News Releases

Delegates from China's ChongQing University Visit SPA

SPA welcomed a group of delegates from Chongqing University (Chengdu, China). SPA Dean David Birdsell, Ben Corpus, Vice President for Student Affairs and Enrollment Management and Dean of Students, Mark Gibbel – VP for College Advancement, and John McGarraghy, Professor at SPA, discussed a wide range of issues in American higher education. This was the latest installment of Baruch College collaboration with USDOS under the Visitors Leadership Program, in which Baruch faculty and administrators with a given expertise provide orientations to groups of scholars, government officials, journalists, diplomats, and others brought together under the USDOS Visitors Program.

SPA Graduate Receives ICMA Fellowship

Godwin Chen, MPA '11, was named a recipient of a Local Government Management Fellowship from the International City/County Management Association, the premier organization of professional local government leaders building sustainable communities to improve lives worldwide. Modeled after the Presidential Management Fellowships offered by the U.S. Federal government, these fellowships seek to identify, develop and retain the very best students who have chosen follow a path toward working for local government. After being named a finalist, Godwin was offered a job with the government of Evanston, IL.
SPA to Again Host Belgian Faculty and Students

On April 28, 2011, Dean Birdsell will be pleased to host Dean LeClercq and the faculty, students, and staff from Ghent University in Belgium. During their visit they will participate in two faculty seminars and meet with SPA students and faculty at a series of other events.
For more information, or to take part in the days activities please contact Angelina Delgado.
SPA Professor Wins Briloff Prize
SPA Professor Dan Williams was selected as the winner of the 2010-2011 Abraham J. Briloff Prize in Ethics Faculty award for his article, "Is it Mutiny?". Williams will be honored at the Faculty Recognition Ceremony on March 31, 2011. Williams is the first SPA professor to win the annual award since 1999.

The Abraham J. Briloff Prizes in Ethics are intended to stimulate scholarship in the field of ethics, with an emphasis on ethics in professional life. The prizes are funded by a gift from alumnus Charles R. Dreifus, (’66, MBA ’73) in honor of Abraham J. Briloff, Emmanuel Saxe Distinguished Professor of Accountancy Emeritus. The prizes are awarded annually to a faculty member who has written an important topical article, essay or book on ethics and to a student or students who have written an outstanding research paper or essay, also as it relates to current events. The prizes are funded by a gift from alumnus Charles R. Dreifus (’66, MBA ’73) in honor of Abraham J. Briloff, Emanuel Saxe Distinguished Professor of Accountancy Emeritus.
Dean Birdsell Presents at University College Ghent International Week

Dean David S. Birdsell presented a talk entitled, "The 2010 US Midterm Elections: the Vanishing American Consensus," at the University College Ghent International Week in December 2010. The event drew students and scholars from more than 100 universities to promote international education and explore topics of mutual interest.

The event highlights that students enrolled in programs at the School of Public Affairs can take advantage of the numerous partnerships with college and universities in other nations sponsored by the City University of New York http://www.cuny.edu/academics/programs/international/view.html or those unique to Baruch College http://zicklin.baruch.cuny.edu/centers/weissman/study-abroad/letter.htm.

In addition, we have the following formal exchange relationships specific to the School of Public Affairs:

1) North American Mobility Program
Open to graduate and undergraduate students, the North American Mobility Program (NAMP) provides up to $5,000 support for a single semester of study at one of six participating institutions. Students will take courses in Sustainable Community Development and other courses chosen together with a program advisor. Students studying in Mexico must be certified as Spanish-language competent before the start of the semester abroad. Participating institutions are:

In Mexico:
Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla (Puebla, Mexico) Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey (Mexico City, Mexico) Universidad Autónoma de Tamaulipas (Tampico, Tamaulipas, Mexico)
In Canada:
Cape Breton University
Carleton University
Victoria University
For more information about NAMP, please see the program website at http://www2.ed.gov/programs/fipsenortham/index.html or contact Jonathan.engel@baruch.cuny.edu OR Angelina.delgado@baruch.cuny.edu

2) Gent University/University College Gent, Belgium
SPA has a bi-lateral relationship with Gent University (GU) and the University College Gent (UCG), formerly two institutions currently undergoing a merger. The program is strong in Human Resources Management with particular depth in issues relating to the management of European Institutions. Masters-level instruction is in English; this program is open only to MPA students.

