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Blog The COVID-19 Pandemic and MPA Education: Student Perspectives on Public Service Values and Public Service Motivation

The Power and Pursuits of Graduate Student Leadership During the Pandemic

fashion people woman girl
by Evana Alam:

Public service motivation empowered me to seek MPA education at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. Further, the public service values of accountability, inclusion, integrity, and justice in society and governance, aligned with my personal views. The COVID-19 pandemic changed many people’s lives and it is up to MPA students like me to ensure public service values. The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic changed the outlook for many MPA students. Some students lost their jobs due to the pandemic, and others have transitioned into remote work/learning. In addition, there are students who are not comfortable with online instruction. They are either struggling through their online courses or deferring to a later semester when things get back to normal. Many people also take technology for granted. Not every student has access to computers or Internet connections suitable for their work and education. We must understand that such resources may be basic to some people, but unavailable to many. Inclusion does not only refer to racial or gender demographics but financial resources as well.

As the current MPA Student Association (MPASA) President at John Jay College, I am seeking ways to connect resources to students struggling during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Since many on-campus student activities have been canceled this semester, I am looking for innovative ways to deliver resources to our students. One of our first events is to help students conduct academic research and navigate the John Jay College online library database. This will be conducted through online training facilitated by the college librarian. For some students, this can be a refresher course. But for others, this is a brand new resource. By collaborating with internal partners at the library, our efforts to support students during this fluid environment will ease some of their academic stress. 

Other events this semester include an online writing seminar and a federal employment tutorial. The first seminar will focus on effective writing skills and commonly found mistakes in student writing. A professor of the MPA Program will facilitate this essential training to increase students’ effectiveness in professional and academic writing skills. Many of our students have shown interest in pursuing a federal job. The employment seminar will provide students with tips and techniques to successfully seek employment in the federal workforce. The training will be facilitated by a former federal officer and an MPA faculty member who is well-versed with the federal job application process. 

The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the lives of many students. I am trying to reconnect broken relationships for graduate students by making sure student activities are continued throughout the semester. Access to college resources is challenging at the moment, but I try to help as many students as I can through productive workshops and webinars during the pandemic. It is the least I can do to uphold public service values during my tenure as MPASA President at John Jay College.

As a student body delegate, I aspire to ensure that everyone’s voices are heard. John Jay College consists of people from diverse backgrounds and ideologies. Unlike many universities, John Jay College is a Hispanic Serving Institution. We encourage diversity and inclusion as some of our main public service values. However, I recognize that many people do not have a voice. It is up to us to expand the views and concerns of people who are underrepresented in public service. As future leaders, we must propose reforms that revolve around community and equity for everyone.  

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About the author:

Evana Alam is an MPA Public Policy and Administration (MPA-PPA) student, dual specializing in human resources management and management and operations. She currently works for The Teaching and Learning Center (TLC) at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, as an office manager. She is the 2020-21 Master of Public Administration Student Association (MPASA) President. She is a human resource and management professional who has experience working for several global firms. Evana is also a certified supply chain analyst. She is a founder of an e-commerce brand, which seeks to create social equity for communities around the world. Her hobbies are photography, painting, and traveling. Evana presented gender equity research at the Northeast Conference of Public Administration (NECoPA) and the John Jay College MPA Conference. She has received the BRAVO! Employee Recognition Award, Section for Women in Public Administration (SWPA) Suffrage Award, NECoPA Award, and International Photography Award.

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Blog The COVID-19 Pandemic and MPA Education: Student Perspectives on Public Service Values and Public Service Motivation

Finding and Questioning the True Essence of Public Service During the Pandemic

food man people woman
by Silvana Bastante:

The COVID-19 pandemic brought forth a multitude of emotions, but overwhelmingly: grief. Grief for our enjoyed perception of normalcy. Grief for those whose challenges and struggles multiplied in a matter of weeks. Grief for the exacerbation of socio-economic issues that were already bursting at the seams, and perhaps the illusion that they were getting better.

As a public administration and policy student, the most painful and sobering part of this pandemic has been to watch the opportunity to innovate and embed humanity and justice in new policies be lost in the fight to maintain current systems in fear of not risking the unknown, but at the expense of the continued suffering of others. The reality is that we have been using band-aids on issues that have long required an ambulance to the emergency room. Although this has been a difficult year, the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic has (I hope) opened our eyes to what our perception of normalcy wrongfully allowed for far too long. 

The pandemic has exaggerated the existing inequities including – homelessness, poverty, public health inequities, food insecurity, unfair immigration laws, racial tensions—the list goes on. Why has the government not fought harder for these communities? Why does the government continue to patch-up issues with shelters and vouchers instead of looking hard at committing to aggressively tackling the core of these problems? This pandemic has shown us the extent and gravity of social and economic inequalities and at the same time shown us the resources we have as a nation to alleviate them. As a student of public administration I have been faced with my own discomfort and my role in the perpetuation of said normalcy, maybe, unknowingly, we have been and felt paralyzed because change requires so much sacrifice and uprooting of everything as we know it, but it is our responsibility. More than ever, I have a newfound commitment to the field of public administration and to people. 

Public service is the realization that change lies in the organization and empowerment of people, and we are simply there to facilitate that change, in informed, sensible, and compassionate ways. Public service understands the need to decolonize the field as we know it because all communities deserve to be fervently and courageously fought for.  The solutions may be unpalatable to our old way of thinking, but if there is anything we should have learned as public servants is that going back to the old way would be unconscionable.  

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About the author:

After earning a bachelor’s degree in Sociology in 2015, Silvana’s public service background began at the Guatemalan Maya Center in South Florida as the Assistant Director of the early literacy-based, Parent-Child Home Program. Now in her last year of the Master of Public Administration program at the University of Central Florida (UCF) Silvana is focused on the future for community resilience and development through a policy lens. Silvana is the Vice President for Nonprofit Outreach of the ASPA Central Florida Chapter and the Graduate Assistant to the Director and Assistant Director at the UCF Downtown Center for Public and Nonprofit Management (CPNM), and recently received the 2020 Equity and Inclusion Student Fellowship for the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management (APPAM). With a strong foundation in public service and applied studies in Public Administration, Silvana’s primary career interests include education, immigration, and economic development initiatives that aim to build up vulnerable communities. Whether her pursuits are through the private, public, or nonprofit sector, her efforts in advancing public service will always uphold community-building at their core.

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Blog The COVID-19 Pandemic and MPA Education: Student Perspectives on Public Service Values and Public Service Motivation

COVID-19 Pandemic Response & the Dilemma of American Federalism

usa flags on wall of governmental building facade in city
by Amanda Studor Bond:

It is no secret that the federal response to the global COVID-19 pandemic in the United States has been clumsy and disorganized. As I am writing this today, the United States leads the world in COVID related deaths. Many of the 5.31 million people who have recovered from COVID survived with long-term health effects and are now without health insurance. The national unemployment rate reached a historic peak of 14.7% in April while unemployment claims continue to remain high (and unfunded) during partisan Congressional stonewalling; and these statistics do not begin to describe the disproportionate effect COVID-19 has had on people of color and indigenous communities. With all of this, the question I keep coming back to is how did it get this bad?

One notable feature of the COVID-19 pandemic, and one possible explanation for the above observations, is that the government response has largely been driven by state and local officials. This is counter to historical precedent – federal power generally increases during a time of national crisis, with the FDR Administration’s approach to the Great Depression as a prime example.  Indeed, a unified, central response is common beyond national crises, especially as it relates to issues between multiple states. One of the first examples that comes to my mind is the Federal Emergency Management Administration’s (FEMA) National Response Framework developed to provide a “scalable, flexible, and adaptable” doctrine for how the Nation responds to an incident. Among the five guiding principles is “unity of effort through unified command”, which states that having a unified command ensures effective and efficient response across multiple jurisdictions, agencies, and organizations. During a natural disaster, such as a hurricane, FEMA follows its own framework by leaning on the National Hurricane Program and operationalizing the Hurricane Liaison Team to facilitate the rapid exchange of information to their partner agencies and local emergency management community.  

Like the COVID-19 pandemic, hurricanes and other natural disasters can be unpredictable, making FEMA’s planning, coordination, and emphasis of unified leadership invaluable in a crisis situation. With States, businesses, and citizens physically, economically, and socially connected, it seems that the need for an interstate, or national, solution to mitigate the spread of the virus was, and is, necessary. We knew early on that the primary spread of COVID-19 was through respiratory droplets and that it spreads quickly in close quarters and in large gatherings of people (airplanes, churches, concert venues, to name a few). Based on what we knew about the virus and effective emergency response, the pandemic response seemed to lack a unified federal directive to reduce the spread. Instead, what resulted was a fragmented response driven by state and local officials. With the absence of federal leadership, governors, mayors, and town councils, all with different values and objectives, took action by issuing executive orders ranging in efficacy, stringency, and language. 

While research into the content of these executive orders is still ongoing, I would postulate that the content and language contained within them vary based on that state’s general public opinion and/or that of their elected official. Regardless of intent, each decision state officials made, and continue to make, about the pandemic have tradeoffs rooted in variable values of state leaders, administrators, and their constituents. The primary problem is that these decisions within a state and between states can be at odds with one another, creating a patchwork of regulations confusing to citizens and businesses. This confusion is the primary reason for strong, centralized government during a time of national crisis.   

One key theme underpinning the study of public administration is the understanding that people have different values and opinions, which leads to challenges when making leadership decisions. As a current student of public administration and future leader, it is in moments like these that I must reflect on my own values and be reminded that no decision will ever be easy. However, during times of crisis it is not always necessary for a leader to have all of the right answers, but rather to act with clarity, confidence and conviction with the public’s health, welfare, and safety in mind.

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About the author:

Amanda Studor Bond is a Watershed Specialist with the Indiana Department of Environmental Management. She has worked for the Office of Water Quality since 2017, shortly after she earned her Bachelor of Science from Purdue University in Ecology, Evolution, and Environmental Biology with a minor in Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences. She is currently seeking a Masters of Public Affairs in Environmental Policy and Sustainability, with a primary interest in the intersection of environmental justice and water resources.

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Blog The COVID-19 Pandemic and MPA Education: Student Perspectives on Public Service Values and Public Service Motivation

Shifting Perspectives During a Pandemic: Community Engagement Perspectives from Indianapolis

hands with latex gloves holding a globe with a face mask
by Ciana Sorrentino:

The threat of the COVID-19 pandemic became imminent to our country during my first semester of graduate school. While I did not have much MPA education at the time, my professor offered our class a research position involving state/local government action and individual response. Through this position I was entrusted with the primary knowledge necessary to capture and record these governmental actions by coding Governor’s executive orders. In a way, the COVID-19 pandemic led me to realize my true capabilities as a woman in graduate school; I lost my first full-time job at my sorority’s headquarters in April, and since the pandemic, I was granted a position closer to my true goal of being a lifelong learner and catalyst for change. 

