2011 Fall/Winter SPA Newsletter

Newsletter of the School of Public Administration University of Nebraska at Omaha Fall 2011

Newsletter of the

School of Public Administration 3

Fall / Winter 2011

exchange

University of Nebraska at Omaha

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Pictured from left: Rhonda Sheibal-Carver, Ethel Williams, Meagan Van Gelder and Carol Ebdon

Transitions Shuffle Roles, Responsibilities at SPA

By Nick Schinker

The chapters of our lives are marked by transitions. The same is true for the School of Public Administration. Progress and the natural course of time prompt many changes. Some are temporary. Others are more lasting. Regardless of their duration, these transitions, coupled with the dedication and professionalism of the people involved, ultimately serve to preserve and advance the School’s vital role at UNO and in the greater community.

The most notable changes at the School this fall followed the move of B.J. Reed, Ph.D., dean of the College of Public Affairs and Community Service (CPACS), to the Chancellor’s Office, where he is serving as Interim Senior Vice Chancellor while a search is conducted to permanently fill that position.

In Dr. Reed’s absence, John Bartle, Ph.D., Director of the School of Public Administration (SPA) and David Scott Diamond Alumni Professor of Public Affairs, has been named Acting Dean for CPACS. That transition prompted the naming of Reynolds Professor of Public Affairs and Director of the Master of Public Administration (MPA) Program Ethel Williams, Ph.D., as SPA’s Acting Director.

Other changes include: Associate Professor Carol Ebdon, Ph.D., will serve as Director of the MPA Program;

Aviation Institute Instructor Scott Vlasek, MPA, will serve as Interim Director of the Institute as former Director Scott Tarry, Ph.D., becomes Executive Director at the Strategic Air and Space Museum south of Omaha near Ashland, Neb. Dr. Tarry will continue his duties as Director of the NASA Nebraska Space Grant and EPSCoR Programs, of which UNO and SPA are academic affiliates; Career Services Director Mary Lopez, MPA, has retired and will concentrate her efforts on community service (see accompanying sidebar article); and, In light of Lopez’s retirement, the duties of Academic Program Coordinator Meagan Van Gelder, Ed.D., and Staff Assistant Rhonda Sheibal-Carver, CPM, will expand.

While these transitions are notable, Dr. Bartle says they underscore the strength and continuity of mission at SPA. “There will be no major change in personality or philosophy at the School or the College,” he says. “We all share in the philosophy and commitment to high quality education, research, community service and engagement that have developed over time.

The chief implementers of this philosophy have new roles, but that doesn’t mean our policies or our approaches will be any different. ”SPA’s programs have a strong foundation that will be enhanced by some of the changes, Dr. Bartle says. (continued on pages 2 and 3)

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FACULTY & STAFF SCHOOL OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION (402) 554-2625 Ethel Williams Acting Director John Bartle Robert Blair Richard Box Carol Ebdon Angela Eikenberry Mary Hamilton Bryce Hoflund Dale Krane Ken Kriz Gary Marshall James B. Milliken BJ Reed Chris Reed Russell Smith Arwiphawee Srithongrung Jay White *** Rhonda Sheibal-Carver Meagan Van Gelder AVIATION INSTITUTE (402) 554-3424 Scott Vlasek Interim Director David Byers Patrick O’Neil David Smith *** Gayle Lockey Sara Martin NASA OFFICE (402) 554-3772 Mike Helgerson Michaela Lucas Melissa Wragge

Transitions Shuffle Roles, Responsibilities at SPA (continued from pg 1) “We have forged unique synergies between public administration and aviation, and between urban studies and public administration,” he says. “We’ve been working outside the lines for years.

Many other universities struggle to do what we’ve already accomplished.”

Instruction and research at SPA is interdisciplinary and interdepartmental, he says. “We have made a concerted effort to be less siloed, more integrated and more responsive to the professional world, and we are achieving that,” he says.

New Challenges Named a National Academy of Public Administration fellow in 2010, Dr. John Bartle has been at UNO since 1994. He became SPA Director five years ago. He says his duties as Acting Dean at CPACS are both humbling and challenging. “They didn’t move me into this position as a thank you for what I’ve done,” he says, smiling. “They wanted me to get right to work.”

Overseeing administrative areas including budgeting, hiring and curriculum enables him to broaden the impact he has on the College, Dr. Bartle says. “It’s personally gratifying to have that kind of long term influence on our students, our programs and on public service,” he says.

The challenges are made a bit easier by the strong support system at SPA and CPACS. “The people here are experienced professionals who care about the organization,” he says. “And if anyone at the School has any questions, I’m just a few extra steps down the hall.”

Dr. Bartle says the selection of Dr. Ethel Williams as Acting Director was a natural one. “She has administered our largest and most complex program, the MPA Program, since 2000, and she has served as Associate Director the past two years,” he says. “She is eminently qualified to act as Acting Director.”

