ASPA November Message

Hello. I’m Paul Danczyk, President of the American Society for Public Administration.

It was great to see so many of you at NASPAA, the Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs, and Administration, in October. What a robust set of conversations that lead efforts to shape our public service degree programs!

November is an exciting month for advancing excellence in public service.  We have many happenings of which you should be aware including partnering conferences, ASPA elections and programming, in addition to our monthly shout-outs.

Partnering conferences or meetings this month include the Northeast Conference for Public Administration, the National Academy of Public Administration and the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management. We wish them great successes!

For ASPA elections, around November 8th, or shortly thereafter, elections will open and remain open for a few weeks. Members will receive an email with a link to their ballot. This is a particularly important year as we will elect our first vice president who will become our two-year president in 2021.

We have an impressive group of candidates. Be on the look-out for more information about who they are and their visions for ASPA. I want to thank them for throwing their hats into the ring. Our society wouldn’t be what it is without their passion and commitment.

Building on this month’s theme of 2020 Vision for Infrastructure, we are hosting two webinars at the national level.

On Tuesday, November 5th, deans Trevor Brown, The Ohio State University, and David Van Slyke, Syracuse University, with professor Matthew Potoski, University of California Santa Barbara tackle “Complex Contacting: Management Challenges and Solutions.” This practitioner-focused session provides a managerial framework and four distinct strategies to guide purchasing on complex products.

On Thursday, November 14th, ASPA partners with the Association for Research and Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Action, ARNOVA, on “Creating an Inclusive Work Environment for LGBTQ+  Employees” featuring Sean McCandless, University of Illinois at Springfield, Seth Meyer, Bridgewater State University, Kareem Willis, Rutgers-Newark, Patrick Hale, a practitioner, and Nicole Elias, John Jay College of Criminal Justice.

Both webinars offer applied, dynamic insights to contemporary opportunities. Add them to your calendars…or if you missed them live, check out the recording in our library.

For a special highlight, in honor of the infrastructure month, check out our most recent edition of PA TIMES. It features excellent content looking at the state of our nation’s infrastructure and can be found on our website. If you haven’t looked at it yet, make sure you do!

This month’s chapter shout-out goes to the National Capital Area Chapter, which held a Data and Analytics workshop for its members, in partnership with the Senior Executives Association. Looking at how to use data effectively within your organization, this was a practical, hands-on event. Congrats, NCAC!

For our member highlight, a special shout-out to our Annual Conference co-chairs, Naim Kapucu, University of Central Florida, and Lindsey McDougle, Rutgers. They, with our track reviewers, are in the midst of reviewing an amazing number of proposals—a record breaking 752 submissions. Wow! Thank you, Naim, Lindsey, and team, for your efforts. This conference would not happen without you and those that have put forward their work and research interests!

For this month’s partner highlight, I’d like to send a special thank-you to a long-time ASPA partner—ARNOVA. Throughout the year, members and partners connect at conferences and—as in the case this month—online learning opportunities. Great to collaborate with you!

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

Have a great month and don’t forget to vote!

I look forward to seeing you at an upcoming event.