SCHOOL OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION
January 2017
A New Year
THE EXCHANGE
A Message from Our Director
Dr. Ethel Williams
The School of Public Administration has earned a global reputation for preparing students for public and nonprofit careers through its outstanding scholarship, excellent teaching and community engagement. As we end one year and look toward the new year there is the great opportunity to reflect on newness. For the School of Public Administration we are very happy to welcome three new professors to our family–Dr. Jodi Benenson, Mr. Tyler Davis and Dr. Hans Louis-Charles; we are excited for all of the new graduates of our five degree programs; and most of all we look forward to the new year and new opportunities for excellence in public service education and service to the public. Thank you for your continued support! Ethel Williams, PhD Director School of Public Administration
CREDITS Editors Lizz Barnhart Megan Nelson Contributors Skip Bailey Jodi Benenson Yu-Che Chen Ruey Dei Carol Ebdon Angela Eikenberry Erin Grace Hans Louis-Charles Jooho Lee Gary Marshall Christine Reed STORY IDEAS Submit story ideas to megnelson@unomaha.edu. CONNECT WITH US spa.unomaha.edu facebook.com/spa twitter.com/unospa
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A NEW DEI To speak to Ruey Dei (pronounced Ray Day) is to speak to someone who is kind, determined, and passionate about life. Ruey was born in the wartorn country of Sudan. At age seven he became a refugee and started a new life in the United States. In an excerpt from Omaha World–Herald columnist, Erin Grace says, “He sees life as having worked out for him and believes that his destiny is to work things out for others, specifically those in desperate straits.” Last year, Ruey and his wife, Michaela, began the journey back to Ruey’s homeland, now known as
South Sudan. The journey was long, tiring, and not for the faint-hearted. They trekked miles and miles through dangerous terrain in hopes of reaching their final destination, Bool in South Sudan. During their journey they quickly started running out of water. Michaela tried to call the US Embassy but received little sympathy. Grace said, “Rescue came in the form of cousins in another town who heard that the group was out of water and walked to find them and bring them something to drink.” The group eventually got to Motot where Ruey’s family had traveled
to meet them. After twenty years, Ruey was reunited with his mother, Nyalual Peat Rial. Grace said that Nyalual was able to meet Michaela and meet her granddaughter, Gloria, through a Skype connection. However, Grace said it was unsafe for Ruey and Michaela to stay in South Sudan for the two months they had previously planned. After just a week with his mother, Ruey said goodbye again searching for a safe way out of South Sudan. The journey home was just as uncertain and complicated as the journey there. They paid a
humanitarian group $400 to fly them to Juba and once there they had to have Michaela’s family wire them $1,000 to get to Addis Ababa. After another long, tiring journey, the Deis’ finally made it home. Ruey’s life experience is one that many cannot imagine. He started off as a refugee from a war-torn land and is now working on a dual master’s degree here at UNO. Ruey decided to pursue his dual MPA and MSW degree at UNO because he says he has a passion for learning more about serving the public, delivering services, and protecting citizens. While working on his degree, being a husband and father, Ruey also started his own organization, New Day which helps children in south Sudan get food and education. When asked why he decided to start his organization Ruey said, “I have always had a heart to help people who are struggling and suffering around the world. Being from South Sudan, an underdeveloped nation that has experienced countless civil wars and has never experienced tranquility, I’ve learned a lot.” Ruey explains this saying, “Visiting South Sudan has given me clear empathy on the situation that is present there right now. The tough journey to Motot, South Sudan and all I’ve endured, and experienced has educated and motivated me to start an organization that would assist the children I saw suffering every day during my visit.”
Ruey considers himself lucky to get an education. He recognizes that his education is not just for him. It is also for his family, village, community and South Sudan. He says that getting his degree will help him manage New Day with accountability and transparency. Ruey hopes to utilize the skills he is learning in his MPA to prepare him for any career in the future whether that be government, public services, nonprofit or the business sector.
“You can’t unknow what you know.” When speaking of his mentors, Ruey said, “Anyone who has offered a word of advice, uplifted me, and deposited positive energy in my life while pursuing my MPA, I greatly consider them as a mentor.” Ruey especially feels that Dr. Bob Blair, chair of the Urban Studies Program, has “always been there for me supporting me and blessing me with opportunities to tell my life’s story.” Ruey also says that his brother, Paul, has been a wonderful mentor to him. Ruey hopes that he will be able to return to South Sudan some day in order help those impoverished by war and famine. He said, “You can’t unknow what you know.” Grace said, “But what to do? And how to do it? Where to even begin? Answering these questions will be the Deis’ next journey.”