A very striking memory of the very first online policy analysis class that spurred from the introduction of the COVID-19 pandemic was some very ominous words from my professor; we are no longer living in a democracy. The face-to-face interactions, such as town hall meetings, on which many governmental actions depended were not possible. 60-70% of states were giving blanket authority to directors of agencies/non-elected officials. State budgets were no longer discretionary as governors  have more authority during times of public crisis. A dilemma for shouldering the responsibility of public health ensued ; some states believed that the pandemic was a local municipal responsibility, while some states believed that the federal government should have more responsibility than what their actions portrayed. 

These were elements of the public sector I had never even considered as possible to change, but the fluidity of political analysis continued to enchant me; as a result, the epidemic of homelessness prevailed as one of the most urgent issues facing communities during the pandemic. I lived down the street from one of the largest homeless communities in Indianapolis and rode my bike past the communities nearly daily, sometimes stopping to have a conversation. With a lack of community resources, these members of society  were seemingly forgotten in the rush of cultural individualism that pervades our country. At this time in mid-March and early April of 2020, it was every individual for themselves – and quickly, I noticed the homeless population growing in size, occupying more length on the side of the White River than I had ever seen in my four years of living in downtown Indianapolis. 

Continual immersion in the depths of this community motivated me to continue pursuing MPA education to the utmost extent. Never has my perspective shifted so abruptly, which I believe is a result of exposure to many different ways of life by virtue of living in a highly diverse urban environment throughout the onslaught of a global pandemic. Typically, the adverse effects experienced by global disaster are exacerbated in urban communities, and Indianapolis is no different. In addition, I have the privilege of graduate education, a resource so often overlooked by community decision-makers. I have been granted opportunities to make a difference in the way communities encounter public health crises. Above all, I have immense amounts of support from my institution to not only be educated about these global situations but to be granted the tools to make a difference.

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About the author:

As a passionate advocate for human rights, I am dedicated to the pursuit of freedom, justice, peace, and the inalienable rights of all human beings.Chairing committees, leading and participating in cross-functional teams, using technological concepts and relevant computer programs to solve business problems, as well as quantitative analysis, have assisted me in leadership positions within various student organizations throughout my undergraduate career and have prepared me for graduate education with a concentration in Environmental Policy and Sustainability.In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, I was presented with the opportunity to conduct research with Drs. Peter Federman and Cali Curley capturing, recording, and coding executive orders and state-level responses to COVID-19.As of August 2020, I have been awarded a Graduate Assistantship position working with Dr. Christian Buerger, whose current studies focus on policy analysis, public finance, and education policy. His work also analyzes the impact of school finance reforms and tax and expenditure limits on school district funding, as well as the effect of recessions on school district revenues.

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Blog The COVID-19 Pandemic and MPA Education: Student Perspectives on Public Service Values and Public Service Motivation

Racism in Healthcare: How Communities of Color are Affected by COVID-19

pensive black woman in medical uniform of patient
by Madison Byarley:

The With the recent (and ongoing) protests over police brutality and systemic racism toward Black Americans, the talk of equity and inclusion has become a priority for more and more people. Black Americans often have higher rates of various diseases and higher infant mortality rates; this disparity has not stopped with this pandemic. The combination of both the protests and the pandemic has led me to consider how the treatment of Black Americans is not equitable in how the pandemic is handled and how people are treated for COVID-19, and how the things I have learned in my MPA education have led me to notice what considerations are important to this issue–particularly in the areas of collaboration and program evaluation.

Throughout the country, Black and Latinx Americans face higher rates of contracting COVID than their white counterparts. The inequality that exists in healthcare in the treatment can affect the likelihood to contract covid in several ways–the discrimination that healthcare workers give their BIPOC patients, healthcare access, education levels and awareness, wealth gaps, and housing differences among other things. All of these factors contribute in many ways to the healthcare inequality that exists in the United States.

 Beyond there just being more cases for BIPOC Americans, there are also issues with the vaccination process for COVID. The early phases of the vaccination tests were done almost exclusively on white people, which raised concerns over how well the vaccine would work on the overall population and concerns over healthcare researchers not caring about BIPOC as much as they care for white people. Some healthcare workers are worried that the rush to get the vaccine as fast as possible is leaving BIPOC behind. The first trials only included Black people at 5%, but in the United States they make up roughly 13.5% of the overall population. By leaving out BIPOC from these studies it has the chance to increase healthcare disparity with COVID vaccinations.

The continuing trials for the vaccine do plan on including a more diverse group of people in the research process. However, because of the long standing disparities in healthcare, some communities of color are having a hard time trusting the vaccine, making them less likely to be willing to participate in these clinical trials. Black scientists, healthcare workers, and churches have been working together to try and get more BIPOC Americans to participate in the COVID-19 vaccine trials so that there can be data on a diverse group of people that better represents America as a whole. 

When I consider all of these issues arising due to the pandemic crisis I think of what I have learned about stakeholder engagement, program evaluation, and collaboration during my MPA education. It seems that BIPOC stakeholders are consistently being left out of the conversations that affect them the most. Collaboration efforts like the ones being done for the vaccine need to be insistent on making sure the right stakeholders are at the discussions–it is clear that collaboration is needed for tackling this crisis, but we have to make sure we do not leave valuable voices out and that we do not overlook the importance of trust. The lack of inclusion of BIPOC in the trials also highlights the importance of good program design that has been discussed in my courses and how important it can be to have a diverse group of people behind the planning of these trials. Without trust and good relationships, these vaccines will not be as successful, the collaborations on handling the crisis will not be as productive, and the health care disparities will continue to harm communities of color. 

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About the author:

Madison Byarley is an Urban and Regional Governance MPA candidate at IUPUI. She graduated in May of 2019 at Purdue University with a BA in Political Science and a Certificate in Public Policy. While at Purdue, Madison was a member of the Purdue Student Government Sustainability Council, Secretary of the Environmental Science Club, and the Secretary of the Political Science Honors Society-Pi Sigma Alpha. Currently, Madison acts in the role of research assistant for Dr. Peter Federman, assisting in investigating collaborative governance efforts to address climate change at the state and local level. She is the primary author of a paper-in-progress, titled: “Collaboration in Climate Action Plans — The Role of Interagency Collaboration for Developing Robust Plans”. She is also assisting in Dr. Federman’s research on COVID-19 state level executive orders. Her interests in environmental justice and urban sustainability continue to propel a committed work ethic and ongoing exploratory nature in coursework, employment, and extracurricular activities.

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Blog The COVID-19 Pandemic and MPA Education: Student Perspectives on Public Service Values and Public Service Motivation

Promoting Social Equity and Public Service Values During America’s Dual Pandemics

photo of woman carrying a cardboard
by Gwen Saffran:

The dual pandemics of the novel coronavirus and ongoing, systemic anti-Black racism has laid bare the deep inequities already present in the United States.

As much of America was shocked by the violent and wrongful death of George Floyd, an unarmed Black man, at the hands of the Minneapolis police, Black Americans were already three to four times more likely to die from COVID-19 than their white counterparts. In New York City, protests in support of Black lives were met with violence from the police. The devaluing of Black lives in New York extends past interactions with police: essential workers, a group heavily impacted by COVID-19, are overwhelmingly Black and brown. Public hospitals in communities of color have worse health outcomes for their patients than private hospitals in wealthier, whiter neighborhoods. Children of color are more likely to experience homelessness or have limited or no access to the internet, which negatively affects their ability to engage in distance learning. People of color and lower-income people are less likely to be able to work from home, either forcing them to go to work and potentially be exposed to COVID-19 or not be able to work at all, with disastrous financial consequences. COVID-19 has been called the great equalizer—and while it is true that the virus does not discriminate in its infection, its consequences only highlight and exacerbate existing inequality. 

As a public servant, the last several months have been troubling, and we as city employees face a particular challenge: how can we use existing structures of government that were built on stolen Indigenous land and the labor of enslaved Africans to support and uplift the most marginalized New Yorkers? How can we make the biggest impact while operating within our limited ascribed powers? In my time pursuing an MPA at John Jay College, we examined the tension between the public sector regime values of equity and justice and the role public agencies play in creating and perpetuating systemic inequality. The critical discussions about hard choices and creative problem-solving have been invaluable to me as a public servant.

As we learn from our past, we also have incredible opportunities to improve the present and shape the future. New York City has suffered tremendous losses during the COVID-19 pandemic, including the tragic deaths of tens of thousands of our community members. We as public servants have a responsibility to rebuild a city that is more just and more equitable, and I am buoyed by recent efforts, including the repeal of 50-a, and the ban on the use of chokeholds by the NYPD. However, it will take far more than a few reforms to gain the trust of a traumatized community. Collaboration among government agencies, community organizations, and constituents is imperative in fostering equity and creating justice, as we all have a responsibility to create a just society. In the Office of the Public Advocate, staff includes community organizers who work with constituents and community organizations on grassroots campaigns, as well as policy and legislation. Reports, research, policy, and legislation is informed by and created in collaboration with constituents, community partners, and advocates. I am grateful for my education’s grounding in public service values—as Bryan Stevenson said, we can’t change the world with only ideas in our minds; we need conviction in our hearts.

Sources:

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About the author:

Gwen Saffran is a Policy Associate at the Office of the Public Advocate for the City of New York. She holds an MPA from John Jay College in Public Policy and Administration with a specialization in Criminal Justice Policy and a BS in Juvenile Justice/Youth Advocacy from Wheelock College. Previously, Gwen worked with Professor Nicole M. Elias as a Research Assistant in the Public Management Department at John Jay College, studying sex, gender, and issues of social equity in the public sector. 

Gwen’s comments are entirely her own and may not reflect the opinions of, or be endorsed by, the Office of the Public Advocate.

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Blog The COVID-19 Pandemic and MPA Education: Student Perspectives on Public Service Values and Public Service Motivation

Balancing My Life During COVID-19

light blue one use medical protective masks
by Megan Bermea :

The COVID-19 pandemic brought forth a The mission and values of a public servant become crystal clear amid a public health emergency.  The mundane tasks of bureaucracy suddenly transform into life-and-death projects and decisions that require competent and compassionate leadership. Not only was I in my last semester of the MPA program at Texas State University when the COVID-19 pandemic broke out, I also held a full-time management position at Texas Health and Human Services (HHS) working on the front lines of the public health emergency. 

HHS swiftly mobilized to help Texans statewide as public health threats impact both clients and providers. We are responsible for implementing strategies to mitigate healthcare personnel staffing shortages; disseminating infection control basics, information for hospitals and healthcare professionals, and provider information communication; curating reliable and evidence-based public health resources; and focusing on the priority areas of primary and behavioral health services, Medicaid and CHIP services, and regulatory services. 

In addition to responding directly to the COVID-19 pandemic, HHS must also evaluate and respond to the indirect impacts on the state budget due to the economic hardship related to the pandemic. HHS is carefully and strategically balancing the increase in public health and healthcare demand with significantly reduced available resources. It is a complex, challenging, and rapidly-evolving situation that requires agility, dedication, and skilled leadership. 