Dr. Williams came to UNO in 1990 to work part-time in the Minority Faculty Development Program and study toward her doctorate, which she received from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. In addition to her administrative duties, she enjoys her role in the classroom. “Being an instructor teaches a person about themselves,” she says. “Every semester, I learn as much as I impart.”

Active in the Community Beyond UNO, Dr. Williams has served nearly a decade as a member of the Personnel Board for the City of Omaha, including as chair and secretary. She is a member of the Youth Emergency Services board and is Dean of the Congress of Christian Education for the New Era Baptist State Convention of Nebraska, a group of 33 churches in Omaha and Lincoln. She also has served on the state’s Judicial Nominating Committee.

She says her selection as SPA’s Acting Director “is a serious honor for a number of reasons. It shows my colleagues trust me to lead the school and they believe I have the capacity to do this.

“This is one of the greatest departments in the University,” she says. “Its mission, and its message, is one of excellence in education, instruction, research and outreach.”

A member of the MPA Committee, Dr. Carol Ebdon will take on the administrative duties as Director of the program. “I am the longest serving member,” she says, “having been on the committee since I started here in the fall of 1997.” Dr. Ebdon left the school in 2004 to serve as Finance Director for the City of Omaha. She returned in 2009.

For Scott Vlasek, adding the title of Interim Director at the Aviation Institute means he will add administrative duties to his roles as instructor, and as faculty advisor and coach of the Institute’s competitive flight team. He also oversees the Institute’s internship program and the Aviation Explorers Program. Balancing the workload is a challenge that Vlasek says is made easier by his interaction with eager and dedicated students. “It’s fun for me to watch their progress,” he says, “to witness their excitement and knowledge grow from the time they come in as freshmen to when they leave for their first job.”

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Transitions Shuffle Roles, Responsibilities at SPA (continued from pg. 2) Besides her work as Academic Program Coordinator, Meagan Van Gelder will take on the career services component formerly administered by Mary Lopez. She says she wants to bring more SPA alumni into the classroom to help enhance the educational experience for students. “I’d like to provide a continuum of services that tie educational goals with our students’ career goals,” she says.

‘Truly Work Together’ Van Gelder says the SPA faculty’s commitment to excellence “makes it easy to brag about our programs. “I see how the faculty members strive to link theories to practical knowledge and to keep themselves accessible to students,” she says. “They give it their all when they teach and truly work together for this school to be the best.”

Rhonda Sheibal-Carver will take on a greater role collecting articles, compiling information and editing stories for The Exchange newsletter, tasks she had previously performed on a limited basis for newsletter editor Lopez. She also serves as liaison between SPA and the Public Administration Graduate Organization (PAGO). Because she is the only fulltime administrative staff member, there are plans to add a part-time position to share in the day-to-day responsibilities.

Sheibal-Carver has been at UNO 25 years and with SPA for the past 10. “I worked in the bookstore, in graduate studies, in telecommunications,” she says. “I know this campus and have watched it grow. I have seen how everyone in every department will go out of their way to help one another. You never hear anyone say, ‘I can’t do that. It’s not my job.’ You never hear them say, ‘No, I’m too busy.’

“I’m kind of in the middle of everything here. I see the different personalities and I see how they put any differences aside to work together and get things done. They’re all interested in doing right for the students.” Dr. Bartle says that shared commitment is what distinguishes the School of Public Administration.

“Everyone here works hard for the students and the University,” he says, “and we accept the great responsibility we’ve been given. It’s given us an emotional connection you don’t always find at other universities.

“It’s easy to work hard when it’s something you care about deeply.”

No Rest in Retirement

By Nick Schinker Although she officially turned over her duties as Career Services Director for the School of Public Administration this fall, Mary Lopez is taking her retirement anything but easy. “I’m doing exactly what I retired to do: more community service,” she says.

Lopez, who has done committee and volunteer work with more than a dozen civic and philanthropic organizations, is chairing the United Way of the Midlands’ Tocqueville Women’s Initiative and the Women’s Leadership Council, and is a member of the board of the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) Munroe-Meyer Institute.

She also is traveling – but not necessarily to relax. She and her husband, Rodrigo Lopez, who is CEO, President and founder of the Omaha-headquartered mortgage banking firm AmeriSphere, in September visited India and Bhutan, where they hiked to the cliffside monastery Paro Taktsang. And in November, she went to Haiti as part of Habitat for Humanity’s 28th annual Jimmy & Rosalynn Carter Work Project, where she joined former President Carter and more than 400 other volunteers building 100 core homes in a week.

Lopez grew up in southwest Iowa and obtained her bachelor’s degree from the University of Iowa. She served as a K-12 teacher before moving to Mary Lopez pictured 2nd row, far right with Habitat for Humanity Omaha to work volunteers and staff, and family partners in Haiti in November 2011 as an educational therapist at the former Nebraska Psychiatric Institute.

