Opportunities for Students

I am posting the following announcements to inform you about the following opportunities available to ASPA members and to ask for your assistance in passing these opportunities along.

First, the Asian Society for Institutional Analysis (ASIASIA), the American Society for Public Administration (ASPA) and Xiamen University proudly announce that the Inaugural International Workshop for Young Scholars in Public Policy and Administration Research will be held in Xiamen City, the People’s Republic of China between May 31 and June 3, 2011. There is currently an open call for papers. For more information or to see the official call for papers please visit: http://www.aspanet.org/scriptcontent/pdfs/YoungScholarsWorkshopChina.pdf

Secondly, ASPA is hosting a competitive policy debate at the 2011 Annual Conference. We are still looking for participants so please pass the word along.

This event is a COMPA sponsored adjudicated competitive policy debate for ASPA. Twenty-one students will be selected for participation in the debate. There will be 18 team members and three alternates. Selection will be based on an essay written on a pre-selected current policy issue and must not exceed 500 words. The essay will be blind reviewed by a panel of five judges. The students selected will be randomly assigned to six teams. Each member of the winning team will receive a beautiful trophy and will be recognized at the Award Ceremony at the ASPA Conference scheduled March 11-15, 2011 in Baltimore, Maryland.

The application is available at: http://aspa.informz.net/aspa/data/images/2011policyapplications.pdf

 

Finally, As the National Student Representative for the ASPA, I am very interested in increasing student participation in ASPA.  With that said, the Founders Forum Fellows Program is extremely dear to my heart.  This program provides a number of great experiences, helps students expand their knowledge of the field, and among other things, opens the doors for future opportunities.

This program needs your assistance, sponsorship is still needed to ensure a successful program this year.

At the moment this program needs sponsorship in two categories: The Student and New Professional Reception and the Founders’ Forum Fellow categories. Below are some specific details about the categories for your review.

STUDENT AND NEW PROFESSIONAL RECEPTION – $ 6,000

• Acknowledgement on sign prominently displaying sponsor logo
• Recognition in PA TIMES
• ¼ page black and white ad in conference Program Book*
• Verbal recognition at event
• Opportunity to submit one item/flyer (that you supply) into the conference tote bags
• One-time post conference mailing list of conference attendees (postal addresses)

FOUNDERS’ FORUM FELLOW – $350 EACH

• Recognition in the conference Program Book*
• Recognition on sign prominently displaying all sponsors
• Recognition in PA TIMES

*Sponsor three (3) Founders’ Forum Fellows for $1000 and in addition to the above benefits you will also receive a 1/8 page black and white ad in the conference Program Book.

Our students are the most important feature in ASPA since they are the ones who will lead us into the future and ASPA has dedicated itself to investing more in this future. JOIN US.

For more information about sponsoring our Founders Forum Fellows, the Student and New Professional Reception, or the Annual Conference in general, please visit http://www.aspanet.org/scriptcontent/pdfs/sponsorprosp.pdf

Always Warm Regards,

Jose Luis Irizarry, MPA, MA

Mobile: 646.229.7882

Email: Jirizarry@jjay.cuny.edu

Alt Email: Ji6317@aol.com Weblog: http://irizarry.wordpress.com

Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/joseirizarry

National Council Member (Student Representative), the American Society for Public Administration

http://www.aspanet.org

Board Member & Scholarship Committee Chair, the American Society for Public Administration, New York Metropolitan Chapter

http://www.nymetroaspa.org/

Digging Out

NOTE: The following represents the analysis-based opinion of the author and do not reflect those of his employer or any other affiliations.

By Kenneth Hunter, Guest Blogger

Four years ago last month, my wife and I relocated from Northern Virginia to Eastern North Carolina. As the helpers we hired to assist with unpacking started unloading the truck and taking out our belongings, one inquired about a particular possession.

When I stated that that is was a snow shovel, the man positively replied, “You’re not going to need that down here.”

Every winter since, we’ve seen snow collect on our driveway and sidewalks.  Every winter since, that snow shovel has proven to be a valuable asset.

Self-preparedness sometimes involves holding onto resources and lessons that are often ignored or discouraged when facing different environments. Encountering a new situation, experienced incumbents might downplay the applicability of an idea or action learned from a different job or situation because, in the context of their stature, the present surroundings or institution are entirely different.

Just as human nature has a tendency to believe that every location or societal environment is different, it encourages us to ignore what has worked in the past in search of a “new idea” that has not proven success, or awareness of potential (negative) externalities.

The same could be said of the current fiscal crisis facing municipal and state governments, especially how politicians and bureaucrats focused on the “new” rather than the “known” exacerbated conditions that recently enabled a total collapse of a basic government function.

In the case of New York City, the common sense public service duty of snow removal was (quite frankly) FUBAR’d as a result of a series of events, facilitated and executed by elected and appointed government leaders. Common dilemas such as poor financial planning, labor unrest and misperceptions regarding boundaries of government response and individual citizen responsibility all play noticeable roles.

Last summer, I read about the immense pride NYC had in their new, multi-million dollar playground projects. While I am not an expert on how City revenues are raised and specific designations, it seems to me that these projects represented a critical lack of focus by City leaders, elected and otherwise, on the “dirty” and “less alluring” elements of local government.  Cool playgrounds are great, but they can’t save a life when an ambulance can’t make it down a street because it’s covered in 2 feet of frozen snow.

The easiest culprit to pin down in NYC snow removal fiasco, though not specific, is a lack of prioritization. This is an obvious and ominous legacy of decades of relative spending freedom enjoyed by governments, politicians, administrators and citizens at all levels across the country. Our newly-arrived climate of austerity, necessitated by significant, unfunded, current and future obligations, forces us to take stock of the public services and operations that matter “most.”

Initially, it looks like too many leaders are not prepared to part with their dream projects and simply focus on making sure that the “dirty work” gets done. Of course, I doubt many of them have much personal experience with a snow shovel.

ASPA Member Kenneth Hunter is an MPA graduate of The University of Georgia with more than a decade of experience in local government finance. Kenneth is the Budget & Evaluation Manager for the City of Rocky Mount, North Carolina, and serves on the Executive Committee of the Association for Budgeting & Financial Management and is a Board Member and Webmaster for the North Carolina Local Government Budget Association. You can follow Ken online via Facebook & Tumblr.

Admiral Thad Allen to Speak at ASPA Conference

Admiral Thad Allen, Former Commandant of the Coast Guard, has agreed to deliver our 11^th annual Elliot Richardson Lecture on Sunday, March 13, 2011 during the ASPA Annual Conference in Baltimore, Maryland. The theme of the lecture series is “Ethics and Integrity in the Public Service.”

Admiral Allen is perhaps best known for his widely-praised performance directing the federal response to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in the Gulf Coast region.  He recently served as National Incident Commander of the Unified Command for the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

For more information about the ASPA Annual Conference please visit www.aspanet.org/2011conference