Public Administration and Urban Studies¹
at the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies

The Department of Public Administration and Urban Studies is ideally positioned for collaborative and interdisciplinary enrichment though its affiliation with the Andrew Young School's other research components. Its faculty, staff, and graduate students are actively engaged in research and public service projects that inform public policy and enhance the quality and effectiveness of policy implementation and evaluation in the United States as well as internationally. Academic programs are listed in the Academic Assistance section. PAUS faculty are very active in the Centers and Programs of the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies. In addition to work found in those sections, and to publications listed in "Papers, Books and Chapters: Published or Forthcoming," various other projects are listed below. Gregory Streib is the Chair of Public Administration and Urban Studies.

In this Section:

• Programs and Activities
• Internships
• Projects
• Working Papers
• Seminars

Highlights

• The Department of Public Administration and Urban Studies (PAUS) hired three new faculty members in 2005, including Dennis Young as the new Bernard B. and Eugenia A. Ramsey Chair of Private Enterprise. These new hires add momentum to our goal of developing one of the nation’s very best programs in nonprofit management, and they also reinforce programs that are already highly rated.
• The Department has welcomed the creation of a new student organization, the PAUS Network, and a revitalization of the PAUS Alumni Club. Both of these organizations sponsored student events in the fall of 2005.
• In the fall of 2005, the Department published the first issue of the PAUS Informer, which promoted department and college events and provided new students with additional information about our academic programs.
• The Department began a series of regular lunch hour seminars. Two were offered during the fall of 2005 that focused on career development issues: one focused on economic development and the other on the federal government. In both cases, the students attending found that many of the nation’s top employers were very interested in hiring graduates from the Andrew Young School.
• PAUS sent out its first group of students to complete a portion of their master’s work at the University of Northumbria in the United Kingdom. By all accounts, these students were very pleased with their experience. One student also conducted an internship, working on a historic preservation project, while in England. The prospects are bright for future exchanges. In addition, a group of faculty from both institutions is developing a number of joint research projects. PAUS is also engaging in some discussions with a program in Switzerland.

Programs and Activities

Faculty Recruitment. The department hired three new faculty members in 2005.

• Professor Dennis R. Young is the new Bernard B. and Eugenia A. Ramsey Chair of Private Enterprise. He earned his M.S. and Ph.D. at Stanford University. He also helped establish the Mandel Center for Nonprofit Organizations at Case Western and was its director from 1988 to 1996. He is also president and founding CEO of the National Center on Nonprofit Enterprise based in Arlington, Va. From 1972 to 1987, he was a Professor at the W. Averell Harriman School for Management and Policy.
• Assistant Professor David Pitts earned his Ph.D. from the University of Georgia. His specialties include Public Management, Public Human Resources Management, Organizational Behavior, and Managing Workforce Diversity.
• Assistant Professor Eric C. Twombly earned his Ph.D. at George Washington University. His specialties include Nonprofit Leadership and Management, Social Service Provision by Nonprofit Organizations, and Executive Compensation and Wage Setting in the Nonprofit Sector. Prior to joining the PAUS faculty, he was a senior research associate at the Urban Institute in Washington, D.C.

MPA Advisory Board. The MPA Advisory Board was created by PAUS faculty in 2001 to assess the MPA curriculum to ensure that its graduates meet the needs of today's public agencies and non-profit organizations. Board members, many of whom are AYSPS Alumni, hold administrative positions with local, state and federal agencies and departments, as well as nonprofits. These positions include that of city administrator, tax commissioner, department head, program director, budget and finance director and non-profit executive director. The board has developed a mission that emphasizes making a positive impact on public service by taking on the primary role as a resource to faculty in communicating the necessary skills, knowledge, ethics and values required to practice in the public sector. This board also offers the program a more formal connection with its alumni.

The MPA Board met several times in 2005; the Board considered and contributed to the department's academic program review report as well as its action plan that was recently presented to the University Provost. Board members attended the PAUS Open House at the beginning of the academic year, continue to provide lectures PAUS classes, and often support internships for our students.