“And I did my job alongside the most She earned Master of Science and professional faculty and staff anyone Master of Public Administration degrees could imagine. Between the students, my at UNO. colleagues and the wonderful working environment, I enjoyed the best of all She came to the College of Public Affairs worlds.” and Community Service to administer several outreach programs for Dean Lopez and her husband have two B.J. Reed, and in 2004 moved to the children: Ana, a student majoring in academic side of the School of Public English and theology at Boston College, Administration, where she oversaw the and David, a law student at the University internship program as it grew into Career of Nebraska-Lincoln and a law clerk with Services. She also served as editor of the Nebraska Attorney General’s Office; The Exchange newsletter. and a daughter-in-law, Sarah Grossman Lopez, Director of Development at Habitat “I loved every minute working with the for Humanity of Omaha. students, seeing them sometimes go from struggling and uncertain to where Lopez says she plans to spend more time they felt good about their direction and with her family – as soon as her retirement achieved success,” she says. schedule allows it.

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CPM in Transition

By Mary R. Hamilton, Ph.D., Director, The Nebraska Certified Public Manager® (CPM) Program CPM is in transition in three respects this fall of 2011: • • •

The 2011 class has almost completed the program and will graduate on December 9, 2011.

The program has a new video featuring current participants and alumni The 2012 class will begin in January with a new Director, Ellen FreemanWakefield

2011 CPM CLASS Participants in the Nebraska Certified Public Manager® (CPM) Program are required to complete a major project over the year that will both help them integrate what they’ve learned in the program and provide benefits for their organization.

The 2011 class has chosen a variety of issues to address in their projects.

Trisha Brockman, Assistant Warden, Nebraska Department of Corrections, Nebraska Correctional Youth Facility, is developing a mentoring program at the Nebraska Correctional Youth Facility.

The intent of the program is to initiate and facilitate a relationship between a mentor and inmates within our population that are preparing for release within a year.

David Erickson, Safety and Sanitation Specialist, Nebraska Department of Correctional Services, Omaha, is working on the thorny issue of Corrections employees using social media at work and at home. He is developing a plan for training on the appropriate use of social media.

Bryan Leroy Freeman, President, VII Finger ProductionsTM, Omaha, is creating a nonprofit organization that will provide public and media relations advice and assistance to cash-strapped nonprofits.

Ann D. Fritz, Resource Development Manager, North Central District Health Department, O’Neill, Nebraska, is working with the elementary school principal to revive a parent support organization and plan for it to be sustainable over time.

John (Rick) Hargreaves, Unit Manager, Nebraska Department of Corrections, Lincoln Correctional Center, Lincoln, is working to decrease the high number of misconduct reports that his unit incurs. He has surveyed the inmates and recieved

their input on a training program he plans to develop that will teach positive work attitudes and behaviors.

Heike Langdon, Outreach and Visitor Relations Manager, The Kaneko Studio, Omaha, is creating a comprehensive volunteer program for Kaneko. The program will include job descriptions, application process, training, communication, recognition.

Colleen Lawry, City Administrator/Clerk, City of Gretna, has developed a training program for newly elected City Council members.

The materials from the program will also serve as a reference for those members as they take on their roles on the Council.

David Skow, Case Manager, Nebraska Department of Correctional Services, Lincoln Correctinal Center, is revising the organization of the Treatment Files kept for each inmate to make them more userfriendly for staff. The revision should save staff time and ensure greater accuracy of the files.

Colleen Svoboda, Performance Improvement Manager, Department of Health and Human Services, Nebraska Division of Public Health Community Health and Performance Management. Lincoln, is developing a performance management plan for the Public Health Division. This will fulfill requirements of a grant that they received this year and will provide stakeholders across Nebraska with assurance that the Division is a credible public health resource.

CPM VIDEO Working with the very talented Charley Reed (UNO University Relations Online Media/Web Associate), the CPM staff, faculty, participants, alumni, and Advisory Board member Bob Houston (Director, Nebraska Department of Correctional Services), created a video promoting the program. In keeping with his CPM project (see above), current CPM participant Bryan Freeman was instrumental in identifying the resource in University Relations and helped with planning for the video.

The video features Mary Hamilton, current Director of the program and incoming Director, Ellen Freeman-Wakefield describing the basics of the program.

Faculty members Dr. Ethel Williams is

shown teaching the course on managing people, and Storyteller Rita Paskowitz is interviewed. Bob Houston provides the perspective of an employer who has had several of his staff complete the program.

There is also an interview with Bill Brecks (CPM 2010) and Colleen Lawry, current participant.

Thanks to Charley and to everyone else who helped make this a great video! See for yourself at https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=3s2ADyOJkDA&feature=playe r_embedded NEW DIRECTOR Nebraska CPM founding Director, Mary Hamilton, will hand over the Directorship of the Program to Ellen FreemanWakefield at the end of December this year.

