I write to you as I begin a new stage of my academic career as Chair of the PPA Program at Sacramento State. I am truly honored and excited to do this, though honestly a bit overwhelmed at the constant barrage of tasks and responsibilities that come to me each day. But since many of you hold similar administrative positions, I can hear in my head your own response – welcome to our world. In case you don’t know. The PPA Program admitted its first class of students in 1989 and thus officially turns 18 this year.
I must first take this opportunity on behalf of all the faculty, Suzi Byrd, and students to thank Ted Lascher for the truly extraordinary six-years of service he provided as the previous Chair of PPA. Building upon the earlier leadership of Cristy Jensen and Bob Waste, Ted took the Department through its “teenage years” and molded into the “young adult” we are all proud of. Under Ted’s guidance the program has grown to consistently admitting over 30 Master’s students in Public Policy and Administration each year. Ted was instrumental in our long-standing collaboration with the Center for Collaborative Policy and the resulting collaborative governance courses and CCP Certificate that are real jewels of our program. He also helped form the partnership we enjoy with the School of Business in offering the interdisciplinary Masters in Urban Land Development. But his accomplishments do not stop there. Under Ted’s guidance, the PPA Program has co-partnered with the College of Education’s Department of Education Leadership and Policy in the design and now offering of the first independent doctorate program to be offered at CSUS. Speaking for Ted, perhaps he is most proud of the instrumental role he played in the creation of our Department’s Judicial Administration Certificate. In partnership with the California Administrative Office of the Courts this is the first program in the state to offer a four course sequence that prepares our own MPPA students or existing court employees with the training necessary to take upper level administrative positions in the court system. I am very pleased that Ted’s office remains next to mine as I will be often calling upon his advice. We all wish him well in his new role as Interim Director of the Serna Center and professor in PPA.
This newsletter continues the tradition that Ted began with a few exceptions. First I plan on putting it out (with the help of Suzi) in mid-September and mid-March of each year. It will feature an intro written by myself, but I also want it to be more of a repository of information provided by faculty and students. Thus, about every half year I plan on asking both groups to provide some blurbs on what’s been keeping them busy in the past few months. This information follows and I must comment that I am thoroughly impressed by the accomplishments of both groups. Faculty have been active in different scholarly, professional, and service activities that highlight the real “talent” this program has to offer in the form of instruction and public service. Read through what alumns and current students have been up to and be amazed at the breadth of success and personal happiness represented in the sample of people who responded to my call for a blurb.
Always feel free to drop me an e-mail note (rwassme@csus.edu), phone call (916) 278-6304, or just stop by on Wednesday night from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. for a chat.
Cheers.
Rob Wassmer
PPA Department Chair
*You will need Adobe Acrobat reader to view some of the documents on this page. You can download the reader free.
