AU President Cornelius Kerwin, former Dean of the School of Public Affairs

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1 "We now find ourselves at another point in history where we have to turn to government to solve a profoundly dangerous set of problems. I see a robust role for government over the next 25 years and there is going to be a robust role for preparing people for public service. AU President Cornelius Kerwin, former Dean of the School of Public Affairs The American University School of Public Affairs (SPA) ( invites nominations and applications for several faculty positions. SPA now ranks among the top ten schools of public affairs nationally with particular strength in public management and policy, in recognition of its success in combining research and teaching. The school has a multi-disciplinary faculty dedicated to research and to improving student abilities to contribute to complex governance, legal, and justice systems. The School of Public Affairs is one of six schools at American University, including the College of Arts and Sciences, the School of Communication, the Kogod School of Business, the School of International Service, and the Washington College of Law. The university is home to 13,000 students (about 6,800 undergraduates, 5,100 graduates, and 1,100 in non-degree programs), with approximately 2,000 of these enrolled in the School of Public Affairs. The school is located on the central quad of the beautiful American University campus in the midst of predominantly residential northwest Washington. The campus, which is a national arboretum, is close to the Tenleytown/AU Metro station, so that faculty and students can be in downtown DC, on Capitol Hill, and at all the major metropolitan transportation hubs in minutes. American University attracts and educates active citizens from around the globe who seek to acquire and apply knowledge to the most pressing concerns facing the nation and world. AU is distinct in its capacity as a national and international university to turn ideas into action and service by emphasizing the arts and sciences, and then connecting them to issues of contemporary public affairs writ large, notably in the areas of government, communication, business, law, and international service. AU focuses on academic excellence within the framework of its core values: interdisciplinary inquiry, social justice, international understanding, interactive teaching, research and creative endeavors, and applied and experiential learning. 1

2 American University is led by President Cornelius M. Kerwin, who became the institution s 14th president in September President Kerwin is building on his long and distinguished academic career at American University to guide it to new levels of excellence through its strategic plan, Leadership for a Changing World: American University in the Next Decade ( Strategic-Plan.cfm). In alignment with the plan s goals, President Kerwin has led the successful completion of the $200 million AnewAU capital campaign and is committed to raising the national and international profile of the University. In the past five years under President Kerwin s leadership, the University has undergone profound institutional growth and transformation, increasing its support for faculty research and development and the recruitment of top students, whatever their financial needs. The University has instituted a progressive plan of capital development that advances access to higher education. With the School of Public Affairs as a centerpiece in the University s strategic agenda, AU is poised to address and resolve complex governance and social issues, committed to inspired research, and engaged in the wider community to deal with the most pressing issues facing the nation and the world. In July 2012, Barbara S. Romzek was appointed as the school s Dean, joining AU from the University of Kansas where she had held a number of academic leadership positions, the most recent interim senior vice provost for academic affairs. She is working closely with Provost Scott Bass and other deans on campus to implement key priorities of the AU strategic plan. She has launched a school-wide planning initiative for to help the school enhance its national and international visibility, promote synergies among the three departments and numerous centers within the school, enhance enrollments, and build externally funded support for research and scholarship. A SCHOOL WITH HISTORIC PUBLIC SERVICE ROOTS The School of Public Affairs at American University was born in response to a national crisis. In 1934, Arthur Flemming, a young AU alum and Washington reporter, believed his alma mater could be an important part of newly elected President Roosevelt s vision for economic revival. Flemming won a $4,000 grant from the Rockefeller Foundation for AU to develop a program to train federal workers in the techniques they would need to make the New Deal a success. By 1937, more than 1,000 federal employees were studying public administration at American University, and younger students were clamoring for the classes as well, leading to the creation of an undergraduate program. These programs 2