Our programs have experienced significant increased demand due to the COVID-19 virus, as well as economic hardships and a sharp rise in unemployment. We are responsible for implementing federal and state policy waivers to allow many of our programs to utilize telehealth and telemedicine services and other flexibilities to continue to serve their clients, many of whom are the most vulnerable among us. We are also responsible for administering federal grant funding from the CARES Act to increase budgets in many health and social services programs due to the surge in demand. 

We have had to amend contracts, write new administrative rules, adjust budgets and funding sources, apply for grants, push out COVID communications, host COVID webinars, and still maintain regular daily operations and oversight of programs and services. Without the skills, knowledge, and applied experience of my MPA education, I would have been lost in a sea of despair and panic amidst this global pandemic. Every class such as public policy, administrative law, fiscal administration, public management, ethics, and information technology helped to inform my understanding of the role of a state agency in a pandemic, but collectively this program instilled in me the confidence needed to meet these challenges head-on, lead with empathy and agility, and focus on the true meaning of public service.

It was exceptionally challenging to attempt to balance the professional workload that resulted from the pandemic with MPA school work and home schooling two children. Not to mention, I contracted the virus and was down for the count for over three weeks. COVID-19 impacted my life in tremendous ways, yet I am stronger because of it. 

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About the author:

Megan Bermea currently serves as the senior advisor for women’s health and family services programs at Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) in Austin, Texas. Prior to HHSC, Ms. Bermea worked as a curriculum policy specialist and rules coordinator in the Office of Academics at the Texas Education Agency. 

She was a contributing writer to the 17th edition of Practicing Texas Politics and worked as director of volunteer operations for the literacy nonprofit organization, Education Connection. 

Ms. Bermea is a summa cum laude graduate of The University of Texas at El Paso with a bachelor’s degree in sociology and is a Merrick Graduate Fellowship recipient at The Graduate College of Texas State University. She graduated with a master’s degree in public administration in Summer 2020.

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Blog The COVID-19 Pandemic and MPA Education: Student Perspectives on Public Service Values and Public Service Motivation

An MPA Education and Returning to Work During COVID-19

man people woman girl
by Désirée Adair:

Since March, with the onset of stay-at-home orders, each of these events  have occurred:

  • My husband continued to work in-person as an essential worker despite the risk.
  • I worked on my Applied Research Project (ARP) with consistent interruption.
  • I became a major contributor to my children’s education by providing assistance for the online school learning curve, time management, and workflow prioritization.
  • Confusion, adaptation, and general upheaval of our personal and professional lives.

Sound familiar? I know that I am not alone in taking on additional roles due to the pandemic, but my public administration studies helped prepare me to do more with less.

My experiences as a student and a mother during COVID-19 have further contextualized my understanding of the theories that I have learned studying public administration. I am a non-traditional student with past experience in government who enrolled in the MPA program at Texas State University in order to return to meaningful work in the public sector. My courses have provided the knowledge, skills, and abilities needed to implement effective policies and public programs. My ARP focused on professionals returning to work after a career break, and how returner programs are an innovative tool for HRM (Human Resource Management). Many professional women leave their positions at some point in their careers to care for their families. A majority of these women would like to return to pursue their career but have to overcome the employment gap on their resumés.  This project raised my awareness of HR topics and gave me an opportunity to focus on women returning to work in the public sector. My research led me to discover how many women, and others,  have these career disruptions and are attempting to return to the workplace.  Returner programs allow organizations to gain access to an untapped pool of educated and experienced professionals, and candidates are provided with an opportunity to serve in higher level positions; this creates a win-win situation for both employing organizations and skilled professionals seeking positions after a career break. 
My ARP was a descriptive study of municipal human resources’ directors’ perceptions toward returner programs. While my timing was not ideal – I sent the survey in March of 2020 just as the WHO declared a pandemic – I was able to incorporate recent academic research.  The associated economic fallout from COVID-19 caused an unprecedented 14.7% unemployment level in April of 2020, thus many educated and experienced professionals found themselves searching for new positions (Chaney & Morath, 2020). Some have characterized this as a “Shecession” due to the disproportionate unemployment experienced by women who accounted for 55% of the jobs lost (Gupta, 2020). This finding provided motivation for me to contribute solutions to HRM issues including gender diversity in high-level positions. Returner programs offer one solution by filling open positions with qualified and experienced workers while reducing risk and improving organizational performance. My research benefits public sector organizations wanting to help reintegrate the workforce which is desperately needed for our economic recovery.  

COVID-19 caused my research topic to acquire new meaning and put it in a new context.  I realized that the government is always trying to do more with less and that requires innovation.  This predicament was only magnified by the pandemic and has created difficulty for HR professionals in the public sector competing for employees with the private sector. Through my courses at Texas State University, I gained a new appreciation of public servants as they face new challenges – such as work modifications, balancing risk for employees and the public, and rapidly managing change. I have a deeper understanding of how the HR world in the public sector needs to adapt. 

As I look forward to my internship during my final semester, and my children start school in a virtual learning environment, I wonder what adaptations and innovations will become normal. As I proceed back into the workforce after graduation, I know that it will require a great balancing act as a woman in the public sector labor force, yet I am motivated to look for solutions to serve my community.  

Sources:

Chaney, S., & Morath, E. (2020, May 8). April Unemployment Rate Rose to a Record 14.7%; Unprecedented 20.5 Million Jobs Shed As Coronavirus Pandemic Hit The Economy. The Wall Street Journal. 

Gupta, A. (2020, May 13). Why Some Women Call This Recession a ‘Shecession’. The New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/09/us/unemployment-coronavirus-women.html 

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About the author:

Désirée Adair is a Master of Public Administration candidate at Texas State University. Previously she earned a BA in Economics and minored in Mathematics. Désirée’s current research interests include local government, human resources, and economic development. She hopes to obtain a position in local government post-graduation.

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Blog The COVID-19 Pandemic and MPA Education: Student Perspectives on Public Service Values and Public Service Motivation

This One is Different

medical stethoscope with red paper heart on white surface
by Melissa Bell:

The coronavirus pandemic is a different kind of emergency than others I have encountered.  Just like everyone else, I am personally impacted:  suddenly working from home, adjusting my MPA study schedule, keeping up with quickly developing news, and making sure my family is safe, well, and has the provisions needed.  Even with these unexpected changes, I have no complaints.  My household has so far not been infected, and we still have our jobs, though my husband’s hours were drastically reduced at first.  Everyone I know has a stockpile of toilet paper, and I am confident disinfecting wipes will someday return to store shelves. here are students who are not comfortable with online instruction. They are either struggling through their online courses or deferring to a later semester when things get back to normal. Many people also take technology for granted. Not every student has access to computers or Internet connections suitable for their work and education. We must understand that such resources may be basic to some people, but unavailable to many. Inclusion does not only refer to racial or gender demographics but financial resources as well.

Despite the minor and short-term inconveniences of the pandemic, devoting extra time to responding to it has not been possible.  Previous local disasters such as hurricanes had me working overtime at a non-profit organization, serving people who are deaf or hard of hearing and making sure those who evacuated to shelters and temporary housing had access to information and communication so they could receive the same benefits and services as everyone else.  While the motivation is still there for this emergency, I am being forced to balance.  I put in my full effort during work hours, then turn to schoolwork, family needs, and a personal project to disconnect from the stress:  revitalizing my back yard.  


When the coronavirus spread to the U.S., I wondered how public administrators were responding.  Professors at Texas State University connected me with organizations that offered electronic news feeds, and I am finding it valuable to read about the actions of government on all levels and the values they promote during the crisis:  responsibility, perseverance, transparency, innovation, compassion.   
  The complex nature of the pandemic has made me reflect deeply about the real-world applicability of everything I have learned during the MPA program.  How are government budgets impacted?  In what specific ways should leaders guide people through a crisis?  How should organizations implement change quickly?  What role does intergovernmental relationships play?   Now I am more mindful and aware of the roles of state and local governments in emergencies.  Critical thinking skills and evidence-based decision-making emphasized in my MPA program have helped me educate myself on my role as a government employee and private citizen during unprecedented times like these.  


My Public Policy class is reading about governments that failed to respond adequately to natural and man-made disasters throughout history.  As depressing as that topic sounds during a global pandemic, it inspires me to endeavor to get this one right and to protect the health and wellbeing of the people we serve.  For me at the state agency where I now oversee the advocacy and technology program, it means supporting specialists as they work with government entities to provide live captioning and sign language interpreters at press conferences.  It involves answering inquiries about how to communicate effectively since everyone is now wearing masks that cover their mouths, making it difficult to communicate.  I value the information and skills I’ve gained from the MPA program and am applying it in my role in state government.  Now if my phone would just pop up with an alert about those elusive disinfecting wipes!

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About the author:

Melissa Bell is a graduate student at Texas State University and a member of its MPA Advisory Board.  She has worked as a program specialist with Texas Health and Human Services Commission, Office of Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services since 2013, passionately serving alongside the community to make the world a more equal, accessible place for this population.  Her newfound 2020 hobbies include attending Zoom meetings, touring nearby cities and countryside (without getting out of the car), and hunting for household cleaning supplies with her husband of 22 years.  @TexasStateUniversityMPA

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Blog The COVID-19 Pandemic and MPA Education: Student Perspectives on Public Service Values and Public Service Motivation

COVID & Public Impressions

photo of person wearing protective wear while holding globe
by Lauren Cooper:

Long before COVID-19 gripped Florida as its global epicenter, I was an aide to Florida House Representative Anna V. Eskamani. Our team was doing our best to fight in progressive arenas to expand Medicaid, to amplify worker’s rights, and to amend our state’s regressive tax structure that relies on sales tax to survive. For years, resistance was an intimate and constant presence in the workplace. However, it was a resistance of love in an effort to shake up the status quo and inject energy into a tired policy process that left many disconnected and disenfranchised. 

This pandemic has highlighted the disparities in our state, notably in our unemployment benefits system, which has been systematically neglected for many decades. However, it has also underlined the service gaps in our bureaucracies and reinforced frustrations that already existed among the general population. When furloughs took place in waves and the Florida Department of Opportunity was gridlocked with broken benefits portals, outsourced call centers, and recurring excuses, people turned to representatives in the Legislative Branch to be a lifeline, or at least a life vest, while the waters kept rising.

Our team of three has been navigating over 30,000 inquiries since March from struggling families, desperate parents, and suicidal Floridians from the Panhandle to The Keys at the end of their rope — and that intensity came without warning or resources on where to turn or how to find answers. Many I spoke with mentioned their respective lawmakers did not return their calls or respond to their messages, requesting help in the darkest season of their lives. They wrote letters, sent direct messages, made videos on social media, rallied at protests, and captured attention of the media across the nation, but still were gaslighted by those in power. Some told me it was their first time contacting a lawmaker at all.

