MPA 3440 - Special Topics: Public Administration

SPRING 2023-02 CRISIS MANAGEMENT AND MITIGATION–

All organizations share something in common; each one brings together a group of people, presumably, with an agreed upon purpose. In the quest to fulfill the organization’s purpose it is unrealistic to think that organizations can operate in a vacuum, free from internal and external forces that may negatively impact the operations or continued existence of the organization.

In this course, students will learn to identify vulnerabilities within organizations and how to handle organizational crisis effectively and strategically. A significant amount of time will be focused on how organizations can prevent or mitigate future crises by exploring the most recent trends in the development of crisis management plans and teams. Students will be introduced to a wide range of real-world cases to illustrate successes and failures of crisis management and mitigation efforts.

SPRING 2023-01 INTERNSHIP EXTENSION–

The internship extension class is for students that have already completed an internship and successfully completed MSIT 3940, MPA 3940, MSC, 3940, MSPM 3940, or MSDA 3940. This is a self-directed class where students will be responsible for producing bi-weekly journals, a final reflection paper, and a supervisor evaluation. This course requires an override. To register for the course please email Todd Bartlett a copy of your offer letter with an attached job description at tbartlett@clarku.edu. 

Federal and state laws and regulations require public participation in many policy and planning decisions. Even without requirements, efforts toward genuine public engagement can help those who make decisions and those who are affected by the decisions. Advocates for issues, nonpartisan, civic, and nonprofit organizations as well as governments have various reasons for public engagement, and the public has various needs and concerns. This course will introduce students to the theoretical foundations and practical aspects of engaging the public. There are a wide variety of approaches we will review. We will study purposes and levels of public participation from informing to decision-making, often using case studies. Students will reflect on issues related to diversity, accessibility, inclusion, justice, and ethical and moral dimensions of engagement efforts.

Ethnoracial differences in health outcomes have been an American reality since the first slave ship arrived in Virginia in 1619. Over the past 400 years, policy decisions from slavery to reconstruction to Jim Crow to redlining to the war on drugs to the 2021 American Rescue Plan have codified and shaped unequal differences in health outcomes in the US. In this Special Topics course we take a birds-eye view at major trends in health inequities in the US, focusing on the policies that have led to differences in life expectancy, mortality, disease burden, and healthcare spending across ethnoracial groups.

Anticipated Terms Offered: varied