Professional Development: Negotiation and Compromise

Take charge of your professional development!  Enroll in this skill building class through the College of Extending Learning.  All are welcome to enroll.  Our professional and personal lives involve an ongoing series of negotiations and compromises.  The principles that guide successful negotiations and productive compromises are critical to our success, to the success of our organizations and to the well-being of those whom we serve.  Successful practitioners possess and apply a blend of perceptual, persuasive, analytical, and interpersonal skills that we will examine carefully in this course. This course will start with the conceptual framework of negotiations and will then focus on specific skills and strategies designed to help you be an effective negotiator.

PA 748:  Negotiation and Compromise, 1 Unit Course
When:  9am-5:00pm on 10/27 & 11/10
Where: SF State’s Downtown Campus, 835 Market Street, Room 677
Instructed by Professor Bryan Montgomery
COST:  $395
REGISTER: https://cel.sfsu.edu/openuniversity

MORE INFORMATION: mpa@sfsu.edu

More about the instructor
Bryan Montgomery has been the Oakley City Manager since 2005 and has over 25 years of local government experience. Prior to his appointment in Oakley, Bryan served as City Manager in Mesquite, Nevada and in Rupert, Idaho. He also served as Assistant City Manager in Alamogordo, New Mexico, and as an aide in the Mayor’s Office in Provo, Utah. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in International Government Relations from Brigham Young University (BYU) and a Master’s in Public Administration from BYU’s prestigious Marriott School of Management.

Bryan has been a valued member of many organizations such as Boy Scouts of America, International City Management Association (ICMA), International Hispanic Network, Rotary International, and the United Way; and has served on various committees within his church. He was named the Volunteers of Economic Development Alliance “Volunteer of the Year” in 2015, and in 2012 he received the League of California Cities’ Advancement for Diverse Communities Award.

Professional Development: Personal Leadership Development

Take charge of your professional development!  Enroll in this skill building class through the College of Extending Learning.  All are welcome to enroll.  PA 763 is a graduate level introductory course in providing students a practical perspective on leadership and developing leadership skills.  Discussion will include a variety of leadership models based on experiences of the Lecturer as well as case studies.  Through active participation, discussions, lecture, and personal assessments, students will take an in-depth look at where they are along the path of leadership in their own work and/or academic environments, analyze personal areas of strength and areas for growth; understand the difference between leadership and management; and understand the pros and cons of several different leadership models and styles.

PA 763: Personal Leadership Development, 1 Unit Course
When: 9am – 2:30pm In person meeting dates: 9/15, 10/20, & 11/17
Where: SF State’s Downtown Campus, 835 Market Street, Room 677
Instructed by Professor Regina Neu
COST:  $395
REGISTER: https://cel.sfsu.edu/openuniversity

MORE INFORMATION: mpa@sfsu.edu

Regina Neu, MS, Independent Consultant
Regina Neu has spent her career working in the nonprofit sector including as an Executive Director for two Bay Area nonprofits and teaching nonprofit administration courses at San Francisco State University and at California State University, East Bay. She is also a consultant focusing on helping nonprofits increase their efficiency, manage change, and overcome challenges. Her expertise is in board development, executive searches and transition management, needs assessments, strategic planning, and fund development. Regina has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Delaware and a master’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania.

 

Professional Development Course: Qualitative Interviewing

Take charge of your professional development!  Enroll in this skill building class through the College of Extending Learning.  All are welcome to enroll.  This is a class in how to interview. It will review the assumptions behind gathering data through depth interviews, look at various uses of qualitative interviews and then cover the mechanics of interviewing.  It is not a class in qualitative analysis, but we will spend time on how to prepare data so that it is most amenable to such analysis. The assignments for the class are to conduct interviews of increasing complexity. As a class we will listen to each other’s interviews and comment on what is done well, suggestions for improvement and possible themes that arise from the interview (the first step in qualitative analysis).

PA 708:  Qualitative Interviewing:  1 Unit Course
When:  9am-2:30pm on 9/8, 9/22, & 10/6
Where: SF State’s Downtown Campus, 835 Market Street, Room 677
Instructed by Dr. Carol Silverman
COST:  $395
REGISTER: https://cel.sfsu.edu/openuniversity

MORE INFORMATION: mpa@sfsu.edu

 More about the Instructor 
Carol Silverman has had a varied research career – she specializes in urban sociology and poverty and inequality. She has conducted research in housing policy, consumer run mental health services and nonprofits and philanthropy and restorative justice at UC Berkeley in the schools of Social Welfare and Law as well as at USF.  She currently serves as the Director of Program Evaluation at Telecare Corporation, a large mental health service provider. She has taught at SFSU, UC Berkeley and New College of California. Her PhD is in Sociology from UCB.

