The MPA Messenger

Volume 2 March 1997
NEWSLETTER OF THE MPA PROGRAM AT THE UNIVERSITY OF ALASKA ANCHORAGE , 907 786-1700
 

MPA Mailserve
The MPA Program has set up a listserv (our computer system calls these mailservs) for students and alumni to use to keep up with what’s happening in the program and with each other. Dr. Aufrecht has been using mailservs in his classes since Fall 1995, and says "Where students have easy access to the Internet and feel reasonably comfortable with each other, the mailserv can be a significant way for them to communicate. But even under less than ideal circumstances, the mailserv can greatly improve our ability to communicate." So what does this mean? To subscribe, you simply send an e-mail message to: mailserv@uaa.alaska.edu. The message should say: "subscribe uaampa."

That’s it. Then whatever anyone sends to the mailserv, you will get a copy. And any time you want to send a message, just e-mail it to: uaampa@uaa.alaska.edu.

At this point, we expect to use it to announce class schedules, job and internship opportunities, and other news items we think will be of interest to our students and alumni. We encourage students and alumni to send messages also. We will watch what develops and make adjustments, or set up separate mailservs if that proves necessary.

 
College of Business & Public Policy Web Page
The College of Business and Public Policy now has its own web page. The address is: http://www.uaa.alaska.edu/camai/bpphome.html.
 

MPA Multimedia Cart
The new multimedia cart has arrived in the MPA conference room and is now available for professors and students to use for their presentations. It contains an overhead projector attached to a computer which is loaded with Microsof Word, Excel, and PowerPoint software. See Janet Burton for further information.

The Alaska Native Science Commission
The ANSC is headquartered in the office space which the MPA Program shares with Economics and ISER. The idea for the Commission developed in 1993 after Senator Murkowski held hearings on Project Chariot, government experiments in which Native Alaskans were given radioactive iodine without informed consent. The Alaska Federation of Natives got the Commission started to make sure that Native Alaskans are able to participate in the planning and implementation of scientific research on Native Alaskans. The Commission is serving many roles, particularly in helping government agencies and university research involved with Alaska Natives. For more information you can contact Patricia Cochran, the executive director, at 786-7704 or e-mail anpac1@uaa.alaska.edu.
 

Student News
MPA spring 1997 graduates William Hathcoat, Jonne Slemons and Tylan Schrock have been selected for induction into Phi Kappa Phi, a national honor society for graduate students. Members are selected on the basis of outstanding academic performance.

Tylan Schrock also made it through the first round of the Presidential Management Internship (PMI) selection process. The PMI is one of the most prestigious opportunities for MPA graduates. There is a lot of competition for these coveted positions. Interns get a fast track two year position in a federal agency. On February 7 Tylan participated in a day of group and individual testing in Seattle. If he makes it past that round, he will get to interview with federal agencies for a two year internship position.

Kimberly Williams, another spring 1997 graduate, is a member of the Sea Otter Commission and was an important participant in the development of co-management agreements between the U.S. government (NOAA) and Alaska Native groups to manage various sea mammal populations.
 

Faculty News
Steven Aufrecht is headed out for several conferences over Spring Break. At the Teaching Public Administration conference March 7-8 in Richmond, Virginia he will discuss the use of class listservs on a panel looking at uses of technology in the classroom. March 9 - 10 will be the Public Administration Theory Network Conference, also in Richmond, where Dr. Aufrecht will present his paper entitled "Missing: Native Americans in the Public Administration Literature." A paper Dr. Aufrecht presented in a Teaching Conference several years ago, "Grading as Performance Evaluation," has just been published in the Journal of Public Administration Education’s January 1997 edition. After Richmond, Dr. Aufrecht will go on to Brussels to participate as a member of the International Institute of Public Administration’s Working Group on the Ombudsman. When he gets back to Anchorage he will present an Ethics workshop for Municipal employees.

Greg Protasel presented a paper on ?Federalism and Economic Development of the North: The Russian Experience? at the 36^th Annual Meeting of the Western Regional Science Association , Royal Waikoloan Resort, The Big Island of Hawaii, February 23-27, 1997. In addition, he chaired a session of the Northern Development/Remote Regions section which focused on ?Institutions and Remote Development and also served as a discussant at the session on ?Development of the Frontier.

Alumni News
We got quite a few letters and e-mail messages from the last MPA Messenger.

Fred Clark works for the U.S. Forestry Service in Juneau.

Paul Connerty lives and consults in South Carolina, and is the president of his local ASPA chapter.

Lois Hicks is the Finance Director in Unalaska.

Mark Mayo is working at the office of the Alaska Department of Transportation.

Beverli Thomas has a new job as Special Projects Assistant for Akeela Treatment Services.

ASPA Membership Drive
The American Society for Public Administration, Alaska Chapter provides an opportunity for academics, students and public administration practitioners to share luncheon presentations and discussions on topics of mutual interest. ASPA recently endowed the John Stafford Memorial Scholarship which is awarded annually to one or more students in UAA’s MPA Program. Members receive a newspaper, the PA Times, and a bimonthly magazine, The Public Administration Review, which are published by the ASPA national organization.

Many UAA faculty, students and alumni are ASPA members, and they would enjoy connecting with old friends and former students, as well as others with an interest in public administration.

For information about membership and upcoming events, please contact Janet Burton, Alaska Chapter President, at (907) 786-1700 or e-mail anjeb@uaa.alaska.edu.

Summer Session Classes
(Call Janet Burton at 786-1700 for information or assistance with registration, which begins March 24.)

PADM 640 301/2/3 Alternative Dispute Resolution
Intro. Mtg. May 2, 4:30-5:30 p.m.
Class meets 8:00 a.m. -5:00 p.m. on May 16 & 17, May 30 & 31, June 13 & 14

PADM 628 301 Administration of Financial Resources
Class meets Tuesdays & Thursdays, 6 p.m. - 10 p.m., May 27-June 30

PADM 671J 475 Race, Class & Culture in Public Policy
Intro. Mtg. May 29, 5:00 p.m.-6:00 p.m.
Class (at Elmendorf AFB) meets 8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. on June 20 & 21, July 11 & 12, Aug. 1 & 2

PADM 671L 476 Comparative Administration
Intro. Mtg. May 9, 4:30 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Class (at Elmendorf AFB) meets 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. on June 6 & 7, June 27 & 28, July 18 & 19

PADM 671K 301 Environmental Compliance
Tuesdays and Thursdays, 6 p.m. - 10 p.m., July 7-August 9, 1997.