MPA Board member Dana Russell recommended Katherine Willoughby for participation on the Governor's Procurement Transformation Governance Council, an effort to develop and advance purchasing and contracting processes in the State of Georgia.

Board members and other experts in the past have addressed questions about finding jobs, making contacts in the public and nonprofit sectors, and the skills necessary to succeed in public service. Katherine G. Willoughby, Robert Eger III, and Theodore H. Poister are the PAUS faculty liaisons with the MPA Advisory Board.

MPA Advisory Board Members:

Nonprofit Programs. The nonprofit program was created "to foster academic scholarship in the nonprofit sector, and serve as a conduit between scholars and practitioners in creating and disseminating knowledge." Atlanta has one of the fastest-growing nonprofit sectors in the United States, providing an ideal location in which to study this sector's growing influence and challenges. The impact of technology changes, shifting demographics, global influences and the sector's increasing linkages to the private and government sectors are presented in a program that combines rigorous academic study, critical research and influential community partnerships. Both the MPA and M.S. in Urban Policy Studies degree programs offer specializations in nonprofit management and policy, and a Graduate Certificate in Nonprofit Management is offered. The department is committed to serving as a leading edge center for research and professional education in the nonprofit field. For more information, see the Nonprofit Studies Program section of the annual report.

Joint Ph.D. Program. The joint Georgia State University-Georgia Institute of Technology doctoral program in public policy graduated another two Ph.D.'s in 2005. Graduate Christopher Horne is a tenure-track assistant professor at Kennesaw State University. Graduate Kathryn Brice is a visiting lecturer at the Andrew Young School. Gregory B. Lewis coordinates the Joint Ph.D. Program.

Five excellent new students entered the joint doctoral program in 2005: Forrest Bankston, Kelley Dean, Juan Luis Gomez Reino, Dora Ward Kyabu, and Rayna Stoycheva. New students hail from Bulgaria, Spain, and the United States.

Policy doctoral students were productive researchers and teachers. At least 11 doctoral students presented papers at professional conferences or had articles published or forthcoming in professional journals. Nevbahar Ertas received a prestigious dissertation grant. Over one dozen doctoral students taught a variety of courses, and one taught a statistics course at the Georgian Institute of Public Affairs, Tbilisi, Republic of Georgia.

The Public Performance and Management Group. The Public Performance and Management Group (PPM) of the Andrew Young School is committed to promoting state-of-the-art management practices in the public sectors, to advancing both the efficiency and effectiveness of program and financial operations of public agencies, and to supporting the professional, democratic and ethical administration of government in the United States and around the world. Faculty involved in PPM activities to date include: Lloyd G. Nigro, Theodore H. Poister, Gregory Streib, William W. Waugh Jr., and Katherine G. Willoughby. Funded projects and reports within the PPM include:

International City County Management Association project. Gregory Streib, Principal Investigator. The Andrew Young School of Policy Studies developed and scores the Applied Knowledge Assessment that is required to become a credentialed city manager. There are currently 859 credentialed managers in the United States and 27 credentialed manager candidates. All of them took an instrument that bears the AYSPS logo. (Ongoing, $350,000)

Homeland Security and Emergency Management. (Federal Emergency Management Agency/DHS, Emergency Management Institute). William W. Waugh Jr. (Lead course developer), with Frances Edwards and William Nicholson. (2003-2005, $20,000)

Identity Theft in Georgia: An Examination of ID-related Crimes in Georgia. (Georgia Governor's Office of Consumer Affairs). Gregory Streib and Katherine Willoughby. This project is funded by the Georgia Governor's Office of Consumer Affairs to assess the types and numbers of identity theft crimes in the nation and in Georgia; a final report presents policy options that might be considered by Georgia to combat identity theft in the state. ($45,000)

Government Performance Project. (Pew Charitable Trust). Katherine G. Willoughby (grading team leader). This project is a national effort funded by the Pew Charitable Trust, through the University of Richmond, to assess the management capacity of the American States. (September 2003-June 2006, $170,000)

Proposal for Training of Gwinnett County Managers. Gregory Streib, Katherine Willoughby, Robert Eger, and Deon Locklin.

