Tips for Local Governments onHow to Navigate Fiscal CrisisReport Gives Strategies for Local Governments to Address Crisis

Washington, DC–The nation’s mayors todayreleased the third installment of theirReady-to-Go Jobs Report that inventoriesinfrastructure projects from cities around thecountry that could be started and completedin just two calendar years to create over amillion jobs with help from federal dollars.

Mayors are reporting that in 641 cities ofall sizes in all regions of the country, atotal of 15,221 local infrastructure projectsare "ready to go." These projects represent

Washington, DC–Underscoring the linkbetween a world-class education and asound U.S. economy, leading educationexperts issued a report offering sweepingrecommendations to internationallybenchmark educational performance.

The report, "Benchmarking for Success:Ensuring U.S. Students Receive a World-class Education" released by theInternational Benchmarking AdvisoryGroup,provides states a roadmap forbenchmarking their K-12 education systemsagainst those of top-performing nations.The report explains the urgent need for

action and outlines what states and thefederal government must do to ensure U.S.students receive a world-class educationthat provides expanded opportunities forcollege and career success.

The Advisory Group was convened by threeof the nation’s leading education policyorganizations–the National GovernorsAssociation, Council of Chief State SchoolOfficers and Achieve, Inc.–and consists ofgovernors, state commissioners of education,representatives from the business community,

PA TIMESIMMIGRATION: ISSUES IMPACTING ADMINISTRATION

Local Immigration PoliciesComplicate ComprehensiveImmigration Reform Efforts 3 Seemingly everyone agrees on theneed for immigration reform.Democrats and Republicans, liberalsand conservatives, media pundits andscholars, those who want more openborders and those who advocatemore restrictive policies have allidentified shortcomings with currentfederal policies and practices.–NadiaRubaii-Barrett

Illegal Medical Care and License Registration? 4 The change in administration inWashington will certainly beconfronted with the pressing issuesfacing our nation: The economy,bailouts, jobless rates climbing, andthe illegal immigration issues. Two ofthe areas of concern for publicadministrators will be focusing onwhether to provide health carebenefits and license registrations toillegal immigrants living in theUnited States.–David Milen

Immigration’s Moral Challenge 5 Unfortunately, when institutions areunjust, or worse, many peopleworking within them fail to perceivewhat is happening. Unexaminedprejudices squelch doubts, as does thedeep-seated emotional stake thatpeople, especially Americans, have inbelieving that the social order aroundthem is morally defensible.–Christopher Daniel

Some Personal Reflections on Immigration 6 I was born in San Diego, CA. Mymother is from Mexico and my fatheris from Costa Rica, Central America.My parents immigrated to the UnitedStates in the 1960s. My father becamea naturalized U.S. citizen while mymother is a permanent resident with aGreen Card that serves as proof of herlegal resident status in the UnitedStates.–Abraham David Benavides

Insights on Perf. Mgmt. 7

Solutions for Public Managers 9

An Ethics Moment 12

Where Things Stand 13

ASPA TIMESBergrud Elected ASPA Vice President 15

ASPA National Council Election Results 15

PRESIDENT’S COLUMN 16

New Members 18

ASPA in Brief 19

Career Center 22-23

Congressional Testimony 24

Recruiter 25

Commentary 26

Conferences Calendar 28

INSIDE:

For more information on how to bepublished in PA TIMES, please contactChristine Jewett McCrehin at cjewett@aspanet.org.

PA TIMESA Powerful Voice for Public Service . . . 32 Years • 1977-2009

AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION VOL. 32 NO. 2 FEBRUARY 2009

Experts Sound Alarm OverAmerica's Ability to CompeteRecommendations Offered for ImprovingCompetitiveness of U.S. Education System

Mayors Say LocalInfrastructureProjects areReady-To-GoAction Urged on MainStreetEconomic Recovery

See EDUCATION, pg. 2

Washington, DC/Phoenix, AZ–Cities, towns,and counties throughout the United Statesface the deepest and most severe economicdownturn in 50 years. For the first time inthe postwar era, the crisis has dramaticallyaffected all levels of government, andextraordinary action is required to maintaincritical public services in the face ofdwindling revenues.

A new report, “Navigating the Fiscal Crisis:Tested Strategies for Local Government

Leaders,” analyzes previous recessions andhighlights the actions local governmentshave taken to alleviate such crises in thepast. Commissioned by ICMA, the organiza-tion that advances professional local govern-ment management worldwide; anddeveloped by researchers at the Alliance forInnovation (a partnership of ICMA, theInnovation Groups, and Arizona StateUniversity), the report explains how many

See LOCAL GOVERNMENT, pg. 12

January 20, 2009–Washington,D.C.–During the Nation’s 56thPresidential Inauguration, BarackObama takes the oath of office asthe 44th U.S. President with hiswife, Michelle and daughtersMalia and Sasha at his side.Michele Obama holds the Bibleused by President AbrahamLincoln. Obama, America's firstAfrican-American resident, said inhis inaugural address that thenation must choose 'hope overfear, unity of purpose overconflict and discord' to overcomethe worst economic crisis sincethe Great Depression. (J. ConradWilliamsJr./Newsday/ZUMAPRESS.com)

See INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS, pg. 2

President Obama Takes Historic Oath

Bergrud Wins ASPA Election!

researchers, former federal officials andcurrent state and local officials.

International benchmarking will help statepolicymakers identify the qualities andcharacteristics of education systems thatbest prepare students for success in theglobal marketplace. Understanding theseintricacies will provide state leaders theinsights necessary to ensure U.S. studentsare receiving a world-class education andprovide students with expanded opportu-nities for college and career success.

"We are now living in a world withoutborders, and in order to maintainAmerica’s competitive edge into thefuture we need students who are preparedto compete not only with their Americanpeers, but with students from all acrossthe globe for the jobs of tomorrow," saidGeorgia Gov. Sonny Perdue, co-chair ofthe Advisory Group.

"The time is now–we must ensure that ourstudents are prepared to compete andinnovate in the 21st century," said ArizonaGov. Janet Napolitano, co-chair of theAdvisory Group. "Benchmarking for

Success is a call to action and provides aclear path to follow."

The Advisory Group identified fivetransformative steps American educationneeds to undergo to produce moreglobally competitive students:

• Upgrade state standards by adopting acommon core of internationallybenchmarked standards in math andlanguage arts for grades K-12;

• Leverage states’ collective influence toensure textbooks, digital media, curriculaand assessments are aligned to interna-tionally benchmarked standards and drawon lessons from high-performing nations;

• Revise state policies for recruiting,preparing, developing and supportingteachers and school leaders to reflect the"human capital" practices of top-perform-ing nations and states around the world;

• Hold schools and systems accountablethrough monitoring, interventions andsupport to ensure consistently highperformance, drawing upon internationalbest practices; and

• Measure state-level education perform-ance globally by examining studentachievement and attainment in an interna-

tional context to ensure that students arereceiving the education they need tocompete in the 21st century economy.

"The world will always recognize talent,no matter where it resides. To be globallycompetitive and ensure long termeconomic growth, all U.S. students needan internationally benchmarked college-and career-ready education," said CraigBarrett, Chairman of the Board at IntelCorporation. "We must do better for ourstudents. They need strong contentknowledge, especially in mathematics andscience, critical thinking, problem solvingand communications skills to innovateand create solutions for the complexchallenges of the 21st century."

International benchmarking is crucial forthe United States to remain competitiveon a global scale. The U.S. is losing itshistoric edge in educational attainmentand international assessments routinelyshow America behind other nations.

In the most recent Trends in InternationalMathematics and Science Study (TIMSS)released earlier this month, U.S. eighthgraders were significantly outscored bypeers in five nations in mathematics andnine nations in science. The U.S. has not

made progress on racial achievement gapssince 1999.

As recently as 1995, America still tied forfirst in the percentage of college-agepeople who obtain a bachelor’s degree;however, by 2006, the country haddropped to 14th. That same year theUnited States had the highest collegedropout rate of 19 industrialized countries.

In addition to the actions above, the reportreiterates the importance of a strong state-federal partnership for improving U.S.competitiveness and offers suggestions forhow the federal government can supportand incentivize states’ internationalbenchmarking efforts.

The Advisory Group’s expertise andexperience helped identify the need forinternational comparisons and providedguidance for benchmarking stateeducation system practices in areas suchas standards, accountability, educatorworkforce and assessments. The AdvisoryGroup is also co-chaired by Arizona Gov.Janet Napolitano, Georgia Gov. SonnyPerdue and Craig Barrett, chair of theboard at Intel Corporation.

For more information, visit www.nga.org.

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PAGE 2 PA TIMES • FEBRUARY 2009 AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION

Volume 32, Number 2February 2009

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Report Calls for State and Federal Action on Education SystemFrom EDUCATION, pg. 1

Local Infrastructure Projects Could Provide Jobs for Over a Million

an infrastructure investment of$96,638,419,313 that would be capable ofproducing an estimated 1,221,677 jobs incalendar years 2009 and 2010. These arethe cumulative totals of projects, requiredfunding, and jobs to be created that havebeen reported in the three surveys of citiesconducted by the Conference of Mayors.

Mayors believe their plan responds toPresident Obama’s goal of creating 2.5million jobs to spur the national economy.A 16-mayor delegation from theConference of Mayors, chaired by USCMVice President Greg Nickels of Seattlemet in Chicago recently with thenPresident-Elect Obama and his SeniorAdvisor Valerie Jarrett to discuss the plan.

As an organization that represents mayorsand their cities–which have their own localprocess for determining which projects areneeded for jobs and economic develop-ment–the United States Conference ofMayors has accepted each city’s projectsubmittal. Hence, each Mayor and City isresponsible for its justification for puttingthese projects forward.

The mayors' report combines the cumula-tive totals of projects, funding and jobsfrom the two surveys previously releasedby the Conference with this surveyinformation. Projects were sent to theConference of Mayors from cities in allregions of the country and fall in tendifferent sectors:

• Community Development Block Grants • City Street/Metro Roads • Transit

• Green Jobs • School Modernization • Public Safety Jobs and Technology • Public Housing Modernization • Water and Wastewater Infrastructure • Amtrak • Airport Technology

Mayors have stressed that investing inMainStreet metropolitan economies,which comprise 90 percent of our grossdomestic product and drive the nationaleconomy, is the most direct path tocreating jobs and stimulating the businessthat can begin to reverse the currenteconomic downturn. Mayors say metroinfrastructure projects can start quicklybecause the funding for them can comedirectly to their cities through existingfunding channels such as the

Community Development Block Grant,which has been in place since the early1970s and is considered to be a model foreffective delivery of federal funds.

To view the entire report and individualcity results, visit www.usmayors.org.

From INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS, pg. 1

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Nadia Rubaii-Barrett

Seemingly everyone agrees on the need forimmigration reform. Democrats andRepublicans, liberals and conservatives,media pundits and scholars, those whowant more open borders and those whoadvocate more restrictive policies have allidentified shortcomings with currentfederal policies and practices. While it wasnot a central tenant of the Obamacandidacy, the new president has expressedsupport for comprehensive reform thatreduces lengthy administrative backlogsand balances enforcement with an overhaulof admission criteria and numerical limitsto better reflect 21st century global politi-cal and economic realities.

In policy formulation the devil is in thedetails, and immigration policy is noexception. There has been no shortage ofimmigration reform proposals, butcrafting comprehensive policy changesthat could secure sufficient bipartisansupport has proven to be politicallyinfeasible in recent decades.

The election of President Obama alongwith Democratic majorities in both theHouse of Representatives and the Senatewould appear to create a window ofopportunity for successful passage ofcomprehensive reform. However, a numberof recent changes regarding intergovern-mental roles and responsibilities in the areaimmigration policy–specifically themultitude of local policies that have beenenacted–will complicate this task.

Immigration policy is widely recognizedto be a national government prerogative,but Washington has demonstrated aninability to fully carry out these responsi-bilities. In the absence of effective federalpolicies many state and local governmentshave felt compelled to enact policies oftheir own. Increasing rates and levels of

immigration, greater language andcultural diversity among recent immigrantpopulations, and more divergent settle-ment patterns that extend outside oftraditional gateway cities combined toplace many local government officials ina position where they could not wait anylonger for the federal government toreform immigration policy.

The challenges facing local governmentsin responding to increasing numbers ofimmigrants have been exacerbated byoutdated federal policies, inconsistentfederal enforcement practices, and insuffi-cient redistribution of resources to localgovernments. As towns, cities, villagesand counties in all states have experiencedthe challenges of immigration–both legaland illegal–they have adopted a myriad oflocal policies. Some local policies aredesigned to protect immigrants from whatare perceived to be unfair federal lawsand assist them, regardless of their legalstatus, with assimilation and integration.

Other local policies vigorously seek toidentify and remove those who lackproper documentation and are intended tosend a strong message to immigrants,particularly undocumented immigrants,that they are not welcome.

At one end of the continuum are thosecommunities that have declared themselvesa sanctuary for immigrants. Cities andcounties in more than 20 states haveadopted policies that prioritize the humanrights of individuals over their legal status.These policies prohibit local governmentemployees from identifying, reporting, ordetaining immigrants or otherwise doingthe work of federal immigration officials inthe absence of a warrant.

In sharp contrast, local ordinances in morethan a dozen states have adopted stronganti-immigrant policies with aggressiveenforcement provisions. Officials in thesecommunities express concerns about illegalimmigrants driving down wages and takingjobs from citizens, engaging in criminalactivity, overburdening public healthsystems, and flaunting the rule of law byentering or remaining in the countryillegally. Frustrated by inadequate federalenforcement, they have enacted policiesintended to identify and drive out illegalimmigrants and to punish those who wouldprovide them with housing or jobs.

These local ordinances may impose fineson landlords who rent to undocumentedimmigrants or deny business licenses tocompanies who employ them. They mayalso prohibit the display of foreign flagsunless they are accompanied by U.S.flags, or encourage residents to reporttheir neighbors if they have suspicionsabout immigration status. Local officialsare required to check immigration statusbefore providing local services, and locallaw enforcement are required to submitthe names of all persons arrested througha federal database to determine citizenshipeven in the absence of suspicion aboutimmigration status.

In between these two extremes are a rangeof other local government policies. Manylocal governments have stopped short ofadopting local immigration ordinances andhave instead signed Memoranda ofUnderstanding (MOUs) with theDepartment of Homeland Security toreceive immigration-related training and toenforce immigration laws. Under thesefederal 287(g) programs, local officialsmay be authorized to interview inmates incity and county jails to determine probablecause for violation of immigration lawsand to begin the deportation process.

Language barriers often create consider-able challenges for local governmentsdealing with new immigrant populations.The response of some local governmentshas been to adopt English-only policies,with or without corresponding investmentsin ESL or ESOL classes to help non-English speakers improve their proficiency.

Other local governments have providedincentives to new and existing employeesto become bilingual or multilingual andsome have gone so far as to guaranteenon-English speakers the right to access local services and programs intheir native language as a way to facilitategreater and more meaningful participationin local government.

Issuing identification cards to anyone whowants one–including undocumentedimmigrants–is a strategy that a smallnumber of localities have adopted, mostnotably San Francisco, California, andNew Haven, Connecticut. These ID cardshave a photo and list the individual’sname, address, date of birth and a uniqueidentifying number; notably, they do notindicate immigration status.

The ID cards are intended to benefit boththe individuals and the community.Individuals can use the cards to accesscity services and as proof of identity foropening bank accounts; in turn, the localgovernment receives income from the feescharged for the cards and is able todocument a more accurate populationcount thereby making their communitieseligible for larger entitlement grants.

In many communities with large migrantor immigrant populations, local govern-ments collaborate with a network ofcommunity support organizations toaddress the needs and interests of newarrivals through cultural and educationalactivities, employment support, healthservices, and cultural competencetraining. Some communities haveconstructed, funded and/or operated daylabor centers or hiring halls, while othershave banned such facilities or the use ofpublic funds to support the facilities.

Some local governments have establishedtheir own agencies for immigrationservices or immigrant relations; whileother local governments have simplydeveloped formal procedures for referringimmigrants to nonprofit and religiousorganizations for assistance.

In the current environment, neighboringcommunities often have strikingly differ-ent policies regarding immigrants. Suchinconsistencies make it difficult forimmigrants, both legal and undocu-mented, as well as businesses, both smalland large, whose activities may crossjurisdictional boundaries. These divergentlocal policies will also complicate the taskof federal policy makers who seek toenact comprehensive immigration reform.

As the Obama Administration works withcongressional leaders to formulate newimmigration policies, they will do sowithin the complex and changingintergovernmental web of policies.Directly or indirectly they will have torespond to the tapestry of state and localimmigration policies that have beenadopted in the intervening years whileWashington failed to act.

ASPA member Nadia Rubaii-Barrett is anassociate professor and chair of thedepartment of public administration in theCollege of Community and Public Affairsat Binghamton University. email:nbarrett@binghamton.edu

AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION PA TIMES • FEBRUARY 2009 PAGE 3

The MARCH 2009 PA TIMESspecial section is titled:

There is still space available for advertising and articles. Deadline for both is FEBRUARY 20, 2009

Contact: cjewett@aspanet.org

Diversity Revisited

SPECIAL SECTION

Immigration: Issues Impacting Administration

Local Immigration Policies Complicate Comprehensive Immigration Reform Efforts

Directly or indirectly they[Obama Administration] will

have to respond to thetapestry of state and localimmigration policies thathave been adopted in theintervening years whileWashington failed to act.

PAGE 4 PA TIMES • FEBRUARY 2009 AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION

SPECIAL SECTION

Immigration: Issues Impacting Administration

Illegal Medical Care and License Registration?David Milen

The change in administration inWashington will certainly be confrontedwith the pressing issues facing our nation:The economy, bailouts, jobless ratesclimbing, and the illegal immigrationissues. Two of the areas of concern forpublic administrators will be focusing onwhether to provide health care benefitsand license registrations to illegalimmigrants living in the United States.

There has been much discussionsurrounding these topics at all levels ofgovernment, but the government has beendealing with cost issues surroundingmedical care and treatment of illegalaliens throughout the nation. HomelandSecurity estimates there are 22 millionillegal aliens in the United States andbillions of dollars are being spent on bothmedical care/treatment and licenseregistration infringements.

Priority Issues

Medical CareThere are federal laws that provide stateswith incentives to provide Medicaidcoverage to illegal immigrants. Manyhospitals in America are not able toabsorb the costs included in the treatmentand care of illegal immigrants. Manystates and hospitals don’t check to see thestatus of the patient (legal or illegal)causing a strain on the system and forcingmany hospitals to close their doors due tothe inability to sustain operations and lackof finances. On the other hand, there aremillions of legal immigrants and UScitizens that are not able to afford healthcare coverage and must risk livingwithout these benefits.

Some states are considering passinglegislation to adopt a law allowing illegalimmigrants to obtain health care coverageand permit them to have necessaryoperations, treatments, and proceduresdone in hospitals. The concerns arisewhen billions of dollars are being lostwithin the health care industry, jobs arebeing lost, and continual lack of availablefacilities is becoming a pressing issue.

Many emergency rooms are forced toclose their doors due to the inability toafford the outlay of monies in an effort toprovide medical treatment for illegalaliens. Most hospitals and facilities appearto have a budget set aside specifically forthe treatment of illegal immigrants,however, the funds set aside for illegalimmigrants are far above expectations andthe available funding. Hospitals and

emergency rooms in particular are losingmillions of dollars each year due to thisincreasing issue.

Future Implications and SolutionsAs this crisis increases, both hospital andpublic administrators will have made somemoral and ethical choices surroundingillegal immigrants, budgets, and overallsurvival of the health care system. Manymay pose the question, “How can we fixthis?” It may be in the best interest ofpublic administrators to look at what thefollow-up care costs may be after initially

treating the patient, and creating a policywhereby other countries would acceptmedical transfers for their own citizensbased on the treatments at the U.S. hospital.

It will take more than simple documenta-tion and creation of public policy. Thestakeholders that are involved in thesystem such as INS, families of those whowere treated at the hospital, attorneys, andthe foreign countries where the patientmay have traveled to the US. A commonprogram and policy must be developedthat does not reflect such a variety ofacceptance or non-acceptance dependingon state or region with the US.