In the eye of the COVID hurricane, it remains impossible to completely unpack the flaws in our system and would be premature to point fingers, but there remains a critical lesson before us — if people cannot rely on state agencies and officials in moments of trauma, then how will they respond with trust on the other side of this moment? It’s just not fair to expect them to give us the benefit of the doubt, when the majority of doors they approached were closed under lock and key. 

Public Service Motivation is a fascinating topic, but alone it’s not enough to produce the change we need. We have to also be critical and educate ourselves on operations, finances, governance, and big, clunky ideas that do not inspire us if we want to propel the causes that do. I have already begun to draw connections from my MPA coursework directly back to my career, including the notion of punctuated equilibrium theory before us now maybe the urgency of this moment will create a better, brighter future through a surge of education, advocacy, and legislative reform but we cannot lose momentum.Moving forward, we have to not only elect transparent and effective lawmakers across our agencies, but we need to set the bar higher from within to undo damage and repair relationships. Maybe we cannot be perfect, but we can always strive to improve and to rebuild with intention. Together, we have to demonstrate that our bureaucracies are reliable, nonpartisan, and committed to service, even reimagining it for ourselves, if that’s what it takes.

Right now, the road towards recovery remains uncertain, but I do know the public deserves better than lip service between campaign calls. After all, we public servants work for the people.

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About the author:

Lauren Cooper is a Master of Public Administration and Masters of Nonprofit Management student at University of Central Florida. She currently serves in the Florida House of Representatives as an aide to state lawmaker Representative Anna V. Eskamani, pushing to make the legislature more accessible, transparent, and effective through intersectional policy and grassroots advocacy. She attended Rollins College for her undergraduate degree in Communications with a Minor in Sustainable Development. Her emergence as a public servant has driven her to pursue a secondary degree to be able to take lessons from the classroom and apply them within her workplace and across the State of Florida. As a first-generation Seychellois American, she is committed to seeing communities big and small being incorporated into the greater political dialogue to mobilize change.

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Blog The COVID-19 Pandemic and MPA Education: Student Perspectives on Public Service Values and Public Service Motivation

An Introduction on The COVID-19 Pandemic and MPA Education Blog Series

woman in black blazer using a laptop
by Dr. Shilpa Viswanath:

Beginning in  March 2020, during the weeks preceding spring break for many students at institutions of higher education (IHEs), thousands of colleges and universities across the country abruptly cancelled in-person teaching, campus events, and campus travel in response to the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. While teaching and advising moved online, students were suddenly and completely cut off from accessing campus resources including campus housing, libraries, campus-based technology, sports facilities, health facilities, counseling facilities, dining facilities and more. Six months later, the COVID-19 pandemic continues to evolve rapidly into a worsening public health crisis with the United States witnessing 5.75 million coronavirus cases (CDC COVID Data Tracker).

While IHEs such as Notre Dame, UNC-Chapel Hill and University of Alabama have reopened or attempted to unsuccessfully reopen college campuses in Fall 2020 amidst government issued public health regulations; recent discussions in the context of higher education have mostly focused on administrative consequences of the pandemic including strained university budgets, shrinking enrollments, hiring freezes, declining faculty productivity, efficient course delivery mechanisms, and student accountability and assessment. This blog series aims to incorporate graduate student perspectives on public administration training and its relevance to understanding the role of the public sector and the differential impacts of public policy during the COVID-19 pandemic. The question becomes, how can current and future public administrators contribute to some of our “big questions” surrounding the administration and public policy outcomes emerging as a result of COVID-19. 

The Masters in Public Administration (MPA) degree is targeted at developing skills and techniques used by (future) public managers to implement public policies and public programs. According to the Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs and Administration (NASPAA) there are currently 308 member institutions, which offer undergraduate and graduate degrees in public affairs and administration. This blog series invites personal narratives of current and future MPA students in public and nonprofit organizations. Guest bloggers explore issues surrounding public administration learning outcomes while experiencing the COVID-19 pandemic as students or street-level bureaucrats. This blog series is particularly interested in understanding how MPA education informs understanding of the pandemic and provides students with the skills to work on the frontlines of the pandemic. Our student contributors write about the public service values they learnt from their MPA programs which helped them better understand and better serve in administrative roles on the frontlines of the pandemic. 

These insightful contributions from  MPA students across the United States discuss public service values, public service motivation, ethical considerations, and leadership skills of local, state and federal bureaucrats during the rapidly evolving and complex circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic. This collection of MPA perspectives also sheds light on the relevance of public administration classroom teaching and the connections graduate students make between their course work and real world applications of public administration theory and research. To begin this series, MPA student Lauren Cooper from University of Central Florida highlights the fragility of the administrative state during the COVID-19 pandemic and shares personal experiences from the frontlines in her role as a legislative aide in the Florida House of Representatives. In her blog post, she explores the importance of citizen-government interaction and administrative accountability during an emergency situation. This is intended to be an ongoing and productive dialogue, we welcome further contributions and diverse public administrative perspectives from current and former MPA students. To contribute to this symposium, kindly send your thoughts to wps@jjay.cuny.edu. If you have any questions, please contact the blog series editor: Shilpa Viswanath, sviswanath@jjay.cuny.edu.

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About the author:

Dr. Shilpa Viswanath is an Assistant Professor of Public Administration in the Department of Public Management at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. Dr. Viswanath studies public sector human resource management with a special focus on gender. Her work also spans the study of bureaucracy in India. She has published in Administrative Theory & Praxis and Journal of Public Administration Education. Dr. Viswanath is currently serving as Chair of Section for Women in Public Administration (SWPA) at American Society for Public Administration (ASPA) and is a board member of Academic Women in Public Administration (AWPA). Before coming to John Jay in the fall of 2020, she was an Assistant Professor at the University of Wisconsin.

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Blog Equitable Conferencing: Caregivers Perspectives and Prospects

Closing Thoughts on Equitable Conferencing

anonymous ethnic woman touching hand of sleeping baby on bed
by Jamie Levine Daniel and Shilpa Viswanath:

We initiated the “Equitable Conferencing: Caregivers Perspectives and Prospects” blog series in February 2020, just before COVID-19 drastically impacted academic conferencing, and most other aspects of academia, for that matter. Since the Spring 2020 semester, conferences were put on hold, canceled, or conducted online as we navigate a period of uncertainty. However, what we can be most certain of is that caregiving in academia can no longer be an afterthought. COVID-19 highlights the challenges of caretaking in academia while working from home. The disparities resulting from care responsibilities, along with potential solutions, are discussed in the rich blog contributions appearing from February – May 2020. These emerging issues centered around lack of and clarity surrounding caregiving policy, unknown caregiving cost, difference in personal experiences, and variation across academic institutions. Bloggers shared personal reflections and innovative solutions that require a significant shift in thinking and practice to address caregiving in academia.  

Dr. Gina Scutlnicu identifies three challenges: lack of funding for childcare, lack of family support, and lack of/limited access to networking/visibility opportunities (something we will all have to grapple with). Dr. Seth Meyer underlines that while there is no one universal family (adoption, for example, comes with its own unique stressors), there are some universal experiences and needs. Similarly, Sombo Muzata Chunda and Layla Alanazi highlight the (lack of) uniform policies and the undesirable choices parents have to make between caregiving on a personal level and being left behind professionally. These issues are only going to be magnified as caregivers balance increasing caregiving with decreasing resources, in the face of continued professional pressures.

Multiple contributors called for funding (either conference scholarships or university funds) that can be used for dependent care expenses. In addition, several contributors (Dr. Kendra Stewart, Dr. Elizabeth Berkowitz, Dr. Tony Carrizales, Dr. Viswanath, Hannah Lebovits) highlighted the need for visible signals and infrastructure: welcoming language, drop-in rooms, nursing stations, etc. This symbolic and active representation can help shift cultures. Dr. Heath Brown highlighted the need for planning and logistics that allow for minimal travel/time spent away. While we are not traveling these days, this advance notice is still critical to enable caregivers to participate in virtual networking opportunities.

In the introduction to this symposium, we noted that “Academic conferences, an essential component of academic life, contribute a whole new element to the parenting and caregiving challenge.” We published those words approximately three months ago. Fast-forward to today. I sit here now, in the shadow of stay-at-home orders due to Covid-19, wondering how to close this symposium. My partner and I arranged schedules so I could get in some writing – he has the morning shift with our five-year old, while I have the afternoon shift (including cooking dinner). Tomorrow, based on various meetings, we will switch. I will have the morning caregiving shift, and he will have the afternoon (including getting ready for Shabbat). Our world has narrowed to these half-day juggling acts.

Just as our day-to-day lives have changed, so too has conferencing, and the crux of academic work. We will most likely not be meeting in large gatherings anytime soon. Spring 2020 saw a slew of cancellations, summer conferences are following suit, and fall conferences seem to be increasingly inching toward virtual opportunities even as they voice aspirations of face-to-face meetings. Even as conferences move online, the caregiving challenges do not disappear. Research points out that there are over 65 million unpaid family caregivers in the United States supporting ill, disabled, or aged family members. Additionally, research undertaken by the Lancet Commission on Women and Health reveals that over 70% of global caregiving hours are provided by women and girls. A report from the World Economic Forum points out that – “When it becomes difficult to balance caregiving with work, or if the demands of work come into conflict with one’s caregiving responsibilities, carers may be forced to cut back on their working hours or take a leave of absence. This impacts their ability to equally participate in the workplace.” Most of us will not be able to meaningfully participate in multiple days of back-to-back sessions of online conference sessions. With college campuses shut and social distancing measures enforced in order to prevent the spread of COVID-19 virus, faculty members with caregiving responsibilities are experiencing an amalgamation of their personal and professional lives making it harder to draw boundaries and dictate their work-life balance. This will remain an area to confront and adapt to in academic conferencing.

Even as we ponder ways to make virtual conferencing in the post-COVID-19 era equitable, we thank our contributors for sharing deeply personal narratives and recommendations to improve conventional academic conferencing for caregivers. The issues they raised and the solutions they provided are important for us to consider when conferencing virtually and when we return to face-to-face meetings. Beyond conferencing, these considerations magnify the challenges many of us are facing in our own personal and professional lives now. Thank you, to the John Jay’s Women in the Public Sector blog for giving us the space to explore these issues.

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About the authors:

Dr. Jamie Levine Daniel is an assistant professor at the Paul H. O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs at Indiana University-Purdue University, Indianapolis. Her research focuses on the relationship between nonprofit resource acquisition and program service delivery, with particular experience interest on the relationship between earned revenue and mission.

Dr. Shilpa Viswanath is an Assistant Professor of Public Administration at the University of Wisconsin – La Crosse. And, faculty affiliate at the University of Wisconsin – Madison’s Center for South Asia. Her research and teaching engage in themes of gender and social equity; labor unions and local governments, and, are rooted in her identities of being an immigrant in the United States, a faculty woman of color and a mother. She presently serves on the executive board of American Society for Public Administration’s Section for Women in Public Administration and, on the board of the Section for International and Comparative Administration.

