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Inside this Issue...
Serving the Community
Accreditation Update
Congratulations
Course Offerings for 2002-2003
Faculty News
Want to Join Us?
Taking the GRE
Alumni News
Community Advisory Board Update
Serving the Community
This year, the Augusta Neighborhood Improvement Corporation (ANIC) was the
beneficiary of our featured community service project. Mr. Robert Cooks, CEO of
ANIC, proclaimed the student's work a "quality job in assessing the community to
see what we needed to move (it) forward."
Students working on this project did research on the area identified for Phase
II of the revitalization of the Laney-Walker neighborhood. They coded the physical
condition, occupancy and tax status of 939 properties in the area. In addition, they
conducted focus groups in the neighborhood to examine residents' attitudes towards
their community, and did a comparative analysis of the neighborhood with
a thriving community to identify what businesses were needed to revitalize the area.
At the conclusion of the project, the students delivered a professional-quality
presentation and formal report to ANIC’s Executive Board.
The students benefited tremendously from the project, too. In addition to
getting hands-on experience in conducting research and analyzing data, the students
learned how to work in teams to get the job done. In addition, they acquired first-hand
knowledge of the problem of poverty in our community. The students ended the project
with a new-found respect for the residents of the Laney-Walker neighborhood,
and a renewed commitment to community service.
Accreditation Update
Our efforts to gain accreditation continue at full speed! Accreditation officially recognizes
the quality of an MPA program. This recognition is awarded by the National Association
of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration (NASPAA), the governing body for MPA
programs such as ours. We have completed the first part of the accreditation process—
an in-depth self-study period — and will be submitting this report to NASPAA within
the next few months in preparation for the next step — a full, on-site inspection of
our program. We look forward to successfully completing this challenging process within
the next year.
Congratulations To...
Our December graduates:
John Burnham, Dan Gwinn, Carmen Landy and Catherine Tuthill.
Rachel Towery Honderd ('01), Carmen Landy ('01), Eric Marcano, Trent O'Neill, Amy Poston,
Peggy Seigler and Catherine Tuthill ('01) on the publication of their paper, "Aiming for
Practitioner Success: What Local Public and Nonprofit Managers Need to Know" in Ethics
Today, Volume 4, Number 2 (Winter 2001).
Robin Bengtson for the presentation of her paper, "Medicaid and Other State Responses
to Healthcare Accessibility for the Poor," at the Georgia Chapter for the American Society for
Public Administration Fourth Annual Academic Conference, March 1, 2002.
Linda Grijalva and Robyn Freeh for the presentation of their paper, "Measuring the
Unmeasurable: Evaluating Services for Victims of Abuse," at the Georgia Political
Science Association 2002 Conference.
Linda Grijalva for presentation of her research (done jointly with Dr. Reinke) on the modern
militia movement at the Southern Political Science Association's 2001 Conference.
Course Offerings for 2002-2003
Projected for Spring 2003:
• PADM 6100 — Organization Theory
• PADM 6600 — Quantitative Methods
• PADM 6800 — State Government Administration and Policy Analysis
• PADM 7050 — Capstone
Summer 2002:
• PADM 6200 — Human Resource Management
• PADM 6300 — Public Budgeting
• PADM 6650 — Public Policy Analysis
Fall 2002:
• PADM 6000 — History, Scope and Practice of Public Administration
• PADM 6050 — Administrative Law
• PADM 6500 — Research Methods
Faculty News
Dr. Wood has been elected President of the Georgia Political Science Association.
Dr. Whiting’s book, A Natural Right to Die: Twenty-three Centuries of Debate, was
published in November, 2001.
Dr. Reinke was named a Service Learning Fellow by the Academy of Management for
2001-2002.
Dr. Harris recently finished teaching a first-of-its-kind web course to our students
and German students from the University of Munich.
Want to Join Us?
Are you interested in improving your performance as a manager? Our MPA program
provides the skills needed for positions of leadership in the public and non-profit sector.
We pride ourselves in providing students with practically oriented instruction that marries
the best of theory and research with the opportunity to apply newly learned skills in actual
research projects, case study analyses, and internships. Our curriculum was developed
with the needs of public and non-profit agencies in our region in mind. To ensure it
continues to meet those needs, our curriculum is reviewed annually by our Community
Advisory Board, made up of top administrators in our region.
Our program includes instruction in ethics, budgeting, human resource management,
research and quantitative methods, urban and state government, and organizational
behavior. Additional instruction is available in specialized areas in our elective
classes. These include urban social problems, administrative law, emergency management,
program evaluation, public policy analysis, and strategic planning.
If you are interested in enrolling in our program, you must have completed a baccalaureate
degree from a regionally accredited institution, achieve an acceptable score on
the graduate record examination, and submit an application, a resume, and two letters of
reference.
You can find more detailed information and download application forms at our
web site www.aug.edu/mpa.
Taking the Dreaded GRE
The Graduate Record Examination (GRE) is administered by the Educational Testing
Service in Augusta through a contract with Sylvan Prometric Testing Services. The
Sylvan office is located in the Professional Center West office complex at the intersection
of Walton Way extension and Pleasant Home Road. The test is taken electronically,
and it can be scheduled any day, Monday through Saturday. The earliest time slot is
8:30 a.m. and the latest slot is 10 a.m. The GRE test lasts four hours. Scores are
reported to the test taker within two weeks. Allow approximately four weeks for ETS to
send the scores to ASU. The MPA degree program requires scores in the test areas of
Verbal, Quantitative and Analytical skills. A minimum of 450 in two of the three subtests,
and at least 400 in the third subtest is expected. Call 706-854-8378 to schedule your
GRE test date!
Alumni News
Congratulations to...
Ron Wiggins ('98) on his promotion to be the new principal of Meadowbrook
Elementary School.
Brandy Welch ('01) who recently joined the Grants and Contracts staff at the
Medical College of Georgia.
Todd Glover, now the "special projects manager" for Columbia County.
Trent O'Neill, who turned an internship into permanent employment with the
Augusta Neighborhood Improvement Corp.
Kim Gray ('00), now with the CSRA Regional Development Corp. after ending
her Air Force career.
Community Advisory Board Update
The Community Advisory Board meets twice a year to provide the MPA program with guidance from
professionals in the public service. At the spring meeting, the board organized a group to review the
program’s curriculum and issue a report, received reports on the various applied projects students had
completed, student projects planned for the fall, and the current status of acquiring the ability
to teach the Geographic Information System to MPA students. The Master of Public Administration
Community Advisory Board is a consultative body that lends applied, practical expertise to the degree
program. The board serves an advisory panel on the program’s policies and operations. It was
established in 2000, and is made up of public administrators from the region served by Augusta State
University. These include a city administrator, a county administrator, the director of the regional
development center, specialists in public health and social services delivery, as well as the Solicitor
General of the State Court. A public school educator, a university administrator, a non-profit
organization (...)
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