Illegal Vehicle Insurance and Licensure

Vehicle InsuranceAnother issue change advocates will haveto address with policy and procedures isillegal aliens and vehicle insurance. Thegrowing number of illegal aliens withoutvehicle insurance, driving without properidentification, and becoming involved inmotor vehicle accidents is increasing.

There are some states, California, forexample, that do not have a set policy orlaw in place indicating insurancecompanies are not permitted to sellinsurance to an illegal alien. Thus, theopportunity exists for illegal aliens to havemotor vehicle insurance prior to gettingbehind the wheel. On the hand, there aremany insurance companies who will not

sell insurance to anyone who does not havea validated state driver’s license.

The moral and ethical dilemma arises onceagain when motorists are involved in anaccident, there is no insurance coverage byone party, and the burden then falls on themotorist who has been covered by acompany’s policy. The question arisesregarding life safety and payment issues.

It is quite possible for the benefit of lifesafety and monetary issues that illegalaliens should be permitted to obtaininsurance on a vehicle. This assistsmotorists along in the process of hospitalvisits and repairs that may be necessary torefurbish the vehicle that was damaged.On the other hand, there is an issue withhaving illegal aliens behind the wheel of amotor vehicle without proper state identi-fication or licensure from the Bureau ofMotor Vehicles.

Licensed to Drive? Although in some states the opportunityto purchase insurance may be availableand allowed, there may be issuessurrounding an illegal alien applying for adriver’s license. The State of Illinois, forexample, does not allow illegal aliens tohave a license nor operate a motor vehiclelegally under the current laws. Attemptshave been made to pass legislationallowing illegal immigrants to obtain a

driver’s certificate, but this legislation hasfailed on numerous occasions.

There are several states that do not requireproving legal status (Utah, Michigan,Hawaii, and Maine to name a few) inorder to obtain a driver’s license. Thepossible values of allowing illegal aliensthe opportunity to obtain a license aresafer highways and lower insurance ratesdue to fewer accidents. Opponents for thelegalization of this action feel it enticesundocumented immigrants to enter thecountry and cause further stress andpressures upon the system and highways.

Suggestions and SolutionsThe newly elected administration willhave much to address in the next fouryears. The issues and policies surroundingimmigration will need to be positivelyinfluenced by the US government andpublic policy developers. A commonpolicy for immigration reform, issuinglicenses, and permitting insurancepurchases are foundations to build uponfor future considerations for all stakehold-ers involved. The US needs to lead byexample and create stability to an increas-ing issue and ongoing issue.

ASPA member David Milen is interimprogram director at the School of PublicPolicy and Administration at WaldenUniversity. email: David.Milen@ssfhs.org

Homeland Security estimatesthere are 22 million illegalaliens in the United Statesand billions of dollars are

being spent on both medicalcare/treatment and licenseregistration infringements.

Have you visited

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Provost’s Fellowship atFlorida Atlantic University

This $2,500 fellowship will be awarded to two of the leading applicants to the FAU doctoral program for Fall 2009. To be eligible students must apply for admission to the FAU Ph.D. program in Public Administration. Fellowship is automatically renewable for a second year, and is on top of the normal doctoral fellowship which provides:

$16,000 per year stipend$22,000 in tuition and fees (approx. 90 percent of total)

More information about the FAU Ph.D. pro-gram, its faculty, and its emphases in Public Policy, Organizational Studies, Budgeting & Finance, and Public Administration Theory & Inquiry are available at: http://www.fau.edu/caupa/spa/phd/index.html

To apply on-line, go on the Graduate College link at: http://wise.fau.edu/graduate/

SCHOOL OF PUBLICADMINISTRATION

Florida Atlantic UniversitySchool of Public AdministrationFAU/BCC Higher Education Complex111 East Las Olas BoulevardFort Lauderdale, FL 33301

Phone: (954) 762-5650Fax: (954) 762-5673E-mail: spa@fau.edu

Christopher Daniel

The immigration conundrum is anextraordinarily multifaceted technicalproblem. Research organizations such asthe Migration Policy Institute(www.migrationpolicy.org/) publish highquality studies and ASPA members cancontribute expertise to on-going debates.The need for immigration reform alsopresents ASPA with a moral challenge,however. Fortunately, this is not the firsttime the United States have confrontedsuch difficulties. Both managers andscholars can learn a great deal by recall-ing past ethical struggles.

Administrators sometimes confront gut-wrenching dilemmas, situations in whichthe institutions that they serve violatefundamental human rights. With 20/20hindsight institutions flawed by racism orethnocentrism look grotesque. Managersthinking about apartheid, Jim Crow, or theNazi era often take deep breaths and thinkto themselves, “Thank heavens I didn’thave to perform my job while upholdingthat system!” Unfortunately, when institu-tions are unjust, or worse, many peopleworking within them fail to perceive whatis happening. Unexamined prejudicessquelch doubts, as does the deep-seatedemotional stake that people, especiallyAmericans, have in believing that the socialorder around them is morally defensible.

Current laws test peoples’ beliefs.Idealistic individuals become BorderPatrol officers to combat drug smugglingand protect the nation from terrorists, butmany later burn out and leave the agencyafter realizing that their efforts areprimarily directed towards apprehendingand incarcerating decent people whose“crimes” are simply seeking to performAmerica’s least desirable jobs, and/orattempting to re-unite with loved ones.

Meanwhile, social workers and publichealth professionals implement punitivedirectives that Congress imposed onimmigrants in the mid-1990s. Followingthe law, professionals make care availableto immigrant children who are U.S.Citizens while denying it to their slightlyolder siblings who are undocumentedpersons or Legal Permanent Residents.

Economists acknowledge the contributionsthat immigrants, both legal and unautho-rized, make to America’s economy.Congress, however, has refused to create‘earned legalization’ arrangements for theunauthorized while failing to expandavenues for legal immigration.Congressional inaction occurs despite thefact that the need for foreign labor has longbeen palpable. For decades there have notbeen enough U.S. citizens and legalimmigrants available to meet the needs ofAmerican agriculture, construction, janitor-ial services, hotels and restaurants. Insteadof addressing those labor shortages in ahumane and just manner, Congress hasexpanded border enforcement, authorizedconstruction of the ‘Great Wall ofChihuahua,’ and quietly funded develop-ment of an immigration gulag in theSouthwest, a prison system capable ofholding 30,000 men, women and children.

Comprehensive immigration bills arecomplex, involving many contendinginterests. However, other proposalssometimes present legislators with simple,morally consequential choices. Consider,for example, the DREAM Act, a bill tocreate earned legalization for immigrantyouth who were brought into the U.S. aschildren. By staying out of trouble withthe law for six years while successfullycompleting two years of college ormilitary service those young people wouldbe permitted to earn Legal PermanentResidence status. As a practical matter,

many beneficiaries of the DREAM Actwould be Mexican-Americans. As theEnglish speaking products of U.S. school-ing and poplar culture, many of thoseyouth have no memories of ever havinglived outside of the United States.

Responding to their constituents’prejudices, an anti-immigrant coalitionblocked passage of the DREAM Act inlate 2007. Senators opposed to theDREAM Act sent a powerful message toimmigrant youth that their individualefforts and achievements do not matterbecause other Americans perceive them tobe ‘criminals’ not worthy of Americanfutures. As they have in the past, unjustlaws continue disillusioning youngpeople, pushing some of them intomaking unhealthy choices and thenbringing children of their own intounderclass cultures of despair.

This writer lives in central Kentucky, aregion whose blue-collar Latinoimmigrant population has grown rapidlyduring the past twenty years. “Hispanics”constituted 2.5 percent of the Bluegrassstate’s population in 2005, according tothe Census, but the group’s presence hasbeen geographically uneven. Latinoimmigrants have concentrated in placeswhere their labor has been needed tounder gird expanding local economies, anarrangement that has disproportionatelyaffected some urban neighborhoods andsmall towns. Public officials and adminis-trators in those communities, andelsewhere, face three types of immigra-tion-related challenges.

First, public servants sometimes havedifficulty interacting effectively withimmigrant clients/constituents. Manypublic missions (education, law enforce-ment, health provision, tax collection,social work) cannot be accomplishedeffectively without languagecapabilities/accommodations and relatedcultural competency. Both legal andunauthorized immigration contribute tothis challenge, which is, however, transi-tory in character. Members of immigrantsecond generations (including Mexican-Americans) speak English and effectivelycome to terms with the national culture.

The second type of challenge that officialsexperience stems from people not possess-ing legal status. Sometimes individualsare literally “undocumented”, making itdifficult or impossible for street levelbureaucrats to verify their identities. Onother occasions anti-immigrant lawscomplicate public service.

For example, efforts to promote trafficsafety by training and licensing drivers areundermined in Kentucky, and in many other

states, by laws prohibiting unauthorizedimmigrants from obtaining licenses. Suchlaws have not eliminated states’ dependenceon those immigrants’ labor, nor have themeasures obviated the need for thoseworkers to learn the rules of Americanroad. Instead, both immigrants and publicsafety are harmed by the restrictions.

The third challenge facing officials is theneed for them to address expressions ofbigotry by U.S.-born people. MichiganState University scholars recentlyconducted an extensive study of howLatino newcomers are received in ruralIndiana and Michigan. They found thatalmost all of the Latinos whom theyinterviewed, including some adults whohad spent their entire lives in the Midwest,had received discriminatory messages.Some were told “Go back to Mexico”while others were beaten by Anglo gangs.

Contemporary animosity is directed moststrongly against Mexican immigrants, butit also affects others who are conflatedwith them. Anthropologist Leo Chavezhas recently documented that prejudicialstereotypes dominate contemporary massmedia discussions about immigration. Axenophobic “Latino Threat Narrative”simultaneously disparages undocumentedMexican immigrants, U.S. born Mexican-Americans, other Spanish speakers, andpeople who simply happen to be NativeAmerican or mestizo in appearance.

Mexican bashing resonates because it hasdeep roots. Widespread racism has beendirected against Americans of LatinAmerican origin since at least the 1840swhen the new states of Texas andCalifornia denied suffrage and other rightsto their numerous Spanish-speakinginhabitants of mestizo and Native-American ancestry. As late as the mid-twentieth century southwestern statesimposed de jure school segregation,residential segregation, and anti-miscegenation laws on Latinos. Todayrestrictive immigration laws both reflect,and also reinforce, public prejudices.

Recognizing institutional racism can bedifficult, requiring people to criticallyexamine personal beliefs, history, and theoperation of current laws. Although stress-ful to undertake, this process eventuallyenables people to confront injustices andreestablish respect for themselves and theircommunities. Just as the mid-twentiethcentury Black Civil Rights Movement ledthe nation through such a passage, today’sImmigrant Rights Movement seeks totransform laws and attitudes.

The degree to which the Immigrant RightsMovement achieves its objectives willdetermine how successful the nation is,over the course of the next 30 years, inintegrating (assimilating and accepting) itsrapidly growing non-white, foreign-bornlaboring class. For both moral and practi-cal reasons ASPA, and the practitionersand scholars whom it inspires, shouldsupport that endeavor.

Christopher Daniel teaches MPA classesat Kentucky State University. In 2005 heco-founded “educating Latinos forKentucky’s Future,” a small service,professional networking and advocacyorganization. email:christopher.daniel@kysu.edu

AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION PA TIMES • FEBRUARY 2009 PAGE 5

SPECIAL SECTION

Immigration: Issues Impacting Administration

Immigration’s Moral Challenge

Just as the mid-twentiethcentury Black Civil RightsMovement led the nationthrough such a passage,today’s Immigrant Rights

Movement seeks totransform laws and attitudes.

Public Administration with anAttitude brings together someof H. George Frederickson’smost penetrating and thought-provoking columns from thepages of PA TIMeS. In thebook, Frederickson takes on the issues facingtoday’s public administrators with theintellectual integrity that established him as aleader in the field. If there is somethingwrong or right with the way public policy isbeing administered, Frederickson lets youknow. Like his column, PublicAdministration with an Attitude is easy toread and jargon-free, and, of course, it isoften witty.

Students preparing for public service careerswill benefit not only from the wisdom andinsight in Public Administration with anAttitude, but from the pervading theme of thehonor and dignity of public service.Practicing public servants will enjoy the richuse of examples, the telling of great publicadministration stories, and especially thedescriptions of public administration heroesand heroic moments.

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Public

Administration

a new publication from ASPA

by H. George Frederickson

Abraham David Benavides

I am currently writing a paper on immigra-tion and its impact on local governmentthat I will present at an upcoming confer-ence. My original intention was tosummarize my findings and share someinteresting information. However, the moreI wrote about facts and figures the more Iwas inclined to share some personalfeelings about immigration.

I was born in San Diego, CA. My motheris from Mexico and my father is fromCosta Rica, Central America. My parentsimmigrated to the United States in the1960s. My father became a naturalizedU.S. citizen while my mother is apermanent resident with a Green Card thatserves as proof of her legal resident statusin the United States. Growing-up I wasunaware of the labels that are used tocategorize people–Hispanic, Latino,Brown, Immigrant, etc. I credit my parentsand the San Diego community for allowingme to develop a personality un- tinged byrace, discrimination, intolerance and theother prejudices that separate humankind.

I remember going to Tijuana, Mexicoalmost on a weekly basis. My fatherwould take my brother and I to get ourhair cut, we would buy fruits and vegeta-bles that were not available in the UnitedStates and we would visit friends or take

care of some other business. I remembercalling our first dog Citizen because webrought him from Mexico into the UnitedStates (I guess we did it illegally).

As I became older I realized that therewas a border and that to get back home Ihad to say, “U.S. citizen” to the customsand immigration agent. I witnessed anumber of people crossing illegally intothe United States by simply lifting thefence and crawling under. I eventuallyunderstood, at least to a small degree, thedifference between me and others thatlooked exactly like me and my ability tocross the border legally.

It was an interesting time and despite theirbeing “illegal aliens” in the United States,I never really felt it was an issue thatwould affect me personally.

Fast forward a number of years. I wascutting the grass in the front yard late lastsummer dressed in my old Levis withholes in them, a t-shirt, sweating, hot andjust trying to get done the normal choreson a Saturday. I noticed, as cars drove by,that drivers looked at me with distrust.Although I don’t know what they werethinking, I suspected they murmured: “Itlooks like the neighbors got an “illegal” todo their yard work,” “There is anotherone, taking the job someone else coulddo.” To add to my suspicion when mywife came home from the store (by theway, she is a naturalized citizen from thecountry of Guatemala), she thought toherself “who is that Mexican cutting ourgrass–I wonder who Abraham got to helphim in the yard.” Maybe I need to dressup when I cut the grass from now on.

The fact that I am a hard working memberof my community, that fact that I paytaxes and serve on boards and commis-sions, the fact that I have a pretty goodjob and serve in my church is now allbrought into question, because of thecolor of my skin. My loyalty to thiscountry and my citizenship are now indoubt by those who do not know mebecause my skin tone is darker.

Will I and others like me need to resort toname tags with bar codes hung around ournecks with matching lanyards that identify

us as U.S. citizens? (I think this happenedonce before in history, but they wereyellow stars). Will I constantly need toaffirm my legal status (above and beyondthe normal I-9 process) before someonedecides to do business with me? There area number of other questions, but this willsuffice for now.

Immigration reform or the lack there of,was attempted most recently in 2005,2006 and 2007. Its failure has caused anumber of unintended consequences–ICEraids, detention center abuses, state,county and local government regulationsand ordinances against illegal immigrants,etc. I perhaps do not know the solution tothe immigration issues that affect ourcountry today, but I do know that in ourattempt to devise a workable solution, wemust not forget the civil and human rightsof the people that are at the center of theimmigration debate. I have learned thatsooner or later we will all be affected bywhat we decide to do. My days of simplysaying “U.S. citizen” are long gone andmy daughter’s days of identifying herselfas a U.S. Citizen are now in question.

ASPA member Abraham David Benavidesis associate professor of public adminis-tration and co-MPA program coordinatorin the department of public administrationat the University of North Texas. email:Abraham.Benavides@unt.edu

PAGE 6 PA TIMES • FEBRUARY 2009 AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION

SPECIAL SECTION

Immigration: Issues Impacting Administration

Some Personal Reflections on Immigration

My loyalty to this country and my citizenship

are now in doubt by thosewho do not know me

because my skin tone isdarker.

Presidential Fellowship atFlorida Atlantic University

This $5,000 award will be awarded to the two top applicants to the FAU doctoral program for Fall 2009. To be eligible students must apply for admission to the FAU Ph.D. program in Public Administration. Fellowship is automati-cally renewable for a second year, and is on top of the normal doctoral fellowship which provides:

$16,000 per year stipend$22,000 in tuition and fees (approx. 90 percent of total)

More information about the FAU Ph.D. pro-gram, its faculty, and its emphases in Public Policy, Organizational Studies, Budgeting & Finance, and Public Administration Theory & Inquiry are available at: http://www.fau.edu/caupa/spa/phd/index.html

To apply on-line, go on the Graduate College link at: http://wise.fau.edu/graduate/

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Florida Atlantic UniversitySchool of Public AdministrationFAU/BCC Higher Education Complex111 East Las Olas BoulevardFort Lauderdale, FL 33301

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What do we Expect from our Government?

A conference celebrating 75 years of scholarship and service

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• Reflecions by deans present and past• FDR’s legacy• Issues facing the new administration and Congress

DINNER AND GUEST SPEAKERSpeaker from the Obama administration. Seating is limited; reservations are required.

PANELSDiscussions with practitioners and scholars:

• Oversight (9:00am)• Immigration (9:00am)• Campaign and Elections (10:30 am)• Climate Change (10:30am)• Regulation (1:30pm)• Terrorism (1:30pm)

RECEPTION

Please register for Conference by March 10, 2009.

For more information: e-mail: 75thspaconference@american.edu or call: 202-885-6390spa.american.edu eo/aa

AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION PA TIMES • FEBRUARY 2009 PAGE 7

John Kamensky

In both his campaign and in his inauguraladdress, President Barack Obama placedan emphasis on government performanceand results. One commentator said that hewill govern less through ideology andmore through the pragmatic use of fact-based decision processes. This camethrough clearly in his inaugural address:

“The question we ask today is not whetherour government is too big or too small, butwhether it works–whether it helps familiesfind jobs at a decent wage, care they canafford, a retirement that is dignified. Wherethe answer is yes, we intend to moveforward. Where the answer is no, programswill end. And those of us who manage thepublic's dollars will be held to account–tospend wisely, reform bad habits and do ourbusiness in the light of day–because onlythen can we restore the vital trust between apeople and their government.”

To act on this, he said he would appoint thegovernment’s first “chief performanceofficer” who would report directly to him.He named Nancy Killefer to this role inearly January. Killefer’s background is well-suited to the role. She served as an assistantsecretary for management in the ClintonAdministration and was most recently incharge of McKinsey Consulting’s federalinitiatives. She was also dual-hatted with thejob of deputy director for management at theOffice of Management and Budget (OMB).

This means she’ll have theinstitutional leverage ofOMB and be a Senate-confirmed appointee, not justa White House staffer.

Since the role is a new one,she’ll have plenty of opportu-nity to shape its direction.

A new report by ShelleyMetzenbaum to the IBMCenter for The Business ofGovernment offers a framework for shaping the role of the chief performance officer.

In “Performance ManagementRecommendations for the NewAdministration,” Metzenbaum examinesthe evolution of the development and useof performance goals and measures overthe past two presidential administrationsand offers insights and recommendationsto the Obama Administration. Theseinsights and recommendations are basedon extensive interviews with keystakeholders in agencies, Congress, OMB,and outside interest groups, as well as herown experience as a federal executive.

Results of InterviewsMetzenbaum’s interviews revealed that evenafter 16 years of efforts, there still is nocomprehensive way for the public orCongress to see how the federal governmentis performing and what agency goals andprogram targets are. In addition, she found:

• Too much attention hasbeen devoted to communicat-ing the “percentage of targetsmet” as the primary indicatorof overall performance. Toolittle attention has been paidto communicating informa-tion about performancetargets and trends.

• The program review processhas been overly subjective and

created frustrating disputes over whatconstitutes appropriate measures, targets,and evaluation methods.

• And, interviewees felt that too muchattention has been given to programreviews, assessments, and control, andtoo little to providing expert advice andimprovement.