Ellen has been with the program since its inception in 2007.

She was a member of the Working Group that developed the program, and she has been a faculty member since classes began in 2008. In addition to continuing as a faculty member this calendar year, Ellen has also been a consultant to the program, working with the CPM projects and gaining familiarity with all aspects of managing the program.

Ellen is eminently qualified for the position. She holds the Masters in Public Administration (MPA) from UNO and most recently served as Chief Operating Officer for the YWCA in Omaha. She has been an adjunct instructor for the UNO School of Public Administration for several years and has taught courses on leadership and management in the public and nonprofit sectors. In addition, Ellen is involved in a wide variety of activities serving the community. For example, she is currently chair of the board of the Midwest Mentoring Partnership.

In 2012 Mary will move to a consultant role for the CPM Program and the School.

The change will allow her more flexibility to spend time with her husband, Jack, and their two dogs, Cleo and Hector, as well as do more traveling, writing, reading, and enjoying life on the Elkhorn River!

S CH O OL Flying Mavs Participate in National and Regional Competitions

By Scott Vlasek 2011 NATIONALS The University of Nebraska at Omaha Flight Team, the Flying Mavs returned home Sunday from competing in the 2011 National Intercollegiate Flying Association competition in Columbus Ohio. I would first like to thank all our sponsors for their commitment and support of our program. Without your help we could not have done this competition.

While we did not do as well as we would have liked as a team we did have some individual success. Co-Captain James Slabaugh placed 17th in the Navigation event along with his safety observer Austin Phillips. James also placed 16th in the E6B competition, 17th in the IFR Simulated Flight, and 4th in the CFI event. Co-Captain Zach Ossino won the Harold S. Wood Award for Excellence sponsored and presented by the General Aviation Manufactures Association.

This year they had a total of 28 schools participate and over 300 students in events.

Overall the Flying Mavs placed 24th in the National Championship Trophy and 18th in the Judges Trophy. Full results can be found at http://nifa.us/SAFECON_2011_Results. html.

Again a special thank you to our sponsors: Jet Linx Aviation – Title Sponsor of the UNO Flying Mavs, Nebraska Business Aviation Association, ConAgra Foods, Mutual of Omaha, Peter Kiewit Sons’, Inc., Carson Wealth Management Group, Paul Aaron, Duncan Family Trust, and The Nebraska Aviation Council.

2011 REGIONALS - UNO Wins Third-Straight NIFA Region VI Competition The University of Nebraska Omaha Flying Maverick recently secured a third-straight regional championship by the slimmest of margins – one point. The victory was even more special because UNO played host to the National Intercollegiate Flying Association (NIFA) Region VI for the first time. NIFA’s Region VI consists of schools from Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska and Oklahoma.

The chance to host the competition was an opportunity that Aviation Institute Interim Director Scott Vlasek said he was “very proud” to have. The weeklong competition, which ran from Oct. 17 – Oct. 21, included events like the “Message Drop,” “Power Off Landings,” “Aircraft Recognition” and others. UNO placed second in Overall Flight Events and first in Overall Ground Events.

UNO’s one-point victory came over Kansas State, which finished second with 501 points to UNO’s 502, followed by Southeastern Oklahoma State (413), Oklahoma State University (387), Parks College of St. Louis (210), University of Central Missouri (206), Spartan College of Aeronautics (177) and the University of Oklahoma (104).

Awards were also given to the best individual students and UNO was able to place in all three major categories. This included third and fifth place for Michelle Mathine and Deanna Stoddard respectively in the Top Scoring Female Contestant category as well as first and second place for Tyler Klingemann and Colby Ranslem respectively in the Top Scoring Male Contestant category, which also gave them first and second place as the top-scoring contestants overall. “It has been an outstanding week,” Vlasek said. UNO will now have a chance to compete at SAFECON,NIFA’s national competition, hosted by Kansas State University in Salina, Kan. May 14 – 19, 2012.

Top Finishes for UNO: Navigation - 1st Colby Ranslem (Pilot) / Jeremy Martin (Observer) Power Off Landing - 2nd Tyler Klingemann Short Field Approach and Landing - 3rd Tyler Klingemann Message Drop - 1st Tyler Klingemann (Drop Master) / Jeremy Martin (Pilot), 3rd Tyler Wilmouth (Drop Master) / Taylor Smith (Pilot) Computer Accuracy - 1st Colby Ranslem Ground Trainer - 3rd Colby Ranslem Top Pilot - 1st Tyler Klingemann Top Scoring Male - 1st Tyler Klingemann, 2nd Colby Ranslem Top Scoring Female - 3rd Michelle Mathine Top Scoring Contestant - 1st Tyler Klingemann, 2nd Colby Ranslem

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NASA Nebraska EPSCoR News

By Michaela Lucas, Associate Director, NASA Nebraska Space Grant & EPSCoR

Scott Tarry, Director of the NASA Nebraska Space Grant & EPSCoR programs, has accepted a new position as the Executive Director of the Strategic Air & Space Museum in Ashland, Nebraska.