Community Employment Capacity Initiative. Deon Locklin and Chip Kenney. PRL as part of PPM will conduct an assessment for the Florida Division of Vocational Rehabilitation, to determine statewide capacity to transition adults with disabilities from segregated day programs into integrated community employment. This project is in partnership with the University of Tennessee Center on Disability and Employment.

North Carolina Needs Assessment. Deon Locklin and staff. PRL will conduct a statewide assessment of the service and support needs of North Carolina citizens with disabilities who seek employment.

University of Northumbria Collaboration. The PAUS department created a study abroad, student exchange program for students at The University of Northumbria's (UNN) School of Arts and Social Sciences, located in Newcastle upon Tyne, U.K. The joint Georgia State University/University of Northumbria (UNN) exchange program is designed to give students a better understanding of comparative government and international policy. PAUS Director of International Student and Faculty Exchanges is Carol D. Hansen.

Through this semester-long exchange between two prominent research universities, graduate students in the fields of Public Administration and Urban Policy Studies will gain an awareness of international policy and practice, the tools necessary for work within foreign cultures, and the managerial skills needed to function effectively in a global setting. In learning about British institutions, participants will also learn about the U.K. and its role within the European Union. The program has a one-semester duration, and occurs each fall. Participants will travel to UNN, where they will take courses examining public administration and policy analysis and will reap the benefits of living and learning in a new cultural setting. Participation permits Georgia State students to establish a collegiate relationship with the faculty and students at UNN, some of whom will travel to Georgia State the following spring term.

The program is open to graduate students in the Public Administration and Urban Studies department of the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies. Students must have completed at least three courses in the MPA or M.S.-UPS program. Students will enroll in two modules of study at UNN. Each of these modules converts to 6 hours of Georgia State University semester hours. Upon successful completion of these modules, students will be awarded credit for 12 hours of coursework toward the graduation requirements of their MPA or M.S.-UPS degree.

In 2005, PAUS had five students take advantage of the UNN exchange. One student interned with the Centre for Public Policy Research, working in the area of historical preservation with a two-century-old hospital. Four students studied at UNN during the fall semester. Carol Hansen traveled to Newcastle in December to encourage recruitment to PAUS.

Internships

Over 100 students in the Department of Public Administration and Urban Studies had the opportunity to get on-the-job training through our internship courses in 2005. Twenty-seven undergraduates and 76 graduate students conducted internships is a wide array of public, nonprofit and private organizations. Many have and will go on to full time careers in organizations where they were first employed as an intern. Here is what our students say about their internship experiences:

Student Perspectives - Quotes from PAUS Interns in 2005

"I have access to senior management and people throughout this organization. The staff here are very interested in what I want to do and what I want to get out of this experience. They have an orientation program for interns whereby each intern meets with different senior managers to get a better hold on the responsibilities of each branch. This is a very forward-thinking organization." 

"This internship was challenging and very rewarding. My education laid the foundation for the work that I conducted. The hands-on experience that I received was more than what I have learned in the classroom. I learned about a wide range of functions necessary for airport planning and development. I had a wonderful learning experience and have found the direction in which I would like to take my career."

"This is a great place to see how policy affects counties. I feel that I am gaining broad-based knowledge and experiences within local government, especially at the county level."

"My internship will give me the opportunity to apply the knowledge in real world settings and situations. I will also be able to learn the various roles within education so that I will be able to better manage all of the many facets of being an administrator."

"This internship is the perfect compliment to the Natural Resource Management classes I am taking this semester: environmental planning, policy, and evaluation and regulatory and legal contexts for natural resource management. I can see firsthand how environmental laws are implemented (or not)."

"The Federal Reserve is primarily responsible for writing many of the banking policies that affect consumers. This internship will give me a chance to see how many of the banking polices are written and enforced within the banking system."

