Public Affairs Program Welcomes Colleagues

Public Affairs Program faculty members and students will welcome public servants to UT Dallas this weekend as part of the American Society for Public Administration’s 69th annual conference.

The University will host a symposium on the pension crisis on Friday from noon to 4 p.m. at the Westec Building as part of the conference plans.

The ASPA is the nation’s leading public service organization. The conference is expected to draw 1,000 government officials, scholars and professionals Friday through Tuesday to the Fairmont Hotel in downtown Dallas, where the main events will be held.

The conference theme, “Transformational Public Administration: A Call for Public Service,” will focus on the public sector’s role in promoting human advancement.

More Online • Convention program information

The Public Affairs Program, part of the UT Dallas School of Economic, Political and Policy Sciences, will be well-represented at the conference.

Clinical professor Donald Arbuckle and professor L. Douglas Kiel will serve as session moderators. In addition, clinical associate professor Wendy Hassett and doctoral students Jason Cooley and Metin Arslan will each present at sessions.

Featured speakers include Bill Owens, a former Colorado governor; and Dr. Edward J. Blakely, executive director of recovery management for the city of New Orleans.  The ASPA Web site lists the complete schedule of events..

At the UT Dallas session, Texas human resources and finance professionals will discuss how pension funding affects their organizations.  UT Dallas students are invited but should contact Dr. Doug Watson, head of the UT Dallas public affairs program, to attend.

In addition, the UT Dallas chapter of Pi Alpha Alpha has scheduled an induction dinner Friday evening in conjunction with the conference.  Public affairs scholars from the conference will be in attendance as 30 UT Dallas public affairs graduates and undergraduates are inducted into the the national honor society for public affairs students.

The ceremony is scheduled for 6 p.m. on Friday, March 7, in the McDermott Suite of the library.  Dr. Richard Stillman, editor of the Public Administration Review, will speak.

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