Top (left
to right): Chris Rodgers, mayoral aide; Paul Landow, chief of staff; Mayor Mike
Fahey; Pete Festersen, deputy chief of staff; and Angie Anderson, project
assistant .
• New University of Nebraska President James B. Milliken
was tenured as a professor in the school.
• Dr. B.J. Reed served as president of the National
Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration
• Private donor and community support for scholarships and
paid internships exceeded $100,000 for urban studies graduate students
preparing for careers in housing and community development.
• The Aviation Institute completed development of a
proposal for a new bachelor of science in aviation degree. Public
administration completed a comprehensive self-study in preparation for the
re-accreditation of its MPA degree in 2005.
•External funding totaled $1.6 million from federal
sources such as NASA, EPSCoR, Housing and Urban Development, Environmental
Protection Agency, and Health and Human Services.
• Expansion of the Visiting Faculty Program to include
more speakers to enrich student learning and faculty research.
• The Aviation Institute's Nebraska Space Grant Consortium
earned NASA's highest rating for excellent performance during its 15-year
program evaluation.
• Dr. Mary Hamilton, past executive director of the American
Society for Public Administration, joined the school as a senior
executive-in-residence.
• Cooperation with the City of Omaha increased. Dr. Carol
Ebdon was tapped to serve as finance director for the City of Omaha. Dr.
Russell Smith initiated a project to increase collaboration between the City of
Omaha and neighborhood groups interested in code enforcement.
• Dr. Gary Marshall became the third public administration
faculty member to receive the UNO Alumni Association's Alumni Outstanding
Teaching Award.
• Initiated a partnership with the University of
Nebraska-Lincoln College of Architecture to provide office and classroom space
for the Lincoln MPA program.
• Dr. Richard Box was selected to serve another term as
editor of Administrative Theory & Praxis journal; Dr. Brent Bowen (Aviation
Institute) continued as editor of the Journal of Air Transportation.
• Three public administration doctoral students had
articles published in their field's leading academic journal, Public
Administration Review.
• Dr. Ken Kriz was named a Fulbright Scholar to lecture
and research in Estonia during the 2004-2005 academic year. While in Estonia,
Dr. Kriz also will be affiliated with the Eurofaculty Program.
• Defined five new clusters for
the Ph.D. program in public administration: public budget and finance; public
aviation and transportation; public policy; urban management; and citizenship
and democracy.
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A 1999 report
commissioned by the Omaha Community Foundation (OCF) called for an increase in
the number of community development corporations in the Omaha area.
The report—coupled with
requests from the housing development community and interest shown by a private
donor—resulted in the creation of the new Housing and Community Development
specialization in the master of science in urban studies degree.
Thus far, four students
interested in careers in housing and community development have been awarded
scholarships covering tuition, fees and books. In addition to their full-time
graduate coursework, students work in paid internship positions supported by
the Nebraska Investment Finance Authority, the City of Council Bluffs, and the
Fannie Mae Nebraska Partnership Office. Each student also participates in
professional development workshops and other skill-building opportunities
throughout their two-year program.
The first two students
supported by scholarships will graduate in 2005 and are expected to then take
positions in community-based organizations.
The new specialization
adds to the School of Public Administration's ongoing work with the U.S.
Department of Housing and Urban Development and its support each year of three
MPA and MSUS students who are preparing for careers in community building.
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Helping Nebraska's Small Airports
As part
of its broader SATS research program, faculty from public administration (Dr.
Robert Blair) and aviation (Dr. Scott Tarry) collaborated with the UNO Center
for Public Affairs Research and the Nebraska Department of Aeronautics to
conduct a survey of Nebraska's public-use airports.
The survey provided important
information about the governance of these airports and the perceptions that
local officials have about the current role and potential impact their airports
might have on local economic development and mobility within the state.
The
survey also provided NASA's SATS program with important information about
prospects for improving small community air transport on a national level.
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Small Aircraft Transportation System
For the
past three years, Dr. Scott Tarry (Aviation Institute associate professor) has
coordinated the efforts of a diverse team of researchers from the School of
Public Administration, UNO Center for Public Affairs Research and UNL College
of Engineering.
The
Collaborative Research Team (CRT) has been instrumental in providing NASA with
information and analysis related to air transport for rural and small
communities.
Recognizing
that many communities in Nebraska are not well served by the nation's existing
airline system, CRT members and their NASA counterparts are exploring ways to
bring more affordable, safe and reliable air transport to small and rural
communities across the nation through the development and deployment of
advanced light aircraft and new business models.
The
research has been supported by NASA EPSCoR funding and has enabled CRT members
to successfully compete for research grants from the Research Triangle
Institute and the National Consortium for Aviation Mobility.
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NASA Space Grant Consortium
The
Aviation Institute's NASA Nebraska Space Grant & EPSCoR programs have
enjoyed tremendous success during the past year. Led by Dr. Brent Bowen,
professor of Aviation and Aviation Institute director, Nebraska currently
receives the greatest amount of funding nationally from NASA for these two
programs. Funding, with match, currently exceeds $2.4 million annually.
In July
2004, the NASA Nebraska Space Grant Consortium earned NASA's highest ranking
for the Consortium's excellent performance during its 15-year program
evaluation, resulting in a five-year program extension. NASA's program manager
for the National Space Grant College and Fellowship Program (Space Grant),
Diane DeTroye, congratulated the Nebraska Space Grant on its "exceptional
achievement and national leadership," specifically applauding the success of
Native American community engagement in Nebraska.
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