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2020 Class of Founders' Fellows Announced
The ASPA Founders' Fellows program recognizes outstanding students and new professionals (within three years of their graduation) in the field of public service and public administration.
Following a competitive review process, Founders' Fellows present their scholarship during the ASPA Annual Conference, receive substantial professional development and networking opportunities and are paired with a seasoned scholar or practitioner who serves as their mentor for their Fellowship year.
The following individuals have been selected to comprise the 20-member class for 2020:
- Michaela Abbott (College of Charleston)
- Christopher Burkes (American University/Urban Analysis)
- Justine Cameron (University of Massachusetts)
- Yolanda Macklin Crewe (Virginia Commonwealth University/Virginia Community College System)
- Maayan Davidovitz (University of Haifa)
- Jessica Eggleston (University of Louisville)
- Josiah Gonzales (California Lutheran University/ACTICON, Inc.)
- Paul Goodfellow (Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation)
- Jasmine Greene (University of Baltimore)
- Alison Hewell (Tarleton State University)
- Alan Kennedy (University of Colorado Denver)
- David Lehman (Louisiana State University)
- Huafang Li (Grand Valley State University)
- Byung Hee Min (Florida State University)
- Md. Fazle Rabbi (University of Texas at Dallas)
- Jose Sanchez (University of Illinois—Chicago)
- Kelly Sherbo (Portland State University/Multnomah County Drainage District)
- Evelyn Trammell (Florida International University)
- Yifei Yan (London School of Economics)
- Julio Zambrano (Indiana University—Bloomington)
The 2020 Founders' Fellows will receive a complimentary 2020 Annual Conference registration, a year-long mentorship with a seasoned practitioner or senior scholar and complementary lodging in the conference hotel. Travel to the conference location in Anaheim, California, meals and incidentals are the responsibility of the Fellow or sponsoring organization.
"ASPA's Founders' Fellows program is one of the best ways for new public administration professionals to expand their networks, participate in groundbreaking research and learn from some of the biggest names in the field," commented Founders' Fellows Committee Chair Galia Cohen. "We are very pleased with the caliber of the incoming Fellows and look forward to helping them have a productive year in the program."
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2020 Annual Conference Accepts Record-Breaking Number of Panelists
In an exciting development, ASPA's 2020 Annual Conference planners have accepted a record-breaking number of presenters to support the concurrent sessions taking place at this year's event—April 3-7 in Anaheim, California. Across five days of plenaries, networking opportunities, recognition ceremonies and more, more than 230 sessions will convene as some of the profession's most critical thought-leaders formulate a vision for solving today's most difficult public administration challenges.
This year's theme, "2020 Vision for Politics, Policy and Administration," embodies what each panel will explore: Our individual and collective vision for the future of our country as we continue to struggle with some of the most pressing challenges of our times. This year's tracks delve into those challenges: global public administration, governance, infrastructure, leadership and management, public finance and social equity. Presenters addressing these topics will do so through the lenses of efficiency, effectiveness, economy, equity, ethics and empowerment, taking these discussions from theory to practice.
Equally exciting: More than 30 hands-on workshops will take place across this event, giving practitioners (and scholars!) plenty of space to think through public administration practice on a variety of topics. We are excited to see and hear what develops through these opportunities.
Of note as you plan your conference attendance:
- Presenter notifications are still being sent out. If you have not received yours yet, have patience: It takes many days to contact this number of presenters.
- Look for sessions to be posted to the conference website in January, once all presenters have confirmed their participation and session details are approved.
- Our current registration rate is in effect until January 31, giving you almost eight weeks to register before prices go up. (Note that presenters who are accepted for the conference will need to register prior to that deadline.)
We are looking forward to announcing more details about the 2020 event in the coming weeks. Keep your eyes on your inbox and follow our Twitter feed to stay in the know!
Questions? Visit our website or contact [email protected] for more information.
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E-Learning Takes You to the Next Level
ASPA's e-learning opportunities are ongoing throughout the year. Averaging 75 attendees per live event and free for anyone to participate, these events provide you with valuable insights and information at your fingertips. Visit our website to stay informed about all upcoming webinars including KeepingCurrent, BookTalks and the Student and New Professionals Series.
BookTalk: Enlightened Public Finance
December 12 | 1 p.m. ET
Presenters:
Girard Miller, Author
Katherine Barrett, Barrett and Greene
Richard Greene, Barrett and Greene
Lynn Hampton, Former CEO, Washington DC Metropolitan Airport Authority
Joseph Meneghini, Retired Local Government Official
This book helps readers understand the world of public finance well enough to make wiser political decisions. Unlike a college textbook, it is written for Democrats and Independents, by an Independent Democrat who once served on the Governmental Accounting Standards Board and worked for decades in the financial and investment industries as a qualified financial expert. This book explains what is and is not possible in the world of public finance, taxation, education finance and health care policy.