The School of Public Administration
UPDATES Stellar Growth for Emergency Management
It is a great honor to join the exceptional faculty and staff here at CPACS and SPA. The growth of the Dr. Hans Louis-Charles Emergency Services Program is truly remarkable since its inception in My name is Hans M. Louis-Charles 2012. Today, our program has over and I am the new Assistant Professor 120 undergraduate majors and 40 in the Emergency Services Program. My research focuses on global aspects minors. At the graduate level we have 15 MPA students and our first PhD of disaster management and this upcoming spring I will be teaching an student specializing in Emergency Management. Our undergraduate undergraduate level course, EMGT students are able to concentrate 2500 Disasters and Vulnerable within 14 different fields, 12 of which Populations, and a graduate level can be a minor. course, EMGT 8060 Planning, Preparedness, and Mitigation. We also have the unique offering of a Tribal Management and Prior to joining UNO, I earned my Emergency Services (TMES) minor PhD from the University of Delaware or concentration and our continued where I also worked at the Disaster growth has led to a new certificate in Research Center, the first and oldest TMES being approved on Dec 1 of this Center in the world devoted to the year. The success of the program is social scientific study of disasters.
attributed to the strong support from CPACS and SPA; our award-winning academic advisor, highly reputable faculty, and our amazing students who reflect the diversity of the U.S. with an international contingent. Our student population is comprised of 50% first generation, 30% minority and many non-traditional students. This rich atmosphere has led to the creation of MavReady, a student organization that gives its members professional development opportunities while creating awareness in preparedness and response to emergencies on campus and in the community.
The Importance of Fiscal Management Dr. Carol Ebdon
In this era of scarce resources in government and nonprofit organizations, the study of budgeting and financial management is more important than ever. The School of Public Administration has a strong reputation in this area, which is demonstrated by our ranking at #6 in the country by U.S. News and World Report. Our program has attracted excellent doctoral students in this field, who conduct research on a variety of important topics. Two graduates completed the program last year. Dr. Ji Hyung Park’s dissertation, “The Great Recession, Citizen Participation, Fiscal Retrenchment, and Fiscal Recovery: The Application of a Democratic Fiscal Decision Making System,” examined whether fiscal stress led to participatory budgeting during the Great Recession, how citizen participation affected budget decisions, and the extent to which these decisions ultimately affected fiscal health of municipal governments. He found that citizen participation did result in different retrenchment strategies, with partial support for hypotheses related to the use of participation and fiscal recovery. Dr. Park is now an Assistant Professor at James Madison University. Dr. James Harrold’s dissertation, “Understanding Policy Change and Policy Reform of United States Military Retirement Policy, 1965-1999,”
studied reform efforts, and resistance to policy reform, in military retirement policy. An increasing number of military retirees has led to higher spending over time, and retirement policy can have an effect on uniformed recruitment and retention, which highlights the importance of this topic. He used punctuated equilibrium theory and the advocacy coalition framework in this qualitative historical review, and found that budget signals, media and Congressional attention, policy image frames and advocacy coalitions explain major reform laws in this timeframe. Dr. Harrold was honored to be selected as the UNO graduate student commencement speaker in May. Four doctoral students are currently working on dissertations in this field. Byungwoo Cho is conducting a case study of the use of performancebased budgeting. Jiseul Kim is exploring the effects of institutional features related to capital budgeting on transportation spending and quality. Junghack Kim is studying the effects of state-imposed financial rules, method of bond sale, and accounting transparency on school district borrowing costs. Sungho Park is using a game theory framework to analyze the effects of tax and expenditure limits and other budget constraints on local government revenues and spending.
Piloting a New Generation Skip Bailey
My name is Skip Bailey and I am the Flight Training Coordinator for the Aviation Institute. I was hired in January of 2016 after I retired from 25 years as a pilot with the U.S. Air Force. 2017 marks my one-year anniversary at UNO.
As part of the professional flight side of the institute, I have instructed a number of classes with the goal of guiding students through the many requirements required by the FAA on their way to becoming a professional pilot. To achieve this goal, we teach students the ground school required to learn how to fly small aircraft from their first solo, to their private pilot license and on to earn their instrument rating, commercial pilot certificate, multi-engine rating, and finally, their certified flight instructor certificate. In addition to the flying, we instruct students on the many facets of the aviation industry including classes on aircraft systems, meteorology, aviation law, aviation history, and the physiological factors humans must deal with while flying aircraft.
