In This Issue:

• Annual Conference Early-Bird Deadline Expires Friday!
• ASPA Chapters and Sections to Meet in Seattle
• Webinars, BookTalks and Student Series on the Horizon
• PA Evolving Available for Next Semester’s Orders
• Public Administration Review Covered in China, Calls for Papers
• Call for Manuscripts: Public Solutions Handbook Series
• CenTex Holds its Annual Council Elections Tomorrow
• Call for Papers: 2016 Resilience Conference, Cape Town
• PAR Update
• New on PA TIMES Online
• New on the ASPA Blog
• Career Resources

Annual Conference Early-Bird Deadline Expires Friday!

The 2016 Annual Conference is just around the corner. Taking place March 18-22 in Seattle, this is the most prestigious gathering of public administrators of the year. If you haven't yet registered, this is the perfect week to do so: before registration rates go up! Early-bird registration rates ($439 for members, $539 for non-members) expire Friday, Jan. 29.

Just in time to help you decide to be in Seattle, ASPA has announced two new plenary speakers in the past week. Former King County Executive Ron Sims will provide the opening keynote plenary on Saturday, March 19, and Emilio T. Gonzalez, Director and CEO of the Miami-Dade Aviation Department, will provide the conference's closing plenary on Tuesday morning, March 22. These two stellar practitioners will add their insights to those being presented during the Elliot Richardson and Donald C. Stone Lectures, being provided by John DiIulio, Jr., and Frances Berry, respectively. This line-up will not only speak directly to this year's theme, New Traditions in Public Administration: Reflecting on Challenges, Harnessing Opportunities, but will also provide you with new understandings to take back to your office or university after the conference.

GSPIA is generously sponsoring the Donald C. Stone Lecture. If your organization would like to join our growing list of sponsors, please review our sponsorship document and contact us!

More details are being added to the Conference website on a daily basis. Take a look at everything this year's event has to offer and make sure you register by Friday to receive the lowest registration rate available.

Contact registrar Pat Yearwood for assistance with your registration. Contact membership coordinator Michael Silliman with questions regarding your login information or membership.

ASPA Chapters and Sections to Meet in Seattle

If you are an active participant in one of ASPA's Chapters or Sections, make sure you get in touch with your group's leadership to find out what activities will be taking place in conjunction with the Annual Conference! Many of these groups will be holding networking opportunities, workshops, symposia or other events that will provide you with an ideal way to get together with your peers in person and network and learn from each other.

Just a few of the events include:

• International Chapter Meeting
• Diel S. Wright Symposium, Executive Meeting & General Meeting
• SICA Fred Riggs Symposium
• SPALR Symposium & Reception
• SPLA Banquet & Meeting
• International Chapter & SPMP Symposium
• SPOD Symposium & Meeting
• AACPM/SPPM Symposium & Reception
• SWPA Workshop & Breakfast

In addition, there will be any number of Chapter and Section meetings and receptions that will take place throughout the Annual Conference, many of which are free with your Annual Conference registration. Plan your time in Seattle best by knowing when your Chapter and Sections will be meeting so you can be a part of it all!

Not attending the Annual Conference? Now's a great time to make sure you're involved in your Chapter and a member of as many Sections as are of interest to you. Take a look at our list of Sections and Chapters on our website and contact the group leadership to find out how you can get involved before and after this year's Annual Conference.

Many ASPA members gain valuable networking and educational experiences through their Chapter and Section interactions. Make sure you're making the most of your ASPA membership through Chapter and Section connections!

Need help getting involved in ASPA's Chapters/Sections? Contact ASPA membership coordinator Michael Silliman for assistance.

Webinars, BookTalks and Student Series on the Horizon

ASPA's professional development webinars are off to a great start for the year. With more than 75 student attendees for last week's Student Series webinar and almost 100 registrants for today's professional development webinar in partnership with The Intersector Project, these e-learning opportunities are providing members with targeted professional development at their fingertips. Make sure you make the most of these opportunities as well. Here's a quick look at upcoming webinars. Register today for the topics of most interest and visit our website to take a look at all upcoming webinars and BookTalks.