From the Archives: Bad Data—The Hobgoblin of Effective Government
Held in partnership with the Center for Accountability and Performance, this webinar looked at how and why data can be problematic and why it matters that you make sure your data is "good". Click here to access this webinar via our archives and catch up on other programs you've missed any time! (Members only.)
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Focus on Membership: Your Valuable Dues Dollars at Work
Your dues dollars make up a considerable portion of ASPA's annual budget, subsidizing the programs and services you have joined ASPA to receive. It is critical that they keep pace with the value of the services being provided, from PA TIMES content to current event webinars (and the ongoing digital archive) to conference programming—even including this newsletter, which keeps you informed about a wide range of activities within the profession.
Beginning January 1, renewing members will notice a modest increase in your dues. Each member's dues will increase by 83 cents per month (or $10 per year). This increase not only will subsidize the professional services you receive every day, but also the increasing level of members-only content being produced.
Going forward into 2020, it will be important that you know your ASPA login information (Need to set a username/password combination you can remember? We can help with that!), as more content and services will be placed behind a login screen. We want to ensure you, our valued members, are receiving these services before others in the profession have access, so we will be password-protecting new products as they are released, adding to the library of publications and offerings already behind our members-only wall.
We look forward to providing you with high-end, professional member programming in 2020 and hope you will continue to enjoy the services you receive!
Questions about this dues increase? Contact us and we will be happy to help!
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“Doing Good” This Holiday Season
This holiday season, ASPA asks you to consider supporting our mission through a financial contribution to advance excellence in public service. From city managers to educators to nonprofit leaders, and many others, ASPA's members are spreading holiday cheer and doing good through their personal contributions and professional careers, and ASPA is here—all year long—to support that work.
Your contribution allows us to provide a robust e-learning program, produce compelling content through PA TIMES magazine and PA TIMES Online, support the ethical frameworks public servants need to succeed and, most importantly, provide the valuable bridge across the profession that connects us all and enables us to serve the public. This role, in turn, allows you to provide essential services to millions of Americans; promote a more ethical, equitable society; and—best of all—do good every day.
Throughout this month, you will receive several messages asking that you support ASPA through a financial contribution to the public service. Start considering your end-of-year donation now so when the call comes, you are able to answer it!
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PA TIMES Magazine Fall Edition Released
The Fall 2019 edition of PA TIMES Magazine has been posted to the ASPA website. Make sure you download your copy, looking at social equity from the classroom to the community, which includes special digital features such as links to a variety of websites, video features (look for the red play button) and more!
Continuing our work to profile excellence within the profession, this edition features public servants and organizations that actively work all year long to make public service a more equitable space, including:
- Heather Boushey (Washington Center for Equitable Growth)
- Tia Sherèe Gaynor (University of Cincinnati)
- Doug Linkhart (National Civic League)
- James Nordin (Golden Gate University)
- Blue Wooldridge (Virginia Commonwealth University)
Also included in this edition is coverage of the 2019 Elliot Richardson lecture, given by University of Southern California Dean Jack Knott, an in-depth interview with Virginia Commonwealth University's L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs and special coverage of ASPA's Sections' work to advance issues related to equity within our membership.
Make the most of this valuable content! Download your copy today and catch up on the latest in public administration. (Hard copies have been mailed to those who receive magazine editions in print.)
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In Memoriam: Paul Volcker
Paul A. Volcker, who helped shape American economic policy for more than six decades, most notably by leading the Federal Reserve's brute-force campaign to subdue inflation in the late 1970s and early '80s, died Sunday, December 8, in New York. He was 92.
Volcker arrived in Washington as America's postwar economic hegemony was beginning to crumble. He would devote his professional life to wrestling with the consequences.
As a Treasury Department official under Presidents John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson and Richard M. Nixon, he waged a long, losing struggle to preserve the postwar international monetary system established by the Bretton Woods agreement. As a senior Federal Reserve official from 1975 to 1987, in addition to battling inflation, he sought to limit easing financial regulation and warned that the rapid growth of the federal debt threatened the nation's economic health.
In his last official post, as chairman of President Barack Obama's Economic Recovery Advisory Board, formed in response to the 2008 financial crisis, he persuaded lawmakers to impose new restrictions on big banks—a measure known as the "Volcker Rule."
His defining achievement, however, was his success in ending an extended period of high inflation after President Jimmy Carter chose him to be the Fed's chairman in 1979.