A Digital Vision Dr. Yu-Che Chen
I have some exciting news in the coming year. I will have two books and one seminal article in print. The first book is the single-authored book Managing Digital Governance in the ASPA Series in Public Administration and Public Policy published by Routledge. I serve as the lead editor and contributor to the other book entitled the Handbook on Information Technology in Government. This book is also published by Routledge. In addition, I am lead author of a coauthored journal article (with his SPA colleague, Dr. Jooho Lee) forthcoming in Public Management Review, a leading journal in the field of public administration. My team and I at the Global Digital Governance Lab will continue to excel in e-government and IT-enabled collaborative governance. The Global Digital Governance Lab will advance our knowledge about e-government in Nebraska and neighboring states. The signature project for the coming year is the development and utilization of information technology to support public transportation serving rural communities. By collaborating with our colleagues in the SPA, CPACS, and UNO, the Lab will further advance our core research areas: e-participation, smart collaborative governance, big data analytics, and emergency services. I aspire to foster the development of an interdisciplinary network of scholars and practitioners in collaboration with organizations and
communities in Omaha, the region, and around the world. The vision of the network is to leverage collaborative energy to solve complex public service problems facing our communities.
Expanding a Nonprofit, Philanthropy and Civic Engagement Focus Dr. Angie Eikenberry
Nonprofit organizations, philanthropy, and civic engagement are increasingly of interest to our PhD (and MPA) students. This reflects changes in the field, where reforms such as new public management have meant a growing role for nonprofit and philanthropic organizations and an increased emphasis on citizen engagement. The “traditional” focus in public administration on government is still important but it’s also necessary to expand our focus to these areas to stay relevant. To meet this demand, our School has been recruiting faculty and students working in this area. Dr. Tara Bryan joined the faculty a few years ago and Dr. Jodi Benenson just joined the faculty this year. In addition, many of our other wonderful faculty members teach and do research in areas that connect directly to nonprofit and philanthropic organizations and civic engagement. We’re also proud to have alumni and current students doing some really interesting and important work in this area. For example, alumna Dr. Courtney Jensen, now an assistant professor at Eastern Washington
University, has focused her work around foundations, grantmaking practices, and racial inequality. Dr. Catherine Humphries Brown, now Director of Data & Research at the Nebraska Children and Families Foundation, did her dissertation work examining foundation-funded nonprofit capacity building programs in the United States. Some current PhD student work in this area includes Abhishek Bhati, who through his dissertation plans to draw on post-colonial and critical theories to examine how people from developing countries are portrayed in fundraising/advocacy materials by international NGOs, and how this representation is received by and impacts donors—paying particular attention to how these images may lead to stereotyping and racial bias. Beth Gillespie, a second-year PhD student, is focusing her work on the role of feminist philanthropic organizations on improving economic equality for women. Kristin Broyhill, a first-year PhD student, has an interest in grassroots civic engagement in Africa.
disadvantaged groups. But with the rise in social, political, and economic inequalities both nationally and internationally, it is more important than ever to engage with the field of social policy. In my brief time at the School, I have appreciated the level of engagement around issues of social policy. We have MPA and PhD students interested in a variety of social policy topics such as immigration and refugee policy, physical activity policy and healthy communities, food policy among members of the LGBT community, and the role of nonprofits in urban redevelopment and gentrification. We have faculty members devoted to researching a variety of social issues including socially vulnerable populations during disasters, the management of common pool resources and environmental issues, food policy and regulation, and philanthropy and social equity.
The intersection between social policies and activities in the nonprofit and public sectors is central to my own work as I research the ways Our hope is to continue to develop civic engagement influences social, and grow this area to meet student economic, and political opportunities interests and demand for knowledge for individuals and communities. in the field. Moreover, because each component of the policy process–from formulation Moving Forward with to adoption to implementation to evaluation–can profoundly influence Social Policy political resources and concepts Dr. Jodi Benenson of citizenship, and I believe in the importance of embedding Social policy has always been a key ideas around equity, access, and instrument for addressing social problems and implementing strategies engagement in the courses I teach at the School. to improve the welfare of
As we move into 2017, I look forward to continued conversations within the School to build on the existing ways we currently integrate concepts of social policy into our research, courses, and culture. A focus on social policy and social justice is core to effectively addressing and finding solutions to the pressing social problems we face in the public and nonprofit sectors.
Bringing Digital Innovation to Public Administration Dr. Jooho Lee
Dr. Chen and I have been doing research on three broad areas: smart city/collaborative governance, social media/online participation, and big data/open government. Without digital technologies, it is hard to imagine how managers and leaders in the public and nonprofit sectors work every day, provide public services, and create public values effectively and efficiently. Working at GDGL has reinforced my passion and interest in teaching public organization theories and behaviors, public management, and managing information in the public sector at both MPA and doctoral levels. Also, GDGL’s research projects have provided me with a unique opportunity to collaborate local, state, and international organizations. Also, as community organizations and thus, broaden my understanding of how different levels of organizations use digital technologies and what challenges they faced.
