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  April Public Affairs Minute: Mental Health Days for Students, Professors and Staff and You!

  by Dr. Robert W. Smith, Dean, College of Public Affairs and AdministrationApr 13, 2022 9:00 am |  96  Views

  A new law went into effect on Jan. 1, 2022, that gives Illinois students five mental health days to use throughout the year without a doctor's note.  This brief message is another plea to step back and take a break.

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  STUDENT SPOTLIGHT: Jennifer Haegele-Ryterski, 2019 DPA Cohort

  by Dr. Sean McCandless, Assistant Professor of Public AdministrationApr 7, 2022 9:00 am |  64  Views

  Jennifer Haegele-Ryterski is a DPA student in the 2019 cohort who has been working with DPA Associate Director Dr. Sean McCandless on better understanding the experiences of people identifying as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, and queer (LGBTIQ+) in the criminal-legal system, particularly in probation.

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  Human Services Program - the End of an Era

  by Dr. Betsy Goulet, Clinical Assistant Professor, Public Administration & Child Advocacy Studies CoordinatorApr 6, 2022 9:00 am |  126  Views

  Saying farewell to Dr. Denise Bockmier-Sommers, Associate Professor & Human Services Program Lead, as she retires at the end of this academic year.

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  PAR Alumni Spotlight: Alex Degman returns to Illinois Capitol

  by Jason Piscia, Public Affairs Reporting DirectorMar 31, 2022 9:00 am |  57  Views

  Public Affairs Reporting Director Jason Piscia chats with Alex Degman, PAR '09, who is returning to Springfield after nearly five years with KMOX in St. Louis as an anchor and reporter.

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  The Economy at the Start of 2022

  by Dr. Kenneth Kriz, Distinguished Professor of Public Administration & Director, Institute for Illinois Public FinanceMar 30, 2022 9:00 am |  178  Views

  The economy at the start of 2022 can be summarized by the proverbial glass-half-full or glass-half-empty scenario. In this blog post, I will attempt to summarize the current data on the national, state, and regional economy, address concerns that continue to plague the economy, and summarize forecaster’s best guesses about what the economy will do for the rest of this year and into 2023.

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  The Financial Condition of the State of Illinois

  by Dr. Kenneth Kriz, Distinguished Professor of Public Administration & Director, Institute for Illinois Public FinanceMar 23, 2022 10:00 am |  2,244  Views

  Analyzing the financial condition of a large organization like the State of Illinois is a complex task, to put it mildly.  But in the following few paragraphs, we will try to describe the financial condition of Illinois at the end of the last fiscal year.

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• Watch replay: Ray Long talks about his new book about former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan

  by Jason Piscia, Public Affairs Reporting DirectorMar 18, 2022 9:00 am |  33  Views

  On March 17, the Public Affairs Reporting program hosted a conversation with Ray Long, the longtime investigative reporter at the Chicago Tribune. He recently authored a book about the political career of former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan.

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  Calling All Nonprofit Agencies looking to hire new talent!

  by Sherrie Elzinga, Director of Graduate Intern ProgramsMar 16, 2022 1:15 pm |  231  Views

  GPSI has been placing UIS graduate students in State Government Agencies since its inception, and in recent years, GPSI has made an effort to ensure Nonprofit Agencies are aware of this program’s opportunity as well.

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  March Public Affairs Minute - Ukraine and Why It Matters at UIS

  by Dr. Robert W. Smith, CPAA DeanMar 7, 2022 1:30 pm |  61  Views

  In our College, the impetus behind creating our new School of Politics and International Affairs (SPIA) was to recognize the importance of our political environment at home and abroad.

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  President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law: What State and Local Policy Makers and Practitioners Need to Know?

  by Dr. Arwi Kriz, Visiting Assistant Professor of Public AdministrationMar 2, 2022 9:00 am |  60  Views

  President Biden’s Infrastructure Investment and Job Act is a bipartisan law passed in November 2021 is essentially equivalent to a 5-year capital improvement program financed by the federal government and implemented by state and local governments. 

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  CPAA Faculty Spotlight: Dr. Magic Wade, SPIA

  by Dr. Magic Wade, Associate Professor of Political ScienceFeb 24, 2022 9:00 am |  547  Views

  CPAA Faculty Spotlight on Dr. Magic Wade, Associate Professor of Political Science in the UIS School of Politics and International Affairs, whose research focuses on state labor laws, teachers unions, and public safety unions and more recently, on criminal justice, public safety, and urban politics.

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  BEST KEPT SECRET – NO MORE

  by Barbara Van Dyke-Brown, Director, Legislative InternshipsFeb 17, 2022 9:00 am |  159  Views

  The Illinois Legislative Staff Intern Program (ILSIP) is the best kept secret at the University of Illinois at Springfield. It is hard to fathom why this is so.

