2010-2011 REPORT - School of Public and International Affairs

the summer European Study Abroad, pending MOUs with European universies(Kent and Bern), and revival of SPIA’s flagship undergraduate enrichment program,the Washington Semester.• SPIA provides strong service to the university, the community, and the world. Itsaccredited professional programs require engagement outside the universitysince “the community is the laboratory” for urban planning, public administra-on, public policy, and internaonal affairs. The School has strong collaboraonswith the Office of Economic Development; the Office of Internaonal Research,Educaon and Development; the Office of Energy & Sustainability, and manyacademic departments. Prominent University officials, such as Charles Steger,Jim Bohland, Erv Blythe, and Paul Knox, have their roots in SPIA programs.Like many departments, SPIA has maintained in the face of budget cuts but only with thediligence and hard work of its faculty. While enrollments have increased dramacally,faculty, staff, and financial resources have shrunk. Some faculty departures over the pastfive years have been replaced by excellent young faculty, but others remain unfilled. Wefear arion of faculty, quality graduate students, and our capacity for new iniaves ifwe do not recover faculty and resources lost.We are developing a plan for advancement which we hope to achieve with the assistanceof the College and the University. Broad elements of that plan include raising theresearch and educaonal profiles of the individual programs and the School naonallyand internaonally, moving our top-20 accredited programs up to the top 10, strengtheningthe capacity for interdisciplinary research and teaching, aracng and retainingoutstanding junior faculty across the School by fostering ongoing opportunies for facultyresearch and development, and connuously advancing our pedagogy and researchopportunies for part me and full me students pursuing professional and academiccareers.Central to accomplishing our plans will be securing crucial and urgently needed resources.Specifically:• Filling vacated faculty posions with a hiring plan for six faculty for fall 2012.• Securing five addional SPIA faculty posions requested by the Dean and SPIA’sAcademic Budget Development Resource Request.• Establishing program and SPIA Advisory Boards to enhance professional andalumni relaons and strengthen our programs.• Work with friends of SPIA, including Minnis Ridenour and some prominent donors,to aract private funds to name the school and establish endowed programsand professorships.spia annual report 2010-2011