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Blog Equitable Conferencing: Caregivers Perspectives and Prospects

Working Towards a Family Friendly Conference Culture

by Michael R. Ford:

Several years ago I attended an academic conference in Florida.  It was a Friday to Monday conference and I presented on a Sunday. I flew down Saturday, presented Sunday, and flew home. It was a typical conference experience for me as a junior tenure-track scholar trying to build a record. In other words, it was nothing remarkable. What I did find remarkable was a critique I received from a senior scholar who attended the conference. He told me, bluntly, that I was behaving like an invited speaker, and that I had not yet earned that right.

I was taken aback. I had chosen this conference specifically because it was a weekend and afforded me the opportunity to actually go and present. Why? I have two school-aged children and my spouse works full-time. I get the kids ready in the morning, I feed them, and I get them to school. My spouse’s schedule is a bit unpredictable, so I need to be available to pick them up from afterschool care as well. At the time of this conference I was actually taking a friend’s child to school as well because their family had similar childcare challenges. For busy parents, being able to attend any conference is a major logistical challenge. My “behavior” was not arrogance, it was me making it work.

My family’s scheduling challenges are not unique. People in and outside of academia deal with similar challenges all the time. But for some reason we seem to lag behind in making our profession accommodating for those with young children. Conference presentations are essential to an academic career. It is hard enough with tight travel budgets for many of us to make it work. The last thing we need are senior scholars thinking that having family responsibilities somehow means we are not dedicated to our career.

As the president of the Midwest Public Affairs Conference (MPAC) I am committed to making our conference as accommodating as possible. The obvious first step is working to provide on-site child care. This can be difficult to arrange, and of course comes with a significant monetary cost. Funding childcare also means less money for stuff (bags, giveaways, fancy meals, etc). A second step is selecting locations that are easily drivable or accessible by train from Midwestern universities.  That means our locations may be less accessible to those outside of the Midwest, and perhaps not as exciting (at least on the surface) as popular national conference destinations. But even with childcare at the conference I am not buying three plane tickets for me to present one paper! A third step is creating family friendly receptions that are not too late at night, and not centered around alcohol. 

But perhaps the biggest thing I can do for MPAC (and we can do as a profession) is to normalize the idea of kids and families being part of the conference experience. Specific gestures matter, but a culture that embraces the reality that academics have family responsibilities, is something that will have a lasting impact. To change the culture all of us must be mindful of our own behavior and expectations regarding conferences. I know everyone will not be happy. If I have learned one thing running a conference, it is that at least some people will be critical of every decision you make. I get it. Some people want the flashy location, want the stuff, want the fancy meals, and do not want kids around. That is fine. But I am committed to carving out a space for those of us who need something different.

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About the author:

Michael R. Ford is an associate professor of public administration at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, where he teaches graduate courses in budgeting and research methods. He frequently publishes on the topics of public and nonprofit board governance, accountability and school choice. He currently serves as the president of the Midwest Public Affairs Conference.

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Blog Equitable Conferencing: Caregivers Perspectives and Prospects

The Abstract Academic: Why We Need to Radically Change Conferences

women sitting on chairs inside a room
by Dr. Nuri Heckler:

We were awake for most of the night worrying. We just moved to Omaha and did not yet have a babysitter, much less a network of friends to help us care for the children when we were unavailable. Yet, she had an important meeting with several elected officials and I was scheduled to be at a national conference. Which of our careers would take the hit? Both of us felt guilt, hurt, and distrust. It is no wonder, I thought, that so many my fellow tenure-tracked colleagues were leaving the profession.

We were awake for most of the night worrying. We just moved to Omaha and did not yet have a babysitter, much less a network of friends to help us care for the children when we were unavailable. Yet, she had an important meeting with several elected officials and I was scheduled to be at a national conference. Which of our careers would take the hit? Both of us felt guilt, hurt, and distrust. It is no wonder, I thought, that so many my fellow tenure-tracked colleagues were leaving the profession.

Feminist organizational scholar, Joan Acker argues that most workplaces are designed for an abstract worker who has few to no private life or health concerns, and is generally imagined as a white heterosexual man. 

What, then, is the abstract academic? 

You probably imagine someone who looks a lot like me. I am a white heterosexual man with a wife, two children, two advanced degrees, and a tenure-track appointment at a state university.

If we look any further, this ideal starts to break down. Women now hold more than half of all jobs in the American workforce, and a recent survey showed that 53 percent of assistant professors are women. Unlike the abstract academic, my wife is a lawyer and lobbyist for wageworkers, which is why I spent four years as a stay-at-home dad. We work consciously to share the childcare, and that means that when I leave for a conference, her life is significantly disrupted.

Conferences conflict with my values in two ways. Conferences disrupt my family’s lives. If I bring my children to a conference, they cannot be at their school, but research shows that absences profoundly impact their education. If I leave them home, my wife must negotiate her responsibilities to underserved clients to spend time doing logistics I normally manage. It is clear that conferences are designed for the abstract heterosexual academic man with a stay-at-home wife.

In the long term, conferences are even more irresponsible. Parents are keenly aware of the global climate crisis we face, and every time we get on an airplane, a part of us is thinking about the consequences for our children. In my case, flying to conferences accounted for more than half of my family’s greenhouse gas emissions in 2019. When I get on an airplane to fly to a conference, I force my children to clean up the mess that I know I’m creating.

It’s time we do better.

Conferences must enter the 21st century. Membership organizations, like ASPA, ARNOVA, APSA, PATNet, and APPAM should work on establishing regional conferences with opportunities to attend sessions electronically. Shorter regional conferences can accommodate working parents by establishing timelines that mostly overlap with weekends, and by enabling more participants to drive or take busses/trains with substantially lower carbon footprint. Connections between regions can be maintained using stable online technology. Used well, these systems can encourage working relationships across wide geographies. This process not only reduces the burden on parents, but also opens up conferences to participation from underrepresented areas in the global south.

Regional conferences like SeCOPA, NeCOPA, and MPSA already provide terrific opportunities. Adding a means of accessing panels and colloquia over the internet would enhance these conferences. Additionally, working on ways to facilitate topical conversations related to conference or panel themes would enable borderless collaboration. As these systems develop, it is crucial to include paywalls so that this technology does not unintentionally hollow out these important organizations.

Pursued carefully, these solutions can support a new image of the abstract public administration academic. A parent who prioritizes their family and their children’s future. This academic lives the values that the field of public administration advocates both in their public and their private lives. They live in a world that is more sustainable and cleaner, and they enjoy conferences even when they have young children. This abstract public administration academic is ready for the middle of the 21st century.

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About the author:

Nuri Heckler is an assistant professor at the University of Nebraska at Omaha studying administrative and Whiteness and Masculinity in public organization including governments, nonprofits, and social enterprise. He was a stay-at-home dad before going back to school to pursue his PhD. In his free time, he enjoys taking his kids hiking and cycling, introducing them to musical theater, and teaching them how to enjoy good food.

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Blog Equitable Conferencing: Caregivers Perspectives and Prospects

Creating Formal Representation for Parents and Caregivers at Academic Conferences

by Dr. Shilpa Viswanath:

I started my PhD program as a full-time graduate student and teaching assistant when my daughter was two years old. Reducing my experiences as a student parent to an issue of time-management would be a misappropriation of sorts. My dilemma between being ‘present’ for my child for the most part and having to forego several academic pursuits in graduate school was vexing. Since then, my daughter has grown, but, I remain as vexed as ever, wondering how to be a persevering scholar without withdrawing from my parental duties. 

Parenting with a partner or, parenting by oneself is challenging work. Added to this mix is the fact that as a first generation American immigrant, the possibility of having family or an extended family to help is nonexistent. When any access to informal childcare support is unavailable, one is wholly reliable on formal sources of childcare support. In the context of academia, these formal sources include childcare provided on-site at the university/college campus or off-site by private providers. But, what happens when part of your work occurs in a third exclusive space without access to either of these childcare infrastructures?

When I attended my very first academic conference in 2014, I remember looking around, trying to gauge the feasibility of bringing my two year old daughter to the conference; only to realize that, student parents and caregivers were not ‘formally’ or ‘visibly’ represented at the conference, leaving me wondering if bringing along a child or talking about childcare at public administration conferences was not an openly acceptable practice? As the semesters went by and I attended more conferences, I was always on the look out for other student parents like myself and often found a few engaged in private discussions around their encounters of making costly child care and travel arrangements for the conference duration. It got me thinking about why senior scholars in the field, faculty members and conference organizers were not openly embracing their roles as parents and caregivers? Why were conference attendees expected to keep their personal caregiving responsibilities isolated from conference spaces? Was being a caregiver detrimental to one’s academic image?

Being a parent and caregiver is a valid identity. Public administration conferences have recently created professional spaces in the form of conference sections, workshops, networking events, professional development opportunities for participant’s to explore their identities of race, ethnicity, disability, sexuality, immigration status and educational attainment. In a similar vein, it is time for conference organizers to create spaces for attendees to explore identities as parents and caregivers. By creating these spaces, conference organizers are recognizing the important intersection between academic identities and care giving responsibilities. Encouraging formal visibility and representation of caregivers in academic conferences is the first step in creating a professional space for supporting the unique set of needs and challenges faced by caregivers in academia. 

Public Administration conferences should plan for and create bold visibility for care giver attendees, allowing them to bring their children on-site and, discuss their caregiving challenges in public forums (including conference panels/roundtables), network with other caregivers and constantly brainstorm at conference workshops. Acknowledging the caregiving identity of conference goers is a first step in creating both symbolic and active representation of student/faculty/practitioner caregivers at academic conferences. This representation is necessary to give voice to previously unspoken challenges of an underrepresented academic demographic.  

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About the author:

Dr. Shilpa Viswanath is an Assistant Professor of Public Administration in the Department of Public Management at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. Dr. Viswanath studies public sector human resource management with a special focus on gender. Her work also spans the study of bureaucracy in India. She has published in Administrative Theory & Praxis and Journal of Public Administration Education. Dr. Viswanath is currently serving as Chair of Section for Women in Public Administration (SWPA) at American Society for Public Administration (ASPA) and is a board member of Academic Women in Public Administration (AWPA). Before coming to John Jay in the fall of 2020, she was an Assistant Professor at the University of Wisconsin.

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Blog Equitable Conferencing: Caregivers Perspectives and Prospects

The Value of Informal Childcare

young mother with little daughter preparing breakfast in kitchen
by Jamie Levine Daniel, IUPUI:

Palmer House, Chicago, November, 2015. I am attending the annual meeting for the Association for Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Action (ARNOVA).  My family is with me. The twist: My husband is recovering from knee surgery. My 14-month-old child has recently figured out walking. We manage our drive from Indianapolis to Chicago, and arrive with minutes to spare before the session I am supposed to chair.