Scott will retain his role as director of the NASA programs which will further collaborations between the museum and the university.

Scott was also named Chair of the NASA EPSCoR Caucus. Melissa Wragge was promoted to Grants Program Manager of the NASA Nebraska Space Grant & EPSCoR programs, and Mike Helgerson joined the NASA team as a Grants Specialist.

The NASA Nebraska EPSCoR program received two new nationally competitive research awards of $750,000 each. These awards will fund the science of UNO Science PIs Raj Dasgupta (UNO Computer Science) and Nick Stergiou (UNO HPER).

Michaela Lucas received a new NASA Summer of Innovation grant, working with the Nebraska Department of Education. The goal of the grant is to train 150 middle school teachers in NASA content each summer, and engage 2,500 middle school students across the state each year in NASA curriculum.

We are pleased to welcome Mike Helgerson, Grants Specialist, to our NASA Space Grant and EPSCoR team.

Mike will be responsible for pre-award duties, to include facilitating proposal development, managing the minigrant & fellowship competition, assisting faculty and students in the proposal process, issuing subcontracts and coordinating EPSCoR efforts. Mike earned a Bachelor’s degree in Community & Regional Planning from Iowa State University and has experience working with public and non-profit organizations to develop grant proposals and to administer federal grant awards.

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FAC ULTY NE W S Emphasis on Professionalism Kenneth A. Kriz, Ph.D., Associate Professor Ken Kriz, Ph.D., is putting a global perspective on the world of finance for his students and the community.

Dr. Kriz served as a professor and Fulbright Scholar at the University of Tartu in the Republic of Estonia and as a Fulbright Senior Specialist in the Czech Republic. He taught at the University of Minnesota, and he worked in the private sector in commercial banking and as a stock broker. Since joining the faculty of the School of Public Administration in 2002, Dr. Kriz has been applying his experience to lead students and government entities toward a higher standard of financial responsibility.

“It’s my goal to increase professionalism in public finance,” he says.

Outside the classroom, Dr. Kriz conducts research on economic development policy, municipal debt policy and administration, government financial risk management techniques and transportation finance, along with the use of advanced quantitative methods in public administration. He also serves the community as a representative on the City of Omaha Civilian Employees Pension Board. “There are three representatives from the City and three from the civilian workers,” he says. “I’m the seventh member – the tie-breaker.”

A frequent presenter at public economics and public budgeting and financial management conferences, Dr. Kriz sees a need for the use of more advanced techniques in public sector organizations regarding their finances. “There are measures that the private sector has had in practice for 30 or 40 years that are just now beginning to be adopted by the public sector,” he says. “While you can’t import everything from the private to the public sector because of the public sector’s need for greater openness and responsiveness to public values, there is definitely a need for more professionalism.”

Encouraging more professionalism in government may seem an ambitious goal, but Dr. Kriz knows what it’s like to be in over his head. He served as a U.S. Naval officer in the late 1980s aboard the USS Memphis nuclear-powered submarine.

“I loved being out on a sub,” he says. “We were basically getting paid to play war games – the blue team versus the orange team.”

Born in Minnesota and reared in Lake Mills, Iowa, Dr. Kriz earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration with an emphasis on economics and finance from the University of Iowa before joining the Navy in 1988. In 1991 he moved to Denver, Colo., where he worked two years in commercial banking and two years at a brokerage firm. He sold more than $1 million in municipal bonds to fund Denver’s international airport but didn’t enjoy “cold calling” potential clients. “You have to be ready to hear ‘no’ 200 times a day and ‘yes’ just once,” he says.

He discovered how much he liked being at the front of the classroom while serving as a teaching assistant in pursuit of his master’s degree in public administration at the University of Colorado at Denver. He went on to Indiana University to obtain his doctorate in public affairs and accepted a teaching position at the University of Minnesota.

An avid hockey fan, he was a bit reluctant when, after fulfilling his three-year faculty requirement to become eligible for University of Minnesota Golden Gopher hockey season tickets, he was offered a position at UNO. He says the combination of teaching and research, and the opportunity for meaningful community involvement, proved a stronger draw.

“I like being active in the community and working with students,” he says. “There’s a lot of good discussion that takes place. When they start my course, so much of what they know is media-based rather than model-based. By the end of the semester, the students are learning how to think for themselves, and how to apply models to real-world problems.

“Getting them to think independently, that’s how I see my role as a teacher.”

