Evans School News

Video: Patrick Fitzgerald on Ethics and Public Office

mollymm — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 14:22:03 -0700

The spring installment of our Leadership at the Crossroads speaker series, held April 23, 2009, featured Patrick J. Fitzgerald, U.S. Attorney from the Northern District of Illinois, presenting "Serving the Public: Ethics and Public Office."

Following his presentation, a panel discussion on "Corruption in Business and Government" included Mr. Fitzgerald and:

Lynn Brewer, CEO and founder of the Integrity Institute
Egil "Bud" Krogh, former Nixon White House Aide and author
Mark Bartlett, First Assistant United States Attorney for the Western District of Washington
Sandra O. Archibald, Evans School Dean and Professor (moderator)

Read an article about the event from The Seattle Times.

Please note: These videos work best on a broadband internet connection. If your video experience seems choppy, your connection might slower than others. One method you can try is to pause the video and let it load for a few minutes before playing it again. Our streaming video host also provides other options for resolving a choppy or stuttering video experience.

Watch Part 1: Patrick Fitzgerald

Patrick Fitzgerald (Part 1 of 2) - Leadership at the Crossroads Speaker Series.

Watch Part 2: Panel Discussion

Patrick Fitzgerald: Panel (Part 2 of 2) - Leadership at the Crossroads Speaker Series.

Randy Engstrom Receives National Award for Arts Leadership

vc6 — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 14:38:47 -0700

Executive Master of Public Administration (Executive MPA) student Randy Engstrom received the Americans for the Arts 2009 Emerging Leader Award for his work as the founding director of the Youngstown Cultural Arts Center in West Seattle. The award, given by the national leading nonprofit for advancing the arts, recognizes young leaders for their exceptional work in arts administration. Read The Seattle Times story Read the press release

Alumnus Cory Sbarbaro Wins Teaching Award

mollymm — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 10:08:07 -0700

Cory Sbarbaro (MPA ‘02) received the Teaching Excellence Award in the Nonprofit and Public Sector category from University of Washington Extension. Sbarbaro also teaches occasional courses for the Evans School MPA program and Cascade Executive Programs and serves as an advisor to the Nancy Bell Evans Center on Nonprofits & Philanthropy at the Evans School.

Congratulations Class of 2009!

mollymm — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 10:17:49 -0700

More than 150 students became the Evans School’s newest alumni at our Convocation ceremony on June 12. Held in Kane Hall, the event featured a convocation address from Ron Sims, deputy secretary of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, and former King County Executive.

Daniel J. Evans Leadership in Public Service Award

At Convocation, Norman B. Rice (MPA '74), Evans School distinguished visiting practioner and former mayor of the City of Seattle, was became the first recipient of the Daniel J. Evans Leadership in Public Service Award. The award was created to honor irrefutable excellence in a service and leadership. The award winner is selected by an anonymous committee of Evans School faculty, alumni, and friends, and honors those individuals who exemplify the values and leadership of Daniel J. Evans, our school's namesake. Rice was recently named president and CEO of The Seattle Foundation.

2009 Student Awards

Shella Biallas: The Betty Jane Narver Prize, presented to the student with the most outstanding degree project undertaken with a nonprofit or public agency
Matthew T. Helmer: The Charles and Nancy Collins Prize for the best degree project that uses least-cost planning methodology
Betty Zou: The Pealy Prize for the best degree project, subject to the restriction that a winner of one of other two prizes is not also considered for the Pealy prize
Lisa Devine: The Daniel J. Evans Student Leadership Award for innovative leadership and public service at the Evans School, within the University, and/or in the broader community

2009 Faculty Awards

Rachel Kleit: Dean’s Outsanding Teaching Award
David Harrison: Students’ Distinguished Teaching Award

Five Students Present to Seattle Mayor’s Staff

mollymm — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 16:06:04 -0700

Five Master of Public Administration (MPA) students gave an invited, hour-long presentation to City of Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels' senior staff, including Deputy Mayor Tim Ceis, on topics ranging from preserving affordable commercial space in the city to indentifying demographic changes and gentrification in southeast Seattle. Their presentations came from research the five students conducted in coordination with the city's Office of Policy and Management as part of their degree project requirement.

During their last year of study, MPA students are required to complete a degree project that demonstrates their mastery of policy analysis and management skills. They choose projects that are either proposed by local agencies, nonprofit organizations, or the students themselves. These projects, including the five that will be presented to the mayor's staff, are often done through the Evans School Public Service Clinics, which links the skills and services of students with the real-world needs of nonprofit and public agencies.