"This internship has allowed me to become familiar with the structure and policies of National Wildlife Federation and other stakeholders working on endangered species protection. I have a greater understanding of the public agencies that develop and influence land use and wildlife policy. This knowledge and experience will be valuable as I finish the Natural Resource Management concentration of the MPA program and I start my career in environmental policy analysis."

"I now go down to the State Capitol on a daily basis and track bills. I attend committee meetings of the Georgia Legislature, meet with state senators and representatives, attend meetings of other economic development agencies throughout the state as well as attend sessions of the Georgia House and Senate. I have also had the opportunity to meet with the Governor of Georgia." 

"Through this internship, I will be able to interact at a much more local level with economic developers who work in the field every day. I will also be able to observe the legislative process and work with governmental affairs professionals and lobbyists a great deal. This internship will allow me to maintain contacts from my previous job, develop more relationships, and gain more experience in the economic development and legislative area." 

"This internship with the State Road and Tollway Authority fits into my career goals, as I am very interested in transportation management and its relevance to economic development. It provided me with solid research, contacts and on-the-job experience."

"I was able to see how you can efficiently serve the Hispanic community in a variety of ways, while taking into account cultural differences. I will be able use this information in other nonprofit and government agencies." 

This internship program is coordinated by Gregory Streib and Katherine G. Willoughby. According to interns, the program’s flexibility and online facilitation make the program extremely attractive.

Student Internship Placements

Below are just a few of the organizations that have employed our students as interns in the last year:

• U.S. DHHS Office of Inspector General
• U.S. Government Accountability Office
• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
• U.S. Commission on Civil Rights
• Federal Reserve Bank
• University System of Georgia – Board of Regents
• Georgia Department of Economic Development
• Georgia Department of Labor
• Georgia Department of Transportation
• Georgia State Road and Tollway Authority (SRTA)
• Georgia Economic Developers Association
• Association of County Commissioners of Georgia
• Georgia Rural Urban Summit
• Delta Airlines
• Metro Atlanta YMCA
• Arthritis Foundation, Georgia Chapter
• Latin American Association
• Georgia Center on Nonprofits
• National Wildlife Foundation

Projects

Funding Received in 2005:

Legislative Budgeting. (Georgia State University). Carolyn Bourdeaux and Katherine Willoughby. A project examining the budgeting decisions of state legislators and their consideration of performance data, using experimental methods. Georgia State University Faculty Mentoring Grant. (July 2005-June 2006, $15,000)

Estimations of Economic Impact of the Atlanta Beltline TAD on Atlanta Public Schools. (Holland & Knight, LLP). Robert J. Eger III, Principal Investigator. (November 2005, $12,000)

An Analysis of Revenues in the Chattahoochee Hill Country for Incorporation. (Chattahoochee Hill Country Association). Robert J. Eger III, Principal Investigator. (November 2005, $10,000)

Suspended/Revoked Drivers Licenses and Highway Safety Study. (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.) Robert J. Eger III, Co-Principal Investigator. (2005-2007, $100,000)

An Analysis of the Expected Revenues and Expenditures for an Incorporated Sandy Springs. (Economic Sandy Springs). Robert J. Eger III, Principal Investigator. (May 2005, $7,500)

Funding Public Health in Georgia: Developing a Model to Analyze Revenue, Expenditures and Options for the Future. (Georgia Healthcare Foundation). Robert J. Eger III, Co-Principal Investigator. (2004-2005, $54,704)

Feasibility Study on Comprehensive Contract Maintenance in GDOT. (Georgia Department of Transportation). Robert J. Eger III, Principal Investigator. (2004-2005, $339,700)

Study of Physical Activity in Public Parks. (Robert Wood Johnson Foundation). Amy Helling, Co-Principal Investigator. The team is led by P.I. Howard Frumkin of the Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, and includes co-P.I. Karen Mumford of Emory and other experts from the Georgia Institute of Technology, Emory, the University of Georgia and the Centers for Disease Control. (3 years, approximately $600,000)