Given my husband’s temporarily limited mobility, he is pretty much stuck in our room.  Given my child’s recently improved mobility, all they want is to get out of the room. The next two days become a blur of sessions, presentations, and childcare. One hour I am talking about the relationship between nonprofit mission and earned revenue.  The next hour I am pushing a stroller in Millennium Park, hoping my child will take the nap they so desperately need.

Friday morning, I am able to meet with a fellow assistant professor with whom I had been hoping to collaborate.  We find a couch on the mezzanine level and start to chat. Or, at least, we try to chat, but I have to constantly chase after the toddler who wants nothing more than to pull down the holiday decorations tucked into all of the alcoves.  Suddenly, one of my more senior colleagues swoops in, picks up my child, puts them in the stroller, grabs the diaper bag, and says, “We’ll be back in half an hour.”

That break gave me the time I needed to focus on the business at hand. The person with whom I was meeting was Dr. Rachel Fyall. That meeting led to the first of the three articles Rachel and I have now co-authored. The senior colleague was Dr. Suzann Lupton, whose spontaneous generosity created much-needed space for intellectual exchange. 

Childcare has been a hot topic lately, coming up at and among leadership for ARNOVA, Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs, and Administration (NASPAA), and many other associations.  Many of these conversations center around formal mechanisms for easing burdens: drop in rooms, dependent care scholarships, amenities for nursing parents. These amenities would help address some barriers that childcare presents, but take time, effort, and money to implement and institutionalize. 

One thing we tried at ARNOVA 2019 was an informal network of people willing to help with last-minute childcare.  We put a call out on Twitter to ask for volunteers, compiled a list of availability, and put out announcements letting people know that volunteers were on hand should they need emergency/last-minute coverage.  The idea was inspired by my own experiences, when help I did not know I needed came unasked. The effort was low-key: social media and a Google form.

These types of efforts could be even more low-key, done on an individual level. If you know of someone bringing a child, and you are comfortable offering help, reach out before they even ask. If you are a session chair, reach out to the presenters and let them know if children are welcome in your panel.  Even if no one takes you up on your offers, sending these types of signals can help shift the culture of an association and lead to more systematic, formal changes at the scale needed to take on these challenges.

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About the author:

Dr. Jamie Levine Daniel is an assistant professor at the Paul H. O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs at Indiana University-Purdue University, Indianapolis. Her research focuses on the relationship between nonprofit resource acquisition and program service delivery, with particular experience interest on the relationship between earned revenue and mission.

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Blog Equitable Conferencing: Caregivers Perspectives and Prospects

A Call for Feedback on Conferencing with Children

by Kendra B. Stewart, College of Charleston:

One of my fondest recent conference experiences was sitting next to Paul Danczyk at an ASPA plenary session while his two young children played quietly on the floor in front of us.  If you had told me 15 years ago when I was bringing my young children to public administration conferences that in the near future I would be sitting next to an ASPA Vice President as he modeled good parenting and partnering in a general session I would not have believed it.  I was so pleased that Paul was sending a message that even though childcare was not an option at the conference, bringing your children still is an option.  

There was a time when I first began conferencing (I choose not to say how long ago that was) when childcare was periodically offered at conferences.  Particularly academic conferences. I never used this option because I was fortunate to have a partner who usually was able and willing to travel with me so our children could come and I could do the things I needed to do (like nurse and kiss my children goodnight) while working.  This practice seems to have gone by the wayside and mostly, from what I can tell, it is because of underutilization. However, I am certain that organizations like ASPA would be willing to bring this back if they thought it would be used.  

With record numbers of women in the workforce, there is no doubt that we need to rethink what we are doing in terms of allowing more work/life balance into our professional meetings – for both women AND men. Conferencing with your children can be a wonderful experience, but it can also be stressful if there is not good support. I recall one conference with my then 5-year-old son when I had to bring him to a panel I was on because there was no other option.  He was fairly well behaved, coloring in his books on a chair, until I began my presentation. At that point he stood up and announced that I was his mother and began waving. No one in the room was amused, except for one of my co-panelists. I was mortified.  We need to be sure that our working parents with young children have the opportunity to participate in and enjoy our conference experiences while still tending to their families if they choose to bring them.  

So, I pose the question to you all – our next generation of scholars and practitioners – what can we do to offer you the support you need if you choose to bring your children to a conference?  Is the traditional childcare model of interest? Or do you have another idea that could prove more successful? How do we send a message that we are family-friendly and that you don’t have to choose between tending to your career OR tending to your children?  All ideas are welcome and I am listening!

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About the author:

Kendra B. Stewart is Professor of Political Science and Public Administration and Director of the Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Center for Livable Communities at the College of Charleston.  Her research interests include South Carolina government, non-profit management, state and local government, food policy, and women and politics. She is co-editor of a book entitled The Practice of Government Public Relations.  The articles she has authored have appeared in various journals including Urban Affairs Review, Public Finance and Management, Perspective in Politics, Journal of Public Affairs Education, Journal of Hunger and Environmental Nutrition as well as in various scholarly books.  

Dr. Stewart is a fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA), an independent, nonprofit, and non-partisan organization chartered by Congress to assist government leaders in building more effective, efficient, accountable, and transparent organizations.  She was also elected to serve as President of the American Society for Public Administration (ASPA) for 2020-2021. Dr. Stewart has conducted political analysis for a variety of print, radio and television media, including Good Morning America, Fox News Channel, the Associated Press, The New Yorker, and National Public Radio.  

Dr. Stewart received her undergraduate degree from the University of Central Florida and her Master of Public Administration and Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of South Carolina.  Prior to her current position, Dr. Stewart was a faculty member at Eastern Kentucky University and worked for the state of South Carolina Budget and Control Board. In addition, she has conducted program evaluations and strategic planning assistance to a variety of public and nonprofit organizations.  Dr. Stewart is very involved in the community as well, serving on the boards of several professional and non-profit organizations.

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Blog Equitable Conferencing: Caregivers Perspectives and Prospects

Assessing the Challenges and Barriers to Conference Participation

by Layla Alanazi, Virginia Common Wealth University:

As a mother of an infant and a toddler, a wife, and a Ph.D. student, I took the decision to take my children with me in all of the conferences which I plan to attend. My husband has been of great help to me as he babysits with them at the hotel where we are staying while I present, participant, and enjoy the conferences. While we both as a couple started our family as graduate students and we both have the same career bath, things do not always seem easy as it sounds. 

For me as a mother, planning to attend a conference while having young children is a challenge in many ways. First, there is no space or childcare accommodation in any of the conferences that I have been to except a few that provide nursing or breastfeeding rooms for mothers. Second, the financial difficulties that we undergo to go as a family to attend a conference is always a serious issue. Examples of these costs include purchasing air tickets, providing appropriate accommodations for a family, and childcare Third, I have to lose many conference opportunities or try other ways like coauthoring as a way to opt-out from presenting at conferences to meet my motherhood responsibilities. 

Attending and participating in conferences for a mother like me with young children sometimes feels like a burden. Not a burden in terms of money, but always in terms of time and the expectations for research, work, and the various school duties. While I do not believe it is a healthy thing for our family or others with the same situations to exceed those expectations, the culture of academia needs to change towards mothers with children. At the school level, there must some kind of policies granting incentives for women scholars with children to participate in conferences, most notably graduate students. Examples of those incentives can include reimbursing the student to cover for travel or childcare incurred costs. At the conference level, logistics should not impede the full participation of parents with children. These logistics can include arrangements, such as providing an affordable childcare zone, planning family-friendly activities, allocating nursing rooms for mothers, and organizing special receptions for families traveling with children. 

At the macro level, School policies need to be set fairly to save families in terms of providing an appropriate maternal leave, financial support, and accommodations, so that no student-regardless of his or her gender-is left behind. While no study shows how many women opt out of graduate school to meet their motherhood responsibilities, the current structure of academia has unfairly empowered men and childless women, and participate in systematically marginalizing women and their dependents. To better provide a healthy, non-toxic, and non-stressful School environment for mothers with young children, policymakers need to answer urgent questions: what policies have been made to address this challenge, and what steps have been taken to help remove the barriers to conference participation for this group? 

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About the author:

Layla is a Ph.D. candidate in Public Policy and Administration program at the Wilder School of Government & Public Affairs at Virginia Commonwealth University.  She holds a master’s degree in Global Human Resources Management from the Management School at the University of Liverpool. Also, she holds another master’s degree in Industrial Relations and Human Resources from the College of Business and Economics at West Virginia University. Her research interests include human resources management, organizational behavior, performance management, and public management.

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Blog Equitable Conferencing: Caregivers Perspectives and Prospects

Four Ways to Help Academic Parents Conference with Ease

by Hannah Lebovits, Cleveland State University:

Much like being a grizzled Auror in the Harry Potter universe, parenting involves “constant vigilance” (RIP Mad-Eye Moody). No, I’m not endorsing hover-parenting, I’m referring to the basic awareness of where your kids are and what their most basic needs might be at any given time. If your children aren’t yet old enough to be home alone, you know that this state is definitely constant and absolutely requires vigilance. Day-care and school hours are finite, and you are wholly responsible for everything that happens before and after someone else is watching your child (and during, but that’s another conversation). This makes academic conferences a challenge for many parents who are the primary caregiver. Your youngins rely on you being around all night, early in the morning and after school/day-care hours. 

The stress permeates everything- from the application process until the return flight. Appropriate plans must be somewhat secure before applying, no one wants to be “that person” who dropped out of a conference, after the proposal was accepted. Once accepted though, the heavy lifting really begins. It’s time to deal with payments- registration costs, travel, additional childcare, etc. Schools might cover basic travel costs, but child related expenses are expenses and not often covered in full. Detailed arrangements must be made, deposits often have to be put down- and on-site childcare might be needed if children lack the permanent attachment system that allows them to be left without parents for a significant amount of time (i.e. nursing babies, young children, newly adopted children, etc.)

Still, even when everything is perfectly aligned- drama always seems to arise. Kids get sick the day before you’re about to leave, plans fall through, on-site childcare gets cancelled. Travel can be anxiety ridden, with parents running through a never-ending mental list of every possible scenario, attempting to ensure that no matter what- their children remain safe, well-cared for, and (at least mostly) on schedule. 

What can our universities, conference organizers, professional associations and fellow academics do to assist parents? 

Here are four simple ideas:

  1. For conference organizers: Offer reduced one-day admissions so that academic parents can come in for just a single day of the conference. This isn’t our ideal either- but it allows us to at least attend and present, even when we can’t stay to network and support others.
  2. Also, for conference organizers: Include child-related information in the call for proposals/original conference information. Make information related to nursing rooms, childcare, and other accommodations clearly outlined at the proposal stage by providing a directory and conference center maps to ensure that parents are aware of the resources available. Include a tab on the conference website that clearly supplies this information.   
  3. For conference go-ers: If you know an academic parent that might be considering going to a conference, reach out WHEN THE CALL COMES OUT and offer to help/support them in any way. The week before or day of is too late, we’ve already decided the conference isn’t a possibility or we’ve already booked childcare arrangements.
  4. For universities: Make conference spending flexible enough to cover child related costs, in addition to booking airfare, hotels, and other travel costs. If the university cannot pay directly for the childcare costs, they should at least immediately reimburse the conferencing parent so that that money can be spent on child-related costs. We might be a long way from seeing the whole academic and all of the costs associated with conference travel as a singular entity, but a mom can dream.