Volcker delivered ASPA's 2010 Elliot Richardson lecture, was a 2015 conference speaker and his nonprofit, The Volcker Alliance, received ASPA's 2015 Public Integrity award.
Click here to read his obituary as printed by The New York Times.
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In Memoriam: Dorcas Hardy
Dorcas Hardy was the first woman appointed as commissioner of Social Security. She was appointed by President Reagan in 1986 and to the Social Security Advisory Board ("Board") in 2002. In the latter capacity, she served three terms, more than 14 years and longer than any other Board member. She passed away on November 28, 2019.
As Commissioner, Hardy instituted Social Security's 800-number to improve the agency's service to the public. Her focus on using technology to enhance service delivery carried over to the Board as she called for Social Security to modernize its information technology systems.
She also was passionate about financial security education. As commissioner, she instituted the mailing of Personal Earnings and Benefit Estimate Statements (PEBES). She continued lecturing about the need for retirement savings as president of DR Hardy & Associates and was instrumental in the Board's work on the Social Security Statement (formerly PEBES).
Hardy tackled controversial issues. Board publications during her tenure reflect her commitment to solving problems, including a recurring report outlining different ways to address Social Security's fiscal challenges, "Why Action Should be Taken Soon." She believed it was important to hear the views of Social Security's front-line employees and insisted that Board site visits include field offices and all employee meetings be held without management in the room.
Find her obituary online via the Social Security Advisory Board here.
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11 Charts that Show How Our National Debt Grew in 2019
According to the Peterson Foundation, U.S. federal debt held by the public continues to grow and reached its highest level since 1948 this year (relative to the size of the economy). During the next 10 years, debt will continue to mount as growth in spending—fueled primarily by the aging population, rising health care costs and escalating interest payments—will significantly outpace the projected growth in revenues.
Those interested can click here to find 11 charts that tell the United States' fiscal story for 2019 and show how our outlook went from bad to worse throughout the last 12 months.
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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 the past few weeks. If you have not seen these yet, make sure you read them now!
Infrastructure
Public Finance
Public Service/Governance/Leadership
Social Equity
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Members in the News
Federal Agencies Can Succeed at Leadership Development Even Amid Tight Budgets
By Bill Valdez, James Perry, Jenny Knolwes Morrison and Gordon Abner
"Based on our research, supported by The IBM Center for The Business of Government, we concluded that federal organizations are capable of mounting successful leadership development programs by adhering to some simple best practices."
Behind Medicare for All: The Sleeper Issue No One Is Debating
By Don Kettl
"To make Medicare for All work—indeed, to make any fundamental change in health care—we either will have to dramatically increase the size of the federal bureaucracy, or transform the insurance companies into a new role."
Laboratories of Democracy in Action: Investing in What Works
By John Kamensky
"In states across the country, the evidence-based policy and practice movement is taking root. At the federal level, this is reflected in the passage of the Evidence Act, which requires agencies to develop "evidence agendas" for research on what works in their programs in coming years. But, as we learned with the adoption in the 1990s of the Chief Financial Officers Act and the Government Performance and Results Act, the mere availability of information was insufficient in getting policymakers to use it in their decisionmaking processes. So what might be different strategies for getting officials to actually use data and evidence to inform program and budget decisions?"
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COMPA Call for Papers in the Field
The Conference of Minority Public Administrators (COMPA) will hold its 2020 Annual Conference in Atlanta, February 26-29, 2020, looking at the theme, "2020 VISION: Refocusing, Reforming, and Restoring Public Service Values and Governance." This year's conference theme is a call to action for public service leaders to embody and exemplify ASPA's core four values; accountability and performance, professionalism, ethics and social equity in our service to the profession and the citizenry. It highlights the courageous work of those who, despite the political, social and economic climax, are using their voice, research and efforts to positively affect and make a significant difference in their respective spheres of influence, communities and the nation. Twelve tracks provide a framework for the conference. The conference program committee welcomes proposals for high-quality conceptual papers, qualitative and quantitative empirical research papers, and policy- and practice-oriented papers, as well as complete panel submissions consisting of no more than four papers. Panel submissions should bring together complementary papers that address similar research questions or topics and provide information on the overall theme of the panel to indicate how each of the proposed papers connects to the panel's theme. Proposals from individuals at all stages of their careers are welcome. Proposals and poster presentations by graduate students are particularly encouraged. The deadline for submission of proposals is December 14, 2019. Email your proposals to [email protected]. Click here for more information.