Wayne F. Placek Award. (American Psychological Foundation). Gregory B. Lewis. Award granted to fund a study on public opinion on homosexuality and gay rights. ($50,000)

Sponsored Teaching Agreement with Columbia Theological Seminary. Harvey Newman. ($26,423 from August 25, 2005 to May 30, 2006, total since 2003 is $64,632)

Choice and Accountability in Education. (Georgia State University). Christine H. Roch. Georgia State University Faculty Mentoring Grant. ($10,000)

The Economics of the Commercial Music Industry in Atlanta and the State of Georgia: Industrial Organization and New Estimates of Economic Impacts. (Georgia Department of Economic Development). Michael Rushton and M.X. Thomas. ($5,000)

East of the River Organizations: Nonprofits in Wards 7 and 8 in the District of Columbia. Washington Regional Association of Grantmakers. Eric C. Twombly. ($54,898)

The Future of Emergency Management (edited book). (Federal Emergency Management Agency/DHS, Emergency Management Institute). William L. Waugh Jr. (2005-06, $2,500)

Homeland Security and Emergency Management. (Federal Emergency Management Agency/DHS, Emergency Management Institute). William L. Waugh Jr., lead course developer, with Frances Edwards, City of San Jose and San Jose State University, and William Nicholson, North Carolina Central University. (2003-06, $20,000)

Identity Theft in Georgia. (Georgia Governor’s Office of Consumer Affairs). Katherine Willoughby and Gregory Streib, Co-Principle Investigators. A research project to examine the threats regarding the security of personal and financial information to Georgia citizens; generation of policy report to the Office of Consumer Affairs for consideration during the 2006 session of the Georgia General Assembly. (September 2005-June 2006, $44,500)

Government Performance Project. (Pew Charitable Trust through the University of Richmond). Katherine Willoughby, Principle Investigator. Katherine Willoughby is the grading team leader in MONEY for the Government Performance Project to assess the management capacity of the American States. Grades and a full discussion of this project are posted for use by researchers at www.results.gpponline.org. (September 2003-June 2006, $168,233)

Projects Completed in 2005:

Funding Public Health in Georgia: Developing a Model to Analyze Revenue, Expenditures and Options for the Future (Georgia Healthcare Foundation). Robert J. Eger III, Co-Principal Investigator. The purpose of the research effort is development of a budgeting framework for use by public health leaders and advocates along with state and local policymakers, with the goal of ensuring that financing systems are adequately understood, sufficiently reliable and appropriately integrated to support needed services and result in desired outcomes. (2004-2005, $54,704)

Feasibility Study on Comprehensive Contract Maintenance in GDOT (Georgia Department of Transportation). Robert J. Eger III. Comprehensive maintenance contracts (CMC) require that awards which outsource the performance of all or nearly all of the maintenance activities conducted by a state DOT for certain corridors or regions are managed through an individual contract. Although the benefit of CMC may address the administrative burden and the economy of scale issues, there is no manual to guide decision-making in choosing CMC. The research problem addressed in this study is to evaluate the feasibility of CMC for the Georgia Department of Transportation. (2004-2005, $339,700)

Proposal Under Review

Accountability and Choice in Education: Assessing Parents’ Responses to Changes in the Performance Status of their Children's Schools. Christine H. Roch. Proposal Submitted to the Department of Education. (Amount requested, $695,086.72)

DHS proposal for a Center of Excellence for the Study of Extraordinary Events. William L. Waugh Jr., with LSU, Syracuse University, Tulane University, University of California at Riverside, University of Tennessee, Southern University, University of New Orleans, Alcorn State University, and NASA Space Center-Biloxi (and others).

Working Papers

Carolyn Bourdeaux

• and Kevin Fillion** (with Jason Fernandes). “Building a Program Budget Structure from the Legislative Branch Perspective.”
• “Understanding Autonomy: The Implications of Using Public Authorities to Govern Public Airports.”
• “Structure and Trust: Integrating Performance Information into Legislative Processes.”