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  PAR grad Ray Long talks about Michael Madigan with us on March 17

  by Jason Piscia, Public Affairs Reporting DirectorFeb 16, 2022 9:00 am |  136  Views

  Ray Long, PAR '81, chronicles Speaker Madigan’s storied legislative career in a new book – “The House That Madigan Built: The Record Run of Illinois' Velvet Hammer”, which comes out March 22.  We’d like to invite you to join us on Zoom at noon March 17 to hear from Long about his book and his career covering Madigan.

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  CPAA Faculty Spotlight: Dr. Bob Blankenberger, SPMP

  by Dr. Bob Blankenberger, Associate Professor of Public AdministrationFeb 10, 2022 9:15 am |  150  Views

  CPAA Faculty Spotlight on Dr. Bob Blankenberger, Associate Professor of Public Administration in the UIS School of Public Management and Policy, whose research interests are focused on educational policy, program evaluation, and how to improve educational attainment.

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  Time to Create an Illinois Academy of Politics?

  by Dr. Robert W. Smith, Dean, College of Public Affairs and AdministrationFeb 8, 2022 9:00 am |  79  Views

  There are many concerns surrounding our current political discourse in our nation today. I would like to change course a bit in my past reflections about the nature of our disappointing and curious political environment in 2022. In fact, I’m hoping to interject a sense of hope and optimism at a time when that seems hard to identify.

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  J.P. Lucas, MPA 19’: A Peruvian-American Budget Analyst

  by The UIS School of Public Management and PolicyJan 26, 2022 9:30 am |  132  Views

  Jean-Pierre Lucas earned his MPA from UIS in 2019 - the MPA enabled him to connect theory and practice by linking his experiences in the classroom with his work in a state agency.

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  We Know This Much is True

  by Betsy Goulet, CAST Director & Amy Wheeler, UIS Child Protection Training AcademyJan 25, 2022 9:00 am |  198  Views

  Deidre Graham Silas was laid to rest this past weekend, in a beautiful service that intentionally celebrated the life she lived, rather than the circumstances that tragically ended her life on January 5th.  But to fully understand this reflective piece it is sadly necessary to point out how Deidre’s life was ended....

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  UIS Showcasing Graduate Education Options for Students

  by Jocelyn Fluker, GPSI InternJan 20, 2022 9:00 am |  76  Views

  Attending graduate school is a popular next step for those who want to further their education or their career. UIS has found that it is important to share this information with its’ students so they may know their options and take advantage of such an opportunity at their fingertips.

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  Your Local Newspaper Is In Trouble

  by Jason Piscia, Public Affairs Reporting DirectorJan 19, 2022 11:00 am |  98  Views

  The most recent figures from Pew Research Center’s analysis of data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows the number of newsroom employees in the United States fell by 26% since 2008.  Most of that loss has happened at newspapers, which often is a community’s best source of consistent, in-depth, solid watchdog news coverage. 

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  Elevating community voices: Using GIS to think about child welfare in the State of Illinois

  by Michael Lotspeich-Yadao, Ph.D.Jan 11, 2022 9:00 am |  231  Views

  What is the importance of community factors to public administrators in the child welfare system? How might different protective or risk factors influence the outcome of youth in care at various decision points?  Technical training in GIS allows public administrators to visually interpret data to understand better relationships, patterns, and trends that may have been missed in a traditional reports.

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  CPAA Faculty Spotlight: Dr. Matthew Geras, SPIA

  by Dr. Matthew Geras, Assistant Professor of Political ScienceJan 7, 2022 9:00 am |  189  Views

  CPAA Faculty Spotlight on Dr. Matthew Geras, Assistant Professor of Political Science in the UIS School of Politics and International Affairs, whose teaching and research focuses on U.S. elections and American political institutions, including Congress, the presidency, and political parties.

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  With Wishes for a Magical Holiday Season

  by Dr. Robert W. Smith, Dean, College of Public Affairs and AdministrationDec 23, 2021 9:00 am |  76  Views

  As the Fall semester concludes and the holidays are soon upon us, there is no better time than now to reach out to students, faculty, staff, alumni, community members, stakeholders and our Public Affairs Community to wish you all a most sincere “Season’s Greetings” from the Office of the Dean.

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  News literacy: A lesson for all ages

  by Jason Piscia, Public Affairs Reporting DirectorDec 22, 2021 9:00 am |  340  Views

  As the last several months have shown us, misinterpreted or flat-out bogus information about vaccines, masks, the outcome of the 2020 presidential election and much more affects – and polarizes – all ages.

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  CPAA Faculty Spotlight: Dr. Betsy Goulet, SPMP

  by Dr. Betsy Goulet, Clinical Assistant Professor, Public Administration & Child Advocacy Studies CoordinatorDec 21, 2021 9:00 am |  417  Views

  CPAA Faculty Spotlight:  Dr. Betsy Goulet, Clinical Assistant Professor, Public Administration & Child Advocacy Studies Coordinator

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  Team Effort – Interns Win!!!

  by Barbara Van Dyke-Brown, Director, Legislative InternshipsDec 16, 2021 9:00 am |  299  Views

  Celebrating a partnership that marries a passion for social work with policy in the Illinois Legislative Staff Intern Program (ILSIP).

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