BookTalk: Leading & Innovating with Meaning: The OPA! Way
Feb. 3, 1 p.m.
Presenter: Alex Pattakos, The Global Meaning Institute

"Leading & Innovating with Meaning, The OPA! Way," offers a proven formula, enlightened pathways and practical techniques on the emerging hot topic of "meaning." The book, and this discussion, examines how public administrators can find deeper meaning in what they do, meaningfully engage with those with whom they work and serve and build organizations that make a positive, meaningful difference in the world.




Student Series: Navigating the Federal Job Search Process
Feb. 11, 1 p.m.
Presenter: Janice Lachance, Former Director, U.S. Office of Personnel Management

Attention graduates! If you're planning to head out into the job force, make sure you participate in this webinar. There are millions of federal jobs in Washington, D.C., and across the country, many of which are open to young graduates. If you're ready to use your education to make an impact, you first have to get through the interview process.




Professional Development: The Sherlock Holmes Approach to Government (in conjunction with CAP)
Feb. 25, 1 p.m.
Presenter: Gary Van Landingham, Director, Pew Charitable Trusts' Results First Initiative

As state and local governments have been operating with limited resources, the job of most policymakers boils down to making tough choices. Using rigorous evidence to help make these decisions can help reach better results by funding programs that are proven. How does so-called "evidence-based policymaking" work? The panel for this CSG webinar will delve into these questions and more.

PA Evolving Available for Next Semester’s Orders

Published last year by Routledge, PA Evolving is now available for order for all masters- and doctoral-level public administration classes. Edited by Mary Guy and Marilyn Rubin, with 13 chapters written by leading ASPA members, including past presidents, PAR editors-in-chief and others, this is a must-have volume for students now and in the years to come.

Commissioned for ASPA's 75th anniversary, PA Evolving shows how the theory and practice of public administration have evolved since the early decades of the 20th century. Each chapter approaches the field from a unique perspective, describing the seminal events that have been influential in shaping its evolution, from administration and management to social justice issues to the impact of technology. Taken together, the chapters provide a full understanding of how public administration developed and where it is going.

PA Evolving deserves a place on all public administrators' bookshelves and in the classroom as required reading. For more information, visit the Routledge website.

All royalties from sales benefit ASPA.

Public Administration Review Covered in China, Calls for Papers

One of the most influential news magazines in China, Caixin Weekly, recently covered a PAR paper: "Representative Bureaucracy and the Willingness to Coproduce: An Experimental Study." The paper, out of Rutgers University, studies the role of women in recycling programs vis-a-vis citizen engagement, specifically whether citizens (and especially women) would be more willing to cooperate if more female officials were in charge of the recycling project. This is the most recent PAR paper to be picked up and reported by Chinese media and is an example of the journal's reach and prominence.

ASPA members receive each edition of PAR as a member benefit. If you have not received your copy of PAR's November/December edition, look for it shortly.

Additionally, PAR is issuing a Call for Papers for a symposium, Using Administrative Data for Social Policy Research, under guest editors Nicole Constance and Anna Solmeyer. They are seeking a broad range of submissions that can further their understanding of the promises and challenges of using administrative data for research. Manuscripts may approach the topic from various perspectives and in various forms, including: empirical research and substantive examples on the use of administrative data in addressing questions of social policy; recommendations and best practices on using administrative data for research, maintaining privacy and confidentiality, getting from data custodians, or other related topics; and commentary on research design and future directions in research with administrative data. Manuscripts are due no later than June 1, 2016, to the coordinating guest editor. For full details regarding this call, please contact the coordinating guest editor or visit the PAR website.

Call for Manuscripts: Public Solutions Handbook Series

Published by Routledge and edited by Marc Holzer (Rutgers SPAA Newark), The Public Solutions Handbook Series is designed to help public-sector practitioners build the necessary competencies to respond to emerging issues, deliver services that policymakers have promised to the public, carry out their missions efficiently and effectively and work in partnership with their stakeholders. The series is also geared toward students in graduate-degree programs who are seeking succinct, pragmatic, grounded guidance that will help them succeed in their public administration careers. This includes students in master of public administration (MPA), master of public policy (MPP), master of nonprofit management (MNPM) and even some master of business administration (MBA) and doctor of law (LLD) programs.