Both GU and UCG are located in the Flemish city of Gent (also spelled "Ghent"), a medieval cathedral town with affordable housing and good public transportation. Gent's population is currently about 230,000, which swells by an additional 60,000 students during the academic year. Dutch is the official language, but English is widely spoken in Flanders.

For more information about the Gent program, please see http://www.ugent.be/en/degree/ or contact Angelina.delgado@baruch.cuny.edu
Associate Dean Engel speaks on the History of AIDS in the Village
Jonathan Engel, professor of public affairs and associate dean of the School of Public Affairs, spoke on December 7th at a program entitled "Remembering the Epidemic: A History of AIDS in the Village. The program, cosponsored by the Society for Historic Preservation of Greenwich Village, the LGBT Community Center of Greenwich Village, and the Gay Men's Health Crisis (GMHC), was a look back at the early days of the AIDS epidemic in New York, and included discussion of the founding of the GMHC and of ACT UP. The other participants in the program were Fred Valentine, co-director of NYU's Center for AIDS Research (CFAR) and early New York City AIDS epidemic pioneer, and Matthew Baney, who was a director of Saint Vincent’s HIV/AIDS clinic during the initial outbreak and for many years to follow. The discussion was moderated by Hal Moskowitz, AIDS activist and GMHC Board alumnus.

Professor Engel is a medical historian who writes on the history of the U.S. health policy and healthcare delivery. His book "The Epidemic: A Global History of AIDS" (Smithsonian, 2006) examines the response of the gay community, both in New York and elsewhere, to the rising epidemic in the early 1980s, and to addressing perceived governmental indifference to the scope of the tragedy. Professor Engel teaches courses in the healthcare policy track of the MPA curriculum, as well as the core course in financial management.
SPA Professor receives 2010 ARNOVA Award

The School of Public Affairs is pleased to recognize Assistant Professor Cristina Balboa as the 2010 recipient of the Gabriel G. Rudney Memorial Award for Outstanding Dissertation in Nonprofit and Voluntary Action Research. Her work, entitled “When Nongovernmental Organizations Govern: Accountability in Private Conservation Networks” was chosen over six other finalists by the Association of for Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Action (ARNOVA). The prize is an annual award honoring groundbreaking economist Gabriel Rudney for the best dissertation in the fields of philanthropic and nonprofit studies.

Professor Balboa joined the SPA faculty in the 2010-2011 academic year. Her previous work has been recognized through prestigious fellowships, including the Environmental Leadership Program, where she currently serves as a Senior Fellow. She received her Ph.D. from Yale University, Masters Degrees from Johns Hopkins University and Yale University, and a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan.
Visiting Professor Marcus Authors New Book
Visiting Professor and Lillie and Nathan Ackerman Chair Kenneth L. Marcus recently authored a new book entitled Jewish Identity and Civil Rights in America. The book addresses questions about the meaning of being Jewish and Jewish identity as well as the meaning of anti-semitism and efforts to combat anti-semitism across the United States.

SPA Honors Summer 2010 Pi Alpha Alpha Inductees

The administration, faculty and staff of the Baruch College School of Public Affairs (SPA) recognized the53 students and 3 honorary members inducted into the Baruch chapter of Pi Alpha Alpha (PAA), the National Honor Society for Public Affairs and Administration, on June 21, 2010. Baruch College President Stan Altman, Dean of the School of Public Affairs David S. Birdsell, and Professor and PAA Faculty Advisor Daniel Williams congratulated the inductees on their academic achievements and for their service and dedication to public affairs and administration.

