer influence makes a big difference.

From a variety of e-news digests (like this one!), to conferences, webinars and Chapter events, to journals, magazines and other publications, ASPA provides a range of services that connect you to others in your local area, subject area and the profession at large. Encourage your friends and colleagues to get involved and start making career connections right away.

Ready to sign someone up? Contact us and we'll be happy to assist you.

We look forward to a year of growth and strengthening public service. We need all of our members to help us get there! Sponsor someone today!

CBO Releases Updated Budget Projections; National Debt Reaches All-Time High in Five Years

The Peterson Foundation last week posted a new piece on its website addressing current economic conditions based on the most recent Congressional Budget Office (CBO) report. As the foundation states, "The report continues to show that the nation is on an unsustainable path, fueled by rising interest payments and the structural mismatch between spending and revenues."

Key take-aways address the national debt, deficits continuing to rise, interest costs and rates, Social Security and Medicare, revenue projections and more. Overall, the United States' fiscal outlook is not improving: CBO projects a cumulative deficit of $18.8 trillion from 2023-2032. Further, "the structural mismatch between federal spending and revenues, along with the recent rise in interest rates and therefore federal borrowing costs, will pose challenges for the federal budget, our economy and our future if left unaddressed."

New Report Explores Opportunities to Address Workforce Inequities

Recently the IBM Center for The Business of Government released a new report, "Leveraging Data for Racial Equity in Workforce Opportunity," exploring a number of current opportunities to strengthen longstanding data-driven tools to address workforce inequity. According to the report's summary, "[It] shows how the effects of workforce discrimination and other historic practices are still being felt today. At the same time, it outlines opportunities to apply data to increase equity in many areas related to the workforce gap, including disparities in health and wellbeing, socioeconomic status, and housing insecurity." Click on the below link to access the description and download the report.

Public Administration Today Highlight



Public Administration Today features white papers, research and blogs from across the profession. This edition's highlight looks at city planning! If you're interested in more—especially your own curated news feed in your inbox every week—visit the website, create an account and check off your interest areas so you can stay up to date about the latest research being released!

Connected Vehicle Data Can Improve Traffic Safety
Transportation planners looking to address road safety issues and traffic fatalities could move beyond traditional methods of determining unsafe areas and rely more on technology, including the data collected by connected vehicles, according to one expert.

NISPAcee Announces 2023 Conference in Belgrade, Serbia

NISPAcee has announced its 2023 conference will take place May 25-27 in Belgrade, Serbia, with the theme, "The Future of Public Administration Enabled through Emerging Technologies."

Contemporary public administration is tackling the challenges of globalization, social and demographic changes, migration and climate change. Layered and complex reform trajectories and instruments are needed to modernize public administration, improve the efficiency and effectiveness of service delivery and achieve high standards of reliability and accountability. All sectors of society, including public administration, will have to play a role in the effort toward a green transformation. Faced with rapid and accelerating socio-economic change, public administration needs to take into account the opportunities offered by new technologies, as well as develop new services aimed at openness, transparency and citizen participation accordingly. The conference will pay particular attention to the topic of the digital transformation of public administration. The issues to be taken into consideration are: the role of the public sector in the Fourth Industrial Revolution, as well as the challenges of implementing new technologies in the transformation of public administration. Moreover, in the knowledge society, the capacity to innovate and ability to implement innovations are very important for the public administration of the future.

The call for papers is open to all topics and all methods and approaches relevant for the theme, from conceptual and theoretical papers to case studies and policy and applied level assessments, from "large n” quantitative analysis to in-depth qualitative investigations. The conference will provide a forum for an open exchange of theoretical ideas and applied level experiences. Special attention will be given to the NISPAcee region but the conference will aim to integrate and connect the experience and perspectives emerging from countries of the NISPAcee region to the current global experience and perspectives regarding the described main theme of the conference. All paper submissions are due by April 10, 2023. Click here for more information.

