I write to introduce the second annual newsletter that I have composed from the Department of Public Policy and Administration at Sacramento State. In this newsletter you will find an update on our faculty’s activities over the last year, updates on PPA alumni and current student activities, a list of all new entering Master’s students, and a list of Master’s theses completed over the past year. To paraphrase an author whose stories often contained elements of analysis of 19th Century social policy, the experiences of the PPA Department over the last year included both the best of times, and the worst of times.
Suzi Byrd, our beloved administrative assistant, lost her husband Dave to a brave, nearly year-long battle with cancer. Many of us had gotten to know Dave at PPA gatherings and always appreciated his conversation and sense of humor. He will be missed and our hearts go out to Suzi and her daughters, Catie and Fiona. A memorial fund has been established that will benefit the future education needs of Catie and Fiona. If you have not already, I ask that you remember all that Suzi has and will do for our department and consider making a contribution. Checks should be sent to me at the department’s address and made out to Catie or Fiona Byrd with the following Golden One Credit Union account numbers in the note line: Catie 946587 and Fiona 946583.
It is with regret that I must also report that Professor Miguel Ceja resigned this summer to take a position as an associate professor in the College of Education at California State University, Northridge. Miguel is a native Southern Californian and much of his decision to leave was motivated by a desire to be closer to family, friends, and professional contacts at UCLA where he received his doctorate. We thank him for six years of service to PPA and wish him the best of luck.
In addition, Professors Cristy Jensen, Don Gerth, and Betty Moulds have all fully retired from Sacramento State. Cristy is the founding member of our department and truly the reason for our existence, and much of the reason for the success we now enjoy. Don is the past President of Sacramento State and was instrumental in supporting the creation of the Master’s in PPA at Sacramento State. Betty was a government professor and President Gerth’s Chief of Staff. Both Don and Betty decided to take their faculty retreat rights in PPA and for the last half dozen years we have truly appreciated their counsel and contribution. Join me in wishing them a retirement filled with fun and rewarding activities. Though I have a feeling their dedication to our department will not keep them that far removed from our activities. In fact, I must thank Cristy for agreeing to chair a committee this upcoming year to look into improving our teaching of public budgeting.
In the “best of times” category, I am excited to announce the hire of Dr. Bill Leach who will serve as a tenure-track, assistant professor in the PPA Department. His areas of expertise are policy and research methods, collaborative governance, and natural resource/environmental policy. He received his doctorate from UC, Davis and a Master’s from that other college in Michigan (University of Michigan). Bill has previously served as the research director at the Center for Collaborative Policy which is affiliated with Sacramento State. He will continue on in this role part-time and very likely be on a regular schedule of teaching PPA 205 and 220B.
We have also hired Steve Sakurai and Jim Brighton to respectively teach the newly revamped PPA 251 and the first time taught PPA 293. Steve is a long-time “smart growth” and “green” developer who also worked previously in past Treasurer Phil Angelides’ office. He has restructured PPA 251 to be more along the lines of his expertise and plans on bringing in a virtual “who’s who” in the Sacramento Region’s development community as guest lectures. Jim holds a Master’s in Public Policy and Management from the University of London and is the bureau chief of planning, research, and information at the Superior Court of California in Alameda. He is scheduled to teach PPA 293 (Court Leadership) this fall as part of the PPA’s newly formed program that leads to a certificate in judicial administration. I welcome both Steve and Jim to the PPA ranks. They join our already strong group of part-time instructors that include Peter Detwiler, David Booher, Linda Shafer, and Ken Torre.
As Chairperson of PPA, I am also pleased to report upon the impressive achievements of our faculty over the last year that are chronicled elsewhere in this newsletter. Our department is truly blessed with an enthusiastic and diversely talented group of people. As an empirical researcher, who knows something about the difference between causation and correlation, I am certain that our faculty (and Suzi) are in part responsible for the alumni achievements that you have shared with me and the 25 plus theses that have been completed since I last wrote to you. Among these theses, I must call your attention to the work of Ms. Danell Brewster who was given the Cristy Jensen Award for the outstanding PPA Master’s student graduating in 2007-2008. She is a truly deserving recipient and we wish her the best of luck in her El Dorado County based consulting work.
The upcoming academic year promises to be a busy one. The department has been given permission to hire a new professor in education policy that will teach in both the PPA Master’s Program and the newly formed Ed.D. Program in Education Leadership that PPA co-directs with the College of Education. We are also in the process of reviews that will strengthen our offerings in public budgeting, consensus governance, judicial administration, and urban land development.
As always, my door, phone, and e-mail are open to you. Please drop by, call me (916/278-6304), or drop me a note if you ever want to chat about what we are up to in the PPA Department or what you are up to. I always love to hear from that special group of people affiliated with the Department of Public Policy and Administration at Sacramento State.
Rob Wassmer
PPA Department Chair
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