3 continued to grow steadily in enrollment, particularly following the return of U.S. servicemen from World War II, and in 1957, the School of Public Affairs was formally established as an academic unit within the University. Since its beginnings during the Great Depression, SPA has developed into one of the top schools of its kind in the country. The school offers the following degrees through three departments: Government B.A. in Communication, Legal Institutions, Economics and Government Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in Political Science M.A. in Political Science M.A. in Political Communication Ph.D. in Political Science Public Administration and Policy Master of Public Administration (M.P.A.) Master of Public Policy (M.P.P.) Key Executive M.P.A.: MS in Organization and Development M.P.A./J.D. M.P.P./J.D. M.P.A./L.L. Ph.D. in Public Administration and Policy Justice, Law and Society B.A. in Justice and Law B.A. in Law and Society M.S. in Justice, Law and Society M.S. in Justice, Law and Society/J.D. Ph.D. in Justice, Law and Society In addition, SPA offers multiple certificates in fields associated with its major programs of study. The school s joint and dual-degree programs with the Washington College of Law and with the School of Communication are innovative and part of the university-wide endeavor to do more broad-based interdisciplinary research and teaching to better prepare students and society to face the problems of this century. 3

4 Research centers and institutes are a critical component of SPA, and they build on the scholarship and expertise of SPA faculty. They also provide for scholarly collaboration and exchange in the areas of politics, campaigns, public finance, public administration and policy, environmental policy, and justice. Their work is shared with the AU and Washington communities, as well as across the nation. SPA centers and institutes include: Center for Congressional and Presidential Studies (CCPS) is one of the premier and most visible centers in Washington in bringing practitioners, AU faculty, and AU students together to address the critical issues of our day; Center for Environmental Policy (CEP) seeks to improve how environmental challenges are addressed through effective collaborative governance; Center for Public Finance Research (CPFR) conducts research and education in public budgeting and finance, financial management, economics, and benefit cost analysis on all levels, from local to international; Center for Democracy and Election Management (CDEM) focuses on education, research, and public engagement across the full range of democracy issues, both domestic and international; Institute for the Study of Public Policy Implementation (ISPPI) offers a unique forum in which all stakeholders in the public policy implementation system work together on a continuing basis to create compelling results; Justice Programs Office (JPO) provides technical assistance, research, evaluation, and training to domestic and foreign government agencies and organizations in the area of justice system operations; Middle East Studies (MES) links AU programs, initiatives, and faculty connected with Middle East issues; Political Theory Institute is dedicated to encouraging the serious study of the great questions of political theory and to bringing the insights of political theorists to bear on current issues and events; Washington Institute for Public Affairs Research (WIPAR) bridges the academic and policy worlds and works to advance scholarly research on pressing issues; and Women and Politics Institute (WPI) provides academic training to women, encouraging their participation in the political process and facilitating research that enhances our understanding of challenges facing women in politics. SPA s talented faculty represent both scholarly and professional backgrounds and comprise 60 tenured or tenure-track faculty and an additional 29 term faculty. Drawing on both practitioner experience and scholarly achievement, the faculty provide students with 4

5 a firsthand view of the practice of and research enterprise of studying public affairs. Twelve members of the SPA faculty are members of the National Academy of Public Administration. SPA also currently sponsors Congress and the Presidency: A Journal of Capital Studies. SPA faculty either have been or are presently editors or managing editors of such leading disciplinary journals as the Journal of Politics, Public Administration Review, the Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, and Justice Quarterly. The faculty have also helped shaped their respective fields through service on leading journal and academic press editorial boards and in holding leadership positions in professional associations, including American Political Science Association, Public Management Research Association, the American Society for Public Administration, and the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences. Faculty are also active in testifying on Capitol Hill, participating on government oversight boards (for example, the IRS Oversight Board), and consulting with public and nonprofit agencies. For their research, faculty have been recipients of various professional and service awards, including the Charles Levine Award from the National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration, the Walter Beach Award from the American Political Science Association, the Paul Van Riper Award for Career Public Service, and the Gerhard Muller Award for significant contributions to cross national criminal justice knowledge. Each of the departments has a strong representation on editorial boards of leading disciplinary journals. SPA attracts strong students from across the U.S. and around the world. Seven percent of the undergraduate population and 10 percent of the graduate population are international students. AU students earn many honors and awards, including Fulbright, Truman, Marshall, Jack Kent Cooke, Boren, Rotary, and Goldwater Scholarships; Pickering, Rangel, and Javits Fellowships; memberships in Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society; and appointments as Presidential Management Fellows and White House Fellows. Recent Ph.D. students have won a variety of prestigious awards, including the Best Dissertation Award from the American Political Science Association, an Emerging Scholar Award from the National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration and a Best Dissertation Award from the Academy of Management. SPA students and faculty members are also a part of robust international exchange programs, and the school has multiple and growing numbers of international memoranda of agreement to provide global research opportunities. 5