Greetings all. Well, it’s late January and there remains a gap between the American River and the Guy West pedestrian bridge. We’re safe for another year… maybe?
COLLABOARTIVE GOVERNANCE CERTIFICATE
We’re getting close to being able to announce official approval of the new certificate in collaborative governance; I expect formal word from the President’s Office any day. As soon as we have that I’ll follow-up with another message regarding program/application specifics.
ALUMNI ASSOCIATION: HELP!
You may recall that I recently announced the election of a new set of PPA Alumni Chapter officers: President Nikki Paschal, Vice President Michelle Baass, and Secretary/Treasurer Jay Dickenson. They have a number of promising ideas for professional development, community service, and social events. But following up on Nikki’s recent e-mail message, we really need more people who’ve taken out formal membership in the PPA chapter, which also is relatively inexpensive and brings a number of benefits. For more information on how to join go to https://webapps1.csus.edu/alummem/memform.asp.
Also, we’re very proud of Nikki, several other alumni, and a current student who worked the phones one morning in the Capital Public Radio fund drive.
ALUMNI ASSOCIATION: FUN!
Speaking of Alumni Association sponsored social events, there will be a happy hour get-together for PPA students/alums/faculty/friends on the third Thursday of each month at Pyramid Alehouse, downtown Sacramento, 1029 K Streets (10th & K Streets) . The next one will be on February 16 at 5:30 p.m.
PLEASE ASSIST US IN RECRUITING NEW PPA STUDENTS
We are happy with the variety of work backgrounds of PPA students, and with the success of PPA alums in obtaining professional positions in a diverse array of agencies and organizations, including some of the most competitive (e.g., the Legislative Analyst’s Office). We are convinced that the quality of our students and alums speaks most highly of our program, and encourages others to give it consideration.
You may also be able to provide us with more direct assistance in recruiting talented students. If you know of someone or a group of people who might be interested in learning more about the PPA program, please let me know. We would be glad to arrange for an informal discussion or a more formal presentation. Faculty members are convinced that personal contacts remain one of the most important ways of getting the word out about our program. We appreciate any help you may provide.
LONG BEACH MANAGEMENT INTERNSHIP PROGRAMEarlier I sent a couple messages about a recruitment session for the City of Long Beach’s Management Internship Program. After meeting with the City’s representative, a current management intern, I am even more convinced that this is an unusually good fellowship opportunity. The Long Beach program seems exceptional in terms of the support provided for interns (including a relatively good salary for a program of this kind), the commitment to providing high quality placements, the commitment to professional mentoring, and the track record of top managerial and other positions obtained by former interns. More information is available at: http://www.longbeach.gov/civica/jobs/displayblobpdf.asp?blobID=9300*.
Additionally, a limited number of information packets are available from Suzi in the PPA office. But if you’re interested you’ll need to act fast: the application deadline is February 6.
RECOGNITION FOR CATHY CRUZ
David Booher wrote me the following regarding recent alum Cathy Cruz, who works for the Commission on State Mandates: “I wanted to let you know of a development with Cathy Cruz's thesis that is very exciting. As you know, Cathy's thesis was on the issue of a collaborative approach to state mandate reform. The Executive Director liked it so much it was… presented to the Commission. The Commission also was apparently impressed because they decided to pursue her ideas, with the leadership of the Commission Chair. As a result the Center was contacted and we are in the process of exploring assisting them with a potential collaborative reform process. Of course it still needs to be approved by the Commission.”
Well done, Cathy!
CALLING ALL STUDENT SLACKERS
Hey you student slackers out there (there aren’t too many but you know who you are): this is another of my periodic reminders that if you’re eligible to advance to candidacy* (i.e., have successfully completed at least five PPA courses with an overall GPA of at least 3.0; and have passed or been exempted* from the writing proficiency exam) you should do so. Waiting will only create potential problems down the line. The applicable form is available on the PPA Web site.
Well, that’s all for now. Please let me know if you have an item for a future Communicator.
Ted Lascher
PPA Department Chair
*You will need Adobe Acrobat reader to view some of the documents on this page. You can download the reader free.