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Public Voices Call for Proposals: Homeland Security
Public Voices, ASPA's Section on Historical Artistic and Reflective Expression's journal, has issued a call for proposals for a special symposium: "Homeland Security in the Trump Era: On the Border by the Sea." We invite you to analyze, deconstruct and interrogate all aspects of "borders" from Brownsville, Texas westward to San Diego, California, from the Gulf of Mexico to the Pacific, and across international barriers—such as they exist—into Mexico. This symposium seeks to build new theoretical groundings in ways that create inclusive communities, increase citizen/public collaboration, improve governance, boost administrative prowess and enhance what we know and understand concerning the concept of border security. Submit your manuscripts online before December 31, 2019. Click here for more information.
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SPAR Call for Nominations, Best Book Awards
ASPA's Section on Public Administration Research (SPAR) invites your nominations for its Best Book Award, welcoming nominations for books on public administration published in 2018 and 2019. The criterion for the award is a book that significantly contributes to research in public administration. All research methods are welcomed, as are books across the range of public administration research. This award will be conferred at ASPA's Annual Conference in April 2020. All nominations must be received by January 3, 2020; nominations should list the book title, author and publisher, and include a one-page summary outlining the unique contributions of the book. Please send your nominations to Alisa Moldavanova, Steven Maynard-Moody or Jen Nelles.
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Flemming Awards Call for Nominations
Please consider nominating a deserving federal employee for the 71st annual Arthur S. Flemming Awards. Nominations will be accepted through Friday, January 31, 2020. The Arthur S. Flemming Award recognizes outstanding and meritorious achievement in working for the federal government; encourages the highest standards of performance in the federal service; enhances appreciation of our form of government and the opportunities and responsibilities that it presents; and attracts outstanding individuals to a career in federal service. Eligibility is restricted to individuals currently engaged in federal government service and who have served 3-15 years. Only years directly on the federal payroll are considered service. Click here for more information.
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National Civic League 2020 All-America City Award Program
Since 1949, the National Civic League has designated 10 communities each year as All-America Cities for their outstanding civic accomplishments. The National Civic League is accepting applications for the 2020 All-America City Award, focused on enhancing health and well-being through civic engagement. They are looking for applicants with community-driven projects that reflect the concept that good health for the entire community requires a focus on mental, physical, spiritual, cultural and economic well-being. Begin your community's application today to become a 2020 All-America City! Cities, counties, towns and tribes wishing to apply have until February 19, 2020 to submit their application.
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E-PARCC 2020 Cases and Simulations Competition
The Program for the Advancement of Research on Conflict and Collaboration (PARCC) at the Syracuse University Maxwell School is sponsoring its 12th annual competition of E-PARCC to further stimulate the creation of effective and innovative teaching cases and simulations. E-PARCC provides free online resources for those who teach collaborative public management, network governance and analysis, collaborative governance, international development and collaborative problem solving around the world. Two competitions will take place in 2020: Collaborative Public Management, Network Governance and Analysis, Collaborative Governance, and Collaborative Problem Solving; and the Glendal E. and Alice D. Wright Prize Fund for Conflict and Collaboration Case Studies in International Development. Case and simulations studies on E-PARCC vary widely. In general, cases are approximately 15-25 type-written pages (double-spaced); simulations should include a minimum of four players. All entries must include a teaching note and all cases and simulations must be original and not published elsewhere. Selection of the winners will be made by a committee of scholars and practitioners. All case studies and simulations must be submitted no later than March 15, 2020. All entries should be submitted electronically to the PARCC office; questions should be directed to PARCC Director Catherine Gerard. Click here for more information.
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University of Central Florida Hosting PARC2020
The University of Central Florida will hold the 14th Annual Public Administration Research Conference (PARC) this March 19-20, themed, “Challenges and Opportunities for the Next Generation of Public Leaders: Lessons for Community-Engaged and Socially Equitable Urban Governance, Resilience, and Sustainability.” Annually, PARC brings together academics and practitioners to share innovative ideas and engage in discussions related to public administration and community leadership. Click here for more information.
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NISPAcee Announces 2020 Conference, May 2020 in Croatia
The 28th NISPAcee Annual Conference will take place May 14-16, 2020 in Split, Croatia at the University of Split. Its theme will be, “Governance and citizens' rights in the era of Europeanization, globalization and digitalization.” Early registration expires April 5. Click here for more information.
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Registration Open for NAPA's 2020 Social Equity Leadership Conference
The National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA) and the Humphrey School of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota invite you to register for the Social Equity Leadership Conference, June 10–12, 2020. The conference will take place in Minneapolis, MN as attendees focus on "Advancing Social Equity Leadership: Implementing and Measuring Change in the Public Arena." Click here for more information.
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