COMMUNICATOR

As most of you know, for fall, 2004 I have taken on the task of trying to fill our illustrious leader’s shoes as he enjoys some much deserved sabbatical time to think great academic thoughts, crunch voluminous numbers, solve California’s many policy problems, and sample the drips offered at Peet’s Coffee in Davis. I am pleased to report that our ship is still afloat and, as a department, we are progressing along the path thankfully laid out to me by Professor Lascher before he left.

Accomplishments for this fall include a well attended pizza party for new and returning students before classes started; a series of four dinners for first and second year students, faculty, and our advisor board members; and a fall festival hosted by Peter and Carrie Detwiler at there home.

The welcoming pizza party at the Alumni Grove, on the beautiful banks of the American River, has become a tradition for our department and I am pleased to report that it serves as a great “icebreaker” between new students, returning students, and faculty. Definitely make a point of getting to it next year, especially if you have not attended in the past.

What I hope will become a new tradition for the department is the series of small dinners that the Chair of our advisory board, Elisabeth Kersten, so graciously organized. These were hosted in the homes of Terry Schutten (Sacramento County Executive and Advisor Board Member), Elisabeth Kersten (Past Director of the California Senate Office of Research), Nancy Shulock (PPA Professor), and Betty Moulds (PPA Professor). The dinners offered the opportunity for new students to interact with some of our advisory board members. The “buzz” that I have heard from students is that the dinners were an opportunity not to be missed. My thanks go to all who hosted and attended these. If you are a first-year student and did not attend, make a mental note to go to one of them next year. When you see Elisabeth Kersten, be sure to give a hardy thank you because they would not have been possible without her tireless efforts in putting them together.

As I write, I am looking forward to attending another “must” event in the PPA social calendar at the home of Peter Detwiller. This gathering of faculty and students, which now seem to occur almost every semester, offer a “smorgasbord” of culinary and liquid delights and I thank the Detwilers for opening up there home on a Sunday for all of us.

On the business end of things I can report that the Department - through the efforts of our faculty most likely to experiment with humans (Professors Lascher, Kirlin, and Ceja) - has just completed (and gotten approved) a Human Subjects Policy. Graduate students, whose research involve the questioning of human subjects, will have to comply with this policy. The department's human subjects policy has been posted at the website.

I conclude my first Chair’s Corner column with major Kudos to Erin Riches who is our 2004-05 Alumna of the Year. Erin earned her MPPA degree from CSUS in 2000 and has gone on to be a Senior Policy Analyst with the California Budget Project (CBP). Prior to joining the CBP, she spent nearly a decade in the California State Assembly, working in the offices of Assembly Democratic Services, Speaker Willie Brown, Democratic Floor Analysis, and Assemblymember Michael Sweeney. At CBP, she covers the issue areas of housing and redevelopment, local government, economic development, state operations, and transportation. She has done great work for them. In particular I recommend you take a look at her piece on “Making Ends Meet: How Much Does It Cost to Raise a Family in California?”. On Friday, October 8, she will be honored through a luncheon ceremony at the CSUS Alumni Center.

Please stop by to see me during my Wednesday 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. office hours. But save the tough questions for January when Ted will return (just kidding!).

Rob Wassmer
PPA Department Acting Chair

PS -- In my new position I love using the term “acting chair” because a lot of times that feels exactly like what I am doing, acting as a chair.

We welcome your contributions to the Communicator! Contact the Acting Department Chair, Rob Wassmer, or the Department Secretary (916) 278-6557, in the PPA Department Office.

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