The five projects and students presenters included:

Retaining Cultural and Economic Diversity in Southeast Seattle
MPA student Emiko Atherton's project focused on who lives in Southeast Seattle, what effect gentrification has had on the population over the past two decades, and what programs, policies, or initiatives the City of Seattle should consider to retain the area's cultural and economic diversity.

Defining the Nexus Between Environmental Sustainability and Economic Justice
MPA students Deric Gruen and Emma Johnson's project focused on what legislative policies and programs the city should pursue in light of Seattle taking a leadership position among American cities in addressing climate change. The policies and programs they researched are at the nexus of creating both an environmentally sustainable and economically just city.

Opportunities for Street Food to Promote Multiple Policy Objectives
MPA student Erin McCoy's project focused on the Office of Policy and Management's consideration of reforming city and county laws concerning "street food" to make it easier to sell food from mobile carts. McCoy's research looked at the potential for these reforms to activate and improve public safety, and create an entrepreneurship opportunity for disadvantaged communities while providing a greater variety of healthy, low-cost foods to a broader cross-section of Seattle.

Affordable Business Space in Seattle
MPA student Brad Ritter's degree project focused on what policies and program strategies the city can pursue to create and preserve affordable commercial space in the business districts of Seattle's neighborhoods. Ritter's research looks at what ownership structures and financing mechanisms have been used in other cities around the country, and what role government, nonprofit, and for-profit developers should play.

Norman B. Rice Named President/CEO of The Seattle Foundation

mollymm — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 14:35:41 -0700

Norman B. Rice (MPA '74), a Distinguished Visiting Practioner at the Evans School, was named President and CEO of The Seattle Foundation, one of the largest community foundations in the United States. Rice previously served as President of the Federal Home Loan Bank of Seattle and Mayor of the City of Seattle. Read The Seattle Foundation's press release (132 KB PDF)

Ron Sims, Deputy Secretary of U.S. HUD, to Keynote Evans School Convocation

mollymm — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 14:13:46 -0700

Ron Sims, Deputy Secretary of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), will deliver the keynote address at the Evans School's Convocation Ceremony on June 12 at 9 a.m. Sims previously served as King County Executive. Learn more about Convocation

Ph.D. Student Tyler Blake Davis Presents Report to the Congressional Research Service

vc6 — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 13:23:38 -0700

Ph.D. student Tyler Blake Davis presented a report last month to the Congressional Research Service in Washington, D.C., on using benefit-cost analysis to reform principles and standards of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in constructing levees for flood control on the upper Mississippi River.

The report was co-presented with his colleague Julie Vano, a Ph.D. student in the UW Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, and was produced under the faculty supervision of Richard O. Zerbe Jr. and Joseph H. Cook with assistance from eight Master of Public Administration students—Jonahthan Armah, Hande Ayan, Christina Bernard, Aaron Blumenthal, Lea Fortmann, Lori Reimann Garretson, Christopher Godwin, and William Dean Runolfson.

Background Information
Managing water resources for flood damage protection, irrigation, reliable navigation on riverways, and other services is an important function of federal water resource agencies. To determine whether programs are implemented, federal agencies are required to systematically analyze the associated costs and benefits when evaluating the merits of a proposed project. The current Principals and Guidelines assisting federal agencies when conducting cost benefit analysis of water related projects was established in 1983. Davis and Vano's presentation identified existing criticisms and opportunities for improving these guidlines. The Congressional Research Service works exclusively for the U.S. Congress and provides nonpartisan policy and legal analysis.

Evans School Featured in Seattle Times Story on Public Service Careers

mollymm — Mon, 11 May 2009 16:57:07 -0700

Evans School students Shella Biallas and Mike Foote are featured in a front page article in The Seattle Times on increased interest in public service careers. Reporter Nick Perry also cites the Evans School's "whopping" 33% increase in applications for the Master of Public Administration (MPA) program this year.

Dean Sandra O. Archibald Named Public Administration Educator of the Year

mollymm — Tue, 05 May 2009 10:36:58 -0700

Sandra O. Archibald, Dean of the Evans School of Public Affairs, was honored as the "Public Administration Educator of the Year" by the Evergreen Chapter of the American Society for Public Administration (ASPA) at a luncheon during National Public Service Recognition Week. University of Washington President Mark Emmert accepted the award for Dean Archibald, former Evans School Dean Hubert Locke was also honored, and Lecturer Emeritus Diana Gale provided the keynote address.

President Emmert accepts the award from ASPA Evergreen Chapter President J. Paul Blake on behalf of Dean Archibald.