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About the author:

Hannah Lebovits is a PhD candidate in urban studies and public affairs at Cleveland State University. Her research focuses on issues related to social equity, justice, and sustainability in local/regional governance. She is also a frequent contributor to local and national news outlets. She lives in Cleveland, OH with her husband and two children. 

Social media info: Twitter- @HannahLebovits 

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Blog Equitable Conferencing: Caregivers Perspectives and Prospects

Single Parent Duty

man love people woman
by Anonymous:

When I started my doctoral program, I had recently re-married.  Initially, my new husband and child did not see my endeavor as a doctoral student as “real work” because in the words of my child (who was nine years old when I started my program), “It doesn’t look that hard.  All you do is read.” Yes, it’s true that I had quit my full-time job to attend school full-time and work as a graduate assistant to fund my education. And yes, I was always reading at home. However, this led us to have a difficult conversation as a family when I began to travel to academic conferences to present my work.  I quickly realized that academic conferences are designed for people who either don’t have children to worry about or have someone at home taking care of them.

Initially, I traveled to conferences that were relatively close to home, requiring no more than an overnight stay. For a new stepdad, that seemed manageable. However, once the trips required plane travel, figuring out flights that worked around my husband’s work schedule and that fit our budget (because support from school was in the form of a reimbursement), things became more challenging. Because we were essentially a single income household, my husband’s job performance was critical to ensure raises, promotions, and bonuses. Leaving him behind with a small child for me to travel to an academic conference for three to four days was very stressful for him. What if our child was sick and needed to be picked up from school or needed to stay home? What if he couldn’t work late because there was no one else to pick up our child from the afterschool program? My husband did not want to be “that guy” who was not available to an employer’s beck and call because of a childcare issue while I was off gallivanting at academic conferences. I needed both of them to understand that these academic conferences were an important part of my job as a doctoral student, but also for my future in academia. It took them attending part of an academic conference with me to fully appreciate what I was doing.

Once they experienced the intense schedule of a conference, they realized it was “work” and wanted to be more proactive in supporting me. My husband was able to work out a telework schedule when I was traveling. As he earned promotions, he was also able to have more control over his own work travel schedule so that it wouldn’t conflict with mine. As our child grew older and was engaged in more activities, we relied on my high school and college friends who had moved to the area to help in case of emergencies. While these things sound simple, not everyone has a partner with job flexibility or has the benefit of friends and family living nearby to help. This means families or single parents without these support systems might spend more money on childcare or even forego attending a conference.

This phase in our marriage and family life gives me pause. The conflict revealed so many issues that working mothers, and especially single parents, still face today. I was only able to expand my career opportunities once I re-married and had another trustworthy adult committed to raising a child with me. Yet, somehow single parents are doing what seemed impossible to me when I was a single mother. I have met a few at academic conferences! Here are some suggestions for supporting single parents and single income families attending academic conferences:

  • Consider holding conferences around federal holidays during the school year. While it’s impossible to work around every jurisdiction’s school calendar, nearly all close for the same federal holidays.
  • Consider holding conferences during summer break and offer programs for school-aged children in addition to other childcare options. This could be a great opportunity to partner with education leaders, nonprofit organizations, college prep, and/or technical training programs at free or reduced costs.
  • Offer travel and childcare scholarships for single parents and one income families.

Although my family is very supportive and proud that I completed my doctoral degree, it took them a while to fully get it. Figuring out our roles, experiencing stress over work and finances, and managing life as a single parent when one of us must travel for work took us some time. My hope is that conference planners will take into consideration that even those of us who are married with children face childcare issues because the spouse left at home is on “single parent” duty. Single parents face these types of challenges on a regular basis and more support should be offered to them as well.

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About the author:

The author is an anonymous admirer of single, working mothers who manage to rise above the challenges and gender discrimination they encounter. She also acknowledges the spouses and partners who take on “single parent” duties to support their student/scholar’s careers.

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Blog Equitable Conferencing: Caregivers Perspectives and Prospects

Adoption and Conferences: A Caregiving Perspective

by Seth J. Meyer, LMSW, PhD:

When talking about conference participation and caregiving, we often focus on a heterosexual couple who has given birth to their child. While this is the reality for many, some may choose a different path toward having a child. People who decide to adopt, whether they be a heterosexual couple, a homosexual couple, or single parents, have different needs and anxieties.

In the conference setting, there are three specific issues which a caregiver may face: 1) The social anxiety of not knowing when they will have a child, 2) The need to leave a conference abruptly or cancel due to having a child, and 3) Being questioned about being the child’s parent. Understanding this perspective is a way we can make conferences welcoming to all families. First, when a person is waiting to adopt, they can get a call at any minute informing them that their child is born. This is a stressful time in a person’s life. Often, they get questions regarding their adoption, such as “have you heard anything” and “how are you preparing”. When a person has been matched with a child, they may not tell many people. This is because, even after matching and placement of the child, the birth parents still have the opportunity to change their minds after the baby is born. This can be a heartbreaking process for an adoptive family. Therefore, questions can be awkward for waiting parents. To help alleviate stress, phrase things such as “Let me know if you want to talk about the process” or let your colleague know that you are free to talk if they want.

When a parent is waiting for a child, all plans are tentative. During the adoption process, the potential parent may get informed that a birth mother is pregnant and will give birth in three months, or that a woman who has just given birth would like to put her child up for adoption. Going through the adoption process means being ready to make quick decisions that will change one’s life. Therefore, if your colleague is in the adoption process, it is possible they may need to leave a conference early or not come at the last minute.  Once a child is adopted, there are sometimes certain complexities that families face which are unique to their situation. This is only amplified when the adoptive parents are in a same-sex relationship. To start, the child may be of a different race than the parent. This can lead to people asking about the child’s parents and suspicion of the parents by outsiders.  When creating caregiver spaces, allow for the child to say things such as “My parents adopted me” and help answer other children’s questions regarding the child looking different from the parents. One of an adoptive parent’s worst nightmares is being constantly questioned or having to constantly justify that their child is, indeed, their child. 

The most supportive thing academics can do when their colleague is adopting is to understand that they are in a stressful position, and the stress is different from when one is pregnant. Be understanding of the flexibility that an adoptive parent may need while they wait for their kid to be born and be understanding that their child may be of a different race. Most importantly, be happy for your colleague as they grow their family.

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About the author:

Seth J. Meyer, LMSW, PhD is an Assistant Professor of Nonprofit Management in the Department of Political Science at Bridgewater State University. His research focuses on LGBTQ and Jewish issues within nonprofit organizations and organizational behavior in organizations with multiple sites. He is also a consultant helping build organizational relationships with affiliates. Seth received his MSSW from Columbia University and his PhD from Rutgers University-Newark School of Public Affairs and Administration. Seth can be followed on twitter @sethjmeyer.

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Blog Equitable Conferencing: Caregivers Perspectives and Prospects

Navigating Caregiver Challenges at Conferences: My Experience

empty name tag on black background
by Gina Scutelnicu, PhD:

Gina Scutelnicu is an Associate Professor and Chair in the Department of Public Administration at Pace University and a proud academic parent of two young children.

Attending and presenting at conferences is extremely important, especially for graduate students and junior faculty, as these venues are ripe opportunities for networking, getting constructive feedback and establishing an academic reputation. My conference presentations and participations helped me develop a healthy professional network, develop and sustain an active research agenda, stay up-to-date with current research in my area, turn my papers into refereed articles, become a peer-reviewer, serve on the board of several professional associations, and serve on the editorial board of one journal. 

Attending and presenting at conferences is extremely important, especially for graduate students and junior faculty, as these venues are ripe opportunities for networking, getting constructive feedback and establishing an academic reputation. My conference presentations and participations helped me develop a healthy professional network, develop and sustain an active research agenda, stay up-to-date with current research in my area, turn my papers into refereed articles, become a peer-reviewer, serve on the board of several professional associations, and serve on the editorial board of one journal. 

I had children during the most busiest and challenging times in the life of an academic: I had my son during my dissertation writing years and my daughter during my tenure-track years. Having children occurred during the same time when I needed to start and develop my academic career. Attending and presenting at academic conferences was one way of getting known so, I made sure I presented my research at least twice a year. My spouse offered the support that I needed during these difficult times. He would travel with me and my son, and later, my daughter to conferences held across the country in places such as Kentucky, California, North Carolina, Maryland, Vermont, Louisiana, Florida, Colorado etc. For half of the conferences I attended during this time in my life I was only able to present my research papers. I was not able to network beyond fulfilling my conference roles as a presenter, or panel moderator/discussant. I had to miss out on some of the conference experiences: I did not attend other panels, luncheons or professional development opportunities. But this semi-exposure to the academic network helped me a lot in my career and I am very grateful that I had this opportunity.

Being a woman and an immigrant from a non-Western culture in the U.S. made it more difficult to have access to resources for conferences, most likely, because I was not familiar with the U.S. higher education system and national culture. I did not know that I could ask for more travel money or viewed asking for more resources as inappropriate. When I was a Ph.D. candidate, my university would only cover $300 towards conference travel per year for graduate students. Towards the end of my doctoral studies, I witnessed how women peers who were born and raised in the U.S. were successful in asking and securing significant funds for conference travel both domestically and internationally. This experience served as a lesson for my next career stage. After becoming an Assistant Professor, the amount of my travel funds increased significantly but I still had to supplement and invest in my professional development. Reflecting back on my own experience I would definitely advise women of various backgrounds to, at least, ask for more funding for conference travel.

Typically, conference funding required that I presented a paper and covered registration fees, transportation, accommodation and some food costs but it would not cover caregiver costs. I remember of a specific conference (Midwest Political Science Association) that would offer childcare scholarships at the conference hotel for caregivers who were presenters. Given my personal and subjective experience, caregivers and especially women face several barriers to conference participation. These are: 

  • Lack of any institutional funding that can be used towards child or elderly care when attending conferences.
  • Lack of or limited family support to help with child care.
  • Lack of or limited access to everything conferences have to offer – which may end up in limited visibility among the academic community and longer time to establish an academic reputation.



Some of the recommendations to overcome such barriers consist of the following:

  • Institutions should offer their employees child-care assistance programs in the form of subsidies and access to child-care centers. (Gordon & Rauhaus, 2019) such as vouchers, reimbursements, tuition scholarships, and offering discounts through child-care network programs. 
  • Institutions could create dependent care travel funds or repurpose travel funds to include child or elder care expenses for their faculty and staff. Such funds could cover the additional hours of care at home when employers travel, costs for childcare at/or transportation to a conference site (see Brown University’s initiative).
  • Professional associations and conference organizers could provide child and dependent care as a service for a fee or as a scholarship, and
  • Conferences could organize family-friendly professional development activities and events at conference sites.