Carol D. Hansen

• “Qualitative Research Methods: An Ethnographic Approach to Storytelling.”
• and C. Kontoghiorghes**. “Identification of Key Predictor of Rapid Change Adaptation in Five Organizations.”

Gregory B. Lewis

• “Understanding Public Opinion on Same-Sex Marriage.”
• “Interstate Variation in Public Opinion on Same-Sex Marriage and its Impact on State Policy.”
• with Seong Soo Oh*. “How Valuable is the MPA? New Evidence from the Federal Civil Service.”
• and Sue A. Frank*. “What Can Federal Employees Teach Us About Productivity Improvement?” 
• and Michael Rushton. “State Legislative Appropriations for the Arts.”
• “Who Knows Gay People and What Impact Does It Have on Attitudes Toward Homosexuality and Gay Rights?”
• “Belief in a Biological Basis for Homosexuality and Support for Gay Rights.”
• “Belief in Evolution: A Missing Link in Support for Same-Sex Marriage?”

David W. Pitts

• “Representative Bureaucracy, Organizational Culture, and Performance.”
• (with Sergio Fernandez). “Public Management at the Turn of the Century: An Analysis of Content and Methodology.”
• (with Holly T. Goerdel). “Public Management, Autonomy, and Organizational Performance.”
• (with Elizabeth M. Jarry). “Getting to Know You: Tenure, Diversity, and Performance in Public Organizations.”
• (with Yuseok Moon and Lisa B. Bingham). “Individualism, Collectivism, and Transformative Mediation.”
• (with Lois R. Wise). “Challenging the Convergence Myth: Globalization of Public Administration and Policy Programs.”
• (with Sergio Fernandez). "Buffering, Smoothing, and Organizational Change."

Christine G. Roch

• with Ignacio Navarro* and David W. Pitts. “Representative Bureaucracy, Policy Tools, and Organizational Performance.”
• (with Robert Howard). “State Policy Innovation in Perspective: Courts, Legislatures and Education Finance Reform.”
• “Using Citizens' Personal Experiences as an Accountability Mechanism in Democratic Governance.” 
• “Social Networks and the Tax Contract: The Socially Embedded Taxpayer,” chapter in The IRS and the American Taxpayer: Can Credible Commitments Create Contractual Compliance?, John Scholz (ed.).
• “Social Networks as Problem-Solving Tools: Changing Networks in Response to Crime.”

Eric C. Twombly

• (with Jennifer Claire Auer and Kanisha Bond.) “Creating Study Populations of Nonprofit Organizations Using Internal Revenue Service Data: A Case Study in Washington, D.C.”
• (with Jennifer Claire Auer and Carol J. De Vita.) “Programmatic Change in the Nonprofit Human Service Sector.”
• (with Carol J. De Vita and Jennifer Claire Auer.) “A New Breed of Nonprofit? Examining the Characteristics of Human Service Entrants Over Time.”
• (with Jennifer Claire Auer and Carol J. De Vita.) “Fiscal Health in the Nonprofit Human Service Sector and Its Implications for Public Policy.”

Katherine Willoughby

• and Hai David Guo*. “States’ Long-Term Outlook: Efforts to Maintain a Multiyear Budget Perspective."
• and Hai David Guo*. “States and Structural Balance: Government Success in Maintaining Balance."
• “State Purchasing: What Works?” 
• “Decision Orientations and Roles in Local Budget Offices: Examination of Budget Office Analysts in Charlotte, North Carolina.” 

Seminar Series

March 31	Katherine Willoughby presented on "Grading the States 2005: Results of the Government Performance Project."
April 14	Don Kettl, University of Pennsylvania, presented on "The Next Government of the United States."
November 11	Lunch Seminar on Federal Government Careers: A panel of government professionals spoke about the federal career outlook and their own experiences.

1. For a complete listing of AYSPS Active Research Sponsored Grants from CY2005, see the Appendix: Report on External Funding.