She concludes that despite reams ofperformance material produced in responseto federal requirements, “it is still remark-ably difficult to find meaningful govern-ment performance information…becausetoo little attention has been paid tocommunicating targets and trends and toomuch to communicating the ‘percentage oftargets met’ as the primary indicator ofoverall performance.”

Guiding PrinciplesMetzenbaum identified a set of guidingprinciples that she believe should informthe design of the Obama Administration’sperformance management improvementinitiatives. These principles are based onthe notion that performance informationshould be used to improve performance,not just report performance for accounta-bility purposes. Given this premise, federalleaders should:

• Communicate performance trends andtargets, not target attainment and ratings.

• Encourage performance improvementwith increased diagnostic analysis, practi-cal experiments, and knowledge sharing.

• Present information in ways that meet theneeds of specific audiences.

• Structure accountability mechanisms toencourage and inspire, not embarrass,reprimand, or punish.

RecommendationsBased on the findings from her interviewsand the guiding principles she developed,Metzenbaum created a set of fairly discreterecommendations for the new administra-tion. She targeted her recommendations tothe key actors on performance manage-ment in the executive branch:

The President should:

• Clearly identify presidential and cabinetpriority targets, assign responsibility forthem, and meet at least quarterly withcabinet members to assess progress.

• Create a Chief Performance Officer and aWhite House performance unit.

• Run goal-focused, data-driven meetings,similar to those used in “performance-stats” run by states and localities.

The Office of Management and Budget should:

• Direct agencies and programs to settargets and the direction of performancetrends for key indicators.

• Continue, but revise the ProgramAssessment Rating Tool (PART). Thenew Obama White House website retainsthe PART rating reports from the BushAdministration.

• Re-design the existing federal perform-ance portal to make it easier to findperformance trends, targets, and otherrelated information.

• Facilitate cross-agency learning aboutperformance improvement and analysis.

Cabinet secretaries and agency heads should:

• Review the performance trends andexisting targets and revise to reflect thenew Administration’s priorities.

• Run their own goal-focused, data-drivenmeetings.

• Create agency web-based performanceportals and link them to their agency’shome pages.

The Performance ImprovementCouncil–comprised largely of career agencyofficials–should lead a process to revise thePART so as to shift the emphasis fromprogram rating to performance improvement.

Metzenbaum observes that two simpletools–goals and measurement–are amongthe most powerful mechanisms available toa President to influence the vast scope offederal agencies and programs. However,they are useless unless used. Herrecommendations should provide aroadmap to the new Administration and thenew chief performance office on how toleverage the existing plentiful supply ofgoals and performance information in newways that get results Americans care about.

ASPA member John Kamensky is a seniorfellow with the IBM Center for TheBusiness of Government, an associatepartner with IBM Global Business Servicesand a fellow of the National Academy forPublic Administration. email:john.kamensky@us.ibm.com.

Shelley Metzenbaum’s report,“Performance ManagementRecommendations for the NewAdministration” (January 2009) isavailable for free at: www.businessofgov-ernment.org.

Advice to Obama’s New Chief Performance OfficerINSIGHTS ONPERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT by JOHN KAMENSKY

“The question we ask today isnot whether our governmentis too big or too small, but

whether it works–whether it helps families findjobs at a decent wage, carethey can afford, a retirement

that is dignified. Where the answer is yes, weintend to move forward.Where the answer is no,

programs will end. And those of us who managethe public's dollars will be

held to account…”The Second Annual

Public PerformanceMeasurement andReporting Conference

Rutgers University-NewarkJanuary 23-24, 2009

David N. Ammons – NationalPerformance Advisory Commission

Dr. Ammons specializes in productivity im-provement, performance measurement, andbenchmarking in local government, and is amember of the National Performance Manage-ment Advisory Commission.

Jeffrey A. Kay – Director of NewYork City Mayor's Office of Operations

Kay oversees the publication of the Mayor'sManagement Report, a twice-annual reportcard on the delivery of city services. TheMayor's Office of Operations also helps man-age the daily operations of city agencies andcoordinates initiatives and special projects toimprove the delivery of city services.

www.ppmrn.net/annual-conference

Keynote Speakers

Sponsored by:

For the latest information on schedules, presentations, and to register for the conference:

Conference presentations willcover performance measurement,management, budgeting, and citizenengagement. Samples from theupcoming conference include:

-Performance measurement and managementpresentations from:New York City, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh,City & County of San Francisco, among others

-Utilization of 311 Systems to enhance citizen andgovernment linkages

-Performance measurement in Virginia’s PublicMental Health System

-Using Baldridge Criteria to improve yourperformance measures

-Citizen engagement and performance measurement

-Findings from the Trailblazers Program

-And much more!

PAGE 8 PA TIMES • FEBRUARY 2009 AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION

Mecklenburg County’s Focus on Citizens TransformsGovernment, Positions County for Tough EconomyThe Balanced Scorecard Institute Honors County’s Success with Award for Excellence

Cary, NC–In 2001, Mecklenburg County,the largest county in North Carolina, facednumerous challenges. Rapid populationgrowth meant a continuously growingdemand for new infrastructure which madedebt service one of the county’s fastestgrowing expenses. At the same time, therewere debilitating reductions in state fundingwhich resulted in radical across-the-boardcuts in county spending and programs.

Complicating matters, the county’sstrategy and funding decisions swungback and forth between widely divergentends of the political spectrum every twoyears. The county was struggling with twodiametrically opposed ideologies: that thecounty should be all things to all peopleand, yet, should not raise taxes.

It was within this climate that MecklenburgCounty Manager, Harry Jones, sought away to make planning, budgeting, andperformance more transparent, responsible,sustainable and affordable for countyresidents. As part of this process, the Boardof County Commissioners set a bold andunifying vision for Mecklenburg County,“By 2015, we will be a community ofpride and choice for people to live, work,and recreate.”

To date, Mecklenburg County hasachieved nearly 60 percent of its goals for2015 and has improved performance innearly 20 percent of remaining goals,thanks to a customer-focused managementapproach driven by results and implemen-tation of a balanced scorecard to measurethose results.

The county’s profound transformation andsuccess has earned Mecklenburg Countythe Award for Excellence from theBalanced Scorecard Institute in Cary, NC.

“The balanced scorecard and ourManaging for Results approach havetransformed the way Mecklenburg Countyoperates,” said County Manager HarryJones. “They have helped us be moretransparent in how public funds are used,and more accountable for the results weachieve with those funds.

“Our goal is to achieve real results thatimprove the lives of all of the residents ofMecklenburg County, said Jones. “Ourbalanced scorecard keeps us focused onour customers and improving our results.”

For example:

• In 2008, the county met its 2015 goal ona mental health index designed tomeasure increased access to and use ofmental health services.

• End of grade math scores forMecklenburg County students jumpedfrom 66 percent performing at or abovegrade level in 2007 to 82 percent in 2008.

• Citizens’ level of satisfaction withcounty recreational opportunitiesimproved from 86 percent in 2007 to 92percent in 2008.

• Public awareness of the county’s responsi-bilities, services and results increased in2008 and, in fact, exceeded the 2015 goal.

Complete results are outlined in thecounty’s recently released 2008Performance Report to the public. Thecounty is now a model of transparency,releasing its annual performance resultson its Web site, at county offices andlibraries, and in local media.

In announcing this winner of theinstitute’s highest honor, BalancedScorecard Institute President and CEOHoward Rohm recognized “the exemplarypassion and involvement of the manydedicated employees of MecklenburgCounty who implemented the BalancedScorecard Institute’s unique strategicplanning and management system.”

The Balanced Scorecard Institute choseMecklenburg County as an award recipi-ent because, said Rohm, “in translatingplans for the future into actions for today,this organization has done everythingright. Using our balanced scorecard NineSteps to Success Planning andManagement System™, MecklenburgCounty built an enduring framework forprofound transformation, guaranteeingfuture success.”

The balanced scorecard approach hashelped the county prepare for tougheconomic times. In past downturns, thecounty had implemented cuts across-the-board and eliminated vacant positions,often with unintended consequences. Oneyear, several vacant positions in thecounty’s Tax Collector’s Office wereeliminated, leaving the county withoutenough staff to handle an increase inquestions from tax payers or to processtax payments.

“Now, any decisions about budget andfunding will be made with a fullunderstanding of the impact that they willhave on our service to MecklenburgCounty residents and on our long-termgoals for the county,” said CountyManager Jones. “Using the balancedscorecard has helped us identify our priori-ties and any reductions in spending will bemade in the context of those priorities.”

Given the current economic climate, Joneswas asked if the county will be able toachieve all of its ambitious goals for 2015.“We feel very good about what we’veaccomplished so far, and we’re realisticallyoptimistic,” said Jones. “We’re optimisticthat we’ll achieve our goals, but realisticthat it’s going to be a difficult task.”

About Mecklenburg County: MecklenburgCounty is the largest county in NorthCarolina and the most urban. The county,which includes the city of Charlotte, hasapproximately 880,000 residents andcontinues to grow at about 3 percent a year.

Other transformation awards received byMecklenburg County:

• 2007 NACIO Awards of Excellence forMecklenburg County’s 2006 AnnualPerformance Report (National Associationof County Information Officers)

• 2005 City & County PerformanceManagement Award (The PerformanceInstitute)

• 2004 Achievement Award forMecklenburg County’s Program Review(National Association of Counties)

• 2003 Achievement Award forMecklenburg County’s Managing forResults Initiative (National Associationof Counties)

For more information about the BalancedScorecard Institute, visit www.balanced-scorecard.org.

Contact: cjewett@aspanet.org

1 Job Ad, 3 Options: Print Only • Web Only • Print and Web

Congratulations to our Northern Virginia Public Service Fellows

Graduates

-Class of 2009-

EExxeeccuuttiivvee MMPPAA PPrrooggrraamm

pia.gmu.edu mpa@gmu.edu

Karla Bruce Tanya Burrell James Chandler Janelle Downes Scot Ferris Jennifer Fioretti Dianne Gittins Nicole Hankin Dawn Harman Catherine Heritage William Hoff

Andrea Jones Monty Lowe Lauren Meister Patrick Moore Allison Mulligan Bonnie Parker Judith Risdon Janet Romanchyk Shelly Santos Wil Slaughter Stephen Thompson

AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION PA TIMES • FEBRUARY 2009 PAGE 9

Michelle Lewis-Blossman

Some people clean house and organizeregularly because it is a small thing theycan control in an otherwise uncontrollableworld. Others “spring clean” once or twicea year. Whatever their schedule, mostpeople recognize the value of cleaning andgetting their house in order. Given thecurrent economic downturn, now is aperfect time to get the HR house in orderand prepare for the seasons to come.

Whether evaluating your HR departmentto identify immediate cost savings orpreparing for more positive economictimes, there is a productive way to “springclean” an HR department.

PlanFirst and foremost, it is essential toactually understand your budget beforeyou can start making decisions thatimpact the bottom line. While more andmore HR professionals have an MBA orcome from the finance department, not allHR directors love numbers. It doesn’tmean you can’t learn or aren’t learningthe skill set; it just means that you mayhave to partner with someone fromfinance or budget to help you with thisuntil you do. At the same time that youare deepening your understanding of yourbudget and preparing to make potentially

challenging decisions, you have a choicein how you view your human resources.

Some companies think of their employeesas costs to be increased and decreased onan as needed basis, others take a resource-based approach and view them as assetsthat increase in value with development.How you view your resources mayinfluence the alternatives that youconsider. Be prepared to not only developcreative alternatives of what to do withyour resources, but also to justify thosedecisions to the CFO, Board or a largercommunity. We have all seen positionseliminated only to have those terminatedemployees hired back in consulting rolesthat increase operational costs–the classic

short-term cost-cutting reduction thatyields higher costs in the longer term.

Start with a function-by-function budgetreview. From compensation and benefits torecruiting and talent development, you’llneed to understand the primary sources anduses of revenue for each department. Takeit function by function until you know howevery dollar that comes in and every dollarthat goes out is accounted for in yourdepartment. With your organizationalknowledge, your HR strategy and yourdetailed understanding of the budget, it isnow time to build a budget from thebottom up that aligns the business and HRstrategy with the HR operating strategy.

Building this budget from the bottom upwill help you plan how you should beusing the budget to execute on your HRstrategy to support company strategy. Italso helps you define that relationship anddelineate the type of return that can beexpected from organizational investmentsin HR. And, if you have enough detail,your budget will increase your credibilitywith the departments that are generallydetermining those financial investments.As you build the budget, align it withyour prior year’s budget and spend, andcompare the two. Ask yourself why theyvary and begin to challenge the historicalassumptions that have traditionally beenbuilt into those numbers. For example, ifthe training budget for your HR depart-ment was $220,000 last year, but youspent $368,000, why did you overspendthat significantly? What were the resultsof the programs that you offered? Whichof those programs had the greatest ROI?

Once you know how and where yourbudget is being spent, you can determinewhich services that you offer are core andnon-core. Core services are the servicesthat the HR department must provide inorder to ensure alignment and support ofthe business strategy. Services that do notfall under this umbrella are more likely tobe severed when budgets begin to dictate.How do you know which services are atyour core? If the organization would putitself at strategic, regulatory or legal riskby not providing the service, it is core. Forexample, the quality and quantity ofteachers is crucial to the success of aschool system. Could the school systemsave money by outsourcing those services?Maybe. Would they lose control of one ofone their core resources? Definitely.

When comparing budgets:Pay close attention to potential redundan-cies across departments. Are any lines ofbusiness (LOBs) providing some of thesame services as HR? If so, you may bepaying two different providers, internally orexternally, to provide the same service. Ifthis appears to be the case, can you eitherdecrease the costs associated with thatservice by bundling with that LOB oreliminate the need for one of the providers?

If you choose the latter, you will not onlyneed to evaluate both providers anddetermine which is producing the greatestROI in support of the HR strategy, butalso provide some guarantees to the LOBthat it will receive the same level ofservice that it had when it was the directbuyer. Without this evaluation, you couldend up like a one public sector organiza-tion, which paid another city agency $1.2

million to perform the same tasks it wasdoing internally because “it had alwaysbeen that way.” Should more than oneinternal group be performing the sametask, look for opportunities to consolidate.

Review contracts. Evaluate eachcontract–not only the return on investmenton each contract, but also the potentialleverage points in the clauses. Publicsector organizations may include a “mostfavored customer” clause, which guaran-tees the organization the lowest rate thatthe vendor has offered its most favoredcustomer. If so, performing anaudit/review to ascertain whether or notyou have received the rate, as guaranteedby the contract, may allow you to seekretroactive adjustments if you have notreceived the most favored rates. Whatleverage do you have as a purveyor of alarge contract to decrease your cost withyour existing vendor or by changingvendors? Can you cancel non-corecontracts, and renegotiate others?

Knowing which tasks are integral to yoursuccess, you can now benchmark yourperformance against competitors to seehow your function today compares tosimilar companies in your industry, regionand size–which may or may not reflectoptimal efficiency or effectiveness. Doyou have a larger or smaller HR staff? Areyou getting half of the work done withtwice as many people? How do youcompare to the national average? If youare larger, does your staff level provideyou with the flexibility to redeploy staffin times of crisis?

In comparing your function to a competi-tor, you need to look at why a given targetbenchmark is appropriate, and develop ahard business case to justify the similaritiesor variances. Should the benchmarkingratios suggest that you are not performingcore tasks satisfactorily, ranking yourorganization against other organizationsprovides you with an excellent platform toreview processes and see where anyhidden, indirect costs may lie.

Are there key departmental processes andcontrols that are undefined, limited ormissing altogether and have indirect costsassociated with them? Is there a lengthytermination process that encouragesworkarounds? One educational systemwith a challenging termination processsaw senior staff use paid administrativeleave for underperformers, rather thanterminate them, increasing payroll costsand decreasing efficiency.

With a firm grasp of how the functionworks, it is now time to increase theinvolvement of the HR department.People who work “in the trenches” cansave the organization limitless time andmoney by identifying potential pitfallsand process issues or by uncovering “deadbodies” that you might not be able to see.A staffing manager at a New Orleanscompany not only helped identify a list ofemployees on undocumented leave forseveral years, but also helped redesign theleave of absence policies and proceduresto decrease the number of employees onunnecessary or unapproved leaves.Moreover, without contribution and buy-infrom HR staff, the knowledge and skill

Solutions for Public Managers

Spring Cleaning for HR

Whether evaluating your HRdepartment to identify

immediate cost savings orpreparing for more positiveeconomic times, there is aproductive way to “springclean” an HR department.

See HR SPRING CLEANING, pg. 11

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PAGE 10 PA TIMES • FEBRUARY 2009 AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION

Federal Government Ideal Employer for Young Job-SeekersGovernment/Public Service Top Choice for Students According to New Report Washington, DC–Despite the nation's grimeconomy, the federal government ishiring, and according to GreatExpectations, a report released by thePartnership for Public Service andUniversum USA, federal jobs are anexcellent match for young job seekersinterested in doing good–and doing well.

"With the slumping economy, a lot of jobseekers are giving our federal governmenta second look. This poll suggests youngapplicants will like what they see,” saidMax Stier, president and CEO of thePartnership for Public Service.

“The conditions are right for federalagencies to bring in top talent,” Stiercontinued. “The question is, ‘will theytake advantage of this opportunity or let it pass?’”

The report, “Great Expectations: What

Students Want in an Employer and HowFederal Agencies Can Deliver It,” is basedon Universum’s 2008 survey of 43,000undergraduates that identifies qualitiesyoung people seek in employers. Keyreport findings from 32,000 Americanrespondents include:

• Among students surveyed,“Government/public service” is the mostpopular industry choice out of 46 options.Seventeen percent of undergraduatesselected the government/public serviceindustry as one in which they would“ideally want to work when choosingtheir first employment after graduation.”The next most popular are health care (13percent), education (12 percent), andmarketing/advertising (11 percent).

• Five of students’ top 15 “ideal” employ-ers–from a list of 260–are federal

agencies. Jobs with the Department ofState, the National Aeronautics and SpaceAdministration, the Peace Corps, theCentral Intelligence Agency and theFederal Bureau of Investigation are allhighly coveted, among students surveyed.

• Government offers the main qualitiesundergraduates seek. A healthy work/lifebalance is undergraduates’ number onecareer goal, with 66 percent of studentsciting this as a priority. Serving thegreater good and job stability are tied asthe second most desirable traits.

To help federal agencies put the surveyresults to use, the report recommends thatagency recruiters:

• Understand the preferences and interestsof the new generation of students theyseek to hire and distinctly brand theiragencies so that those students understand

what they do and what they offer.

• Adjust their strategic and tactical recruit-ing plans to meet students’ preferencesand needs.

• Meet students online and on campus(including at career fairs), and providethem with the information and meaning-ful human contact they seek.

According to the report, “while theeconomic downturn creates morefavorable conditions for agencies to bringin top workers, government will need tobe smart to take advantage of thisopportunity. Our federal governmentneeds the very best talent our country hasto offer and those individuals will havechoices even in a down market.”

For more information, visitwww.ourpublicservice.org.

ICF Announces Top Seven Communities of 2009Top Seven are Finalists in Intelligent Community of the Year Award Process

Honolulu, HI & New York City–TheIntelligent Community Forum recentlyan-nounced its list of the Top SevenCommunities of 2009. One of the TopSeven will succeed the Gangnam Districtof Seoul, South Korea as IntelligentCommunity of the Year.

The Top Seven of 2009The following communities, drawn fromthe Smart21 of 2009, were named to theTop Seven:

• Bristol, Virginia, USA. As a first timehonoree, Bristol made an impact aftertaking on incumbent telcos in court andthe state legislature to win the right todeploy a fiber network called OptiNet.Conceived as a backbone serving govern-ment and schools, OptiNet has growninto a fiber-to-the-premises network forbusiness and residents in Bristol and fourneighboring counties. It has also attractedmore than $50 million in private invest-ment, including the region's first technol-ogy employers, and improved ruraleducation and healthcare by connectinglocal providers to leading institutions.

• eindhoven, Netherlands. The Eindhovenmetropolitan area (a 2008 Smart21) haslong been the industrial heart of theNetherlands. Through a public-privatecollaboration called Brainport, the regionis ramping up its knowledge economy tomaintain and accelerate growth in ahyper-competitive global market, while atthe same time coping with an agingpopulation and shrinking workforce.Among more than 40 public-privateprojects are an award-winning coop thathas brought FTTP and a broadbandculture of use to the suburb of Neunen,and the SKOOL outsourced IT manage-ment system for public schools.

• Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada.For most of its history, government andeducation were the economic mainstaysof Fredericton (a 2008 Top Seven). Whenit could not get broadband from theprivate sector, Fredericton founded the e-Novations coop, which deployed a fiberring that spurred competition, giving the

city a 70 percent penetration rate atspeeds of up to 18 Mbps. The next stepwas the Fred-eZone wireless network,which provides free WiFi service across65 percent of the city. The combinationof broadband, entrepreneurship andFredericton's universities has powered thecreation of over 12,000 jobs.

• Issy-les-Moulineaux, France. Issy-les-Moulineax (a 2006 Top Seven) becamethe industrial zone of Paris in the early20th Century only to suffer de-industrial-ization in the post-war years. Beginning in1980, a visionary mayor focused policy oncreating an innovative, IT-basedknowledge economy, implementing e-government, outsourcing IT needs andtaking advantage of liberalization to attractcompetitive fiber carriers deploying cost-effective broadband. Public-privateinnovation includes a cyber-kindergartenfor children, cyber tearooms for oldercitizens, citizen e-participation in decision-making, a successful business incubatorand ICT-based real estate projects.

• Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada.Twenty years ago, the Moncton regionwas a former railroad and industrial hubfacing a doubtful future. Since then, thisbilingual community has become a majorCanadian customer contact and backoffice center, and built a "near-shore" IToutsourcing industry. Private-sectorcarriers have collaborated in the city'sgrowth as a telecom-centric economy,and helped power the addition of 20,000new jobs since the early 1990s.

• Stockholm, Sweden. In the mid-90s,Stockholm, the economic and politicalcapital of Sweden, established a companycalled Stokab to build an open-accessfiber network. Today, the 4,500 kmnetwork connects more than 90 compet-ing service providers to government andbusiness customers. Though the cityalready has a 98 percent broadbandpenetration rate, Stokab will also provideFTTP access to over 95,000 low-incomehouseholds in public housing by the endof 2009. Stockholm also manages KISTA

Science City, housing more than 1,400companies, plus a support program forstart-up and early-stage companies.

• Tallinn, estonia. Three-time Top Sevencommunity Tallinn has risen from post-Soviet economic ruin to become aneconomic tiger largely on the strength ofICT. Making creative use of people andfunding, Tallinn computerized its schoolsand deployed widespread WiFi as well asnearly 700 public access kiosks. The cityalso developed a large-scale digital skillstraining program, extensive e-government,and an award-winning smart ID card.Through partnerships, it developed high-tech parks including Ulemiste City, TallinnTechnology Park and Cooperative CyberDefence Center. Rated #2 worldwide foreconomic potential by the FinancialTimes, Tallinn is home to half of Estonia'scompanies, which receive 77 percent ofthe country's foreign direct investment.

Profiles of the communities are availableat www.intelligentcommunity.org.

Chapters/Sections: E-mail your PSRW event article to

cjewett@aspanet.org

Public ServiceRecognition Week May 4-10, 2009

email cmcneil@aspanet.org to subscribe

Stay Current with ASPA News Online with The Bridge e-newsletter

AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION PA TIMES • FEBRUARY 2009 PAGE 11

transfers necessary to make a restructuringsuccessful will be much harder.

DoNo matter how close or far your HRdepartment appears to be from your goal,you must remember to connect the dots.The question to ask is, “Given what Ihave today, what needs to be done to getthe desired results?” The following stepswill help ensure you develop a solid planon which you can execute:

Strategy–With a solid understanding ofyour budget and functionality of yourdepartment, the first key decision to makeis whether your current HR strategysupported and positively impacts thebusiness strategy? Does your strategymake the best use of the core resources andassets that you have, or are you trying toforce a square peg into a round hole? Ifthere is a gap between present and neededresources, how will you develop or acquirethem? Be sure to consider future businessneeds, as well. For example, if the businessstrategy is to double in revenue in threeyears, the organization will also be increas-ing the number of staff. Does the currentHR strategy place the same emphasis onthe ability to support this increased growthin head count on a global basis?

Structure–Does the departmental structuresupport the new departmental strategy andthe overall operating model? Is there aharmony between the functional andcorporate/overhead functions? If you aremoving to a customer-facing strategy,does a hierarchical functional structurehelp or hinder you in providing service tothat customer? The best structural resultscome from a shared understanding andagreement for the supporting structure.

The difficulty is getting everyone to notonly understand, but also to agree. Oneorganization in this situation had a deep,functionally driven structure. There was

neither an end-to-end understanding ofthe employee life-cycle nor an apprecia-tion of what the experience for anemployee was like in that company. Thelack of coordination among the HRfunctions caused frustration, work and re-work for both the employees and the staff.

Systems and processes–This is where therubber hits the road. The strategy isformed and the structure to support it hasbeen put in place; now it is time to seewhat the processes actually deliver. Agreat starting point is to evaluate theperformance evaluation system. Does itsupport the revised strategy and structure?How aligned is the compensation andincentive-based pay structure to supportthe use of the new systems and processes?

If there are gaps, then how can systemsand processes have a greater impact?What kinds of revisions and investmentsare in order? Return on investment is thekey question in this situation. Essentially,will the cost of improvements amount tomore or less than the potential savingsgenerated from implementing them?

While answering these questions,remember the discussion of core and non-core activities. Ensure that the full effectof eliminating an item, as it relates toyour strategy, has been evaluated.

People–The process comes full circlewith a final assessment of your people.Do you have the right people, with theright skills, in the right roles at the righttime? Some questions to consider:

• To what degree are your current personnelprofessionally and technically proficient?

• What is the gap between where they aretoday and where they need to be?

• What kind of training is in order to notonly keep pace with the market, but tobecome leaders in it?

• How many people are in positions thatfill a gap instead of ones that maximize

their abilities or the potential for the role?

Once the required talent level matches theneeds, you have to make sure you haveenough pieces to finish the puzzle.

• Do you have the right number ofpeople? Too many or too few?

• What succession and replacement plansare in place in anticipation of stafftransitions in turbulent times?

• What retention plans are in place toretain key staff in key roles when and ifthe market changes?

ReviewThe point of this exercise is to help yourestructure your HR department so that thenext time change is in order, the functionwill be ready for it and wholesale changeswill not be necessary for HR to remain akey contributor to organizational success.To make sure that your newly streamlinedHR function does not fall back onto oldproblems, review budgets and contracts ona regular basis to make sure that theyreflect the truth. Take a pragmatic look atyour core services and the processesbehind them to ensure that, as the marketchanges, they still support the overallstrategy. Finally, create feedback loops toensure that your people are heard and thatyou are alerted to potential issues beforethey become problems.

Michelle Lewis-Blossman is a principaland market representative for Mercer’sHR effectiveness consulting practice inthe Americas. Her primary focus ishelping organizations improve theirperformance, primarily through improv-ing in strategy, structure, systems andprocesses. She is based in Mercer’sHouston,TX, office. email: michelle.lewis-blossman@mercer.com

From HR SPRING CLEANING, pg. 9

HR Spring Cleaning Must Be Productive

emailcjewett@aspanet.org

for submissionguidelines

Want to submit anarticle to PA TIMES?

Federal Human Capital Survey ReleasedFederal Employees Say Their Work is Important and They are HeldAccountable for Results

Washington, DC–Federal employeesacross America say the work they do isimportant and their bosses hold their feetto the fire for achieving results, accordingto a large majority of government workerswho participated in a survey administeredby the U.S. Office of PersonnelManagement.

The Federal Human Capital Survey(FHCS), released today, gauges theattitudes and impressions of employees infour areas related to their overall workexperience. The survey is conductedevery two years and was born of the BushAdministration's commitment to improvethe management of federal employees anddelivery of agency services. The firstsurvey was administered in 2002.

"President George W. Bush, at thebeginning of his Administration, made it apriority to improve the strategic manage-ment of people within the federal govern-ment," said OPM Acting Director Michael

W. Hager. "Overall, the Federal HumanCapital Survey continues to demonstratefederal employees are motivated andcommitted to the roles they play and themissions they accomplish."

The survey found that 91 percent ofrespondents say the work they do isimportant (up 1 percent from 2006) and84 percent like what they do in theworkplace (up 1 percent). In addition, 82percent believe they are held accountablefor achieving results (up 3 percent).

More than 210,000 federalemployees–from a survey sample of morethan 417,000 employees–responded.

This year's survey also provides a directcomparison of findings for 2008 withfindings from previous surveys, whereapplicable. The findings are grouped intofour categories:

Leadership and Knowledge Management;Results-Oriented Performance Culture;

Talent Management; and, Job Satisfaction.

Survey takers were not reluctant toexpress concerns or indicate changes theywould like to see. "Although progress hasbeen achieved and sustained in manyareas, the survey tells us improvement isneeded in others," said Hager. Forexample, only 26 percent of employeessee a link between pay and performance,while 30 percent say steps have beentaken against co-workers who cannot orwill not improve their performance.

Survey findings also may shed light onagency operations in ways that will assistin the recruitment and retention of high-quality individuals.

Governmentwide survey findings areavailable to the public atwww.fhcs.opm.gov. Agency-specificfindings are available to managers andhuman resources officials designated bytheir agency.

No, don’t jump to conclusions that thiscolumn will provide wise financial invest-ment advice. But, there may be a lessonlearned from the case that is wise.

Presume that you have been the countyadministrator for 15 years in a rapidlygrowing county and have a stellar reputa-tion for getting things done. One day yourdaughter, a local TV news celebrity, callsand says: “Dad, can you loan me $120,000to help my husband invest in a condo inthe county. We will repay you withinterest.” Innocent enough? So it seems.

Alas, the plot thickens–it turns out thatyour daughter’s husband is indicted on 12federal fraud charges involving two landdeals and it appears that your money mayhave been involved in three different realestate investments that would benefit fromthe extension of a county road. You claimto have no knowledge of money launder-ing or any other misdeed.

As the situation evolves, the countycommission decides to order an independ-ent investigation into your account of theinvestments to determine whether you arecovering something up and may have lied.The investigation finds that you are notinvested in the property that your son-in-law owns. The investigation also concludesthat you did not lie or tell any untruths.

The county commission is relieved butsomewhat dismayed. One commissionersays to you in public: “Did you lie? No.Did you engage in activities that broughtabout the appearance of indiscretion? Iknow you did. You’re guilty of that.Actions that reflect poorly on yourrepresentation of county government? Ifind you guilty of that.” Another claimsthe “board is whitewashing the countymanager’s involvement.” Still anotherasserts “I have determined you have notviolated your contract to the point youshould be terminated and beg you to notinvest in land in the county again. Thereshould be an ethics requirement added toyour employment contract.”

A fourth commissioner adds: “Is it a sadand pathetic day when we have to amendthe county manager’s contract to include arequirement that he be ethical?”

Bottom line: the board voted unanimouslyto have the county administrator and thecounty attorney draft ethics guidelines toinclude a policy about land investmentsfor county workers.

Do professional associations address thequestion of a city or county managerowning property in her jurisdiction?ASPA—no. ICMA—yes. TheInternational City/County ManagementAssociation offers this advice: “Restrictreal property ownership in your city orcounty to your own house. Be carefulabout making real property investmentsoutside of your city or county, especiallywhen the properties are contiguous oradjacent to the city or county boundaries.”

Do appearances matter? You bet!

Sources: www.icma.org. Story based onreal case. See Naplesnews.com August 2,September 4 and September 30, 2008.

ASPA member Donald C. Menzel is aformer ASPA president and professoremeritus of Northern Illinois University. email: donmenzel@verizon.net

Is Real Estate a Good Investment?

AnEthics

MomentAnEthics

Moment

PAGE 12 PA TIMES • FEBRUARY 2009 AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION

jurisdictions achieve excellence in the faceof adversity and identifies strategies localleaders can use to navigate the currentchallenge and turn crisis into opportunity.

Navigating the Fiscal Crisis examines five key questions concerning localgovernment’s role in the current economic situation:

• What are the dimensions of the currentcrisis? What defines it?

• What has worked for local governmentsduring previous fiscal cutbacks?

• What characterizes organizations thatcope best with fiscal stress?

• Why is innovation critical in hard timesand how can positive action be taken?

• How can local government actioncontribute to the economic recovery?

“The research summarized in Navigatingthe Fiscal Crisis puts valuable ammunitionin the hands of local governments during atime of unprecedented challenge,” said

ICMA Executive Director Robert J. O’Neill,Jr. “Jurisdictions are experiencing thecurrent recession differently, with someparts of the country already implementingmitigation strategies while others are onlybeginning to feel the impact. This reportwill help local governments address thisissue proactively regardless of where theyare on the continuum.” O'Neill stressed thatthe Alliance will continue to collect data onthe crisis and responses from local govern-ments through an ongoing Wiki and a seriesof regional meetings throughout 2009.

To underscore the importance of providingdirect funding to local governments,greater access to capital markets, andassistance to individuals as part of theeconomic stimulus package, ICMA, theNational League of Cities, and theNational Association of Countiespresented a white paper, LocalGovernments’ Vital Role in NationalEconomic Recovery, to the ObamaPresidential Transition Team in December.

To download that paper, visithttp://tinyurl.com/bsk2gb.

From LOCAL GOVERNMENT, pg. 1

Strategies for Surviving Fiscal Crisis

Data Highlight Importance ofBusiness Startups to JobCreation in the U.S.Business Dynamic Statistics AlsoIndicate That Business StartupsRemain Robust Even in the Most SevereRecession

Kansas City, MO–In the midst of recordunemployment, a new KauffmanFoundation-funded U.S. Census Bureaustudy reports that startup companies are amajor contributor to job creation. TheBusiness Dynamic Statistics (BDS) alsoindicate that while business startupsdecline slightly in most of the cyclicaldownturns, startups remain robust even inthe most severe recession over the sampleperiod (in the early 1980s).

"Job growth is essential for our economy torebound, and this study shows that newfirms have historically been an importantsource of new jobs in the United States,"said Robert E. Litan, vice president ofResearch and Policy at the KauffmanFoundation, which funded the BDS. "Ourresearch into the early years of businessformation consistently shows how vitalnew firms are to our economy, and this datashould give policymakers and buddingentrepreneurs alike great hope for how wecan solve our current crisis -- create andgrow jobs through entrepreneurship."

The BDS data show that employmentaccounted for by U.S. private-sectorbusiness startups over the 1980-2005period was about 3 percent per year. Whilestill a small fraction of overall employ-ment, these jobs from startups reflect newjobs, which is a large percentage comparedto the average annual net employmentgrowth of the U.S. private sector for thesame period (about 1.8 percent). Thispattern implies that, if you exclude the jobsfrom new firms, the U.S. net employmentgrowth rate is negative on average.

Micro firms (firms with one to fouremployees) accounted for a large percent-age of new jobs in any given year–about20 percent on average. Although substan-tially larger startup firms (those with 250to 499 employees) created a considerablysmaller percentage of jobs in any givenyear–about 1.3 percent of employment inthis firm-size class–their numbers still aresubstantial relative to net growth.

Although the overall business startup ratein the BDS does not exhibit much of atrend, the data do reveal a declining trendin the micro-firm business startup rate.This may reflect compositional changesin sectors such as retail trade, where thereis ample evidence of substantial shiftsaway from small, single-establishmentfirms to large, national firms.

This report is the first of three study briefsto be released that highlight BDS data; thenext reports will be released in Januaryand February 2009. BDS includesmeasures of business startups, establish-ment openings and closings, and establish-ment expansions and contractions in boththe number of establishments and thenumber of jobs. The BDS data providethese new statistics on an annual basis for1977-2005, with classifications for the

total U.S. private sector by broad industrialsector, firm size, firm age and state.

Further information about the BDS can befound at www.ces.census.gov/index.php/bds/bds_home.

Peterson, Pew andCommittee for a ResponsibleFederal Budget Partner toDrive Budget ReformWashington, DC–To modernize an outdatedCongressional budget process in light ofthe daunting economic challenges facingthe nation, the Peter G. PetersonFoundation, The Pew Charitable Trusts andthe Committee for a Responsible FederalBudget (CRFB) recently announced alandmark partnership to build bipartisanconsensus for a core set of reforms.

The Peterson-Pew Commission onBudget Reform will convene the nation’spreeminent experts to make recommenda-tions for how best to strengthen thebudget process used by federal lawmak-ers. CRFB will manage and staff thecommission under the leadership of itsprestigious board of directors. “The needfor this effort could not be more urgent,”said David M. Walker, president and CEOof the Peter G. Peterson Foundation. “Thebudget process lacks transparency and ourfederal budget path itself is unsustainable.

The Peterson Foundation was establishedto address the nation’s growing fiscalchallenges, and this commission will becentral to achieving this goal.” “Thefederal budgeting process lays the founda-tion and should establish the rules of thegame for all policy decisions,” saidRebecca W. Rimel, president and CEO ofThe Pew Charitable Trusts. “Pew is proudto partner with a prominent group ofbudget experts from both sides of the aisleto address these critical reforms.” Thecommission will meet over the next twoyears to address a number of shortcomingsin current budget rules, concepts andprocesses. Among these shortcomings:

• Congress routinely fails to pass abudget.

• The existing process tends to ignorelong-term obligations.

• Most of the budget is on automatic pilotand lacks adequate oversight.

• Accounting standards are outdated andinconsistent–including those used totrack the costs of the current economicstabilization policies.

• Congress routinely uses gimmicks tocircumvent the rules and enforcementmechanisms that are in place.

Significant emphasis on budget reformover the next few years is imperativegiven the current economic conditions,the tremendous amount of borrowingtaking place to help stabilize theeconomy, and the large and growingpromises for Social Security, Medicareand Medicaid benefits.

“This commission is long overdue,” saidMaya MacGuineas, president of CRFB.“The budget process is basically on lifesupport and it is time to confront our

broken way of budgeting head-on. Evenin the most extreme case of denial, no onecan argue the current process is working.”

Wilder School AcceptingNominations for Social Equityand Public Policy AnalysisScholarship The L. Douglas Wilder School ofGovernment and Public Affairs atVirginia Commonwealth University ispleased to announce the 2009 WilderSchool Award for Scholarship in SocialEquity and Public Policy Analysis. Aprestigious honor, the award is given tothe author(s) of an exemplary publishedarticle that advances the understandingand consequences of social equity. Theauthor of the selected article will receiverecognition at the National Academy ofPublic Administration’s annual SocialEquity Leadership Conference held onJune 17-19, 2009 at Rutgers University inNewark. Nominations for the third annualawards will be accepted February 1 -March 16, 2009. All submissions must bereceived by Monday, March 16, 2009.Self nominations are welcome.

Initiated in 2006, the Wilder Awardrecognizes excellence in research thataddresses the critical issues of justice,fairness and access in the administrationand formulation of public policy. Previousrecipients of the award have includedprofessors H. George Frederickson and thelate Phillip J. Rutledge.

Nominations may examine a broad arrayof policy subjects. In 2008, the honor waspresented to three co-authors and facultymembers at the Robert F. Wagner Schoolof Public Service at New York University;Leanna Stiefel, Amy Ellen Schwartz andIngrid Gould Ellen. Their work,“Disentangling the Racial Test Score Gap:Probing the Evidence in a Large UrbanDistrict,” utilized comprehensive studiesof primary and secondary schools in theChicago and New York City public schoolsystems. Originally published in theJournal of Policy Analyses andManagement, the article examines racialtest score gaps by exploring disparitieswithin schools and classrooms andattempts to determine the school levelfactors that create them.

For more information on the 2009 WilderSchool Award for Scholarship in Socialequity and Public Policy Analysis or tosubmit a nomination, visitwww.pubapps.vcu.edu/gov/.

If you have a press release for “WhereThings Stand,” contact ChristineMcCrehin at cjewett@aspanet.org.

WTSWhereThingsStandFeatured Report: “State of America'sCities 2008: Annual Opinion Survey ofMunicipal Officials” As economicconditions continue to worsen, so dosentiments of city officials about thedirection of the country. More local officialsare pessimistic now than during the firstyear of the previous recessions of the early1990s and 2000s. Additionally, healthcare,transportation, and education top the list ofissues that city officials feel are the mostimportant for the next presidential adminis-tration and Congress to address.

www.nlc.org

GAO Reports:

• High-Risk Series: An Update.

