Public Administration Alumni Society Update

While 2020 and the start of 2021 have been far from typical for all of us, the Public Administration Alumni Society has adapted and stayed connected. More than ever, alumni have expressed that they are grateful to be drawing on skills and knowledge learned during their time in the program to the challenges the world and the communities we work for are facing today.

Our regular in-person lunch seminar and spring networking event both moved online this year, with the fall event drawing nearly 40 people who enjoyed hearing updates about the program from faculty chair Jeff Diebold, and then breaking into smaller groups to discuss the impact the program has had during the time of COVID-19. The spring event, planned for April 16, will follow a similar format, although the topics to discuss will change (we suspect people will enjoy talking about something other than the pandemic at this point!). Please RSVP today if you haven’t already. 

The PA Alumni Society has continued to award two scholarships to outstanding students for the last two years—one to an in-service student and one to a pre-service student. We greatly appreciate everyone who has continued to make donations and especially appreciate those who have made a multi-year pledge toward a larger contribution goal. We are still hopeful that one day, we will be able to offer students a scholarship that pays for one full class—right now each scholarship pays for about half that amount at $1,300. The fact that we can offer scholarships and have big dreams is a wonderful testament to the generosity of all of you.

We look forward to contributing our thoughts about the MPA program during the upcoming Network of Schools of Public Affairs, Policy, and Administration (NASPAA) accreditation process this spring, and recognize there is always more we can do to further our mission to help our alma mater educate the future public administrators and leaders of North Carolina. Again, thank all of you for your support of the program and our university.

If you have ideas about how to help the PA Alumni Society expand and enhance our work, we would love to hear from you. We suspect that one thing that will not change post-pandemic is the use of technology to include more alumni who live outside the greater Raleigh area. If you are interested in becoming more involved with the alumni society or just want to connect with a few other alumni, we meet at 5:30 p.m. on the last Thursday of each month, currently on Zoom.

Please reach out to me at jilldenning@hotmail.com if you would like to become more involved with the alumni society or have any questions.