Faculty Fast Facts Dale Krane, Frederick W. Kayser Chair Professor, spent the Spring 2011 semester on a Fulbright Professorship at the Federal University of Bahia, in Salvador, Brazil. His activities included research on city management, coteaching a graduate course on policy analysis, and developing contacts for the University of Nebraska with Brazilian universities. He was also invited by the Department of Administration, University of Brasilia, to present a lecture entitled “Measurement of Performance in the Public Sector” to an audience of students, faculty, and public officials. He is currently working jointly with Brazilian colleagues on a project examining public-private collaboration in the management of civic events.

Ethel Williams has been elected as a Fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration. The National Academy of Public Administration was created to help public sector leaders meet the important and varied management challenges of today and anticipate those of the future. Chartered

by Congress as an independent, nonpartisan organization, the National Academy undertakes its important work on behalf of the public sector by anticipating, evaluating, analyzing and making recommendations on the nation’s most critical and complex public management, governance, policy and operational challenges.

Through the trusted and experienced leaders that comprise its 680 Fellows and direct its projects and services, the National Academy improves the quality, performance and accountability of government.

Dr. Williams has also been appointed as the Reynolds Professor of Public Policy for 20112014.

P UB LICA T I ON S 7 Faculty Publications, Research and Presentations BRYCE HOFLUND

KEN KRIZ

Bryce Hoflund presented two articles at this year’s Annual Meeting of the Law and Society Association:

Dr. Kenneth Kriz recently published the book Quantitative Research in Public Administration (2011) Sentia Publishing Company. The goal of writing the book was to develop a resource that first year master’s students in Public Administration can use to develop their knowledge of the quantitative approach to research.

Hoflund, A. Bryce and Michelle M. Pautz. “Improving food safety through self-regulation: Exploring the applicability of the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points system to the spinach and peanut industries.” Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Law and Society Association, San Francisco, CA, June 4, 2011.

Hoflund, A. Bryce, Michelle M. Pautz, and Richard Hyde. Working Title: “Improving food safety through self-regulation: Exploring the implementation of the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points system to the spinach and peanut industries in US and EU.” Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Law and Society Association, San Francisco, CA, June 4, 2011.

Bryce Hoflund was also invited to present her research to the North Omaha Rotary Club: Hoflund, A. Bryce. “Conducting a dissonant symphony: A case study of network leadership in the National Quality Forum.” Presented at the weekly meeting of the North Omaha Rotary Club, April 25, 2011.

Dr. Hoflund attended (with John Bartle and Robert Blair) and presented an update of her collaboration with Dr. Dag Olaf Torjesen about health care reform in Norway at the University of Agder closing workshop in Kristiansand, Norway, August 8-9, 2011.

Oxford University Press in its August 2011 Publisher’s Report announced that the article with the highest impact factor in the 2009 and 2010 issues of Publius: The Journal of Federalism was written by Dr. Dale Krane, Frederick W. Kayser Chair Professor, UNO School of Public Administration. His 2007 manuscript “The Middle Tier in American Federalism: State Government Policy Activism during the Bush Presidency,” was the most cited article out of 50 articles published in the 2007 and 2008 volumes of Publius. It can be found in vol. 37, 3(Summer): 453-477.

ARIWPHAWEE SRITHONGRUNG Dr. Arwiphawee Srithongrung recently published her book, Essential Skills for Analyzing Public Budgets. The book focuses on the knowledge, skills, and applications in analyzing government budget documents at the state, local and federal levels.

Student Publications, Research and Presentations Doctoral student Changsoo Song presented three different papers at three different domestic/international conferences: “IT Collaboration among Governments to Improve Public Services” at the APPAM-Russia Multi-national Conference, Moscow, Russia, June 28-29, 2011; “Regional Economic Development: Is Micro-enterprise Given Fair Attention?” at the 2011 Korea Association for Policy Studies International Conference (KAPS 2011), Seoul, Republic of Korea, June 17-18, 2011; and “A Comparative Study on the Current Practices of State IT Public Policy in the United States” at the Midwest Political Science Association Conference (MPSA 2011), Chicago, IL, March 31-April 3, 2011. The MPSA 2011 paper was coauthored by Dr. Kenneth Kriz.

Alumni Fast Facts Anita Casey-Reed (MPA) had an article published online: 1 SEP 2011 | DOI: 10.1111/j.1540-6210.2011.02425.x Contingent Trusteeship and Local Government Management (pages 798– 800) Sandra (Sandy) Powell (MPA, 1999) has been selected to serve as the League of Women Voters of the United State (LWVUS) Budget Chair. This is a unique experience as the LWVUS will be approving and operating under an annual budget for the last time and moving into a biennial budget cycle.

Douglas County Treasurer, John Ewing, Jr. (MSUS, 1987) accepted the 2011 Achievement Award from the National Association of Counties (NACo) for Douglas County’s Nebraska Treasurer’s Business Model. The award recognizes effective and innovative programs which contribute to and enhance government in the United States.

Erin Reinders (CPM, 2010), started a new position as the City of Unalaska, Alaska, Planning Director this past September.