• Bankruptcy: Judiciary Should Take FurtherSteps to Make Bankruptcy Data MoreAccessible.

• International Taxation: Large U.S.Corporations and Federal Contractors withSubsidiaries in Jurisdictions Listed as TaxHavens or Financial Privacy Jurisdictions.

• Citizens' Report: Fiscal Year 2008Summary of GAO's Performance andFinancial Results.

• Medical Devices: FDA Should Take Stepsto Ensure That High-Risk Device Types AreApproved through the Most StringentPremarket Review Process.

• Tax Administration: IRS's 2008 FilingSeason Generally Successful DespiteChallenges, although IRS Could ExpandEnforcement during Returns Processing.

• Defense Inventory: Army Needs toEvaluate Impact of Recent Actions toImprove Demand Forecasts for Spare Parts.

• Defense Logistics: Lack of KeyInformation May Impede DOD's Ability toImprove Supply Chain Management.

• Information Security: Continued EffortsNeeded to Address Significant Weaknessesat IRS.

• Research and Development: DOE CouldEnhance the Project Selection Process forGovernment Oil and Natural Gas Research.

• Financial Regulation: A Framework forCrafting and Assessing Proposals toModernize the Outdated U.S. FinancialRegulatory System.

• National Marine Fisheries Service:Improvements Are Needed in the FederalProcess Used to Protect Marine Mammalsfrom Commercial Fishing.

• Information Technology: Demand for theSocial Security Administration's ElectronicData Exchanges Is Growing and PresentsFuture Challenges.

www.gao.gov

Other Reports/Online Resources:

• Bob Behn's Public Management Reportwww.ksg.harvard.edu/TheBehnReport/January2009.pdf

• Public Entity Risk Institutewww.riskinstitute.org

• State and Local IT Reportwww.1105govinfo.com

• Center for State and Local GovernmentExcellencewww.slge.org

• International Public ManagementAssociation for Human Resourceswww.ipma-hr.org

• International City/County ManagementAssociation www.icma.org

• Institute for Local Governmentwww.ilsg.org/

• The Kaiser Family Foundationwww.kff.org

• The PEW Charitable Trustswww.pewtrusts.org

• Markle Foundationwww.markle.org/

• Governing Magazinewww.governing.com

Send a report for this column to ChristineMcCrehin at cjewett@aspanet.org.

Reports on the Web

AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION PA TIMES • FEBRUARY 2009 PAGE 13

A S P A 2 0 0 9 A N N U A L C O N F E R E N C E M I A M I , F L O R I D A M A R C H 2 0 - 2 4

70th

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GOVERNANCE IN THE MIDST OF DIVERSITY ASPA 2009 ANNUAL CONFERENCEMIAMI, FLORIDAMARCH 20-24

This year’s theme, Governance in the Midst of Diversity: Bridging Opportunity and Challenge, will focus on exploring and developing innovative practices for public administration to address the growing diversity of communities around the country and the world.

The Hyatt Regency Miami is the place to be March 20-24, 2009 for the American Society for Public Administration's (ASPA) Annual Conference. ASPA will host over 1,100 federal, state and local government officials and employees, scholars, practitioners, new professionals and students who will come together for training, networking, exchanging ideas and learning about current practices in the field.

Public service experts will be on hand to offer creative solutions to problems you encounter in the workplace. Through keynote presentations, workshops, panels, posters and discussion circles, attendees will experience leadership skills to elevate the public service profession.

Professionals involved in all aspects of public service; administrators, academics, senior and mid-level managers, new professionals and students.

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BRIDGING OPPORTUNITY AND CHALLENGE

BRIDGING OPPORTUNITY AND CHALLENGE

BRIDGING OPPORTUNITY AND CHALLENGE

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MARCH 20-24 FLORIDMIAMI,

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President’s Column 16Section/Chapter News 20Career Center 22-23Recruiter 24-25 Advancing excellence in public service. . .

ASPA TIMESINSIDE:

Christine McCrehin

Erik Bergrud, special assistant to thepresident for university projects on civicengagement and director of theInternational Center for Civic Engagementat Park University, has been elected ASPAvice president and will become presidentof the organization in 2011. Bergrud willofficially assume the office of vicepresident at ASPA’s Annual Conference inMiami, FL, March 20-24, 2009.

At that time, Paul Posner, professor atGeorge Mason University, will becomepresident replacing Donald Klingner, aprofessor at the University of Colorado atColorado Springs, who will becomeimmediate past president. MeredithNewman, professor and director of theSchool of Public Administration at FloridaInternational University will becomepresident-elect. Newly elected NationalCouncil members will also assume theirseats at the conference (see list at left).

Bergrud has served the society on localand national levels and was a member ofASPA staff for seven years prior to accept-ing his positions at Park University.

After receiving the news of his election,Bergrud agreed to take a few moments totell PA TIMeS readers a bit about the goalshe has for his tenure as an ASPA officer.

How does it feel to be elected vicepresident of ASPA? I am humbled onmultiple levels. On a personal level, I findit humbling to think that the son of aschoolteacher and a Norwegian immigrantwith an eighth-grade education couldbecome president of a prestigious profes-sional society dedicated for seven decadesto promoting the values and practice ofpublic service.

Like many others of my generation andprevious generations, I joined ASPA as agraduate student. I volunteered to serve as

National CouncilRepresentativeDistrict Winners

Bergrud Elected ASPA Vice President

ASPA member Erik Bergrud, special assistantto the president for university projects on civicengagement and director of the InternationalCenter for Civic Engagement at ParkUniversity, will officially accept his electedposition during ASPA’s Annual Conference inMiami, FL, March 20-24, 2009.

District 1

GeorgeDougherty

University ofPittsburgh,GSPIA

District 5

CatherineHoriuchi

University of San Francisco

District 4

Dwight Vick

West TexasA&MUniversity

District 3

Kendra Stewart

College ofCharleston

District 2

JenniferAlexander

CSU College ofUrban Affairs

See BERGRUD, pg. 21

PA TIMES Announces Best Article of 2008 WinnerWashington, DC–The PA TIMeS is pleasedto announce that the January 2008 article“Dalton, Georgia’s Response toImmigration,” by William E. Baker & PaulA. Harris, has been selected as the winner ofits 2008 Best Article Award.

When informed of their win, Baker andHarris had this to say, “We accept this honorwith satisfaction, humbleness and inspira-tion. We are satisfied, of course, because anaward such as this in a competitive field is agood feeling. We spent much time in theresearch of the Dalton experience and feltstrongly that their story should be told.

We are humbled because while we areproud, we know the PA TIMeS has manyinformative, useful and thought provokingarticles in each issue. We use these articlesregularly in our teaching as conciseexamples of issues within our variegatedfield. We know the PA TIMeS is read bythe membership and is usually kept inclose reach for quick reference. We alsoknow that the membership is composed ofacademics and practitioners alike and isvaluable for both areas.

We are inspired because the acknowledge-ment tells us we were right in spending our

time articulating the story. Our account, likeso many articles in the PA TIMeS, promotespositive thinking and can aid in soundpolicymaking. The award is a motivator tocontinue honing our craft and contributing tothe field of public administration.

This year’s award will be presentedMonday, March 23rd, during the annualAwards Ceremony at ASPA’s NationalConference in Miami, FL.

The 2007 winner was Carol Becker for “IsPublic Administration Dead.” All winningarticles are on the ASPA website atwww.aspanet.org.

ASPA to Provide Professional Developmentfor New, Future Public Servants ASPA Annual Conference to Host Student and New Professional Summit Matt Rankin

ASPA’s mission calls for providingnetworking and professional developmentopportunities to those committed to publicservice values. Furthermore, one of ourstrategic imperatives is to implementservices specifically designed to attract,serve, and maintain student and new profes-sional members. The 2009 ASPA AnnualConference, March 20-24, in Miami, FL,will again feature one of our most success-ful program expansions for new and futurepublic service professionals–the ASPAStudent and New Professional Summit.

The Summit is a weekend-long event withan interesting and engaging array ofpanels, workshops and networking

opportunities that will benefit participantsat their current career stage and help thembecome more effective leaders. Students

have always been able to attend theconference at a reduced rate. Now, ASPA

See STUDENT SUMMIT, pg. 17

Attendees of the Student and New Professional Summit during ASPA's 2008 Conference.

Donald Klingner

ASPA’s Annual Conference is next monthin Miami. By focusing on “Governance inthe Midst of Diversity,” we will reaffirmASPA’s and America’s core values, linkthem to diversity, and use Miami as amodel for bridging governance opportuni-ties and challenges.

Reaffirming ASPA’s and

America’s Core Values

ASPA has supported professional publicadministration and public service for 70years, in good times and bad. Now, ourcore values are once again resurgent, fromthe Middle East to Main Street. Americansrealize we must boost our economy, renewour infrastructure, and make the invest-ments in education and health care neededto develop our human capital.

Last month, 45 years after Dr. MartinLuther King’s dream of a country wherepeople would be judged by the content oftheir character rather than by the color oftheir skin, Barack Obama took office as the44th President of the United States. Hiselection repudiated many clichés aboutU.S. politics. When we thought it mattered,Americans did vote, and in higher numbersthan ever before. We are not closet racists:the “Bradley effect” is history. A higherpercentage of white men voted for BarackObama in 2008 than for any Democratsince Jimmy Carter, including Bill Clinton.

As significant as this election was insidethe United States, its global impact waselectrifying. We would expect othercountries to prefer a President who listensmore than he talks, thinks before he acts,prefers diplomacy to preemptive war, andfavors a pragmatic and multilateralapproach to international relations. Thesefactors, coupled with almost mythicalbelief in his intelligence and emotionalsensitivity, have raised internationaloptimism to inordinate heights. Moreover,our international colleagues had alwaysassumed that our American dream did notapply to minorities. Now that we haveerased this asterisk from our politicalrecords, they will not be as quick off themark to criticize our social equity, politicalprocess or level of political engagement.

True, this new administration faces manydaunting challenges. Yet we Americansknow from experience that it is better toface hard times positively with bondsforged from shared sacrifice and hopebased on shared belief in America’spotential for continued greatness, than toavoid reality out of fear based on mistrustof other Americans and shared ignoranceof the outside world. Our internationalreputation has suffered terribly in the pasteight years. It may never recover. Yet nowwe at least have a chance to rebuild it bypulling our weight as a member of theworld community.

Welcoming Diversity at Home and AbroadBeyond its political and social signifi-cance, President Obama’s election reflectsdemographic realities. We are one of themost diverse nations in the world. One inthree U.S. residents is an ethnic minority.In 2006, our population was 12 percentAfrican-American, 15 percent Hispanicand 5 percent Asian-American or PacificIslander. In 2006, 13 percent of the U.S.population was foreign born, up from 11percent in 2000.

In 1960, foreign-born Americans camemostly from Europe; today they comemainly from Latin America and Asia. Theycome for the same reasons immigrantshave always come here: to escape bitterreligious, political and ethnic conflicts indeveloping or transitional states, and toseek greater economic opportunity forthemselves and their families.

Here in the United States, increasedresidential segregation and culturalisolation make it possible for largeimmigrant communities to thrive asforeign enclaves. In cities like LosAngeles, Miami and New York, there areneighborhoods where Spanish, Russian orChinese have become the primarylanguage of choice. Cultural diversity hasincreased in a nation formerly consideredlinguistically and culturally homogeneous.

Our image of the United States has changedfrom a “melting pot” to a salad bowl. Manycitizens, including some naturalizedimmigrants, have resisted the influx ofunassimilated foreigners. Conservativesfrequently appeal for “English-only,” orseek stricter controls over immigration inan effort to keep out those who might takeaway American jobs, or burden health,education and criminal justice systems.

Cultural diversity means workforcediversity. In the private sector, thebusinesses that succeed in diverse marketswill probably be the ones whoseworkforce matches the customer base indiversity. While governments may notface economic pressures to diversify sincethey may operate as monopolies within ageographic area, they do face continuedpressures to do so. Politically speaking,many have argued that the equitabledistribution of public jobs across gender

and ethnic groups so that agencies arerepresentative of the citizens they serve isan operational test of applied democracy.In practical terms, agencies have alsolearned that they can best meet thedemands of constituencies with uniqueservice needs by recruiting ethnic minori-ties. For example, the City of Baltimoremade a special effort to hire and trainSpanish-speaking officers. When effortsto recruit in the local community proveddifficult, the City extended its efforts tothe territory of Puerto Rico, where manyresidents speak both Spanish and English,and are also U.S. citizens.

Miami is a Model for BridgingGovernance Opportunities andChallengesMost of us have visited Epcot, the Orlandotheme park. There, different exhibitsrepresent different countries, all arrangedaround the shore of an artificial lake. Each“country” has its own architecture andbackground music. Employees intraditional native garb sell typical food,drinks and souvenirs. It is Walt Disney’svision of a world where everyone speaksEnglish, accepts dollars and strolls as aspectator from one ersatz culture to another.

Fortunately, a different vision of thefuture, Florida’s real experimentalprototype community of tomorrow, lies230 miles southeast of Epcot at the otherend of the Florida Turnpike. Miami is aferment of different races, cultures andethnic groups. Some were born there;others migrated from other countriesbecause of the economic and politicalopportunities Miami offers. It is a destina-tion of choice for refugees from politicalupheavals in Cuba, Nicaragua, Venezuelaand other countries around the Caribbean.It has also been a safe place to investmoney from these countries, particularlyin the 1970s and 1980s when drug cartelsand money launderers fueled a downtownbuilding boom.

This, and successive waves of Cubanimmigrants fleeing Cuban and Nicaraguandictatorships, changed Miami from ahaven for U.S. tourists and retirees to aneconomic dynamo that can arguably claimtitle as the political, social, economic andmedia center of Latin America and theCaribbean Basin.

Miami is a “city on the edge” because it isa harbinger of trends that increasinglycharacterize other U.S. cities. Hispanicsare the majority; non-Hispanic whites area minority. It is an acculturation center forimmigrants, with differentiated monolin-gual and multilingual labor markets.Politics often divides along ethnic lines,primarily Hispanic, Anglo and Black.Particularly among the Cuban community,the outcome of a city election oftenhinges more on candidates’ perceivedethnic credentials or opposition to FidelCastro than on local public services likestreets, schools and public safety. Over

the past 30 years, most Miami residentshave learned to enjoy a mélange ofcultures, languages, cuisines and rhythmsthat makes less diverse cities seem lessinteresting. Native-born Americansunwilling to accept Miami’s culturalambiguity or unable to learn enoughSpanish to access bilingual labor marketsoften feel dispossessed here, like refugeesin the place they were born. Many leavefor cities that feel less foreign or seem tooffer greater economic opportunity fornon-Spanish speakers.

Miami’s diversity raises governancechallenges and opportunities, particularlywhen combined with the financial issuesthat affect public service deliverythroughout the United States today. Thechallenges of climate change, publichealth, sanitation, transportation andinclusion in an urban area larger than thestate of Rhode Island with over 3 millionpeople are daunting. Yet cities havehistorically been hubs of cultural andeconomic development. The world needsurban leaders; ASPA must help developthem; and Miami exemplifies thechallenges and opportunities ofgovernance in the midst of diversity.

I lived for 21 years in South Florida andraised my children there. As a publicadministration professor, I helped teach ageneration of predominantly African-American and Hispanic students who cameto Florida International University believ-ing fervently in the American dream. So Itake great pleasure in welcoming you tomy Miami, the place that helped teach meto feel as much at home in Latin Americaas I do in the United States.

ASPA member Donald Klingner is 2008-2009 ASPA president and professor, School of Public Affairs,University of Colorado. email:dklingner@aspanet.org

Governance in the Midst of Diversity: Bridging Opportunity and Challenge

PRESIDENT’S COLUMN Donald Klingner

Beyond its political and social significance,

President Obama’s electionreflects demographicrealities. We are one of the most diverse nations in the world.

PAGE 16 PA TIMES • FEBRUARY 2009 AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION

New e-mail or mailingaddress? Update your

membership record online.

www.aspanet.org

Supporting ContributorsJames Edwin KeeWashington, DC

Bruce A. RodmanNaperville, IL

R Scott FoslerChevy Chase, MD

James ThurmondMissouri City, TX

Charles WollenhauptWashington, DC

Endowment ContributorsDonald C. MenzelTampa, FL

Mary R. HamiltonWaterloo, Ne

Victoria Anne RunkleArvada, CO

ASPA Contributors

AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION PA TIMES • FEBRUARY 2009 PAGE 17

ASPA’s chapters and sections do great things every day.

PA TIMES wants your stories.To submit chapter or section best practices,

awards dinner briefs, best leaders or other ideas, contactaspatimes@aspanet.org

Summit to be Held March 21-22

New Professional members can also takeadvantage of a special reduced conferencerate just for them.

The 2009 Summit kicks-off on Saturdaywith the workshop “Creating Your Job -Taking Charge of a New ManagerialAssignment.” Attendees will see thatwhen they take on a new assignment, theywill not only have new responsibilities,they will have to use new methods ofinfluence. Come see why this was one oflast year’s highest-rated events!

Donna Shalala, president of the Universityof Miami and former United StatesSecretary of Health and Human Services,will host a talk where she will answer yourquestions about careers in public adminis-

tration. After Shalala’s presentation, aprestigious panel of career counselors andHR professionals will discuss importantaspects of “Making the Transition fromStudent to New Professional.”

Aspiring academics and recent DPAs orPhDs will definitely want to attendSunday’s Doctoral sessions coveringtopics like choosing and understandingyour doctoral program, choosing a disser-tation topic and committee, writing thedissertation, getting a job and planning acareer, and getting published. Theseinteractive sessions will allow plenty oftime for questions and answers.

Due to an overwhelming response lastyear, a limited number of free resumereviews by career counselors will beavailable on Sunday and Monday. Finally,participants asked for more time tonetwork at the conference and ASPAdelivers! Not only have we blocked offtime and space for networking during onSaturday, there are receptions Saturday,Sunday AND Monday for you to networkwith your colleagues and other prominentpeople in the field.

Pre-registration for Summit events is notrequired, except for the resume reviews.Like most events at the ASPA conference,seats are limited and available on a first-come, first-served basis. Find out moreinformation and register today for the2009 ASPA Annual Conference atwww.aspanet.org/2009conference.

Matt Rankin is ASPA’s deputy director.email: mrankin@aspanet.org

From STUDENT SUMMIT, pg. 15

How would you like to makea difference in the careersof new and future publicservice professionals?

The ASPA Student and NewProfessional Summit could nothappen without the generosity ofothers. Won’t you consider sponsor-ing all or a portion of the Summit?No gift is too small and would beappreciated by hundreds of Summitattendees. For more information,contact Matt Rankin at 202-585-4312or mrankin@aspanet.org.

SAVE THE DATE NOTICE

The Central Florida Chapter would like to extend an invitation to join us for an informative meeting series focused on Networking and Collaborations in the 21st Century. The meetings will be luncheon programs scheduled for the 2nd Wednesday of the month.

Monthly Meetings: January 14, 2009, February 11, 2009, March 11, 2009 UCF School of Film and Digital Media/Florida Interactive Entertainment Academy

8th Annual Nonprofit Conference: February 6, 2009 UCF Rosen College of Hospitality Management

3rd Annual Public Administration Conference: April 17, 2009 UCF FAIRWINDS Alumni Center

Public Service Recognition Week activities during: May 4-10, 2009

To Learn More: www.aspaonline.org/centralflorida For more information contact: cflaspa@yahoo.com

ASPA welcomes the following new members from the month of DECEMBER 2008.Please note: Members rejoining ASPA are not included on this list.

