In the News

• Leisha DeHart-Davis, associate professor of public administration
  recently received the Kemper Fellowship for Teaching Excellence. DeHart-Davis’ caring attitude toward students and high standards of performance demonstrate her teaching excellence. She instructs public administration classes to all levels of students, from undergraduate to doctoral, and has an enthusiasm that inspires. To read the full article, or to watch a video of the award being presented, click here.
• Megan Dodge and Philip Rodriguez, two recent KU MPA graduates, are featured in an article about their work with the City of San Antonio. Click here to read the full article.
• Lori Hirons, KU MPA graduate 1996, was featured in the KU Edwards Campus Higher Education Summer 09 newsletter in an article about her career and transition from Roeland Park to New York City. Click here for the full story.
• Marilu Goodyear, Chair of the Public Administration department, and Shannon Portillo, a 2008 KU PhD graduate, recently published an Educause Center for Applied Research (ECAR) occasional paper with the results of a study designed to understand and document the attributes and responsibilities of the relatively new role of information security officer in higher education. Read the full article here.
• With KU public administration graduates leading the way everywhere from the Cabinet to cities across the country, the College is expanding its involvement in the Public Management Center in Topeka. Among the program’s noted alumni are Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, who was recently selected by President Obama as his Secretary of Health and Human Services. Read the full story here.
• Greg Clay, Special Assistant to the City Manager of East Point, Georgia and University of Kansas MPA grad, was awarded the 2009 Steven D. Ford Memorial Award for the Young Public Administrator of the Year at the FORUM 2009 annual conference held by the National Forum for Black Public Administrators (NFBPA). Greg, a native of the Atlanta area, received the award at the NFBPA national conference held in Oakland, California. Read the full article here.
• Jeff Woodward, KU MPA graduate spring 2009, has made a 300-mile round-trip commute since 2004 to take classes at KU’s Public Management Center in Topeka. Read the full article about Jeff here: http://www.news.ku.edu/2009/may/13/woodward.shtml
• Alisa Moldovanova, a KU MPA student supported by the Edmund S. Muskie Graduate Fellowship Program, was featured in an article in the Muskie Messenger about her work with the city council members of Prairie Village and Sister City Dolyna, Ukraine. You can read the full article here.
• Dan Mueller, academic advisor to undergraduates in public administration at the Edwards Campus, was selected as KU employee of the month February 2009 for his outstanding work and commitment to helping students. “From the standpoint of a faculty adviser, he is a wonderful colleague to work with. He brings a lot of energy and enthusiasm to the task of helping us recruit new students and serves as the ‘eyes and ears’ for us, which ultimately helps us provide them with a better education,” said Kelly LeRoux, assistant professor of public administration. To read the full story click here.
• Paul W. Brandenburger, a doctoral candidate at the University of Kansas, has been selected to be a judge for the 2009 Pollie Awards in Washington DC. The "Pollies," hosted annually by the American Association of Political Consultants (AAPC), are widely regarded to be the most prestigious awards in the political consulting and public affairs industry. The AAPC honors the previous year's best political advertising, including work produced for television, radio, newspaper, Internet, direct mail, telephone, fund raising and student-produced campaigns.
• Professor John Nalbandian was awarded the Kemper Fellowship for Teaching Excellence by the “surprise patrol” while teaching class August 25th. The Kemper Fellowships recognize outstanding teachers and advisors at KU. An article about the award and the recipients is available here.
• Nickie Lee, a Kansas University graduate student in the master’s of public administration program, picked Basehor for her nearly year-long internship and was featured in an article in the Basehor Sentinel newspaper.

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