January ASPA

Hello, I am Paul Danczyk, President of the American Society for Public Administration. Happy New Year! From those of us on National Council and from our national team, we wish you and your loved ones a great good year ahead.

January is an exciting month for advancing excellence in public service! In addition to our member and chapter shout outs, I wanted to share a conference update and monthly programming opportunities.

As you know, registration for our annual conference is currently open. During our time together on April 3rd through 7th in Anaheim, California, we will explore “2020 Vision for Politics, Policy, and Administration.”

When we put out the call for proposals, we knew that you would respond—and did you ever! This year marks a record-breaking number of submissions. Our conference co-chairs, Naim Kapucu and Lindsey McDougle, along with numerous track reviewers, selected only the best proposals to be part of this year’s program. Our conference is known for academic rigor. That tradition continues in major ways. Also, we keep receiving requests for practitioner-led and focused sessions. This year, nearly a quarter of the 230 sessions will be practitioner-focused including more than 30 hands-on workshops.

To get a taste for some of the sessions, we will have one on collaborative networks on large infrastructure projects and another on the front line of change, a practitioner led panel on strategy and the impacts on teams and the communities they serve.

With 230 session, we will have over 1,000 presenters in attendance. Wow! I’m so excited that I registered last month! If you haven’t had the chance to do so, the earlier that you can, the better the deal. Early bird registration ends this month. If you’re like me, don’t forget to sign up for the Gloria Hobson Nordin Social Equity Luncheon on April 5th and the Section for Women in Public Administration Awards Breakfast on April 6th. Both are a must-go.

Be on the lookout for more updates. And, don’t forget to spread the word and invite your colleagues to join us.

For January programs, we have two great webinars. On January 9th, Katherine Barrett and Richard Greene present on their upcoming book, Making Government Work: The Promises and Pitfalls of Performance-Informed Management.

On January 30th, ASPA’s Section on Democracy and Social Justice present Dissertations Focused on Social Equity. Panelists Ana-Maria Dimand (Florida International University), RaJade Berry-James (North Carolina State University), Brandi Blessett (University of Cincinnati), Tia Gaynor (University of Cincinnati), and Sean McCandless (University of Illinois Springfield) share insights on focusing research, staying on track, research approaches and more. While the targeted audience is PhD candidates, the larger lessons expand into the broader academic community.

For our chapter shout-out: Mississippi Chapter President Mike Potter and team are planning a Chapter conference for January 27th. This program will focus on “emerging issues in public service”. It already has garnered interest from academic institutions and practitioners alike, is expected to attract student participation – and will even feature awards. What an ambitious agenda! Congrats, Mike, on your vision as you move forward as the new Chapter president!

For our member shout-out: Congratulations to Blue Wooldridge on his National Academy for Public Administration award, the George Graham Award for Exceptional Service. Named for the academy’s first president, the George Graham Award recognizes sustained and extraordinary contribution towards making NAPA a stronger and more respected organization. Blue, congratulations on this richly deserved achievement! (For those who want to know more about Blue, check out the recently released edition of PA TIMES magazine, where we feature a profile of Blue’s work around social equity… www.aspanet.org/patimes.

For updates and opportunities, check out our website at www.aspanet.org.

Have a great month and I look forward to seeing you at an upcoming event!