blog posts

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  Forecasting as (Fallible) Science and Art

  Dec 15, 2022 9:45 am27 views

  Given the high level of uncertainty in the world now, forecasters should definitely admit that they have less of an idea about the potential outcomes in the economy than they usually would.

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  First-Generation College Student Celebration

  Nov 18, 2021 9:00 am327 views

  On November 8th colleges and universities celebrate their students, faculty, and staff who are first-generation college students.

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  Fed Up with the Status Quo: Read This

  Sep 17, 2020 9:45 am191 views

  Look around your organization. Are you amazed at just how resigned everyone is to the status quo? Does the seeming acceptance of mediocrity bother you?  Despite severe environmental pressures, are the people around you behaving in obviously ineffective ways that could be threatening the very survival of the organization?  The problem is that most organizations are incapable of learning or changing themselves in response to experience (i.e., the discrepancy between expectations and results).  So what is the solution?

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  Exploring UIS’ Relationship With Springfield

  Mar 4, 2021 8:30 am67 views

  Through my coursework in the Doctor of Public Administration program I had to opportunity to do an independent study with Bruce Sommers, the Executive Director of Economic Development and Innovation.  I was charged with investigating the best practices in corporate and community engagement by colleges and universities and identifying colleges/universities that have optimized town/gown relations for the commercialization of technology. 

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  Everything you wanted to know about Ranked-Choice Voting (and maybe somethings you didn’t)

  Apr 12, 2023 10:00 am1355 views

  In recent months, there has been increased news coverage of ranked-choice voting (RCV) in Illinois. At this point, you may be asking “what in the world is ranked-choice voting?”

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  Evaluating Plastic Litter Prevention Strategies on Lake Springfield, Illinois

  Jul 22, 2021 10:00 am336 views

  As summer in Central Illinois rolls on, one thing is sure: Illinois residents depend on and love our waterways. However, some of our main recreational activities and everyday consumption patterns can also lead to high levels of shoreline litter or even widespread pollution, endangering wildlife, ecosystems, and the many summer pastimes that so many of us love.

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  Ensuring A Just University

  Nov 5, 2020 2:15 pm51 views

  As an educator and a civically engaged citizen, I believe we will never fully realize “this great experiment of democracy” until we fully realize the common cause for justice. We cannot have justice until we reduce racism to such a level that the civic life of our society can conduct itself in a forward and consistent fashion to ensure that all people, no matter their race, can expect and receive the fruits and benefits of our society. 

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  Elevated Gun Violence in U.S. Cities of All Sizes

  May 1, 2023 10:00 am177 views

  Observes political science professor, Magic M. Wade, “Gun violence is not merely a red state or blue city problem, it is a worsening, widespread phenomenon affecting American communities everywhere.”

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  Election Day 2020: More than a Presidential Election

  Nov 2, 2020 9:30 am76 views

  Every four years, we elect a president based upon each candidate’s vision for the future and our assessments of who is most capable of addressing the issues facing the country.  As is common in most presidential elections, supporters of both candidates are calling this the most important election of their lifetime.  Of course, no matter how important the presidential election may be, it is not the only important decision voters have to make this year.

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  Effect of K-12 instruction types on reported COVID-19 cases and deaths in Illinois counties

  Oct 29, 2020 8:45 am9 views

  Few decisions made by state and local governments in response to the coronavirus pandemic have affected families as much as decisions about K-12 instruction types – whether to provide in-person instruction, online-only instruction, or a hybrid of in-person and online instruction. Decisions about instruction types this fall have varied widely across states, counties, and school districts, partly because of differences in COVID-19 case metrics and partly for other reasons, including political differences.

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  Economic Update July 2020: The Shortest? And Deepest Recession in Generations?

  Jul 7, 2020 1:15 pm98 views

  At the time of this post, the United States economy clings is at a crossroads. The economic slowdown engendered by the coronavirus pandemic and measures to contain its spread were the deepest on record, but there are already signs that the recession may be over. There are lingering issues and pain from the recession, especially in the labor market. But there is a palpable sense that the situation may be resolving itself. However, the economy faces many uncertainties going forward. The question is whether the sense of recovery comes from false hope generated by temporarily good economic news or whether it signals a return to a “normal” economic situation.

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  Earth Day: Celebrating 50 Years of Environmental Awareness & Action

  Apr 22, 2020 7:00 am217 views

  Today, Earth Day remains an important day to reflect on how far we have come, identify the problems that we must still solve, and decide what actions to take to protect and restore the ecosystems that sustain all of us.

  Although COVID-19 may keep us from gathering together at large public rallies this year, here are three things you can do to celebrate Earth Day today and every day.

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  Dr. Junfeng Wang appointed Lead for MPA Program

  May 26, 2022 11:30 am61 views

  The School of Public Policy and Management at the University of Illinois Springfield congratulates Dr. Junfeng Wang on her appointment as Academic Program Lead for the Masters of Public Administration Program.