This year's inductees are:

Anthony Byrnes-Alvarado
James David Quimpo Arcala
Kenneth Archbold*
Amanda Anne Armoogam*
Lloyd M. Balch
Lauren Bierman
Danielle Bonaccorso
Nathan A. Boucher
Jeffrey Sloan Brandon
Diana R. Breen
Jennifer Hernandez Cabral
Monica R. Chierici
Pamela Chowayou
Anjalee Daryani*
Crystal J. DiMiceli
Ebieten J. Elmsoxogu
America Aurora Erne*
Erik Juan Jose Estrada
Rong Fan
Bonnie Greer Gang
Norman Garcia
Giovanna Romero Gil*
Lancelot H. Goller
Juan Guillermo Gutierrez
Caitlin M. Hannon*
Gentiana Haxhaj*
Jane E. Herman
Nicole Lee Holt
Tagrid Siddique-Hossain
Burhan Hoxhaj
John J. Hunt
Sara M. Ingram
Lilyana Israil
Jessalynn James
Zenobia Janine Johnson
Anna Juchniewicz

Jessica Rosalind Kemper
Delia Kim
Nancy Kleaver
Felicia Kline
Piotr Marcin Kocik
Leah Krieger
Matthew D. Lang
Edina Leiher
Cherie Cheuk Wai Leung
Steven Levine
Lisa H. Levy
Zhen Liu
Joann R. LoCascio
Alison Rina Lustbader
Leta Malloy
Marissa Marino
Vivian Matz
Samuel Moskowitz
Christine Ng'Endo Mwaura
Dawn N. Ofodile
Gitika Pawar
Nikole A. Collins-Puri
Varvara Radimushkina
Daniel Ryan
Jose Luis Sanchez*
Jennifer L. Siegel
Matthew Silverman
Jessica Marie Simonson
Wendy Margaret Sothern
Iwona Maria Spytkowski
Carol Ann Starmack
Eba Ree Taylor
Natalka Anne Terrebetzky
Evita Q. Sison-Torre, M.D.
Adam Craig Waitzman
Le'Joy White
Jennifer Zarcone

*Undergraduate Inductee

In addition to the strong class of student inductees, three friends of the Baruch College community were awarded honorary membership in the Baruch PAA chapter for their contributions to the school and the PAA objectives of integrity, professionalism, and effective performance in the conduct of government and related public service activities:

James McCarthy, a longtime SPA professor who also serves as the Baruch College Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs;
Dennis Walcott, the New York City Deputy Mayor for Education and Community Development;
Amy Hagedorn, SPA Class of 1958 and a strong supporter of the Baruch College School of Public Affairs

The purpose of PAA is to encourage and recognize outstanding scholarship and accomplishment in public affairs and administration. Membership is open to students, faculty, alumni, and public officials who have made significant contributions to the field worldwide.

SPA Professors Author Three New Books
SPA Professors John Goering, Jennifer Goldstein, and Dahlia Remler have each published a new book in their areas of expertise during the past few months.

Professor Goering’s book, Moving to Opportunity, co-authored by Xavier de Souz Briggs of MIT and Susan J. Popkin of the Urban Institute, addresses the question of how to overcome persistent ghetto poverty. The MTO program, started in 1994, helped families move from high-poverty, inner-city public housing to low-poverty neighborhoods, some in the suburbs. The book focuses on the thoughts and decisions made program's subjects, as well as looks at the changing structures of regional opportunity and constraint that shaped the fortunes of the participants. This book brings provides powerful lessons learned from the MTO for all who share a deep concern for opportunity and inequality in our country.

Associate Professor Goldstein examines a policy that is one of the most powerful levers to improve teaching quality and advance teaching as a profession in her new book, Peer Review and Teacher Leadership: Linking Professionalism and Accountability. She presents the story of Rosemont, an urban district in California that created ''professional accountability'' with peer assistance and review (PAR), an alternative approach to teacher evaluation in which expert teachers evaluate their colleagues and peers.

And Associate Professor Remler, with Gregg G. Van Ryzin of the Rutgers University School of Public Affairs and Administration, has written a new textbook entitled, Research Methods in Practice: Strategies for Description and Causation. This text book, designed for graduate-level students taking courses such as Research Design and Research Methods in applied disciplines including public affairs/administration, public policy, urban affairs, education, sociology, social work, public health, economics, and criminal justice, reflects current methodological techniques used in interdisciplinary research, as illustrated with many policy-relevant research examples. The book emphasizes the critical interpretation and practical application of research findings throughout the text by focusing on causation and real-life data and is currently in use by SPA students.

