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The Newsletter of the Department of Public Administration Volume 12, Issue 2, Spring 2005 Semester |
In
the Spotlight 
Matt Hurlbutt '99 is executive director of RochesterWorks, Inc., the non-profit agency charged with administering workforce development programs in Monroe County. He is responsible for overall management of the workforce development system including strategic direction and planning, resource development, marketing and new initiatives.
Prior to being named executive director, Hurlbutt was director of operations
for Rochester Resource Alliance, Inc. He has also served as manager
of the Monroe County Workforce Development Division, and has served
as assistant to the Monroe County Executive, representing the county
executive at legislative meetings and other public venues, advising
on public policy issues and implementing plans to privatize several
government-run operations.
In 2001, Matt was named to the "40 Under 40" list by the Rochester
Business Journal, an award given to salute individuals with outstanding
leadership and accomplishments for service in their jobs and in the
community at large. He is a member of Pi Alpha Alpha, the National Honor
Society for Public Affairs and Administration.
MPA Student and Alumni Updates
Ashley Eckman '00 was recently appointed to the position of facilities coordinator at the SUNY MetroCenter in downtown Rochester. Eckman's responsibilities include working to promote and coordinate MetroCenter events within the college, as well as increasing community awareness and outreach of the downtown location.
Jason Sabel '01 recently received a promotion to associate director of Research Accounting at SUNY College at Geneseo.
Mary Alice Schmidt '91 has been appointed to the position of unit leader for emergency services at Hillside Children's Center. Schmidt began working at HCC in 1988 as coordinator of sociotherapy and has since held a variety of roles within both HCC and its parent organization, Hillside Family of Agencies. Prior to this appointment, Schmidt was director of the Regional Juvenile Detention Center in Fayetteville, AR.
Janeen Thompson '03 was appointed director of recreation at Concourse Rehabilitation and Nursing Center in the Bronx.
The Monroe Community College Board of Trustees approved the appointment of James W. Winston '99 as assistant to the president for economic development last fall. Winston will be responsible for cultivating partnerships in the community and guiding MCC's response to changes in the area's economy. The President's Office for Economic Development is designed to serve the county's workforce and its employers through education, training and certification. Winston most recently served as workforce development manager for Monroe County.
Tesia Woodworth is wellness professional, Health Services & Resources, Health Fitness Corporation in Rochester.
MPA Graduates
The following students received MPAs in December 2004:
Michael Carroll, Tina Cordaro, Katrina Davenport, Kimberly Everlith, Deborah Leary, Elizabeth Rosato, Charles Stechna, Denise Thomas, Brian Venton, Robert Von Buskirk and John Wachira.
Please keep us informed of your career
changes, awards or achievements.
E-mail us at padmin@brockport.edu.
Faculty News
Ed Downey is teaching a new course this semester: PAD 610 E-Government
for Managers. Students in this course will survey government and not-for-profit
Web sites to determine their value. Downey, along with PAD 610 students
Lindsay Good, Seth Piccirillo and Christopher Shellard
will do a Scholars Day
presentation entitled "The E-Value Project: Determining the
Value of Public Service Web Sites."
Professor Downey recently submitted a manuscript to the Encyclopedia
of Digital Government entitled, "A Conceptual Framework for Considering
the Value of E-Government," and is currently working on a regional
employer survey to determine how the public administration program curriculum
might better meet employer needs.
Jim Fatula has been elected chair, Small Programs Section, National
Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration (NASPAA),
for this academic year. NASPAA is an institutional membership organization
which exists to promote excellence in public service education. The
membership includes United States university programs in public affairs,
public policy, public administration and nonprofit management. (The
Department of Public Administration is accredited by NASPAA.)
Fatula was a guest speaker on WXXI-AM 1370's Connection with Bob Smith December 13, 2004. The topic was "Rising Costs of Health Care." Fatula was also guest speaker on the Connection on February 1, 2005, where he spoke about the Governor's budget proposal to reform Medicaid.
Fatula was also a guest expert for Kathleen Driscoll's "Managers
at Work" column in the November 12, 2004 issue of the Rochester
Business Journal, in an article titled "Non-profit Director Withholding
Facts From Board."
Greg Saxton presented his research on emerging trends in participatory
decision-making practices at the annual meeting of the Association for
Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Action (ARNOVA) in
Los Angeles in November. He also had a brief article on the subject,
"The Rise of Participatory Society: Challenges for Public Administration,"
published in the November edition of PA Times. To further explore the
theme of stakeholder participation, he has created a Web Site that expands
on his "Participatory Society" thesis and includes numerous
examples, links and bibliographical resources: http://www.ParticipatorySociety.org.
In March, Dr. Saxton has two articles appearing in print: "Repression,
Grievances, Mobilization and Rebellion: A New Test of Gurr's Model of
Ethnopolitical Rebellion," which will appear in the journal International
Interactions, and "Social Capital and the Growth of the Nonprofit
Sector," which will appear in the journal Social Science Quarterly.
In April he will present his research on "Social Capital and the
Longevity of Community-Based Organizations" at the 63rd Annual
Meeting of the Midwest Political Science Association in Chicago. Dr.
Saxton also continues to serve as Strategic Planning Officer and member
of the Board of Directors of a local nonprofit organization, the Hickok
Center for Brain Injury.
Message from the Chair
We are currently in the midst of being re-accredited by the National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration (NASPAA). Some of you-students and alums-are being contacted to be part of a focus group for the Site Visit Team involved in the re-accreditation. I appreciate your cooperation.
A major part of re-accreditation is a critical examination of what we are as a program, what we are trying to achieve, and how well we are doing with that. As demanding as the re-accreditation process is, one of the delightful aspects of our self examination is the awareness we once again gain of our students and alums successes.
One recent example of this is the "40 Under 40" award from the Rochester Business Journal. Lori VanAuken, a current MPA student and a program officer at the Rochester Area Community Foundation, received the award this fall. She joins the ranks of other MPA students and alums who were also chosen for this honor in years past, including:
Matt Hurlbut '99. Matt is Executive Director of RochesterWorks and is featured in our "In the Spotlight" column.
Rachel August a current MPA student. August is executive director of the Seneca Park Zoo Society.
Bill Brien '87 is the CEO of People Rebuilding & Living in Dignity, Inc.
Cynthia Cooper '02 is the director of public affairs at Monroe Community College.
Rod Jones '97 is the executive vice president of The Community Place of Greater Rochester, Inc.
Congratulations to these individuals and to all of our alums who continue to make important contributions to the community.
Jim Fatula, PhD
Chair, Department of Public Administration
3/01//05/acs