They are seeking titles in areas including personal fundamentals, leading change, leading people, results-driven, process-driven, resource acumen and building coalitions. Please submit authored and edited proposals to series editor-in-chief Marc Holzer. For more information including submission guidelines, please visit the Rutgers website.

CenTex Holds its Annual Council Elections Tomorrow

The CenTex (Central Texas) Chapter will be holding its annual council and officer elections on Thursday, Jan. 28, 2016, as part of a general membership meeting. During the meeting, the Chapter will recognize the efforts and accomplishments of its outgoing officer class, as well as welcome its new officers to their respective posts. New officers include incoming President Damon Fogley, who has previously served as Chapter Vice President and will preside as Chapter President for the 2016-17 calendar year. The Chapter enjoyed a fruitful 2015 under Immediate Past President Jason Alexander and looks forward to an exciting new year under Fogley's leadership.

Call for Papers: 2016 Resilience Conference, Cape Town

Proposals are currently being accepted for presentation for the 2016 Resilience Conference: Resilience and Social Connectedness, to be held in Cape Town, South Africa, July 25-26, 2016. This forum is being sponsored by The Graduate School at Rutgers University-Newark and the Community Chest of the Western Cape. The objective of this two-day forum is to explore strategies that communities might incorporate as they adjust and respond to short- and long-term adversity. Such adversity might include environmental hazards, natural disasters and social or economic disrupting stress. Conference organizers are interested in case studies of specific instances where communities have had to bounce back from a major adversity or set of adversities. Proposals for presentations should be one page (single or double-spaced) and submitted via email to [email protected]. On the top of each submission should be the presentation title, synopsis and contact information. The deadline for submission is March 31, 2016. (Invitations to present, based on submissions, will be forwarded in April.) For more information, please visit the Resilience Conference website or contact Kyle Farmbry, Dean of the Graduate School at Rutgers University-Newark.

PAR Update


PAR Podcasts
Performance Measurement and Cost Accounting: Are They Complementary or Competing Systems of Control?

This episode features Zachary Mohr (University of North Carolina at Charlotte) discussing his article titled, "Performance Measurement and Cost Accounting: Are They Complementary or Competing Systems of Control?" This article is currently available on Early View and will be published in Public Administration Review, Issue 76, Volume 4. Link to PAR Podcast

Caveat Emptor: What Do We Know about Public Administration Evidence and How Do We Know It?

This episode features Kim Isett (Georgia Tech University) discussing her article titled "Caveat Emptor: What Do We Know about Public Administration Evidence and How Do We Know It?" co-authored with Brian Head and Gary Van Landingham. This article is currently available on Early View and will be published in Public Administration Review, Issue 76, Volume 1. Link to PAR Podcast

Five Ways to Make a Difference: Perceptions of Practitioners Working in Urban Neighborhoods

This episode features Catherine Durose (University of Birmingham, United Kingdom) discussing her article titled "Five Ways to Make a Difference: Perceptions of Practitioners Working in Urban Neighborhoods" co-authored with Merlijn van Hulst, Stephen Jeffares, Oliver Escobar, Annika Agger and Laurens de Graaf. This article is currently available on Early View and will be published in Public Administration Review, Issue 76, Volume 3. Link to PAR Podcast

Recovering the Craft of Public Administration

This episode features Roderick Rhodes (University of Southampton, United Kingdom) discussing his article titled "Recovering the Craft of Public Administration." This article is currently available on Early View and will be published in Public Administration Review, Issue 76, Volume 3. Link to PAR Podcast

New on PA Times Online

New on the ASPA Blog


Looking for interesting commentary on news events and contemporary issues? Check out the ASPA Blog, which features a collection of authors writing on everyday life from the eyes of a public manager, student or young professional.

Featured recently on the Blog:

Groundhog Day: A Question of Shadows and Light

Where's the Leadership?

Career Resources


Find your next career opportunity at publicservicecareers.org. This online job board is the perfect resource for making a career change or landing your first job in the public sector. It lists dozens of positions in academia, government and the nonprofit sector. Below are examples of current listings.

Assistant/Associate Transportation Planner/Analyst – Metropolitan Transportation Commission, San Francisco, Calif.

Senior Research Analyst – WORLD Policy Analysis Center, Los Angeles, Calif.

Assistant Professor – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, Texas