Message from the Head:

I am very pleased to announce that Michael Siciliano will be joining our faculty in Fall 2012 as our new assistant professor.  He is looking forward to teaching and working with you, and I hope that you will join in welcoming him when he begins in the fall.
I want to send out a special thank you also to all of the students who participated in the search - attending talks, meetings, and meals with the candidates.  I heard from comments from the candidates that you made a strong impression on them, and gave them good reason to want to come here.  Also, I very much appreciate the time that many of you took to submit comments for our consideration in making this decisions.  I want you to know that we reviewed these comments in the faculty meeting; we received many thoughtful observations from the students, and took your views into account.  Thank you again for your commitment to the department.
Best,
Karen

February 2012

Message from the Head

I am pleased to announce that our department is very well represented in the ranks of Presidential Management Fellows finalists this year.  We have two MPA students who have accepted appointments, and three others who have been selected as finalists and who will be seeking appointments.  Mark Ludeking and Michael Mencarini have accepted fellowship positions.  Among those who are finalists, and are eligible to interview for federal agency positions through the PMF, are Thomas Calia, Michael Menelli, and Meridel Trimble. 
According to the program description, the PMF “attracts and selects the best candidates possible. . . developing a cadre of potential government leaders.”  On behalf of the department, I would like to congratulate these students on their achievements, and wish them well going forward with this prestigious opportunity.

- Karen Mossberger
Head and Professor
Department of Public Administration

November 2011

USA Today quotes Karen Mossberger, professor of public administration, in
an article on a federal initiative to supply low-income households with
broadband access and computers.  Mossberger says cost, not lack of
interest, is the primary reason why some households remain without Internet
service.

October 2011

Meet our Visting Scholars!

Maxat Kassen is an Associate Professor from the Eurasian National University in Astana, Kazakhstan, the School of Journalism and Political Science. Since October 2011 he is a Fulbright Visiting Research Scholar in the Department of Public Administration at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

He has several scientific publications on digital government development published in Kazakhstan, USA and Russia. His research focuses on applying successful e-government projects and development of political participation via use of modern media technologies. He received his C.Sc./PhD degree in Political Science from the Academy of Public Administration under the President of Kazakhstan in 2008.

August 2011

PA Head and Associate Dean Announcement

Wed, 17 Aug 2011

The University of Illinois Board of Trustees has approved Public Administration Professor Karen Mossberger
as head of the Public Administration Department and Professor David Merriman as associate dean for faculty affairs in CUPPA effective immediately.

Dr. Mossberger follows Dr. Jim Thompson as head of the department. Thompson, an expert in public personnel management will resume his rigorous program of research and teaching.  We are sincerely grateful to Jim for four years of administrative service when the department experienced almost exponential growth and advancement.

Dr. Mossberger came to UIC in 2005 after spending seven years at Kent State University. Her research interests include Information Technology, Digital Divide, Economic Development and Policy Analysis. She is author or co-author of several books including The Politics of Ideas and the Spread of the Enterprise Zones (2000), Virtual Inequality: Beyond the Digital Divide (2003), and Digital Citizenship (2008).  Mossberger recently completed a one year appointment as associate dean for faculty affairs in CUPPA.

Dr. Merriman joined the Public Administration Department at UIC in 2007.  He also has appointments in the Institute for Government and Public Affairs and the Department of Economics. He previously spent 20
years on the faculty at Loyola University of Chicago. Professor Merriman received his B.S. in economics and political science (1976) from American University, an M.S. in economics from the University of Wisconsin (1980) and a Ph.D., also in economics (1983), from the University of Wisconsin.

June 2011

Andrew Lichterman, Deerfield, was presented with the Outstanding Member Award - Intern.

May 2011

George Martin receiving the Best Student Award from the local chapter of the American Society for Public Administration

Mary Niemiec receiving the Alumnus of the Year award from the local chapter of the American Society for Public Administration

e-Government Workshop
May 12, 2011
Lisle, Illinois

The UIC e-Government Workshop brings together the best and the brightest in public service and information technology. These diverse stakeholders from across the region, including representatives from government, business and education, are committed to sharing government technology solutions foroperating in today's fiscal environment. This year's workshop will highlightways that government agencies can achieve economies in the use of information technology through collaboration - collaboration with the private sector through cloud computing, and collaboration between levels of government through shared services arrangements.
The 2011 UIC e-Government Workshop provides an exciting opportunity to learn from and network with your peers, as you identify common IT challenges and share useful solutions. In addition to networking with participants from other agencies and communities, you will have ample opportunity to interact with presenters and vendors.
This workshop is designed to fulfill requirements for the ICMA Voluntary Credentialing Program and is an excellent foundation for the UIC e-Government online certificate program. The UIC e-Government Workshop is hosted by the UIC Master of Public Administration program in partnership with a dozen outstanding professional organizations, and is funded in part by a grant from the UIC Institute for Policy and Civic Engagement. We look forward to seeing you on May 12, 2011.

Please visit http://www.uic.edu/depts/oee/egovernment/ for more details and to register for this event.

April 2011

Congratulations to Mike Mencarini and Mark Ludeking on being selected as Presidential Management Fellows.  Mike and Mark succeeded in a rigorous nationwide competition and are in the process of determining at which federal agency they will be placed. 

Meridel Trimble, a current MPA student, was accepted into the City of Chicago's Mayor's Office Fellowship Program. Candidates are selected on a nationwide basis from public and private colleges and universities. In this program, fellows have the opportunity to work with the Mayor's senior staff, attend press conferences and research policies to evaluate their potential benefits to Chicago. More information about the fellowship program can be found here.