AU Summer Diversity Program Seeks Applicants

The second annual Summer Diversity Academy at American University will take place May 15-19, 2023. Its goal is to provide an opportunity for scholars underrepresented among public affairs faculty to receive quality feedback on research projects and mentoring advice on strategic planning of an academic career. The program will provide a one week in residence experience at the American University School of Public Affairs in the Department of Public Administration and Policy. The program is open to advanced PhD students and junior faculty and will provide constructive criticism for the participants from American University faculty and fellow attendees on the participants’ research projects. Additional sessions will focus on the publication process, peer reviewing of manuscripts, creating professional networks, and the job market in public affairs. To apply, candidates should address a letter of application to Ken Meier by April 1, 2023.

Tips and Resources

People Who Share Ideology Have Similar "Neural Fingerprints"
People who share a political ideology have more similar “neural fingerprints” of political words and process new information in similar ways, according to a new analysis.

OPM Launches a New Web Portal for Federal Internships
The federal government’s HR agency describes the new section of USAJOBS as a “one-stop shop” for students seeking to explore a career in public service

In the News

Today's headlines contain plenty of news coverage of some of our nation's most pressing public administration challenges. ASPA has curated some of the most important stories from recent weeks. If you have not seen these yet, make sure you read them now!

Infrastructure

• GAO's Critical Infrastructure Cyber Recommendations Go Largely Unaddressed
• Six Major Takeaways from the ATF's First Report in 20 Years on U.S. Gun Crime
• Report: Pentagon Personnel Use Unauthorized, Unsafe Apps on Work Devices
• The Biden Administration Aims to Make EV Charging as Easy as Filling Up

• U.S. on Track to Add $19 Trillion in New Debt over 10 Years
• U.S. Likely to Default on Debt Between July and September Unless Congress Acts, CBO Says

• Large Numbers of Americans Want a Strong, Rough, Anti-Democratic Leader
• Three Biden Officials Are Serving Unlawfully, a Watchdog Rules
• Biden’s New Policy to Protect Federal Scientists May Lack Teeth to Prevent Retaliation
• "I Do Not Have Enough Agents," a Border Chief Tells Congress
• The Labor Secretary Is Set to Leave His Post for the NHL Players Union, Reports Say
• Union Leaders, Lawmakers Call for Expanded Pay, Benefits for Federal Workforce
• Lawmakers Are Doubling Down on the Effort to Prevent the Next Schedule F
• Lawmakers Launch New Effort to Stop Politicization of Federal Workforce

• She Grew up under Water Boil Advisories in Jackson. Now She’s Bringing Environmental Justice to the EPA
• U.S. Office of Personnel Management Releases Government-Wide Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility Annual Report
• President Biden Doubles Down on Advancing Equity Throughout the Federal Government

Members in the News

Beyond Czars: Meeting Bureaucracy-Spanning Challenges
By Ron Sanders

Tell Me Something Good...

Need some good news in your world? Check this out:

Melting guns and bullet casings, this artist turns weapons into bells
Inside an art gallery in southwest Washington, D.C., artist Stephanie Mercedes is surrounded by bells, many of them cast from bullet casings and parts of old guns. "I melt down weapons and transform them into musical installations and musical instruments," she explains.
 

Welcome New ASPA Members!
Click here to view the most recent new ASPA members!

Around Public Administration

Here are the most recent updates from across the profession. Did we miss you? Send us your news and we'll include it in the next round!

Upcoming Events:

• South Florida Chapter 2023 Best Practices Conference
  Miami Dade College, North Campus | February 24
  Contact the South Florida Chapter for more information
  
  
• 2023 COMPA Conference
  Online | March 2-4
  Theme: Unmasking the Complexities of Identity, Place, and Space: The Public Administrators’ Challenge
  Registration is open
  
  
• ASPA 2023 Annual Conference
  Online | March 20-24
  Registration is open
  
  
• NFBPA FORUM 2023
  Minneapolis | April 26-30
  Registration is open
  
  
• NISPAcee Annual Conference 2023
  Belgrade, Serbia | May 25-27
  The Call for Proposals is open; registration is open
  
  
• 2023 Social Equity Leadership Conference
  Kansas City, Missouri | June 12-14
  Registration is open

