PPOL Students:
I hope your summer is going well. Things are looking pretty good for PPOL
for the coming fall, with another strong entering class poised to start the
Ph.D. adventure.
I just wanted to provide a couple of brief items of note in this short
Update. In this issue:
1—Qualifying Exams Update
2—Fall Registration Information
3—PPOL Seminar
4—ASPA Chapter Tour Space Available
5—Announcements
1—Qualifying Exams Update
For those students taking the qualifying exams next month, please note that
the Economics and the Analytic exams will both be administered in the
computer lab in Fretwell 420. We have finally found a method to isolate
these machines so we can go back to using the labs as we have done in the
past.
If you have any additional questions for me about the exams, please let me
know.
2—Fall Registration Information
Registration for the fall semester continues. Many of you still have not
registered. I want to *strongly* encourage you to enroll as soon as
possible. The dean will be making a first pass at the enrollments and
canceling certain classes in order to reallocate faculty to where the demand
is. If you know of classes you will be taking in the fall and have not
signed up, please do so soon. You don’t want to miss an opportunity.
Also, let me direct your attention to a course that will be offered for the
first time in the PPOL program (though it’s been on the books for awhile
now). Dr. Rob Christensen will be teaching PPOL 8617 Law and Management.
This course is “technically” in the urban/regional development
concentration. However, depending on your course of study, such a course
like this might make sense to substitute into your curriculum or to add to
it (your advisor will be useful here). The course presents the legal and
managerial side of the policy domain and gets into the institutional actors
that constrain policy, particularly at the implementation phase. While
clearly useful for urban/regional students, student in the other
concentrations (including social policy) will find such a course very useful
to their understanding of these institutional constraints that limit your
policy options or facilitate them. If you are wondering if this class might
be useful for your career and research direction, let me know and we can
talk about it (as can your advisor).
3—PPOL Seminar
Please remember that students *must* take the seminar course (PPOL
8690) three times prior to the comprehensive exams. This is only offered in
the fall semester, so do not waste an opportunity that may delay you later
in the program. Also, please note that the room for that class has been
changed and will now be held here in Colvard, room 5090.
I have made extensive changes to how the seminar will be run this year and
will be implementing a “tiered approach” such that each time a student takes
the seminar, there will be different assignments/activities. I am looking
forward to this new experiment and you feedback on it. I will be emailing
the first-timers, the second-timers, and the third-timers each as a separate
group with additional information later in August before classes resume.
4—ASPA Chapter Tour Space Available
There is still space available for the tour of the Bank of America stadium
that is hosted by the American Society of Public Administration local
chapter this Thursday. Come join us to learn about the sitting, financing
and story behind this important structure that is widely believed to be
responsible for triggering the economic boom of downtown Charlotte that
continues even today. Here’s the formal announcement and RSVP instructions:
This is a reminder that are next meeting is scheduled for next Thursday,
July 13th and will be a tour of the Bank of America Stadium (home to the
Carolina Panthers). The tour will start at 11:30 a.m. and end approximately
at 12:30 p.m. Only 25 people will be able to
participate, so please RSVP to Nick Swartz (njswartz@email.uncc.edu) via
e-mail by this Friday. Several of you have responded, but Nick still has a
few open slots so if you plan to attend, please let him know as soon as
possible.
There is no cost for parking; however, you must enter and park in the lot
located off Morehead Street.
For those interested in carpooling:
Please arrive at our regular meeting place (Fire Department Admin) – located
at 228 E 9th St, by 10:50 a.m. We will leave at approximately 11:00 a.m., to
give ourselves enough time for arrival and check-in.
Lunch will not be served for this meeting.
Let me know if you have any questions and do not forget to RSVP if you want
to attend the tour!
5—Announcements
Things are traditionally slow in the summer time while faculty work on all
the projects and grants that will bolster the prestige of the university and
the PPOL program (and generate money for student support!). However, there
are a couple of things to note.
Dr. Peter Schwartz (ECON) was awarded the 2006 Contemporary Economics Policy
Editor's Choice Award for his paper, "Multipollutant
Efficiency Standards for Electricity Production," Contemporary
Economic Policy, July 2005. You can easily access a copy by going to the
web page of the Western Economics Association. Congrats to Dr. Schwartz on
this honor.
Dr. Vivian Lord (CJUS) chairs the Dept. of Criminal Justice and has been
promoted to Full Professor effective July 1. Congratulations to Dr. Lord and
our continued thanks to her for her strong support of PPOL.
Finally, Nick Swartz (PPOL) was elected as Secretary/Treasurer and Dr. David
Swindell (PPOL) was elected President of the Central Piedmont Chapter of the
American Society of Public Administration. PPOL students are encouraged to
join and participate in ASPA, the leading professional organization for
public administration (the folks that implement and evaluate public policy).
ASPA,
NASPAA, and
APPAM are three organizations that work
together in the fields of public administration and public policy; two
fields that are intertwined. Our local ASPA chapter is a good way to meet,
interact with, and learn about administration and policy as it is
implemented here at the local level in Charlotte.
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Dr. David Swindell, Assoc. Professor & Director
Ph.D. in Public Policy Program
3040 Colvard Bldg.
9201 University City Blvd.
University of North Carolina-Charlotte
Charlotte, NC 28223
(704) 687-4519 (Office)
(704) 687-4771 (Fax)
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