June 17, 2004

Public Administration Professor Awarded Fulbright
Anne Brooks Ranallo, (312) 355-2523, aranallo@uic.edu

Julia Melkers, associate professor of public administration at the University of Illinois at Chicago, has received a Fulbright Senior Specialists grant in public administration at Vidzemes Augstskola (Vidzemes University College) in Latvia.

Melkers is advising the Latvian faculty on a new master's program in public administration created in response to student interest and current job market demands in the Latvian government.

To link the program with national and local governments, she is also working with several ministries in strategic planning and performance measurement.

Melkers co-hosted a seminar on strategic planning and performance measurement recently with the Latvian secretaries of culture and finance. More than 40 people representing all of the ministries voluntarily attended.

"The Latvian government has expressed great interest in adopting public management techniques and tools that are up to international standards," Melkers said. "It's exciting to work with such an energetic group in a relatively new, emerging governmental system."

At UIC, Melkers teaches and conducts research in performance measurement in the master’s and doctoral programs in public administration. Her experience in Latvia will bring additional examples and issues to her classes at UIC and provide a global perspective to her work with students. She has also published extensively on performance measurement development and use in U.S. governmental units.

The Fulbright Senior Specialists Program offers two- to six-week grants to leading academics and professionals from the United States to support curricular and faculty development and institutional planning at academic institutions in 140 countries around the world. It complements the traditional Fulbright Scholar Program for overseas study in a wide range of fields.