Richard J. Baier (MPA, 1994) assumed the Executive Vice President position for Forging Nebraska’s Future (FNF), a new long-term planning and policy initiative of the Nebraska Chamber of Commerce and Industry. FNF will conduct in-depth analysis and implement a business like review of Nebraska’s economic competitiveness, especially as it relates to growing jobs and population in Nebraska.

This research will serve as a foundation for suggesting new public policy options to grow Nebraska.

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SCHOOL & STUD EN T N E W S

PhD Student Challenges and Triumphs

By Ken A. Kriz, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Doctoral Program Director PhD students have had many challenges and triumphs during the late spring, summer, and early autumn. Courtney Jensen successfully defended her dissertation proposal and has moved on to join the faculty at Georgia Southern. Gerard Wellman has accepted a position at California State University, Stanislaus, and will begin teaching there in January. In a couple of weeks, he will face his supervisory committee and defend his dissertation. Levi Thiele is also scheduled to defend her dissertation in November and is on the job market this year. Levi was nominated by SPA for the Presidential Management Fellows program, a prestigious leadership development opportunity for advanced degree candidates with an interest in federal government service.

Two other students, Sikarn Issarachaiyos and Changsoo Song, successfully defended their dissertation proposals. Both are busily gathering data and writing their theses. Sikarn is also on the job market this year. One other student, Kristina Muhhina, took and passed her field exams. She is now scheduled to defend her dissertation proposal in the coming weeks. She will be gathering data in Estonia next semester while teaching online in the undergraduate certificate program.

Many of the students in the PhD program have been busy publishing and presenting research. Doctoral students Levi Thiele and Jason Metten, along with Dr. Eikenberry and a fourth graduate student, published a case study of a high school giving circle in the Journal of Nonprofit Education and Leadership. PhD program student Catherine Brown had a busy spring, hosting

a roundtable discussion at the ASPA conference and being an ASPA Founders’ Forum Fellow. She also presented a paper at the PAT-Net conference in May. This summer Michael Pippin and Changsoo Song presented papers at a national level Information Science conference in Detroit. Changsoo also presented papers in Seoul and Moscow during the summer on the role of information technology in the economic development of very small businesses. Earlier in the spring, Changsoo also presented a paper at a regional Political Science conference coauthored with Dr. Kenneth Kriz on state level IT policy frameworks. Also in the spring, Levi Thiele presented a pilot study from her dissertation at the Urban Affairs Association annual conference. Levi also will be giving a poster presentation at the upcoming APPAM annual conference. Finally at the recent ABFM conference, three SPA doctoral students presented papers coauthored with professors: Sikarn Issarachaiyos (with Dr. Kriz and SPA PhD alumnus Qiushi Wang), Gang Chen (with Drs. Ebdon and Kriz), and Yan Xiao (with Dr. Kriz).

Outside of the formal education and research processes, efforts to create a strong feeling of culture within the program continue.

The Waldo Society student organization and the DPC have been very active in organizing seminars on topics ranging from job search strategies and field exam preparation to curriculum vita writing. Additionally, many of the students took advantage of the recent visit of Russian and U.S. ambassadors to learn more about foreign policy and U.S. – Russian relations.

2011 Askew Award Winners

By Mary R. Hamilton, Ph.D., Director, The Nebraska Certified Public Manager® (CPM) Program The Nebraska Certified Public Manager® (CPM) Program is pleased to announce that TWO CPM projects from the 2010 class were selected for Askew Awards this year: - Bill Brecks, CPM 2010 Project: ¿Qué es servicio a la público? What is public service?

Bill developed a program for City of Lexington employees to learn Spanish in order to better serve their citizens.

- Kevin Conlon, CPM 2010 Project: Webcast Recruiting Kevin developed and tested an alternative for recruiting deputies for the Douglas County Sheriff’s Department—interactive webcasts—that is low cost, saves staff time, and will appeal to a wider range of potential recruits.

The awards are given by the American Academy of Certified Public Managers®, (AACPM) the alumni organization for Certified Public Managers®. The purpose of the awards is to acknowledge the efforts of those CPM participants who have demonstrated exemplary work in the completion of their CPM projects, which are a vital component of each participant’s training. Each project selected for the award must: • Be innovative in its approach • Demonstrate an improvement in quality within the work unit as a result of the project • Show cost savings as a result of the implementation of the project • Be an outstanding demonstration of CPM principles AACPM awarded the Askew medals at their annual conference in Salt Lake City on October 11, 2011. We have a tradition for the Nebraska CPM of presenting the award twice more after the AACPM ceremony—at the Nebraska CPM graduation ceremony (December 9, 2011, 4:30pm, CPACS Commons) and at the work site of each awardee.

S TUD E N T S Making a Difference Through Healthcare

9

student fast facts

Margaret Tuff Robinson As a child, I wanted to be a doctor when I grew up. My mind quickly changed after completing freshmen biology.