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  Dr. Betsy Goulet Appointed APL for the Human Services Program

  May 23, 2022 2:30 pm40 views

  The School of Public Policy and Management at the University of Illinois Springfield congratulates Dr. Betsy Goulet on her appointment as Academic Program Lead for the Human Services Program.

• Do You Have Information Problems? Meet the Institute for Legal, Legislative, and Policy Studies (ILLAPS) at the University of Illinois Springfield

  Jan 29, 2021 11:00 am125 views

  When government entities or non-profit organizations want to make decisions on policies and practices, they often run into the problem of not having necessary, easy to understand information to move their work forward. This often leads to uncertainty, inaction, or incomplete decisions. However, it doesn’t have to be like that.

  The Institute for Legal, Legislative, and Policy Studies (ILLAPS) in the Center for State Policy and Leadership at UIS’ mission is to help solve these information problems for non-profits and government entities of all sizes. In coordination with our partners, we solve information problems in three ways:

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  Dean Smith's September Public Affairs Minute

  Sep 15, 2022 9:00 am67 views

  Welcome back as we start our new 2022-23 academic year! I’m going to jump right in and address a topic that represents the ”Elephant in the Room” in any discussions about public affairs, public policy and politics today! It involves the political volatility or outright violence being displayed between our two main political parties and zealous followers at both ends of the political spectrum. table.

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  Dean's July Quarterly Connection - COVID-19 Update

  Jul 9, 2020 9:15 am35 views

  An update on response to COVID 19 by the U of I System, UIS, and College , and an outline of the disruptions, our responses, and our plans.

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  CPAE Faculty Spotlight: Dr. Meghan Kessler, School of Education

  Dec 8, 2022 9:00 am141 views

  CPAE Faculty Spotlight on Dr. Meghan Kessler, Assistant Professor of Teacher Education in the UIS School of Education, whose recent research focuses on the implementation of new state standards for educator preparation.

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  CPAE Faculty Spotlight: Dr. Jennifer Martin, School of Education

  Sep 22, 2022 9:00 am85 views

  CPAE Faculty Spotlight on Dr. Jennifer Martin, Associate Professor in the UIS School of Education, who's teaching, scholarship, and service intersect with her educational advocacy for historically marginalized and underserved populations. 

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  CPAE Faculty Spotlight: Dr. Jae Sik Ha, School of Communication & Media

  Aug 4, 2022 9:30 am66 views

  CPAE Faculty Spotlight of Dr. Jae Sik Ha, Associate Professor in the UIS School of Communication & Media, whose background is in journalism and whose teaching and research focuses on the relationships bewtween media and society.

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  CPAE Faculty Spotlight: Dr. Daniel Platt, Legal Studies

  Aug 25, 2022 9:00 am271 views

  CPAE Faculty Spotlight on Dr. Daniel Platt, Assistant Professor of Legal Studies, whose research focuses on the intersection of legal history, legal culture, and the history of capitalism.

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  CPAE Faculty Spotlight: Dr. Brooke Depenbusch, Legal Studies

  Dec 1, 2022 9:00 am145 views

  CPAE Faculty Spotlight on Dr. Brooke Depenbusch, Assistant Professor in the Department of Legal Studies, whose teaching and research center on the intersection between economic inequality, state structure & social policy, and social movements in the modern United States.

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  CPAE Faculty Spotlight: Dr. Beth Ribarsky, School of Communication & Media

  Oct 27, 2022 9:00 am200 views

  CPAE Faculty Spotlight on Dr. Beth Ribarsky, Professor in the UIS School of Communication & Media, who's areas of teaching, scholarship, and service include interpersonal communication, especially within romantic relationships, as well as public speaking, assessment and pedagogy.

   

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  CPAA Faculty Spotlight: Dr. Yu-Sheng Lee, MPH

  May 5, 2022 9:00 am218 views

  CPAA Faculty Spotlight of Dr. Yu-Sheng Lee, Assistant Professor of Public Health, whose research has focused on various chronic diseases such as diabetes, chronic kidney disease, lung cancer, asthma, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). 

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  CPAA Faculty Spotlight: Dr. Youngjin Kang, SPMP

  Apr 14, 2022 9:00 am284 views

  CPAA Faculty Spotlight on Dr. Youngjin Kang, Assistant Professor of Human Services in the UIS School of Public Policy and Management, whose research focuses on how family members develop and maintain their relationships after transitions in family structure (e.g., divorce, remarriage). 