• National Forum for Black Public Administrators’ Student Scholarships
  The NFBPA is continuing its prestigious scholarship program in 2023. This program recognizes African American or other minority students who are currently enrolled full-time at an accredited, traditional four-year college or university, preferably at an HBCU, and show outstanding scholarship and leadership, particularly as related to public service. NFBPA provides several scholarships to undergraduate and graduate students through its partnerships with corporate supporters, public sector organizations and individual contributors. The scholarship program is an integral part of NFBPA’s goal of lending support to African American and other minority students interested in leadership roles in public service. Applicants may apply for multiple scholarships or other NFBPA financial awards. If selected, the applicant can receive only one award. All applications are due February 27. Click here for more information.
  
  
• National Forum for Black Public Administrators’ Student Research Poster Contest
  The NFBPA Student Research Poster Contest will be held on Thursday, April 27, 2023 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in conjunction with NFBPA's FORUM 2023. The competition recognizes research conducted by the students at all undergraduate, masters and doctorate levels. All students are encouraged to submit for this competition. In order to be eligible for the poster contest, all applicants must be currently enrolled in a traditional four-year college or university with at least one academic semester remaining after April 2023. All payments will be made to the university. The deadline to submit a poster abstract is February 28. Click here for more information.
  
  
• SPCM Call for Nominations: Best Paper Awards
  Do you conduct research in public procurement, government contracting and/or contract management? Are you presenting a paper at ASPA's 2023 Annual Conference? The Section on Procurement and Contract Management is proud to announce this year’s awards: Best Published Paper ($1,000) and Best Conference Paper ($500). Papers must be sent to Lachezar Anguelov by midnight on March 10. Click here for more information about eligibility and evaluation criteria.
  
  
• National Capital Area Chapter Issues Student Essay Contest
  The National Capital Area Chapter (NCAC) has established a student essay contest to encourage new thinking and thoughts to advance the practice of public administration and public policy. This essay contest also was established to help advance the development of future public administrators. The essays should focus on one of the following topics: social equity, intergovernmental relations, the future of government workforce, public engagement, community collaboration, new technologies and community resiliency. All entries are due by March 17; only NCAC student members are eligible to enter. Contact NCAC for full submission guidelines and other details.
  
  
• Public Money and Management Special Issue on "Hyper-Lean" Post Managerialism
  This PMM theme will concentrate on understanding the short- and long-term impact on economies, organizations and public sector and not-for-profit employees if the present priorities, funding and management models persist in terms of equity, fairness and the wellbeing of societies. Organizations need to do more than examine their efficiency, effectiveness and flexibility, they need to examine the sustainability of the "hyper lean" post-managerialism logic. We welcome articles that challenge the present entrenched paradigm and instead propose new funding and management logics. All articles are due by July 31, 2023. Click here for more information.
  
  
• GFOA Launches New Journal: Public Finance Journal
  Public Finance Journal (PFJ) is a biannual journal publishing peer-reviewed research that examines and analyzes contemporary issues in budgeting and finance and explores the applicability of solution sets. The journal is published by the Government Finance Officers Association and serves as a forum for discussion on significant issues related to the advancement of our scientific understanding. Articles are chosen for publication based on their originality, importance, interdisciplinary interest, timeliness and accessibility. As a journal focused on connecting the science with the practice in public budgeting and finance, all manuscripts must connect the study with the needs and interests of both the scientific and practitioner communities in the field. The mission of Public Finance Journal is to serve those engaged in public budgeting and finance through the publication of significant advances in the science of the discipline that conveys both theoretical importance and timely application. Submissions can be accepted now going forward via the website.
  
  

PA TIMES Online

Here's a selection of current pieces on PA TIMES Online, covering a range of issues within the profession. We accept individual articles on a rolling basis; if you have a piece you think would fit our publication, submit it to [email protected] for consideration. (Please review our submission guidelines in advance!)

• Civic Responsibility and Public Administration: A Modern Take Using Videos
  By Benjamin Paley
  
  
• Should a City Manager Push the Envelope: Caretaker or Leader?
  By James Bourey
  
  
• Haves and Have Nots: A Look at Funding Training for Public Employees
  By Kate McGovern and Dennis Martino