Eden Sabala was awarded the 2011 Chancellor's Student Service and Leadership award. Eden Sabala is a MPA Candidate May 2011 focusing in Non-Profit Management and she holds a BFA in Industrial Designawarded in 2008 from UIC. She is currently the President in the student organization, PASA (Public Administration Student Association), and a student debate policy winner at the 2011 ASPA Annual Conference. Eden will be combining her interest of art and design with the management style of non-profit and policy. She has held an assistantship with the office of Student Development Services and interned at After School Matters, Arts Alliance Illinois, and the Hyde Park Art Center. Eden is bit of a hybrid in the field of public administration; shebelieve that through the tools of public administration andpractice in the arts, she has what it needs to succeed in the field of city government and art administration.

March 2011

UIC MPA Students Attend 2011 ASPA Conference

Four students from the MPA program attended the 2011 American Society for Public Administration national conference held in Baltimore, Maryland. The conference was entitled "Public Administration Without Borders." Atthis national conferences students attended sessions that ranged from discussion tables, to PhD presentations, to lectures on public service. Some of the presentations students attended included topics on the nation's fiscal crisis, E-government, local government practices, social justice, and the future of public administration. Students had an opportunity to network with professionals,students, and professors in the field. Several of the MPA students cannot wait to attend next year's conference, which will be held in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Picture Caption: Shane Johnston, Kathy Aba Xiong, Gina Geffrard and Eden Sabala pose with Meredith Newman, the current president of ASPA.

Rebecca Hendrick, associate professor of public administration, was interviewed by Chicago Public Radio on a proposal by Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle to cut costs by annexing some of the county's unincorporated land. http://www.wbez.org/episode-segments/2011-03-01/annexation-may-relieve-county-budget-woes-83167#

David Merriman, professor of public administration, spoke on Bruce DuMont's "Beyond the Beltway" on Illinois' fiscal crisis and labor issues. The show can be viewed at (click on March 6): http://www.beyondthebeltway.com/

February 2011

Panel: Bridging the Digital Divide in Scholarship

Bridging the Digital Divide in Scholarship:  Panel Discussion

Thursday, February 3, 2011 at 12:00 to 1:30. Location: Institute for the Humanities

A panel of scholars will discuss a variety of issues that contribute to the Digital Divide in the areas of education, information literacy, and scholarship.  Issues include: differences in technology skills, digital inequality, information disparities, and the impact of the high cost of scholarly communication.  Panel members will analyze their findings, forecast on the future reality of these issues, and speculate on factors that could minimize the divide. 

The digital divide is the gap between people with access to digital technology and information and those with limited or non-existent access (either lack physical access and/or effective technological skills).

Panelists:Karen Mossberger, Professor, Public Administration, Associate Dean, College of Urban Planning and Public Affairs, University of Illinois at Chicago . Eszter Hargittai, Associate Professor, Communication Studies Department, Northwestern University; Fellow, Berkman Center for Internet & Society, Harvard University. Sandy De Groote, Associate Professor and Scholarly Communications Librarian, University Library, University of Illinois at Chicago

January 2011

Watch Prof. David Merriman's interview on First Business below, fast foward to 2:27 for the start of the segment.

Watch Professor David Merriman on WTTW David Merriman, professor of public administration and associate director of the Institute for Government and Public Affairs, appeared on WTTW 11's
"Chicago Tonight" to discuss the Illinois budget and proposed tax  hikes. (1-11-2011)

MPA Open House - Launch your career in the Public Sector with a MPA from UIC! We will be hosting our next Open House on January 20th. The Open House will be from 6:00pm -7:00pm. Learn more about our program and faculty. Light refreshments will be served. Please RSVP to mlapor1@uic.edu.

State Farm Insurance Municipal Bond Division presents The Build America Bond Program And Important Discussions About Working as a Municipal Analyst Municipal Bond Markets. Tuesday January 18, 2011
CUPPA Hall 412 S. Peoria, Room 110 4 P.M. – 6 P.M.

June 2010

James R. Thompson, Associate Professor and Head of the Department of Public Administration has been invited to testify before the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee of the House Armed Services Committee. The June 9 hearing is entitled, "Interagency National Security Reform: Pragmatic Steps Towards a More Integrated Future."  Dr. Thompson will testify about a report that he and Ph.D. student Rob Seidner prepared for the IBM Center for the Business of Government on human capital reforms in the Intelligence Community (IC), specifically, what lessons have been learned in the IC effort that could help guide future efforts to enhance interagency national security coordination at the broader USG level. For more information please visit the following website http://armedservices.house.gov/calendar_next_week.shtml.

Prof. David Merriman's reseach is quoted in Business Week and the Huffington Post .

May 2010

ASPA Best Student Award 2010 - Kenneth Woodhouse

ASPA Outstanding Alumnis Award 2010 - Dan Hermes

Prof. Karen Mossberger is interviewed by the IBM Center on Business Government.
Prof. David Merriman is interviewed by WBBM radio

April 2010
MPA Virtual Open House - April 13th
MPA Open House - April 22nd
Prof. David Merriman is quoted in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution

March 2010
Prof. Karen Mossberger is quoted in PC World article
Prof. Karen Mossberger is quoted in the Chicago Tribune
Prof. Karen Mossberger is quoted in the Los Angeles Times

January 2010
Prof. David Merriman is quoted in NBC 5 news article
Prof. David Merriman is quoted Crain's Chicago Business

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