Timothy Jackson Arizona

Latrina Hunter Arkansas

Wylie Scott Atkinson At Large Member

Katheryn E. Brigham At Large Member

Aymara Lenor Carpenter At Large Member

Patrick Spearing At Large Member

Brady Adams Centex

Carol E. Butts Centex

Anita L. Guerra Centex

Alisha R. Larson Centex

Diana A. Ramirez Centex

Mario C. Watkins Centex

Tyler Young Centex

Kelley Farris Central California

Sheila Ngo Central California

Driss El Akrich Central Illinois

Delano Yocco Central Ohio

Devin J. Gebhardt Central Pennsylvania

LeAnn Beaty Chicago Illinois

Adriann Gerardi Chicago Illinois

James Kerridge Chicago Illinois

Erin Rochford Chicago Illinois

Jessica Baber Coastal Bend

Wendy Jean-Buhrer Detroit Metropolitan Area

Robert Russo Detroit Metropolitan Area

Margaret Holmes East Georgia

Betsy Swager Empire State Capital Area

Marsha L. Moore Evergreen

Juanicia Everett Georgia

Melvynne C. Reed Georgia

Clayton Sheppard, Jr. Georgia

Amy Cook Greater Birmingham

Cortice Miles Greater Birmingham

Jennifer C. Morrison Greater Birmingham

Martin Taylor Greater Birmingham

Bonycle Thornton Greater Birmingham

Shawn Burns Greater Kansas City

John L. Bell, Jr. Hampton Roads

Jim Redick Hampton Roads

David Borsvold Indiana

Eric Grulke Inland Northwest

Tom Christensen Intl Electronic Chapter

Adriano Pereira Intl Electronic Chapter

Sarah E. Kirwan Los Angeles Metro Area

Sarah Yap Los Angeles Metro Area

Sammie Alexander, Jr. Louisiana

Irvine Nugent Maryland

Loretta Tillery Maryland

Lisa Johnson Massachusetts

Angus McQuilken Massachusetts

James Rooney Massachusetts

Hui Li Michigan Capital

Hali Durand Minnesota

Sue Arnold National Capital Area

Christopher Lackert National Capital Area

Laura Mills Reid National Capital Area

Daniel Mintz National Capital Area

Irvine Nugent National Capital Area

Thomas Verstynen New Mexico

Aaron Huertas New York Metropolitan

Michelle Lopez New York Metropolitan

Adolphus Nwaghanata New York Metropolitan

Lexington Wright North Texas

Gary Brown Northern New Jersey

Mildred C. Crump Northern New Jersey

Arlene DeLaRosa Northern New Jersey

Joel Freiser Northern New Jersey

Marilyn Y. Gaynor Northern New Jersey

Daryl Godfrey Northern New Jersey

Joshua Holmes Northern New Jersey

Juanita Jordon Northern New Jersey

Amalia Laguna-Flores Northern New Jersey

Joyce Lanier Northern New Jersey

Mellissa Longo Northern New Jersey

Kenneth Louis Northern New Jersey

Robert Marasco Northern New Jersey

Margarita Muniz Northern New Jersey

Philip Nicastro Northern New Jersey

Veronica Osorio Northern New Jersey

Nayna Patel Northern New Jersey

Robert Waters Northern New Jersey

Rhenotha Whitaker Northern New Jersey

Taquan Willams Northern New Jersey

Cristobal Mejia Artiga Northern Virginia

Dean Findley Oklahoma

Jill Ingram Orange County

Marissa Spata Orange County

Douglas Morgan Oregon/SW Washington

Kathleen A. Patterson Piedmont Triad

Thomas Haase Pittsburgh Area

Casey J. Harris Research Triangle

Donnell Scott Research Triangle

Sarah Smith Sacramento California

Paul Thorn Sacramento California

Jason Forgan San Francisco Bay Area

Joseph Lapka San Francisco Bay Area

Erik Maier San Francisco Bay Area

Twinki Mistry San Francisco Bay Area

Marissa Spata San Francisco Bay Area

Mike Gonzalez Santa Clara Valley

James Johnson Santa Clara Valley

Edward Hebbert South Florida

Erika Laverde South Florida

Irvine Nugent South Florida

Andrea R. Souder South Florida

Larry Herringdine, Jr. Southeastern North Carolina

Patricia Ellis Southern Nevada

Diane Lewis Southern Nevada

Carol Servino Southern Nevada

Danny Bass Southwest Georgia

Mario A. Cabana Suncoast

Theresa Conley Suncoast

Matthew A. Runestad Suncoast

Su Minzi Tennessee

Gregory Schutz Tennessee

Andrea R. Souder Treasure Coast

Matthew Dumont Utah

Eva Witesman Utah

Rachel Preston Virginia

PAGE 18 PA TIMES • FEBRUARY 2009 AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION

New ASPA Members

And the Award Goes to….Chapter Membership DevelopmentAward Announces Winners

Caneka McNeil

In January 2008, ASPA introduced theChapter Membership Development Award.The purpose of the award was to increasepublic awareness about ASPA and gainadditional membership at every level. Weare pleased to announce that many chapterstook advantage of the competition andincreased their membership tremendously.Thank you to the chapters who activelyparticipated in this competition. Your effortis greatly appreciated. ASPA would like tocongratulate the winners of the ChapterMembership Development Award.

Division IFirst Place- Memphis/Mid SouthSecond Place-Greater Rochester

Division IIFirst Place-Coastal BendSecond Place-Southern Arizona

Division IIIFirst Place-EvergreenSecond Place-Greater Birmingham

Division IVFirst Place-Greater Kansas CitySecond Place-Greater Chicago

Individual Winners

Howard Balanoff

Marc Holzer

Jack Pinkowski

Carl Stenberg

Caneka McNeil is ASPA’sCommunications Specialist. email:cmcneil@aspanet.org

Volunteer Opportunities atASPA Conference Available! Plans are well underway for the 2009ASPA Conference in Miami, FL, March20-24, 2009 and we want to invite you tobe part of our team of volunteers. Asuccessful conference is the result of timeand effort provided by those whovolunteer to serve during conference. Ifyou want to become part of the ASPAteam of volunteers for the 2009 confer-ence, now is the time to let us know. Visitour volunteer website atwww.aspanet.org/2009conference/page.cfm?name=Volunteer for instructions onhow to register or contact PatriciaYearwood at pyearwood@aspanet.org.

Registration for ASPA's 2009 Conference is Open!Registration for ASPA’s 2009 AnnualConference is now open! The conferencewill be held March 20-24 in Miami, FL,at the Hyatt Regency Miami.

The conference theme–Governance in theMidst of Diversity: Bridging Opportunityand Challenge–will explore and developinnovative practices for public adminis-tration to address the growing diversity ofcommunities around the country. It

emphasizes the importance of context andculture on the sustainability of innova-tions, and ASPA's role in supportingpublic administration globally from aU.S. perspective.

To register for the conference visitwww.aspanet.org.

Benefit Extended for ASPA MembersSince April, ASPA members have beenreceiving complimentary electroniccopies of The Public Manager–aquarterly journal for practitioners that isdedicated to encouraging professionalismand high performance at all levels ofgovernment. The response to this newbenefit has been tremendous! We arepleased to announce that your electronicsubscription has been extended.

Please remember that if you would like tocontinue receiving an electronic copy ofThe Public Manager for free, you need toremain a member of ASPA.

Also, your free fall issue of The PublicManager is now available. Visitwww.aspanet.org and log on to the ASPAwebsite to download it in PDF format.

Online Benefits Available!Why wait until your benefits arrive in themail? Access the 2009 January/Februaryissue of Public Administration Review(PAR). Also, available online is the January2009 PA TIMeS.

To access your online publications, visitthe ASPA website at www.aspanet.org. Youwill need your ASPA login information, ifyou are unsure of your user login andpassword, contact Patricia Yearwood atpyearwood@aspanet.og or Jeannie Jeffries

jjeffries@aspanet.org or (202) 585-4310.

ASPA Chapter and SectionWebsite Template AvailableASPA has a “user friendly” websitetemplate designed for your use. Thetemplate allows for tailoring the pages ofyour site with pictures and content thatreflects the uniqueness of your chapter orsection. It is very easy to maintain andupdate without expensive tools orextensive knowledge of HTML.

Since then some of the chapters andsections have used the template to eitherlaunch a new site or to redesign theircurrent site. Check out some of the chapterand section sites at www.aspanet.org/scriptcontent/secchapwebsites.cfm and seehow they are using their websites topromote activities including conferences.

Should you have any questions aboutusing the template contact Matt Rankin,mrankin@aspanet.org. To view the otheronline marketing tools available forpromoting your chapter's or section'sactivities visit www.aspanet.org/ script-content/index_commtoolkit_main.cfm.

Another Member Benefit–Access to Cutting-EdgeResearchASPA members can now access dozens ofpapers presented at the 2008 AnnualConference in Dallas. To access ourcurrent archive of more than 150 papersvisit the “Communities” section ofASPA's website, www.aspanet.org.

If you have an announcement for ASPA inBrief, contact Christine McCrehin atcjewett@aspanet.org.

ASPA in Brief

5TADFifth Transatlantic DialogueThe Future of Governance in Europe and the U.S.

11-13, June 2009 • Washington, DC

Conference Sponsors:• American Society for Public Administration

• European Group of Public Administration

• School of Public Affairs and Administration,

• Rutgers University-Campus at Newark, U.S.A.

• Department of Public and International Affairs,

• George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia, U.S.A.

• Trachtenberg School of Public Policy and Administration, GeorgeWashington University, Washington, D.C., U.S.A.

The Fifth Transatlantic Dialogue on “The Future of Governance” continues thesuccessful series of forums that have previously been hosted at the PublicManagement Institute/Katholieke University of Leuven (2004 on Ethics; 2005 onPerformance); School of Urban Affairs and Public Policy at the University ofDelaware (2006, Ethics); SDA Bocconi School of Management, Public Managementand Policy Area, University of Bocconi (2007 Intergovernmental Relations).

This initiative is a joint effort under the Memorandum of Understanding between theEuropean Group of Public Administration (EGPA) and the American Society forPublic Administration (ASPA), with the support of the ASPA-EGPA Secretariat at theSchool of Public Affairs and Administration, Rutgers University-Campus at Newark.

http://spaa.newark.rutgers.edu/5TAD

AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION PA TIMES • FEBRUARY 2009 PAGE 19

For further information please contact Duanne Crawley at dcrawley@aspanet.org

Tickets on sale now. Gloria Hobson Nordin Social Equity Luncheon,Hyatt Regency Miami, FL, Sunday, March 22.Don't miss this opportunity to reserve a table

highlighting your university or agency.

PAGE 20 PA TIMES • FEBRUARY 2009 AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION

Section for Women in Public AdministrationCongratulates Scholarship WinnersWinners to be Recognized During Award Breakfast at ASPA Annual Conference in MiamiThe SWPA Scholarship Committee*congratulates the winners of the 2009SWPA Scholarships. Each recipient isawarded $500 to help defray the costs ofattending the 2009 Miami ASPA confer-ence. Please stop by and offer yourcongratulations to these women at theSWPA members meeting and the SWPABreakfast! See you in Miami.

Wendy Xinfang Gao is a Ph.D. candidateat Askew School of Public Administrationand Policy, Florida State University. Shehas served as a senior project officer atthe British Embassy Beijing. One of hercoauthored papers was published by thePublic Administration Review in 2004.Gao is currently working on her disserta-tion, “Community Networks and ServicePerformance: Examining Community-Based Care in Florida,” which investi-gates how different collaborative manage-ment practices of network level managersand the structural properties of the differ-ent community-based care networks affectthe performance of the child welfareservice in Florida. Her career goal is to bea university faculty member and teachfuture public administrators a sense ofintegrity and responsibility.

Kim Moloney is a Ph.D. candidate inpublic administration at AmericanUniversity. She received her MA from theSchool of Advanced International Studies

(SAIS) at Johns Hopkins University andher MPA from the Maxwell School atSyracuse University. Moloney's disserta-tion is on the World Bank and its historyof public sector management projects. Herstudy examines why public sectormanagement project approvals increasedbetween 1983 and 2007 and why projectoutputs have diversified over time.Moloney will begin a two-year contract asa lecturer at the University of West Indiesin Kingston, Jamaica, in September 2009.She has worked in seven countries;Jamaica will be the fourth developing

country in which she has worked.

Rhucha Samudra is an MPA student atthe School of Public Affairs, ArizonaState University. She received her MA inEconomics from Andrew Young School ofPolicy Studies, Georgia State Universityand another MA in economics fromUniversity of Pune, India. Samudra hasserved at the International City/CountyManagers Association (ICMA) as asummer intern and is currently workingwith the Alliance for Innovation atArizona State University as a graduate

research assistant. Her research interestsinclude public sector human resourcesmanagement and performance manage-ment. Samudra wishes a professionalcareer in an international, diverse settingthat helps her understand differentviewpoints and non-traditional solutions.

*Thank you to the SWPA ScholarshipCommittee members- BarbaraLewkowitz, Gail Nehls, ShinikaMcKiever and Yahong Zhang.

Section for Women in Public Administration (SWPA) scholarship winners (l to r) Wendy Xinfang Gao, Kim Moloney and Rhucha Samudra will accepttheir awards at the ASPA Annual Conference in Miami, FL, March 20-24, 2009.

Section/Chapter News

Florida Secretary of State Kurt S. BrowningInspires Suncoast Chapter MembersDon Menzel

Secretary Kurt Browning delivered manyinsightful and motivating remarks at theSuncoast Chapter meeting on January 13,2009. As Susan Walker of Pinellas Parkput it, “I was invigorated by theSecretary's presentation.”

He spoke of changing the culture of theDepartment of State by “managing bywalking around.” He’s not one to sit in hisoffice and wait for others to come to him.His management style, he says, is tochallenge employees, and they are respond-ing to his message of pride, teamwork, andaccomplishment. You can change theculture of an organization, he said. Helearned about organizational cultures andhow to change them in one of hisUniversity of South Florida MPA classes.

Secretary Browning described the 2008election in glowing terms stating that“2008 set a new standard in how localelection offices performed.” He pointed tothe fact that not a single lawsuit was filedeither before or after the election, anuncommon occurrence that he attributesto the excellent work of the Department’semployees and Florida’s 67 CountyElection Supervisors. And, of course, Kurt

had a hand in it!

He also pointed to the broad rangingresponsibilities of the Department -overseeing elections, licensing newbusinesses which Florida does more ofthan any other state, promoting the artswith grants to support workshops andconferences, fostering historical, archaeo-logical, museum and folk cultureresources in Florida, and coordinating andhelping fund activities of public libraries.

Secretary Browning was the Supervisor ofElections in Pasco County for 26 yearsbefore he was picked by Governor CharlieCrist to be the chief election officer inFlorida. He has a Bachelor’s degree inpolitical science and an MPA degree fromUniversity of South Florida.

ASPA member Donald C. Menzel is aformer ASPA president and professoremeritus of Northern Illinois University. email: donmenzel@verizon.net

Florida Secretary of State Kurt S. Browingspeaks about his management style during arecent ASPA Suncoast Chapter meeting.

City Hall FellowsProgram Seeks

ParticipantsCity Hall Fellows is a non-partisannonprofit dedicated to training the nextgeneration of civic leaders forAmerica's cities. Our 12-month, paid,post-college Fellowship programcombines hands-on experienceworking within the highest levels oflocal government with intensive civicleadership training. During 2009-2010,cohorts of Fellows will be placed inHouston, TX and San Francisco, CA.

City Hall Fellows is seeking graduat-ing college seniors and recent alumniwho demonstrate:

• Academic excellence;

• Leadership potential;

• Dedication to contributing tosociety, and

• An entrepreneurial spirit appropri-ate for participating in the very firstyear of an exciting new program.

A detailed overview of theFellowship program, as well asapplication materials and instructions,are available online atwww.cityhallfellows.org.

Applications for the 2009-2010 Classof Fellows are due March 6, 2009.The fellowship year begins August 3,2009 and runs through July 30, 2010.

AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION PA TIMES • FEBRUARY 2009 PAGE 21

Priorities for ASPA: Relevance, Responsiveness, Respect and Sustainability

chapter newsletter editor and was laterelected chapter president and NationalCouncil representative. I received guidanceand encouragement along the way fromcountless individuals.

Knowing that many friends, colleagues andmentors have entrusted me to lead thisSociety both touches me deeply andreminds me of the significant responsibil-ity which I have accepted. After all, manyof the giants of our field founded ASPAand/or served as its president.

I also understand that ASPA must developa financially sustainable organizationalstructure, which will honor its richtradition while, at the same time, take intoaccount rapid changes in a globallyinterconnected world. The Society’s 2008-2010 Strategic Imperatives reflect thisorganizational imperative.

I do not believe in coincidence, and recalltwo key events which ultimately madepossible my vice presidential candidacy.Nearly 15 years ago, I attended my firstASPA Annual Conference. Like many first-time attendees, I felt somewhat lost andoverwhelmed. A kind group of South FloridaChapter members “adopted” me, inviting meto lunch and then to volunteer in the nationalorganization. What they did to help me isbut one indicator of what we mean to otherswho join us for the first time–how a simpleinvitation can last for decades. I hold a deepaffection for the members of that chapterand look forward to visiting Miami for thefirst time next month.

The second event took place on January23, 2008. I had the honor of speakingabout mentorship at the Greater KansasCity Chapter’s monthly luncheon and theprivilege of publicly paying tribute to mylong-time mentor, professor and supervi-sor, Dr. Jerzy Hauptmann, the individualwho first encouraged me to join ASPA. Sixdays later, Dr. Hauptmann passed away. Inthe ensuing weeks and months, I reflectedoften on the individual who taught me“There has to be more to life than servingoneself” and then decided that seeking theASPA vice presidency would enable me topay tribute to Dr. Hauptmann’s memoryand legacy while serving at the highestlevel the organization which has playedsuch a pivotal role in my adult life.

What are the issues or goals that youplan to address once in office? Duringthe election campaign, I outlined fourpriorities for ASPA: relevance, responsive-ness, respect and sustainability. None ofthese can be accomplished by fiat. All willrequire consensus and collaboration. Ibelieve we can address these priorities andposition ASPA for future growth byfocusing on three overarching themes:

• Learning–Every ASPA publication,program and service provides a learningopportunity both for the intendedaudience and the content provider.

• Service–Service in any capacity–to theSociety, the profession, the country and/orhumanity–must be recognized individuallyand collectively as an honor and privilege.I will encourage additional serviceopportunities within and outside of ASPA.

• Leadership–To create a more sustainableassociation and profession, we mustdevelop leaders in practice, scholarshipand research. I believe in the potential ofeach ASPA member, whether she/he is 24or 84 years old. We need to consider howboth to harness and shepherd the collec-tive talents of our membership. I willencourage expansion of ASPA’s profes-sional development initiatives with afocus on leadership development.

We can trace the roots of the ASPA weknow and recognize today to the 1970s, adecade in which a generation of memberscommitted itself to breaking organizationaland cultural barriers. ASPA’s electionprocess was democratized, and memberselected the Society’s first African-Americanand woman presidents that decade. In 1973,ASPA’s leadership approved the establish-ment of its first section, enabling membersto formally create special-focus groupsrelated to key topics in the field.

As a new decade approaches, ASPA mustrecommit itself to removing barriers of allkinds, including social barriers. I believethat a more inclusive ASPA will be astronger ASPA. I remain hopeful that in thenear future ASPA will elect for the firsttime both a woman of color and a Latinoto its highest office. Therefore, to ensurewe develop the capacity to actualize this,we must truly work at inclusiveness. ASPAmust not just embrace the value ofdiversity and inclusiveness, but harness ourenergies to make it happen.

What will you do over the next two yearsto ensure your goals can be achieved? I

will listen. I will engage members and non-members through traditional structures andthrough new avenues, including my ASPAFacebook group. As I listen, I will learn andfurther refine my ideas.

Where would you like to see ASPA onceyou finish your term as president? I willbe 44 years old when my presidential termconcludes. I envision the ASPA of 2012 asa dynamic organization in which fourgenerations of members teach and inspireeach other. I plan to welcome hundreds offirst-time volunteers who are afforded theopportunity to make a real and lastingcontribution to the Society as I was nearlytwo decades ago.

Anything you would like to add? Let methank you for the privilege of appearingagain in this publication. PA TIMeSinterviewed me in June 2005 when I leftthe ASPA staff following seven years ofservice as an employee. At that time, Isaid, “I hope that the organization will dareto dream bigger and, in the process, callupon its members (practitioners andscholars alike) for their expertise.”

Nearly four years later, I remain optimisticabout ASPA’s future and find myself in theunexpected position of asking my ASPAcolleagues to join me in building a 21stcentury organization–one which celebratesthe spirit of our founders and inspirescurrent and future members to learn, serveand lead.

ASPA Vice President-elect erik Bergrudmay be reached at his ASPA email address:ebergrud@aspanet.org.