 

Dr. Joaquin writes for the PA Times

Professor Ernita Joaquin has penned a timely commentary on an alarming phenomenon in public administration in the United States. Seeking to flesh out the meaning of the current administration’s agenda of “deconstruction of the administrative state,” Dr. Joaquin’s paper describes deconstruction’s apparent twin strategies of dis-investment in, and de-legitimization of, vital components of public administration. What challenges does this agenda present to the practice, theory, and teaching of PA? You can reach the author at ejoaquin@sfsu.edu.

PACE convenes affordable housing research meetings

PACE’s newly emerging Center for Applied Housing Research — funded by a generous gift from Merritt Community Capital Corporation — held three affordable housing research convenings in March and April. The sessions brought together senior practitioners from the nonprofit affordable housing sector, local and regional government agencies, social service delivery organizations, financial institutions and others interested in actionable affordable housing research in the Bay Area.

Professor Ayse Pamuk and Associate Professor Jennifer Shea (with the coordination of MPA graduate assistant Jeremy Hill) led the participants in a discussion of the most pressing research and data needs, ideas for potential innovation in the sector and how SF State faculty and student researchers could most effectively contribute to the field of affordable housing. A total of 40 participants attended, including our own graduates who hold senior level jobs in the affordable housing sector. The discussions provided many great ideas for research projects, identified the most urgent data needs in the region and sparked several potential collaborations. As we develop our mission and vision for the future, we welcome our CHSS colleagues to contact us with their ideas.

Pictured: Jennifer Shea and Ayse Pamuk

San Francisco State’s International City/County Management Association student chapter attend SF State Night at the San Francisco Giants

 San Francisco State University’s (SFSU) International City/County Management Association (ICMA) student chapter members from the Public Administration program attended “SFSU Night” at the San Francisco Giants game last Monday, April 9, 2018. It was a fun-filled night of networking with classmates while cheering on their favorite SF team! ICMA was fortunate enough to receive a welcome message shout-out prior to the game reading: “MPA out to play! Go ICMA!” on the big screen. The student giveaway of the night was an SFSU Gator beanie sporting SFSU’s school colors! It was a close and exciting game, but unfortunately, the Giants did not win. Despite this, ICMA students had a fun evening getting the opportunity to bond and connect with fellow SFSU MPA classmates!  

For Japan’s Growing Population Of Seniors, Prison Is An Oasis

Elderly Japanese women are committing minor crimes in order to go to prison, where they find community and purpose.

Gerontology scholar Emiko Takagi (@EmikoTakagi) joins Here & Now‘s Meghna Chakrabarti to explain the challenges Japan is facing with its rapidly aging population, and what’s driving women to do this.

Listen to the podcast.

MPA alum spotlighted for work in senior wellness

Jessica McCracken (MPA, ’06) is featured in the Winter 2018 issue of LeadingAge California Magazine: Women’s Edition. The publication’s first women’s issue explores a range of factors contributing to the financial challenges many women face when approaching retirement. LeadingAge California highlights the great work being done by women in senior communities. MacCracken is featured in her role as vice president of programming and development for Ruth’s Table, the creative wellness program at Bethany Center Senior Housing. See story on page 16.

Researchers say food delivery programs play a crucial role in senior health

Low-income seniors are sometimes forced to choose between buying good food and paying for their medications or even their rent. Other seniors can suffer from malnutrition when they become isolated without family members to help out.

A related issue is that many older people are hospitalized for one reason or another. If sent home without follow-up care — including access to nutritious meals — they often end up back in the hospital. A recent study by researchers at San Francisco State University and Merritt College found that one simple but effective program — Meals on Wheels (MOW) — improves seniors’ health and reduces the number of return hospitalizations.

The interdisciplinary study was conducted by Darlene Yee-Melichar, SF State professor and Gerontology Program coordinator; Mary Louise Zernicke, dietary manager program director at Merritt College; and Visakha Som, an SF State student who was working toward her master’s degree in public administration in 2017. The team analyzed data on 1,078 people from a national survey of older Americans to explore the impact of MOW and similar food delivery programs on health, hospitalizations and food insecurity. Their analysis, published in the journal Trends in Geriatric Healthcare, shows that older adults who received home-delivered meals had improved health outcomes and reduced hospitalizations.

Click here for more information.

‘Solar suitcases’ deliver hands-on experience to an environmental justice course

In Assistant Professor Autumn Thoyre‘s energy justice and sustainability course, students learned to assemble portable solar-power kits and then taught middle school kids the same skill. The solar suitcases were sent to meet critical needs in regions of the world where electricity is unreliable.

Click here for the rest of the story.