$1 Million Grant to Assist SPA Undergraduates
Twenty Baruch College juniors and seniors, who will receive their bachelors degrees with a major in Public Affairs, are recipients of the first round of scholarships funded by a $1 million gift from the New York Community Trust - Horace and Amy Hagedorn Fund. This is an outstanding gift for SPA, and the largest in its 15- year history. Mrs. Hagedorn reconnected with the College after 50 years, on the occasion of her 50th reunion. The gift will fund scholarships and paid internships for undergraduate students in the School of Public Affairs (SPA), as well as providing support for internship faculty and general support for SPA and for the College. The grant, which provides $200,000 a year over a five-year period, is targeted for four general purposes:
• Five 4-year Hagedorn Scholarships in Public Affairs, funded at a rate of $2,000 per student per year, for a maximum of four years, provided the student maintains declaration of the B.S. in Public Affairs major and a 3.0 or better cumulative GPA.
• Thirty-five to 40 Hagedorn Fellows per year will receive $2,000 per year for a maximum of two years. They are awarded to applicants from among current Baruch students and transfer students declaring a major in Public Affairs. Undeclared students must have a cumulative 3.25 GPA, while previously declared majors in Public Affairs must have a 3.5 GPA within the major.
• Ten to 15 Hagedorn Internship Stipends, plus funding for an Internship Advisor. The stipends are granted to B.S. in Public Affairs majors, who need not be drawn from the ranks of the Hagedorn Fellows. Internships are for $1500 over a 150-hour semester-long internship, within an approved non-profit agency.
• Unrestricted support for the School of Public Affairs, and for Baruch College. SPA Dean, David Birdsell, has indicated that a portion of this unrestricted gift will fund planning for a program to educate MPA students who wish to lead immigrant-serving organizations.
The twenty initial Hagedorn Fellows are: Yousef Aanab, Caroline Camilo, Jennifer Cid, Katsiaryna Colka, America Erne, Maria Galarza, Jennifer Gonzalez, Caitlin Hannon, Horace Henry, Alexandra Herrera, Philip Kao, Heather Layland, Kaarine Mohammed, Uchenwa Njoku, Chris Parker, Anna Ponomareva, Yelky Ramos, Giovanna Romero-Gil, Jose Luis Sanchez, and Sophia Zardiashvili.
SPA Receives Archives of Historical Records
SPA and the William and Anita Newman Library announced in January that the Institute of Public Administration (IPA), recognized as the nation’s premier chronicler of local government and formerly known as the Bureau of Municipal Research, has donated its archive of historical records to Baruch College. These archives, spanning nearly a century, include a vast array
of documents compiling the most complete known collection of local government studies from across the country. New York City government studies also figure prominently in the collection.
After IPA merged with New York University nearly a decade ago, the library and archives were, to some extent, lost and few knew what became of them. SPA Professor Dan Williams, excited by the fact that this huge collection included hundreds of reports from across the country about the operations of state and local governments during the early years of the 20th century, attempted to track them down. Over the past few years, Williams had been following fruitless leads and making phone call after phone call until former SPA Distinguished Lecturer Dall Forsythe was able to assist him in locating them. “This archive shows much about government operations before the advent of statistical social science,” Williams said. He continued, “These records provide insights into our past that are sure to enhance our ability to navigate the future.”
The IPA archive, currently housed in more than 700 boxes in a warehouse on Long Island, contains records from leading figures in public administration over the course of the 20th century, including Frederick Cleveland, a former IPA director who chaired President William Howard Taft’s Commission of Economy and Efficiency. Luther Gulick, another former IPA director, was a member of President Franklin Roosevelt’s Committee of Administrative Management who went on to lead a study of New York City’s government that resulted in the creation of the office of City Administrator, a position he later held.
The Newman Library is determining when the archives will be relocated to the library and how access will be provided.
SPA Professor John Casey Authors New Book
SPA Associate Professor John Casey has written a new book entitled Policing The World: The Practice of International and Transnational Policing. Using case studies, Professor Casey examines and compares the responses and challenges of policing given the political, social and economic impacts of a new dimension of crime in the globalized world of the 21st century. For more information about Professor Casey’s book, click here. And click here for to learn more about Professor Casey.