From BERGRUD, pg. 15

CAREERCENTER

Employers Keeping Close Eye on New College Graduate Hiring NeedsBethlehem, PA–Employers say they willhire about as many new college graduatesfrom the Class of 2009 as they did fromthe Class of 2008, but plan to keep awatchful eye on those hiring needs, sothey can shift gears if necessary, accordingto a report from the National Associationof Colleges and Employers (NACE).

Among employers responding to NACE’sJob Outlook 2009 survey, the largestgroup (26 percent) said they will reassesstheir college graduate hiring needs on amonthly basis.

“That’s a significant shift from just a yearago when the largest group of employ-ers–nearly 26 percent–said they would

reassess their hiring needs on a quarterlybasis,” says Marilyn Mackes, NACEexecutive director.

In addition, although 44 percent ofresponding employers characterized thejob market for the college Class of 2009as “good,” more than one-quarter labeledit as just “fair,” another significant change,according to Mackes.

“In comparison, just 6 percent of employ-ers rated the job market for the Class of2008 as fair, while nearly half rated it asvery good,” she says. (See Figure 1.)

In such an environment, says Mackes,“students need to use all the resources

available to them to conduct a successfuljob search, starting with the campus career center.”

Most career centers offer career counsel-ing; resume writing, interviewing skills,and other job-search related workshops;programs to help students identify andconnect with potential employers, such ascareer fairs and on-campus interviews;and job postings from interested employ-ers, among other services.

“Career center staff can also help studentsstay on top of what’s going on in the job

market, so they can make informeddecisions about their opportunities,” says Mackes.

NACE will continue to monitor the jobmarket for the Class of 2009. NACE’sSalary Survey Winter report, scheduled fordistribution in early February, will providea first look at demand for new collegegraduates by specific discipline.

NACE’s annual Job Outlook reportforecasts the hiring intentions of employ-ers as they relate to new college graduatesand reports on other employment-relatedissues. The survey is conducted inmultiple parts. The data in this release arebased on the second part of the survey,conducted mid-August through October 3,2008, among 1,199 NACE employermembers; 231, or 19.3 percent, responded.

NACE will update its hiring projectionsfor the Class of 2009 through its JobOutlook Spring Update, scheduled to beconducted in March 2009.

For more information, visitwww.naceweb.org.

…although 44 percent ofresponding employers

characterized the job marketfor the college Class of 2009as “good,” more than one-quarter labeled it as just

“fair”…

PAGE 22 PA TIMES • FEBRUARY 2009 AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION

Online Government Job andInternship Resources Hot Jobs/Cool InternshipseNewsletter–www.makingthediffer-ence.org/federaljobs/hotjobs.shtml

Federal Job Information–www.makingthedifference.org

www.PublicServiceCareers.orgASPA’s Online Career Center allowsstudents and other members to postrésumés, search a job database andapply for jobs online.

www.careersingovernment.comThis site offers nationwide listings ofjobs in government, education and thepublic sector. Search for a listingcontaining specific key words, or view alist of employers by state.

www.studentjobs.govThis website is the one-stop portal for arange of employment opportunities forstudents within the federal government,whether in high school, college, orgraduate school.

www.usajobs.govThe official U.S. government job site, thissite provides a database of over 14,000federal employment opportunities.

www.ourpublicservice.orgThe Partnership for Public Serviceoffers several ways for students to learnabout federal internship and jobopportunities.

Workforamerica.comDiscover a wealth of information on thehiring process, benefits, agency profiles,and special interest jobs. Or read thelatest news from our FeaturedGovernment Employers.

Figure 1: Employers' Overall Job Market Ratings

Excellent Very Good Good Fair Poor

2008-09 2.6% 26.9% 44.1% 25.6% 0.9%

2007-08 12.8% 49.6% 31.0% 6.2% 0.4%

2006-07 14.0% 44.9% 35.1% 3.0% 0.0%

THE UN-COMFORT ZONE, an occasional column by Robert Wilson

How Cool are You?Robert Wilson

My sons recently started talking aboutbeing cool, and I recalled my ownteenage years and the need to be cool.That driving desire dictated the clothes Iwore, the music I listened to, and whatsubjects I became conversant in. And,yet despite all my motivation and effort,it remained elusive.

When I look back, I can see that all Ireally wanted was to be accepted, likedand admired. But, whatever I tried, Inever quite felt cool enough. Theproblem was that I didn’t reallyunderstand the term until I’d spent a fewyears living and working in the real world.

So, I explained to my kids, “Cool is whenthere’s a problem and you do not get upsetby it. When everyone else is panicking,rushing around and over reacting, the coolperson is the one who stays calm, assessesthe situation, then makes a reasoneddecision on what to do.”

One day, I’ll tell them about FrancesHealan, my friend who completelyowned this concept. Mrs. Healan walkedwith a limp, and I learned that she hadsuffered a severe injury to her hip andpelvis. Her doctor told her she wouldnever walk again. His diagnosis wasunacceptable. She had three daughtersand two sons, all less than two yearsapart, with whom she had to keep up.

Instead she ignored the pain andstruggled with crutches, then canes,before walking under her own poweragain. I never once knew her to mentionthe great pain she continued to endure.

I met her when my friend Tony starteddating Becky, the wildest of her children,and I dated Becky’s best friend. It waswhile Tony and I waited for our dates toget ready, that I learned what an amazingconversationalist Mrs. Healan was. Shewould talk of her family and friends, ofmovies and novels. Pleasant stories thathad no impact on my life or the world,and yet they were irresistibly soothingand peaceful.

Meanwhile, with five rambunctious kidsand their friends, hers was the house onthe street where everything happened. Itwas a tumultuous environment oflaughter one moment and tears the nextas young personalities came togetherthen clashed. Nothing ever seemed torattle Mrs. Healan, she was always calmand relaxed.

Tony and Becky didn’t last very long, butI refused to give up those wonderfulconversations and started showing up justto hang out. Over the years, I realizedthat whenever my own life got a littlestressed, I was drawn to the Healanhousehold. Once there I would just sitand listen to Mrs. Healan’s stories andabsorb her serene energy. I was rejuve-nated by her presence.

I never planned any of those visits. Iwould just start to feel the need, andbefore I knew it, was in the car driving.Those visits continued for years.Eventually the cumulative responsibilitiesof work, marriage and children made mylife too busy for the simple pleasure ofspending an afternoon with Mrs. Healan.

A few years ago she died of lung cancer.Frances was never a smoker, but a criticalspot on her lung was missed on a routinechest xray. Her oncologist said that ifhe’d seen the xray when it was taken hecould have saved her life. Despite thatFrances Healan was never bitter.

Even though I had not seen her in years,her children called me to visit on her lastday. When I arrived, her daughter Judysaid, “Look Mama, it’s Bobby Wilson.”Mrs. Healan raised her head and said,“Bobby Wilson! Who’s dying?” We alllaughed. That moment sums up her lifefor me. Facing death she maintained hersense of humor. She was quite simply thecoolest person I’ve ever known.

Robert evans Wilson, Jr. is a motiva-tional speaker and humorist. He workswith companies that want to be morecompetitive and with people who want tothink like innovators. For more informa-tion on Robert's programs please visitwww.jumpstartyourmeeting.com.

CAREERCENTER

Nine Lessons That Can Help Managers

James Nordin

I spent more than 30 years in governmentservice, 25 as a supervisor or manager. Iwish I had “known” these lessons when Istarted. It was only in retrospect that Irealized what I needed to know.

• Know the rules–especially the spirit orintent. Government is full of arcane andmysterious rules. Focusing on the intentof the rules makes decision-makingeasier and makes decisions easier tojustify. For example, if three bids arerequired but only two are submitted, isthe purchase unallowable? The purchaseis probably allowable; the intent of therule is to insure market competition. Ifbids were legitimately solicited and onlytwo bidders responded, the purchasercomplied with the intent of the rule(seek competition) even if three bidswere not obtained.

• Be ready to perform–physically andmentally. Fatigue is the enemy. Greatphysical condition may not be necessaryin order to roll a chair around a desk, butstamina is important in dealing with the

high stress of management jobs

For most management jobs, it is criticalto be mentally prepared. It is also usefulto imagine what the situation will belike–to “visualize” what circumstanceswill arise. I used to imagine or fantasizeabout how a particular meeting would gobefore I ever went to the meeting. Whowill be at the meeting? What is theiragenda? Will this be a hostile meeting orwill this be a collaborative discussion?What is at stake? Any technique thatprepares a manager mentally for her/hisjob is useful–and necessary.

• Make decisions based on behavior, notintent. Unless a manager is a trainedpsychologist and is in a clinical settingwith the employee (and then s/he wouldclearly no longer be a manager of thatemployee), the manager cannot knowintent; and evil intent is highly unlikelyto be disclosed.

What managers can judge is behavior.What did the employee do? If anemployee demands rather than requestsinformation from a client, that behaviorshould be stopped regardless of whetherthe client is offended or not. Managerscan also evaluate the impact of behavior.If an employee likes to joke and kid butanother employee finds that offensive, itis irrelevant if the first employee meantany offense. The manager must actbased on the behavior and the results ofthat behavior.

• Be in position–anticipate what isprobably coming and be ready to act.Management is about the future.Managers are supposed to “know” whatis going to happen so nothing will be asurprise to the organization. Of course,this is literally impossible. However,managers can position themselves sothey have a better view of the changescoming. For example, managers cankeep up with versions of pendinglegislation in order to anticipate changes.They can read proposed regulations–andeven comment on them to shape thechanges. They can read journals, such asPAR. They can attend conferences tolearn of breaking news. All these activi-ties can keep a manager in position toanticipate the future.

• Concentrate on the situation at hand.Managers make many decisions everyday. They are under pressures of time,constraints of rules, the need to betransparent and responsive and theynever have all the resources they need.They frequently receive differing advicefrom several camps on the decision athand. There are frequently conflictingvalues to be considered. All thesefactors–and others– frequently make itdifficult to focus.

Many management gurus speak of“being present”–staying focused on theissue at hand. In order to be present, youmust be mentally prepared to be present.It is necessary to develop the skill ofconcentration, of focusing.

• Make a decision! But there is so much atstake! I don’t have all the information!What will happen if I’m wrong?

There are always high stakes; that iswhy managers are in the positions theyare in. No decision-maker ever has allthe information needed until just afterthe situation is over. Managers will bewrong, at least some of the time. That isnot the point. The point is to act whenaction is required.

(a) If a mistake was made and it can befixed; fix it and admit the error.

Most managers tell their employees thatwithout errors there would be noprogress. To make no errors is to take nochances and to cease to grow.

Managers will make mistakes. If theycan be fixed, do so, admit the error (andacknowledge your humanity!) and goforward.

(b) If a mistake was made and it can’t befixed, just go on. Do not try to “even it out.”

Many decisions–no matter howbad–can’t be corrected. The email thatwas accidentally sent is still sent andcan’t be recovered. The painful lesson ofbad decisions stays with us and helps usin the future. Accept your errors andmove on with a renewed determinationto do better in the future.

(c) Managers should make the decisionsthat let them sleep at night–the ones theybelieve in their heart are correct.

Every decision is questioned to a greateror lesser extent. Review those decisions.Did you make the best decision youcould under the circumstances? Basedon what you knew at the time of thedecision, was it the correct decision? Ifso, sleep well.

(d) Don’t change because of criticism; butdo hear it. When it is screaming you arewrong, it may be correct. Think about that.

When everyone is upset, it may be time tolook at your self-confidence to see if it isover-confidence. Defending a baddecision to prove you are unwaveringonly proves you have forgotten how tolearn from your mistakes. While managersshould not make decisions based on whoscreams the loudest or the longest–or toavoid any screams at all - it is necessaryto hear the screams and use them as aguide to checking your performance.

• Be clear in communicating your decision.Nothing gets managers into more troublethan being unclear or unsure of decisions.Managers are usually leaders and providedirection to their organizations.Employees are usually willing followers,but they do like to know where they aregoing. When they don’t feel they aregetting clear decisions or when they feelthe manager isn’t confident in thedecision, they naturally are uneasy.Uneasy organizations are ineffectiveorganizations.

• Solicit feedback and criticism–especiallyfrom those negatively impacted. Inseeking feedback about managementskills, it is important to define the“skills” of interest, whether they areknowledge, leadership, communication,or any other aspect of management.Comments on the quality of decisionswill almost always be offered in thissituation as well, whether they aresolicited or not.

Groups that receive what they want willthink the management decision waswonderful. That feedback is gratifying,but not very useful. Feedback fromnegatively impacted groups is almostalways more useful, especially if themanager is skillful at avoiding personalantipathy and keeping the feedbackfocused on the process and skillsinvolved in the management decision. Itis generally easier for the manager tofilter out the unfounded negativecriticism and arrive at the kernel of truthabout management practices to beimproved than it is to filter out theunfounded positive feedback. We alltend to believe the positive feedback,even when it is unfounded.

• Don’t expect to be loved–work to berespected. When a manager does her/hisjob well, the organization seems to runitself. The attention can be on theaccomplishments of the organization andits employees and, oh, by the way, therewas someone ostensibly in charge as well.

Most of the time, managers are going tobe keeping the organization afloat ormaking incremental improvements.What is noticed most are changes thatare perceived as negative by employeesor outsiders. That is the nature of beingin management. So going unnoticed canbe a good thing–it can mean themanager is doing what needs to be done.

These lessons may seem simple and eventrite. They clearly are fundamental, andthey worked for me.

ASPA member James Nordin is a retiredfederal manager. He now providesmanagement consultation and serves as anadjunct professor at the University of SanFrancisco. email: nordinja@sbcglobal.net

Pay It Forward...Career Advice from an ASPA Member

AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION PA TIMES • FEBRUARY 2009 PAGE 23

Fulbright ScholarshipInvites ApplicationsFulbright New Zealand invitesapplications for the 2010 Ian Axford(New Zealand) Fellowships inPublic Policy. Three to fourFellowships will be awarded forseven months, commencingFebruary 2010.

The deadline for receipt ofapplications is 1 March 2009.

Applicants must be U.S. citizenswith at least five years experience intheir professions and submit aformal application. For furtherinformation and an application form,see Fulbright New Zealand's websitewww.fulbright.org.nz/ awards/am-ian-axford.html.

Ian Axford (New Zealand)Fellowships in Public Policy giveoutstanding American professionalsthe opportunity to research, traveland gain practical experience inpublic policy in New Zealand,including firsthand knowledge ofeconomic, social and politicalreforms and management of thegovernment sector. Established bythe New Zealand Government in1995, the programme aims toreinforce New Zealand-UnitedStates links, improve public policydevelopment by cross-fertilisation ofideas and experience, and build up anetwork of public policy experts onboth sides of the Pacific. www.PublicServiceCareers.org

View and Post Job Ads Online

The following testimony was given byThomas H. Stanton, a fellow of the Centerfor the Study of American Government atJohns Hopkins University, to the FederalOversight and Government ReformCommittee. He has recently agreed to givethe elliot Richardson Lecture duringASPA’s Annual Conference, March 20-24,2009, in Miami.

Chairman Waxman, Ranking Member Issa and members of this distinguishedcommittee:

Thank you for the opportunity to testifytoday. I am Thomas H. Stanton, a fellow ofthe Center for the Study of AmericanGovernment at Johns Hopkins University. Iam also a fellow of the National Academy ofPublic Administration and consult to govern-ment agencies and other entities to improvethe design of organizations and programs.

In 1991 I wrote a book called A State ofRisk: Will Government-Sponsoredenterprises be the Next Financial Crisis?and worked with a small band of reformersled by Representatives J.J. Pickle (D-TX)and Bill Gradison (R-OH) of the HouseWays and Means Committee to try toimprove federal supervision of safety andsoundness of Fannie Mae and FreddieMac. These efforts led to creation of a newregulator, the Office of Federal HousingEnterprise Oversight (OFHEO), in 1992.Strenuous lobbying by Fannie Mae andFreddie Mac assured that the new regulatorlacked the authority needed to do its job.

In my view, the 1992 legislation providedthe last clear chance to create a system ofaccountability that might have helped toprotect the two companies from the highleverage and lax practices that allowed themto expand to unmanageable size and thenbrought them down this year. Since 1992,and until enactment of the Housing andEconomic Recovery Act of 2008 (HERA)the two companies, which gained strength asthey grew, were able to block even modestpieces of regulatory reform legislation.

My testimony makes three points:

• While Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac didnot cause the mortgage credit debacle,they did engage in risky practices thatturned them into sources of vulnerabilityrather than strength for the mortgagemarket and larger economy.

• Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac appear to beinsolvent. The government should placethem into receivership and thereby removeprivate shareholders from the two failedcompanies. Otherwise the government willface conflicting objectives about the roleof the two companies in serving urgentpublic purposes versus serving financialinterests of the companies and theirshareholders. Once shareholders are gone,the next Administration can use the twocompanies to support and reform the homemortgage market.

• Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac should notreturn to their previous status as privatelyowned organizations that operate withpervasive federal backing. The twocompanies and their powerful constituen-cies consistently fought for high leverageand against an effective accountabilitystructure. Even if a regulator were createdwith the appropriate mandate, discretionand authority, political power of the twocompanies can be expected to weakenthat accountability structure over time

and seek to restore the companies to theirdominant market positions, high leverageand financial vulnerability.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac engaged inRisky Practices that Helped Lead to TheirFailure and Greatly Increase LikelyTaxpayer Costs. Fannie Mae and FreddieMac helped to bring about their insolvencythrough a series of serious misjudgments.The most serious of these involved resist-ance to effective government supervisionand capital standards. Starting withsuccessful efforts to weaken the legislationthat established OFHEO, the twocompanies fought off capital standards toreduce their excessive leverage andprovide a cushion against potential losses.

The companies wanted high leveragebecause this benefited their shareholders, atleast until the companies failed. Leverageallowed Freddie Mac to report returns onequity of over 20 percent for most yearssince it became an investor-owned companyin 1989, reaching highs of 47.2 percent in2002 and 39.0 percent in 2000. Fannie Maereported earnings of almost as much,reaching a high of 39.8 percent in 2001.

The two companies also made riskymisjudgments just as housing pricespeaked. According to press reports, chiefexecutives of both Fannie Mae and FreddieMac disregarded warnings from their riskofficers and sought to increase marketshare by purchasing huge volumes of riskyloans. Both companies also invested inhighly rated private-label mortgage-relatedsecurities backed by Alt-A or subprimemortgage loans, amounting to totalholdings by the two companies of over $200 billion in 2007.

In these mistakes, Fannie Mae and FreddieMac revealed inherent vulnerabilities ofthe government-sponsored enterprise(GSE) as an organizational model. First,the GSE lives or dies according to itscharter and other laws that determineconditions under which it operates. Thus,GSEs select their chief officers based moreon ability to manage political risk ratherthan on their ability to manage two of thelargest financial institutions in the world.

Second, the GSE combines privateownership with government backing tocreate a virtually unstoppable politicalforce. Thanks to government backing andlow capital requirements, Fannie Mae andFreddie Mac gained immense marketpower. Until this year, when they togetherfunded over $ 5 trillion of mortgages, orabout 40 percent of the mortgage market,

the two companies doubled in size everyfive years or so.

Market power gave them political power.Whenever someone would urge regulatoryreform, such as higher capital standards toreduce the GSEs’ dangerous leverage,constituents would flood Capitol Hill. Thatpolitical power then entrenched the GSEs’market power.

The political power of the two companiesis seen in the fact that the regulatoryreforms of the Housing and EconomicRecovery Act of 2008 (HERA), enactedjust before the companies failed, still donot give the new regulator, the FederalHousing Finance Agency, the full mandate,authority, or discretion over safety andsoundness and systemic risk that isavailable to the federal bank regulators.

Third, the pressure of meeting quarterlyexpectations of investors meant that the twocompanies sacrificed long-term well beingof the mortgage market for their own short-term goals of maximizing returns on equity.

It is useful to note that Fannie Mae andFreddie Mac did not cause the housingbubble or the proliferation of subprime andother mortgages that borrowers could notafford to repay. In analyzing dynamics ofFannie Mae and Freddie Mac I discovereda phenomenon that can be called Stanton’sLaw: risk will migrate to the place where

government is least equipped to deal withit. Thus, the capital markets arbitragedacross regulatory requirements andultimately sent literally trillions of dollarsof mortgages to Fannie Mae and FreddieMac, where capital requirements were lowand federal supervision was weak.