That was over thirty years ago. I knew I wanted a career in health care, but it was unclear in what area. What better way to explore the possibilities than to work at a healthcare center!

For the past twenty-five years I have worked as an administrator at academic healthcare institutions including Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine (Cleveland, Ohio), Meharry Medical College (Nashville, Tennessee), and the University of Nebraska Medical Center. In Nashville, as administrator for the Chief of Medicine at Nashville General Hospital, who was also on staff at Vanderbilt, I observed the disparity in healthcare received by patients treated at Vanderbilt, an elite private facility and those who received care at the Meharry clinic, a historically black healthcare institution. Additionally, I was able to observe the inferior quality of customer service and the seemingly poor quality of care provided to patients, especially the elderly at the indigent clinic at Meharry.

This experience restored my passion for wanting to make a difference, which I believe will be possible as a healthcare administrator. I started taking healthcare-related classes at a local university and later moved to Omaha, where I completed my undergraduate degree in the spring 2011through the Division of Continuing Studies. My degree is in healthcare administration with a minor concentration in gerontology.

My mentors, Dr. Lyn Holley and Dr. Richard Stacy, encouraged me to pursue my education. I have started in the UNO MPA program with a concentration in Healthcare Administration. At the undergraduate level, I was able to complete 21 hours in Spring 2011, but was not aware this would be difficult at the graduate level. To meet expectations for graduate level work, I have had to modify study techniques, social life, and personal obligations. This semester, I am enrolled for only six hours [PA8010 (Thiele) and 8050 (Ebdon)]. Additionally, having completed most of my undergraduate coursework online, I am finding the classroom setting very beneficial. A lasting network and valued friendships are on the horizon. My long term goal is to own a residential home for older adults. My short term goal is to complete the MPA program by December 2012.

2010 International Muskie Fellow Student, Talgat Ayapbergenov earned 2 gold and 2 bronze medals in swimming aquatics at the Cornhusker’s State Games.

Doctoral student Michael George received an honorable mention award at the E-PARCC Fourth Annual Teaching Case and Simulation Competition held at the Maxwell School of Syracuse University Collaborative Governance Initiative for his piece on “An Exercise in Environmental Collaborative Planning.”

Jason Terreri, Aviation property specialist in the Properties and Airline Affairs department, has been invited by the American Association of Airport Executives (AAAE) to be a part of the AAE NextGeneration Leaders project.

CPM Student Uses Experience to Help Nonprofits “Broadcast” Their Missions Bryan Freeman Bryan Freeman is a Nonprofit Leadership Alliance (formerly American Humanics) Certified Nonprofit Manager and Leader with 23 years radio broadcasting experience. He holds a Bachelor’s of General Studies in nonprofit administration, an associate degree in legal assisting. As a professional broadcaster, Mr. Freeman helped several public and private corporations successfully further their missions as a Promotions Director, PSA Director and Announcer. He has successfully managed and operated a commercial radio station as the VP of Operations by leasing the frequency and using volunteers as staff and served in management positions such as Program Director, Assistant Program Director, and Music Director. It was through these experiences that Bryan developed a passion for helping the community.

In January 2010, Bryan began attending the Nebraska Certified Public Managers Program® at UNO where he spearheaded the Plan C initiative to help the floundering foster care system meet the needs of its exiting children. While attending the program, Bryan learned skills that helped him learn the value of true leadership and how to manage the process of creating a new

nonprofit organization from the ground up. In that same year, the Nebraska Foster care system privatized, changing its processes and his plan to create a transitional living center for aging out foster children was put on hold. Using his newly acquired skills in being a “change agent”, Bryan returned to the program in 2011 with a plan to help nonprofit organizations better “broadcast their missions.” His current project, a requirement in completing the program, is called “Rolling the Dice: Broadcasting the Mission of Nonprofits”, explores and proposes that a new business model for advertising agencies be created to meet 21 century the needs of nonprofit organizations. Upon completion, Bryan will graduate on December 9, 2011 with his fellow cohorts.

In his spare time, Bryan enjoys cooking Spanish food, especially Paella, watching College and NFL football and is a proud Houston Texans Fan. Bryan is married to his very talented and loving wife, Debbie, who graduated Summa Cum Laude and holds a Bachelors in Business Leadership from the College of St. Mary, and is the father of three children, Ashley, Alex, David and several other children as foster parents.

Thank you to the following Exchange contributors: Editor: Rhonda Sheibal-Carver Designer: Sarah Grossman-Lopez Writers: Nick Schinker, Mary Hamilton, Margaret Tuff Robinson, Bryan Freeman, Ken Kriz, Michaela Lucas, Scott Vlasek Telephone: (402) 554-2625

The Exchange is published twice a year for the alumni, students and friends of the University of Nebraska Omaha School of Public Administration.

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