Work-life balance is different for men and women as women are, still, expected to contribute more at home when working and having young children (Scutelnicu, Knepper & Tekula, 2018, p. 33). Offering attractive work-life benefits such as child-care support for conference participation would lead to high retention rates among employees (Gordon & Rauhaus, 2019), would narrow the inequity gender gap in the workplace as women tend to be the majority of caregivers (Gerson, 2017) , would increase women’s advancement opportunities in academia by helping them to break the glass ceiling (Scutelnicu & Knepper, 2019), and would create more inclusive work environments (Knepper, Scutelnicu & Tekula, forthcoming). As we are witnessing a declining trend in college enrollment (Fain, 2019) it is important for institutions of higher learning to pay attention and support the needs of current caregivers to make sure they sustain a steady future generation of students. 

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About the author:

Gina Scutelnicu, Ph.D.
Associate Professor and Chair of the Public Administration Department
at Pace University
E-mail:gscutelnicu@pace.edu

Gina Scutelnicu is an associate professor and chair in the Department of Public Administration at Pace University, New York. She has a Ph.D. degree in Public Affairs from Florida International University, a MA in Public Service Management and a BA in Public Administration from Babes-Bolyai University, Romania. One line of her current research examines gender equity in academia. Her work has been published in several peer-reviewed journals among which are Journal of Public Affairs Education, Public Integrity, Journal of Public Management and Social Policy and Public Administration Quarterly.

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Blog Equitable Conferencing: Caregivers Perspectives and Prospects

Conferencing as a Parent

by Tony J Carrizales:

I have been attending academic conferences for nearly twenty years, half of those years as a parent. In preparing for my next conference, I pause here to share some thoughts and reflections on my conferencing as a parent evolution.

Soon after graduating and beginning my academic career I attended roughly two to three conferences a year. I made an effort to attend conferences throughout the country and on occasion, internationally. Over time, I lost some interest in conferences’ locations as places I had previously attended resurfaced. The interaction with colleagues and discussion about on-going and possible research began to create the greatest value in conference attendance. Ultimately, I went from attending a few conferences a year to one, maybe two within an academic year.  

Mid-way through my academic career, baby number one came along, followed by baby number two and baby number three.  My attendance at conferences slowed even more for me in the early years of my children — limited to maybe once a year. That one conference was heavily dependent on location and proximity to where I lived.

As my children have gotten older — my approach to conferencing as a parent has evolved. Two key factors impacted this evolution. The first is that I stopped viewing conferences as places and time spent away from my family and began viewing them as an opportunity to explore new places as a family. Even cities I had been to previously were now being viewed with a new perspective. It also helped that the children were getting older and traveling with them was much easier than when they were babies. 

The second key factor in the conferencing as a parent evolution is the approach that conference organizer have shown toward attendees. There has been an increase in conference promotions that encourage and welcome spouses to partake in events. There have also been recent conferences that have extended such resources and opportunities of engagement for children. 

Once again, I am excited about looking at the various conference schedules and locations. The panels and interactions with colleagues still provide the important academic value for attending a conference, but I am also excited to be able to bring my children to a new city they have never explored – a new zoo, museum, or park.

My class schedule, children’s’ school days, and my wife’s work schedule do not always allow for attending the three conference a year – I once did, but the stars do align every on occasion. As I prepare for my next conference panel – I am fortunate that my family will be able to join me in Anaheim, CA (not too far from Disneyland, I am told). Most notably, I believe I will be the most nervous I have ever been for a presentation with some of the toughest critics in the audience – my children.

I began this post noting how I have evolved in “conferencing as a parent” but in reflecting upon the topic – It may be equally attributable to the evolution of conference organizers. For example, here is note from the American Society for Public Administration conference organizers on their upcoming conference:  “Your children are welcome to attend any part of this year’s conference for free. Whether it’s a plenary, panel, networking reception, evening event or other conference session, you are welcome to bring your child.” Going forward and further – conference organizers can continue to encourage family engagement in conferences. Listing local attractions and museums for children or family activities can add to the overall experience of a conference for one participant who might have otherwise not attended at all. 

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About the author:

Tony Carrizales is an associate professor of public administration at Marist College and former editor-in-chief of Journal of Public Management and Social Policy. His research interests include diversity in the public sector and cultural competence. He received his Ph.D. from the School of Public Affairs and Administration, Rutgers University-Newark. He squad consists of Oliver, Claudia, and Warren, and his wife, Michelle.

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Blog Equitable Conferencing: Caregivers Perspectives and Prospects

Childcare in Time and Space: My Own Experience

mother hugging with ethnic kid on couch
by Sombo Muzata-Chunda:

Introduction

My children are in middle, and elementary schools, and I do not need to bring them to the academic conference with me. As a mother and one who has experienced a different reality around caregiving, I am sharing my lived experience because I believe this will enrich the present conversation. I am also sharing because I care.

My childcare experiences outside the academe

Motherhood is a great joy. Yet it brings with it many challenges, some that one never imagined existed. The challenging experiences can be mitigated by deliberate individual actions and institutional policies. The level of income and type of society are all factors in what kind of motherhood experience one gets to have. I gave birth to my daughters when I lived and worked at home in Zambia, sub-Saharan Africa. I worked for two different institutions, both in the nonprofit sector.

When my older daughter was born, I worked at a national nonprofit and took four months of paid maternity leave. Upon returning to work and serving for some months, I needed to attend an advocacy skills training workshop in Mozambique. That was going to be my first international trip, and the first time I would leave my one year + daughter at home for more than a working day’s hours. Fortunately for me, I had support from my mother who traveled 135 miles to the city where I lived to help look after my daughter while I traveled to the training workshop. I was still breastfeeding and needed to manage not only the guilt that comes with leaving a child at home but also the flow of breast milk. I had mentioned to the lead training facilitator that I needed more time after lunch to express the milk because I wanted to continue breastfeeding when I returned home in a week’s time. Also, that I would step out if my breasts were too full and I needed to express to reduce the pressure. I got accommodations for this.

I had my second daughter when I worked at an international nonprofit; a Swedish development organization. I am mentioning the country of origin of the organization because place and type of society is important like I indicated earlier. Sweden has some of the best policies on childcare in the world. With this organization, I had 6 months of paid maternity leave. I was able to take care of my daughter, and like the older one, exclusively breastfed her. I had a break to express breastmilk if I needed to.

What is similar in both experiences is that the institutions I worked for paid for parental leave for four and six months respectively. If I had chosen to travel with my daughters, I would have got the support that was stipulated in the policies on childcare. Both institutions were deliberate about promoting and respecting women and the right to childbearing. Policies were developed with women in full participation.

My observation of childcare in academic conferences, and conclusion

Living in the USA, as I attend my graduate studies, and participating in several academic conferences has exposed me to a different reality. This reality has had me wonder why I have not seen in the conference programs any information about where nursing mothers can take their children or who they can contact to arrange for caregiving. I have wondered if it is the types of conferences I attend? Or is it that women in public policy and public administration are not bothered by this?

To present a business case, I can imagine academic conference organizers thinking that expecting them to make such arrangements would be costly and asking for too much. I would imagine though that the individual cost to make childcare arrangements and complexity is a potential deterrent to women who would need this kind of support. I can imagine as a graduate student with limited resources, one would have to opt out of academic conferences to take care of their children at home and not have to go through additional stress. Many questions arise here including (i) does the academe expect childbearing women to choose between their children and attending conferences? (ii) what kind of support should academic conference organizers have or give to childcaring women? and (iii) beyond the academic conference sponsoring organizations, what policies do institutions of higher education have around childcare during official travel for their graduate students, professors, and faculty?

I hope that institutions in the academe will rethink their policies to ensure no woman has to make the tough choice to stay away from an academic conference which could have been the opportunity to link them to a network or information they needed to succeed. In my childbearing time and space, I had the opportunity to benefit from the policies institutions that I worked for had in place. I attended the advocacy training and been able to speak up on many issues that affect women, children, and marginalized people. I am not sure I would have been writing this post if the institutions I worked for didn’t give me the right kind of support to take care of my children and at the same time do my work.

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About the author:

Sombo Muzata-Chunda
Contact:chundasm@mymail.vcu.edu
Website: https://meritpages.com/Sombo1

Sombo M. Chunda is a Ph.D. candidate in the. L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs. Prior to pursuing her graduate studies, Sombo worked as country representative in Zambia for the Swedish international nonprofit, Diakonia. At Diakonia, Sombo was responsible for leading the organization through a phase of uncertainty and raised funding to resume operations. Sombo is a trained accountant, a fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA). She holds an MBA from Edinburgh Business School, Heriot Watt University. Her research interests include international development, anti-corruption, and women entrepreneurship. Sombo is a 2020 Section for Women in Public Administration Suffragette scholarship winner.

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Blog Equitable Conferencing: Caregivers Perspectives and Prospects

Give Families Time to Plan

family of four walking at the street
by Heath Brown, Associate Professor, John Jay College:

I sobbed on my way to my first conference after my son was born in 2017. The Lyft driver was confused and worried. I knew it wasn’t just being away, it was being away from him and my wife for the first time.

I pulled myself together in time to get through security on my way to Chicago for a convening of the Scholars Strategy Network. Gratefully, SSN meeting planners figured out how to squeeze five days of work into 12 hours of non-stop action and I was soon on my way back home by the next evening. They’d also been incredibly well organized and I knew long before the event exactly for how long I’d be gone. Early notice is a very family-friendly conference practice.

Not every conference is so well-organized, and this is especially burdensome on parents. If you don’t know when your panel is scheduled until a month before the confeneve, the juggling of support and coordination of schedules is unnecessarily hard, an enormous burden on all attendees, particularly those with young children.

The first thing every academic conference planner should prioritize is letting speakers and presenters know incredibly quickly the date and time of when they are on the agenda. Only when parents have sufficient time can they make the complex arrangements to balance parenting and conferencing.

Also critical is how responsive conference planners are to requests from presenters for the best time to fit into the conference schedule. Weekdays are hardest for my family, for other families weekends are worse. Giving presenters the chance to pick when they present is a huge help to families and a hugely appreciated aspect of a conference, even if every request cannot be granted.

As important as logistics are simply feeling welcome and having the chance to share the experience with family. At least one reception or meal open to family members sends a powerful message that families are a part of an academic life, not something to be ignored or placed at the margin. Findings ways to incorporate family is a family-friendly way to organize a conference.

Our son is now nearly three. Taking him to a conference is something I look forward to. Better planning and a big welcome will make that a great experience for us.

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About the author:

Heath Brown is an associate professor of public policy at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, City University of New York, and the CUNY Graduate Center. He has worked at the US Congressional Budget Office as a Research Fellow, at the American Bus Association as a Policy Assistant, and at the Council of Graduate Schools as Research and Policy Director.