Recently, GDGL was selected as a partner with Center for Public Affairs Research who is co-principal investigator of a five–year project funded by Nebraska Department of Road. I see this collaboration as an invaluable opportunity to strengthen our ability to conduct research on and manage statewide IT-enabled public transit services, which enrich our understanding about public transportation services in Nebraska. In the near future, I envision that GDGL is a leading research institute characterized as a leader of digital government issues at both local and global levels.
A Sustainable Future Dr. Christine Reed
I have a special interest in the Urban Studies program. Before joining the PA faculty in 1982 I worked at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Office of Policy Development and Research, as well as at the National Community Development Association, both in Washington, D.C. I also wrote my dissertation on public housing in Chicago. Since joining the PA faculty I have developed an interest in environmental policy and ethics, teaching and publishing in those areas. I have also led an effort to develop a campus-wide graduate certificate in sustainability, and serve on the leadership committee of the campus Center for Urban Sustainability as the liaison for sustainability education.
“Those who are interested in social and environmental issues, as well as in community and economic development.” During the past year, I worked with Dr. Ethel Williams, Dr. Robert Blair and Dr. Chris Goodman on an update to the M.S. in Urban Studies program. This year-long effort led to the development of three tracks in the built environment, human community and natural systems. The revised core seminar emphasizes the interaction among those three areas–a fundamental premise of urban sustainability. The School has revised its Urban Studies web site and is now marketing the program to those who are interested in social and environmental issues, as well as in community and economic development. The Urban Studies faculty will be actively engaged in outreach during the spring, and they hope that readers will spread the word about this enhancement to our curriculum.
In Loving Memory of
Dr. Peter T. Suzuki
This past August, our dear colleague, Dr. Peter Suzuki passed away at the age of 87. Peter joined the faculty in 1973 and led our Urban Studies degree program until 2002 when he retired. Trained at Columbia University (BA and MA, Anthropology) and Leiden University (M Phil, Anthropology and PhD in Anthropology), Peter researched and published in urban anthropology. He worked directly with the Omaha and Winnebago tribes focusing on issues of tribal identity and tribal governance. He did extensive fieldwork in North Omaha culminating in a monograph entitled Vernacular Taxicabs, which highlighted how the lack of access to transportation affected the lives of North Omaha residents. Earlier in his career, Peter wrote about political and social change in modern Turkey, focusing on questions of village solidarity brought upon by rural development. Throughout his career Peter received many fellowships and grants including, two NATO fellowships and a Fulbright. During World War II, Peter, at age 13, along with all the members of his family was forced into one of the so-called relocation centers, first in Idaho and then in Colorado. As a professor, he was often asked to give talks about that experience. Wryly, he titled a presentation that he gave as the keynote speaker for UNO’s first ever Asian Pacific Heritage Month in 2003: “My Misspent Youth in a Japanese
American Internment Camp.” He also published on this topic and on human rights more broadly in the highly respected journal American Anthropologist. Peter’s teaching style embodied his empathetic presence and generous spirit. He was beloved by his students and inspired them to achieve their dreams. Rachel Endo, a UNO MPA grad, who went on to complete her PhD and is currently a Department Chair at Hamline University, noted the following:
“So many of us looked to Peter for guidance and grace.” As an undergraduate student at UNO, I met one of the most significant people in my life: Peter Suzuki, a Professor of Urban Studies. At the time, I was a young Japanese American from Omaha who was also a first-generation college student. I never had the opportunity to see a bicultural mirror and role model throughout my entire K-12 and university education until I met Peter, a man who I later would learn had paved the way for future generations of Asian American scholars like myself. Peter inspired me to pursue a career in academia. Early in my career, Peter offered me his insights on how I could structure difficult conversations with my own students about America’s contested past. Throughout the years, he also
encouraged me to embrace my identity as a Japanese American scholar both inside and outside of the classroom. As a colleague, Peter extended this same caring attitude toward me with my intellectual work. He was interested in reading what I wrote and when I returned from a conference he would ask me how it went and how I might turn a conference paper into a publication. At our old building on the west side of campus, Peter has his own wing of the house with 3 long columns of bookshelves—truly the size of a small library. That is how I remember him, at home with his books and ideas. I, as well as other faculty, went to lunch with Peter frequently after he retired. I looked forward to those lunches because as time passed, they became less frequent. So many of us looked to Peter for guidance and grace. While we will miss Peter, his spirit remains within us. Dr. Gary Marshall Doctoral Program Chair
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