Washington, DC Noted as Perfect Setting for Student and New Professional Summit
By Russell S. Horton

March 23-27, 2007, may have been an ordinary week for you, but for myself and nearly 200 other fellow students, it was anything but ordinary. This year’s ASPA National Conference, in our nation’s capital, offered an expanded two-day student and new professional summit at the start of the main national conference. Many students then remained in attendance for all or part of the conference sessions after the summit concluded.

I cannot imagine a better setting for a conference on public administration than Washington, DC. As I traveled daily via Metrorail between my hotel in Arlington, VA, and the Omni Shoreham Hotel conference facility overlooking scenic Rock Creek Park, not only was I reminded of the history and culture on which the foundation of our Republic lay, but I was reminded also of public servants who came before me. The public servants who built and continue even today to manage the systems needed for our complex federal bureaucracy–the same public servants who have called me to service. Engrossed in my thoughts, I walked quickly up the escalator and out of the Woodley Park Metrorail Station while I hurried to day one of the summit.

The summit’s first day divided participants into two tracks: the graduate, undergraduate, and new professional track as well as the doctoral and pre-doctoral track. Participants in the former track attended a morning session to learn about accessing research and policy sources. In the afternoon, participants enjoyed the opportunity to engage in a job skills workshop. According to participants, this workshop provided numerous suggestions for improving interview skills as well as résumé and cover letter writing skills.

As a newly minted second quarter MPA student, my attendance at the conference focused primarily on exploring whether or not I want to eventually pursue a PhD. Attending the doctoral and pre-doctoral track served my needs well. Pre-doctoral students like myself and doctoral candidates alike had an opportunity to attend informative sessions geared toward doctoral studies and our future career paths. We had two morning sessions. The first, “Applying to a Doctoral Program” offered valuable insights into the admission process for those of us not currently attending a doctoral program.

“Succeeding in a Doctoral Program” was the title of our second morning session. Chris Herbst a PhD candidate at the University of Maryland, whose dissertation defense occurred March 27, provided invaluable perspective on successfully navigating the entire dissertation process. American University Professor David Rosenbloom also informed us from his knowledgeable point of view as he has participated in more than 60 dissertation committees over the course of his career. The most significant advice emerging from this session stressed communication’s importance to successful management of the dissertation committee process.

Our afternoon panel sessions focused on careers and publishing. First, we heard from Mary Denigan Macauley of the United States Government Accountability Office (GAO) on the virtues of public careers after concluding our PhD programs. Then, Professor Suzanne Piotrowski, a tenure track faculty member at Rutgers University, Newark, spoke to us about the process of getting and keeping a teaching job.

We also heard from Professor Dale Swoboda of Walden University about the world of online teaching. Finally, Professors Meredith Newman and Douglas Watson presented a session about getting published in their capacities as associate editors at the Review of Public Personnel Administration.

These sessions provided significant information on entering and remaining in the professional world. I found this particularly useful as I am determining whether or not to pursue a PhD program. While participants I spoke with also found the sessions engaging and enriching, Lindsey Gorzalski, a second year PhD candidate at Arizona State University suggested that practical information on how to put together a paper presentation for a conference also would have been valuable as an additional session.

For the summit’s second day, all participants attended a combined program. This allowed for significant additional interchange of ideas and bonding among the entire group. Participants benefited from morning sessions including “New Member and First Time Attendee Orientation” as well as a panel discussion entitled “Making the Transition from Student to New Professional.”

The highlight of the morning, however, came when Donna Shalala, president of the University of Miami and former secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services for the Clinton Administration, spoke to our group regarding her career and accomplishments in public service. Shalala was down to earth, accessible and eager to impart her knowledge and experiences to us. She even generously continued taking our questions despite attempts by conference leadership to allow her departure.

Summit participants spent the afternoon engaged in a Myers-Briggs leadership workshop with facilitator and Cleveland State University Professor Vera Vogelsang-Coombs. The information gained in this session about personality types and styles of communication is immediately applicable in both professional and personal settings. This was one of my favorite conference sessions. One of the many benefits in attending this conference was later running into Vogelsang-Coombs at another session and having the opportunity to further delve into the various facets of my personality type as assessed by Myers-Briggs.

At the conclusion of the two-day summit, many students attended the regular national conference activities. For many of us, our first experience at an ASPA conference began with gusto. State of Georgia Department of Labor Commissioner Michael Thurmond kicked off the conference with an inspirational opening plenary session. Thurmond captivated us with his “bold new vision” of an undivided America.

The next days of the conference found students interspersed among veteran and novice non-student attendees engaged in the many paper presentations and other lectures. I attended a number of paper presentations the most fascinating of which was the provocatively titled, “Is State-Centered Public Administration Dead in the United States?” Participants in this discussion presented their research for several minutes and then engaged in a spirited and informative debate on the material. Unlike cable news, participants politely but firmly disagreed with one another and utilized rational argumentation to state their points.

Another important conference activity, where I found many students gathering, was the exhibition hall. A number of vendors and universities staffed booths where you could learn about various programs and purchase publications. I took the opportunity to purchase a couple of books of interest as well as to speak with university representatives regarding PhD programs.

Perhaps the most rewarding aspect of the conference came when running into students whom I originally met at the summit. It was wonderful to catch up on our various activities and experiences. MPA student Matthew Watkins from the University of Texas, Pan American related that the conference taught him the value of networking and social connections in our profession. The conference also sharpened Watkins focus for finishing his Master’s thesis and, perhaps most importantly, the conference imparted the “value of loving our profession.”

Attending the summit and national conference really provided a valuable place to gain increased familiarity with both the academic and practical aspects of public administration. The takeaway knowledge gained and relationships formed will no doubt prove invaluable as I progress with my academic and professional future.

If you did not attend the national conference, I would encourage you to get involved in your local ASPA chapter and to attend other public administration conferences in your region. Of course, the 2008 national conference in Dallas is only 11 months away! I would be remiss if I did not mention that ASPA President-Elect Harvey White expects to see five hundred students at the 2008 conference. I plan to be there; I hope to see you as well.

ASPA member Rusty Horton is an MPA student at Seattle University and works in the Office of the Registrar at the University of Puget Sound. E-mail: hortonr@seattleu.edu

This article reprinted from the April issue of ASPA’s newspaper - PA TIMES.