However, the capital markets also foundother places where government could notmanage the risk, including structured invest-ment vehicles of commercial banks, privatesecuritization conduits and collateralizeddebt obligations that were virtually unregu-lated except by the vagaries of the ratingagencies and exuberance of the marketduring the housing bubble. Huge volumesof subprime, alt-A, interest-only and othertoxic mortgages went to these parts of themarket. As the bubble reached its limits andbegan to deflate the GSEs tried to catch upand regain the market share that they hadlost to the new competition.

The Government Should Place Fannie Maeand Freddie Mac into Receivership andAllow Them to Function essentially asWholly Owned Government Corporations toSupport the Mortgage Market. The govern-ment placed Fannie Mae and Freddie Macinto conservatorship rather than receiver-ship. It now appears that both institutionshave lost their entire net worth. It is time to

PAGE 24 PA TIMES • FEBRUARY 2009 AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION

Congressional Testimony

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac:

What Happened and Where do We Go From Here?

See TESTIMONY, pg. 25

…the GSE combines privateownership with governmentbacking to create a virtuallyunstoppable political force.

Thanks to governmentbacking and low capital

requirements, Fannie Maeand Freddie Mac gainedimmense market power.

place both companies into receivership.

This will remove an inherent conflict inthe government’s position. Technically,conservatorship means the government isworking to restore the companies tofinancial health. Thus far the governmenthas preserved the shareholders in the twocompanies and allowed their stock to tradefreely. This conflicts with the govern-ment’s need to use the two companies tosupport the mortgage market. Untilgovernment removes shareholders from theequation, officers and directors of the twocompanies will face conflict as to theirfiduciary responsibilities. Do they pricemortgage purchases low to support themarket or do they price higher to replenish

the companies’ shareholder value?

If the government placed both companiesinto receivership, then we could use FannieMae and Freddie Mac as agents of reformfor the mortgage market. The benefitscould be enormous:

• They could fund mortgages in a mannertargeted to meet pressing public purposesas the new Administration defines them.

• They could begin to provide essentialconsumer protections for borrowers, suchas Alex Pollock’s ingenious one-pagemortgage disclosure form, borrowercounseling and increased pre-foreclosureloss mitigation services.

• They could devise and impose require-ments that lenders and other participantsin the mortgage process have appropriatefinancial strength and capability andaccountability and engage in appropriaterisk-sharing before they are allowed to dobusiness with the two companies.(Implementation of some requirementsmay need to wait until after the housingand mortgage markets again stabilize).

• They could help to adapt their AutomatedUnderwriting Systems and perhaps othersystems and capabilities, for use byfederal agencies, starting with the FHAand perhaps Ginnie Mae and the directloan program for homeowners (part ofthe disaster loan program) of the SmallBusiness Administration.

In short, the government could turninsolvency of Fannie Mae and FreddieMac into an opportunity to improvedelivery of credit by federal agencies.

Benefits for the mortgage market could beconsiderable as the companies, once theyserve public purposes rather than a mix ofpublic and private objectives, providesupport to the housing market and fashionimportant consumer protections and rulesof conduct for participants in that market.

The Congress also should place a sunsetprovision of perhaps five years into eachcompany charter. As the sunset approaches,and the mortgage debacle hopefully isbehind us, policymakers can decide whetherfurther government support for themortgage market is required and the organi-zational form that is most suitable.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Should notbe Restored to Their Previous Status asPrivately Owned Organizations thatOperate with extensive Federal Backing.The experience of Fannie Mae and FreddieMac as privately owned institutions withextensive government backing showsshortcomings of the government-sponsoredenterprise as an organizational model.However sound the accountability structuremay be when the organization begins, theincentive to satisfy private owners will leada GSE to try to weaken safety andsoundness oversight and lower capitalstandards. Both Fannie Mae and FreddieMac arguably had stronger accountabilitystructures when they were chartered asGSEs than when they were supervised byOFHEO. Between 1968 and 1992, whenOFHEO was established, both companiessuccessfully removed government controlsthat they considered unacceptable.

The GSEs have now squandered a policytool that government had used for decades:the perception of an implicit rather thanexplicit federal guarantee of their debtobligations. While their constituents mayseek other forms of government backing,the end of the implicit guarantee meansthat Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac nevercan be the same as they once were.Enabling legislation for any survivingGSEs should contain a 10-year sunsetprovision so that policymakers can periodi-cally revisit questions of their publicbenefits and public costs in the context ofchanging markets and public priorities.

Mr. Chairman, I would like to end on anote about the human costs of Fannie Maeand Freddie Mac.

• Their actions led to hundreds of thousandsof American families, and possibly morethan a million, facing delinquency anddefault on their mortgages and potentialforeclosure on their homes.

• They funded the overbuilding of hundredsof thousands of homes that will be vacantor boarded up because no one wants tolive there.

• The cost to the American taxpayer willrun potentially to hundreds of billions ofdollars.

All of this harm could have been avoidedwith prudent lending, prudent capital andprudent management. Thank you again forholding this important hearing on twofinancial institutions that used their highleverage and insatiable appetites to grow toan unmanageable size before they failed.

The RecruiterW H E R E E M P L O Y E R S A N D J O B S E E K E R S M E E T .

UNIVERSITY POSITIONSOpen Rank Professor - Public Affairs

The University of Texas at Dallas

The School of Economic, Political and Policy Sciences at the University of Texas at Dallas invites applicationsfor a tenure-track or tenured position in Public Affairs with preferred areas of specializations including: generalpublic administration/management, the legal environment of public affairs/administration and administrative law.The position starts September 1, 2009. Experience and expertise in government and/or non-profit environmentsis welcome. Additionally, we are seeking scholars with records of significant research productivity who haveexperience/interest in providing graduate level education. Successful candidates should hold the Ph.D. in PublicAffairs/Administration, Political Science, or a related field. Successful candidates will teach in the PhD in PublicAffairs and the NASPAA accredited Master of Public Affairs programs. Salaries are competitive and commensu-rate with experience.

The School of Economic Political and Policy Sciences is a multidisciplinary school that offers undergraduate,masters and doctoral degrees. It includes rapidly growing MPA and PhD programs. Information about the Schooland the Public Affairs programs is available at http://epps.utdallas.edu. Please direct inquiries to the SearchCommittee Chair, Professor L. Douglas Kiel, at dkiel@utdallas.edu.

Applicants for either tenure-track or tenured positions should send a letter of interest, curriculum vitae, and threeletters of reference to: Academic Search #30010, The University of Texas at Dallas, 800 W. Campbell Road, M/SAD42, Richardson, Texas 75080-3021. Indication of gender and ethnic origin for affirmative action statisticalpurposes is requested as part of the application process but is not required for consideration. Review of applica-tions will start on January 31, 2009 and will continue until the position is filled. The University of Texas is anequal opportunity/affirmative action university and strongly encourages applications from candidates who wouldenhance the diversity of the University’s faculty and administration.

Public Administration: Non-Profit Management Northern Illinois University

The Division of Public Administration at NIU invites applications for an associate or full professor position tobegin August 2009, pending budgetary approval. This position requires a Ph.D. in Public Administration orrelated field and evidence of excellence in research and publication; graduate and undergraduate teaching; andpursuit of extramural funding. The position addresses teaching needs in the non-profit management track of theMPA program, with expertise in nonprofit resources management strongly preferred. Teaching and research

expertise are not required, but desirable, in human resources management, comparative international NGOresearch, or experiential learning. The normal teaching load of 2 courses per semester includes undergraduate,MPA and doctoral courses. The new colleague is expected to provide leadership and teaching in a new undergrad-uate major in Civic Leadership & Community Engagement. The new undergraduate major is part of a strategicplanning initiative at NIU to create a Center for NGO Leadership & Development. There are an estimated 6,000or more NGOs in the Chicago/NIU area. This new interdisciplinary unit will involve multiple departments andcolleges in research, teaching, and outreach.

The Division is nationally ranked in city management and public finance, and maintains a network of alumnithroughout the Chicagoland area. The Division fields about 50 full time internship students in local governmentsand NGOs. More information is available at the Division website (www.mpa.niu.edu).

Applicants must submit a letter of application, CV, and list of three references who will be contacted with permis-sion of the applicant. Applicants should be prepared to provide teaching evaluations on request. Review ofcomplete applications will begin February 18, 2009; the search will remain open until the appointment is made.The application package should be sent to: Professor Kurt Thurmaier, Division of Public Administration,Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, IL 60115. NIU is an AA/EEO institution that strongly encourages applica-tions from women and minority candidates. Inquiries for further information can be sent to kthur@niu.edu.

Professor of Environmental Studies and Public AdministrationThe Greenspun College of Urban Affairs

University of Nevada, Las Vegas

The Greenspun College of Urban Affairs invites applications for a joint appointment in the Departments ofEnvironmental Studies and Public Administration. The appointment will be at the Full Professor rank. TheCollege is exploring possible endowment funding to support the new position. The College is investigating thecombination of these departments into a new School of Environmental and Public Affairs. The plans are at anearly stage, and the College is seeking a distinguished leader and scholar who bridges both fields to aid in theplanning and development process. Teaching responsibilities will be primarily at the graduate level. For job andapplication details visit https://hrsearch.unlv.edu. For assistance with UNLV’s on-line applicant portal contactJen Martens at (702) 895-2894 or hrsearch@unlv.edu. UNLV is an Affirmative Action / Equal Opportunityeducator and employer committed to excellence through diversity.

AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION PA TIMES • FEBRUARY 2009 PAGE 25

Contact:cjewett@aspanet.org

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Sunset Provisions Could Provide for Review and Regulation of SituationFrom TESTIMONY, pg. 24

PAGE 26 PA TIMES • FEBRUARY 2009 AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION

PA TIMESJanuaryTransitions: New Administration, Opportunities and Challenges(Role of Professional Public Service, Responses to Fiscal and Economic Challenges)Advertising/Article Deadline: December 21, 2008

June/JulyEmergency Management: Familiar Threats, New Challenges(Programs that Work/Don’t, Resource Allocation, Training, Hazard Mitigation)Advertising/Article Deadline: June 15, 2009

AprilGreening Government: Hot Topic, Cold Realities(Meaningful Actions vs. Lip Service, Success Stories, Unexpected Results)Advertising/Article Deadline: March 20, 2009

MarchDiversity Revisited(What Does Diversity Mean, Working with Multiple Generations)Intl. Supplement: Governance in the Midst of DiversityAdvertising/Article Deadline: February 20, 2009

FebruaryImmigration: Issues Impacting Administration(Trends, Legal Issues, Effects on Service Delivery, New Immigration Legislation)Advertising/Article Deadline: January 22, 2009

DecemberImage of the Profession: Through a Glass–Darkly?(Public Perception, Professional Perception, Academic Perception, image or rep-utation of graduate education in PA; are students getting their money’s worthand does the degree help in getting a job/performance on the job?)Advertising/Article Deadline: November 21, 2009

NovemberMulti-Sector Workforce, Third Party Govt.: Broadening of PA(Accountability, Program Examples, Staffing, Nonprofits, Consultants)Advertising/Article Deadline: October 22, 2009

OctoberEthics: Trying to Get it Right(Teaching Ethics, ASPA’s Code of Ethics, Workshop Programs, Conundrums)Ed. Supp.: PA Education: Available, Affordable, Meaningful?(Curriculum Innovations, Distance Learning, Internship Programs)Advertising/Article Deadline: September 22, 2009

SeptemberShifting Population: Demography Isn’t Just About Polling(Rural Econ. Devel., Water, Infrastructure, Agriculture, Transportation, etc.)Advertising/Article Deadline: August 22, 2009

AugustHealth Care: Provision and Administration(Economic Challenges, Scope of Coverage, Programs)Advertising/Article Deadline: July 23, 2009

NNNNEEEEWWWW!!!!The PA TIMES requests that articles be between 1000-1200 words. Contact cjewett@aspanet.org for author guidelines. Deadlinesfor each of the 12 issues are listed below. Recruitment advertising questions may be directed to recruiter@aspanet.org. Press releases, announcements, article inquiries, and display advertising questions may be directed to:

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2009 Editorial Calendar

MayPublic Service: Actions and Attitudes(Public Service Academy, Defining Public Service, New Initiatives, Trends)Advertising/Article Deadline: April 21, 2009

Note: Items in parentheses are intended as subject ideas for monthlytopics. Authors are not limited to these subjects and are encouragedto write in their specific areas of expertise/interest.

AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION PA TIMES • FEBRUARY 2009 PAGE 27

The Biggest Gift to Public Administration Education: A Less than Happy HistoryFrank P. Sherwood

Almost 40 years ago, the academiccommunity of public administrationexperienced a real bombshell–a hugeamount of money was made available forpublic administration education.

In1961 Princeton University announcedthat it had received a gift of $35 million[in today's dollars about $250 million]from an anonymous donor to be used forthe "…training and education of men andwomen for careers in government servicewith particular emphasis in those areas ofthe federal government that are concernedwith international relations and affairs."

It's hard to say what intrigued the profes-sors at that time the most, the sheer size ofthe gift or that no one had a clue as to whothe highly generous benefactor was. Exceptfor the one at the Littauer School atHarvard, even modest endowments did notexist in public administration. Further, whoin the world would give this kind of moneyfor public administration education?

The identity of the donor was unknownfor many years. It was a well kept secret.

Meanwhile, Princeton used the gift toestablish the Woodrow Wilson School for

Public and International Affairs; and itcarefully tended the money to the pointthat the endowment once got as high as$900 million. After the 2008 marketcrash, it was said to still amount to $600-700 million.

In the last four decades the WoodrowWilson School developed a reputation asa significant scholarly resource. While itexcelled on the quality side, it did little toadvance the quantity of well educatedyoung people entering the public service.

Indeed, it provided only modest leader-ship and support to the academic field ofpublic administration. The optimismmany held that the grant wouldprofoundly change public administrationeducation simply was not fulfilled.

It developed that the donors were alsounhappy with Princeton's use of themoney. As they became more restive andthreatened legal action, the facts of thegift were revealed. The money came fromthe heir to the A&P fortune and wasdelivered to Princeton in the form of700,000 shares in that grocery chain,which has now disappeared but once wasa highly successful and dominantbusiness. Charles Robertson, the heir andthe donor, was in the Class of 1926 atPrinceton and died in 1981.

By the summer of 2008, the family wassufficiently disaffected that it filed a 66-page complaint with the Supreme Courtof the State of New Jersey, charging thatPrinceton had "improperly and systemati-cally diverted to its own use and benefitmore than $100 million…and has fraudu-lently concealed its wrongdoing."Princeton engaged in "flagrant disregardof donor intent…and acted unilaterallyand covertly for decades to subvert theRobertsons' intent."

The family asked for the money back inorder to use it at another university for theoriginal purpose. Princeton refused.

The case had significance beyond publicadministration because it has become thecustom of universities and other non-profits to amend the original purposes ofgifts received. This was an instance whena major university was called to accountfor its actions.

On December 11, 2008, the New YorkTimes announced that a settlement hadbeen made. Princeton gets to keep most ofthe money, a part of which will go tosupport the Woodrow Wilson School.However, some of it will be returned tothe Robertson family, a total of about$100 million. Half of that will be anoutright payment of $50 million,beginning in 2012, and the other half willbe for legal fees ($40 million) and interest($11 million). It was said to be first timethat such an amount of money had beenreturned to a donor.

William Robertson, the son and leadplaintiff in the suit, was quoted in theTimes that the settlement was "a messageto non-profit organizations of all kindsand throughout the country that donorsexpect them to abide by the terms of thedesignated gifts or suffer consequences."

Robertson declared to the Times that he is"…excited at the prospect of starting anew foundation to carry out the originalgoal of the Princeton gift."

He said he had talked to officials at anumber of graduate programs in publicaffairs about undertaking the programoriginally slated for Princeton. He reporteddiscussions at Tufts, Texas A&M,Syracuse, and the University of Maryland.

Bringing well-educated, able young peopleinto government service has long been seenas an imperative of democratic govern-ments; and wealthy people in the past haveprovided money for such a purpose. Theesteemed Maxwell School at Syracuse wasfounded with a $500,000 gift by GeorgeMaxwell in 1924, at least in part to trainpeople for public service. Close to acentury later, it can certainly be said thatSyracuse has been true to that mission.

In 1935 Lucius Littauer, a wealthy glovemanufacturer in upstate New York, gave$2 million to Harvard University toestablish the Littauer School. At the timeit was the largest individual gift evermade to a university. As Time magazinereported at that time, " …[it] will be thefirst formal attempt by a university toprovide training for public servants. Sucha school was the lifetime dream ofPresident-Emeritus Abbott LawrenceLowell whose standard work on theGovernment of England laments theabsence of a U.S. counterpart to theuniversity-trained British Civil Servant."

The Littauer School operated for nearly30 years, at which time it was absorbed,with its endowment, into the KennedySchool of Government. It did not play amajor role in preparing young people forgovernment service.

In 2007 a wealthy alumnus, Frank Batten,donated $100 million to the University ofVirginia to create the Batten School ofLeadership and Public Policy, the firstnew school on that campus since 1953.

At the time of gift, Batten declared,"There’s an urgent need to develop a newgeneration of entrepreneurial leaders whocan bring about transformational change.Talented public leaders are needed…It iscritical to get younger people excited aboutthe responsibilities and opportunities ofpublic service in all its manifestations. Theearlier in their careers that exceptionalstudents begin to think of themselves asfuture public leaders who can promote abetter society, the greater the likelihoodthey will become such leaders.”

Clearly, the Robertson gift to Princetonwas the largest ever made. Up to thispoint, only the smallest, that to Maxwell,has produced an institution and a programthat have fed substantial numbers ofyoung people into public service.

ASPA member Frank P. Sherwood is aformer president of ASPA. He is retired andlast served as a professor of publicadministration at Florida State University.email: frankpsherwooddr@aol.com

Clearly, the Robertson gift toPrinceton was the largestever made. Up to this point,only the smallest, that toMaxwell, has produced aninstitution and a programthat have fed substantial

numbers of young people intopublic service.

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AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION VOL. 32 NO. 2 FEBRUARY 2009

January 200923-24 The Second Annual Public Performance

Measurement and Reporting ConferenceLocation: Rutgers University, Newark, NJMore Info.: www.ppmrn.net/annual-conference

February 20098-12 Conference of Minority Public

Administrators (COMPA) 2009 National ConferenceLocation: Las Vegas, NVMore Info.: www.natcompa.org

20 Texas ASPA and Certified Public Manager (CPM) Conference Location: Texas State University’s Higher Education Learning Center in Round Rock, TXMore Info.: www.txstate.edu/cpm

March 20099-12 Strategic Human Capital Management for

Government Conference: How To TransformHuman Capital Planning By Aligning Your Programs With Your Organization's Mission & Goals To Drive Performance & Maximize ResultsLocation: Washington, DCMore Info.: www.aliconferences.com/conf/human_capital_mgmt_gov0309/index.htm

11-14 67th International Atlantic Economic ConferenceLocation: Rome, Italy More Info.: www.iaes.org/conferences/ future/Rome_67/index.htm

20-24 ASPA Annual ConferenceGovernance in the Midst of Diversity: Bridging Opportunity and ChallengeLocation: Miami, FL

April 200917 3rd Annual Conference:

Best Practices and Beyond By and for Professional PractitionersLocation: Coral Gables (Miami), FLMore Info.: www.aspaonline.org/southfla

May 20094-8 Public Service Recognition Week

Location: Nationwide

28-30 The First Global Dialogue will be held May Location: Amsterdam, the NetherlandsMore Info.: www.fsw.vu.nl/en/departments/public-administration-and-organization-science/global-dialogue/

June 200911-13 Fifth Transatlantic Dialogue

The Future of Governance in Europe and the U.S.Location: Washington, DCMore Info.: http://spaa.newark.rutgers.edu/5TAD

September 200930-Oct. 3 2009 SECoPA (Southeastern

Conference on Public Administration) ConferenceLocation: Louisville, KY

October 200923-25 2009 International Conference on Public

Administration (ICPA)Theme: The State of Public Administration: Issues, Challenges, and Solutions, Location: Dujiangyan, Chengdu

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