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  CPAA Faculty Spotlight: Dr. Magic Wade, SPIA

  Feb 24, 2022 9:00 am503 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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  CPAA Faculty Spotlight: Dr. Bob Blankenberger, SPMP

  Feb 10, 2022 9:15 am144 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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  CPAA Faculty Spotlight: Dr. Betsy Goulet, SPMP

  Dec 21, 2021 9:00 am417 views

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

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  CPAA Faculty Spotlight: Dr. Amanda Hughett, Legal Studies

  Dec 8, 2021 9:00 am281 views

  Hello! I’m Dr. Amanda Hughett, an Assistant Professor of Legal Studies. I’m an interdisciplinary scholar whose research and teaching focus on law, social movements, and the criminal justice system in the United States.

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  COVID and its Impact on Higher Education

  Jul 23, 2020 9:00 am193 views

  In our article recent article for Administrative Theory & Praxis “COVID and the Impact on Higher Education: The Essential Role of Integrity and Accountability”, we discuss challenges facing postsecondary institutions due to the COVID crisis and the critical roles that institutional integrity and accountability will play for postsecondary institutions in the COVID era, as well as the importance of embracing the role higher education plays in advancing social equity.

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  COVID-19: Present and Future Challenges for Education Leaders

  Jun 4, 2020 9:15 am155 views

  When Governor JB Pritzker issued a Gubernatorial Disaster Proclamation in response to the COVID-19 pandemic on March 12, 2020, the effects on the P-20 education spectrum were complex and far reaching.

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  COVID-19 Case Projections for Illinois Counties

  Apr 17, 2020 12:15 pm1 views

  Many researchers have already created models with projections for COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, intensive care unit stays, and/or deaths. 

  I have created a model that relies on the fact that some parts of the country are further along the growth curve of the pandemic to produce COVID-19 case projections for Illinois counties. I use data only from the 48 contiguous states, with the expectation that those states provide a better comparison for Illinois than foreign countries do. And I make no assumptions about the virus or the effects of social distancing on transmission of the virus; instead, the model’s projections are based only on the actual data from the 48 states.

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  COVID-19 Adds Pressure to the Already Stressed Child Welfare System

  Apr 30, 2020 9:30 am75 views

  Dr. Betsy Goulet, Public Administration, and Dr. Kent Redfield, Political Science Professor Emeritus, collaborate on U of I System report on the effects of COVID 19 on the Illinois Child Welfare System.

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  Courting Extremism: How State Supreme Court Selection Methods Fuel Ideological Divides

  Jul 18, 2023 9:00 am62 views

  Every summer when the US Supreme Court releases their most high-profile decisions the public is reminded of the influence judges have on everyday life.  How do we decide who gets to make these tough decisions? 

• Continuum of Support from Cradle to Career

  Mar 23, 2021 12:00 pm61 views

  Consider the following questions for a moment,

  Why do some children achieve on grade level and others do not?

  Why are some high schoolers prepared for college and careers and others are not?

  Why is it necessary for some businesses to recruit highly-qualified applicants from areas outside of Sangamon County?

  In 2005, local educational and business leaders asked themselves these and more questions about how education and the local economy are tied together. The more they dug into these questions, the more they realized that the answers were interconnected. Educational attainment is linked to grade-level achievement and social-emotional support. Grade-level achievement and social-emotional learning are connected to healthcare, nutrition, executive thinking skills, motor skill development, literacy skills, parental support, and on and on. It wasn’t long before these experts realized that in order to support Springfield’s economy, they had to focus on supporting youth through the entire continuum from cradle to career.

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  Continuing America’s Laboratory of Democracy Through State and Local Electoral Innovations

  May 24, 2022 9:00 am102 views

  A recurring finding among researchers is that American voters have grown dissatisfied with the electoral system in America.  This post discusses alternative voting systems and related research conducted by the staff and faculty of the Center for State Policy and Leadership which was recently published in American Politics Research, a peer-reviewed academic journal.

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  Conservative Judges and Transgender Rights After Bostock v. Clayton County

  Jul 27, 2022 9:30 am193 views

  In a book recently published by the University Press of Kansas, Before Bostock: The Accidental Precedent of Price Waterhouse v. Hopkins, I explore the background of the recent landmark LGBTQ rights case of Bostock v. Clayton County (2020).

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  Connor Krater: My Experience at UIS

  Jun 15, 2021 10:00 am132 views

  The reasons I chose the University of Illinois at Springfield (UIS) are simple. Coming out of high school, I wanted to become involved in Illinois state politics, as Illinois had been my home for my entire life. UIS offered me ample opportunity to get involved in the Illinois state capital and its associated internships while studying its politics.

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  Confronting Inequities in Springfield

  Apr 26, 2021 9:30 am1065 views

  Our community is faced with significant inequities that have persisted over time.  The redlining map of Springfield shown in the picture above shows the mortgage lending categories used in 1940, which segregated our city and discriminated against people of color (https://dsl.richmond.edu/panorama/redlining/#loc=13/39.794/-89.71&city=springfield-il).  The red-shaded areas show the portions labelled as “hazardous” for loan making. Unfortunately, over 80 years later, the legacy of the redlining practices remain.

  In recognition of the need to address inequities, the Citizens Club of Springfield, in partnership with the University of Illinois Springfield, will be hosting a series of programs titled Confronting Inequities in Springfield. The steering committee for this event states: “The Series seeks to engage the broader public in an educational dialogue about the lasting effects of inequities and their destructive legacy in our own backyard. The series also seeks to spur discussion and action to create a more just and equitable community and write the next chapter to our story.”

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  Compost for a Healthier Earth and a Healthier You 

  May 29, 2020 9:00 am56 views

  Observe Learn About Composting Day on May 29th.  According to a National Gardening Association report, 35% of households in the US grow food either at home or in a community garden, an increase of 200% between 2008 and 2017. Now with people still struggling to find food in groceries stores due to the COVID 19 pandemic, there has been another surge in interest.  Anyone can grow their own food, indoors or out, and a good way to begin is to create your own compost.

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  Commentary: The Coronavirus and The Citizen

  Apr 17, 2020 9:45 am1 views

  The COVID 19 pandemic continues to unfold here in Illinois and the United States. There will likely be more cases, more fatalities, efforts of all kinds to contain and address this terrible life threatening virus that is wreaking havoc in and around the globe.  

  From the vantage point of the average citizen the questions are what happens next, what will life be like in the days, and months ahead? 

  Because I sit alone in my apartment trying to practice social distancing, I have some time to contemplate what’s next, what happened, and where is the average citizen in all this?  

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  Commencement and Graduation and Pomp and Circumstance: What does it Really Mean?

  May 18, 2022 9:00 am165 views

  Just what is graduation, what is commencement, why are they important life milestones? Let’s take a brief look.

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  Chicago mayor-elect Brandon Johnson defies respectability politics: Is a paradigm shift underway?

  Apr 11, 2023 11:30 am140 views

  The recent election of Brandon Johnson as Chicago’s new mayor has been the center of attention in the US this week. This outcome raises questions about the existence of a paradigm shift in urban politics.

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  Change, Hope, and Renewal

  Feb 4, 2021 9:30 am29 views

  The January 6th Capitol riot, Martin Luther King Day Celebrations, the Inauguration of President Biden and the pending Impeachment Trial of Donald Trump. What a start to 2021! What do all four events/days have in common? Nothing some may say, and everything, others may suggest. I’m in the group that will highlight some important similarities and very real differences between these events.

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  Centering the Ocean in an Uncertain World: A Post for Inland Communities on World Oceans Day

  Jun 8, 2020 4:30 pm146 views

  June 8 is World Oceans Day. And on every June 8 since 1992, this day has marked an opportunity to raise awareness about the benefits humans derive from the ocean, as well as humans’ reciprocal duty to protect the ocean and use its resource responsibly and sustainably.

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  Celebrate Sunshine Week!

  Mar 16, 2021 9:00 am7 views

  As I’m writing this on Monday, thick, gray clouds are streaking across the sky above the UIS campus. The view out my window reminds me of what it’s like sometimes trying to get information from government agencies.  March 14-20 is Sunshine Week, an initiative that began in 2005 by the American Society of News Editors to promote the public’s right to know what its public officials are doing.

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  Can you see me? Children in the Shadows of the Pandemic

  Nov 17, 2020 10:45 am47 views

  In March, schools sent children home and students across Illinois and the nation sequestered in their homes where they attempted to continue their schoolwork remotely, in front of their computer screens.  Before too long child advocates nationwide observed an alarming trend – significant decreases in calls to child abuse hotlines.  States reported precipitous drops – upwards to 50% in some states. 

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  Can the COVID crisis teach us to respond to climate change with more justice and impact?

  Aug 27, 2020 9:00 am28 views

  As the COVID crisis began to bite in Central Illinois this past spring, my Introduction to Cultural Geography students packed up their belongings, left campus, and settled into whatever housing they could, where, among myriad other tasks, they completed their current events papers for my course.  Several of them centered those papers on a developing media narrative:  perhaps Covid-19 held a silver lining for the environment, including the climate, as humans’ greenhouse gas emissions plummeted around the globe.

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  Call for a National Conference on Restoring Civility in American Politics

  Dec 20, 2022 9:30 am60 views

  Dean Smith explains his call for a national conference focusing on solutions for the seeming rise in political violence and discontent across the nation over the past several years. 

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  Building Board Diversity is a Win for Springfield and Beyond

  Oct 27, 2020 9:00 am23 views

  When Raychel McBride and Sarah Tapscott contacted Innovate Springfield about an initiative encouraging more diversity on local nonprofit boards, we only had one question. “When do we start?”