Friends and Colleagues:

 
May 19th will be a very big day.  Please join us at 8:00 AM in the Campus Center for the  2nd annual meeting of the Commonwealth Compact.  We'll be releasing the Benchmark data collected from the original Compact signers and kicking off an aggressive effort to sign up new members.  Once again, Governor Patrick and Mayor Menino will join us. The report has been written by Carol Hardy-Fanta, Director of the Center on Women in Politics and Public Policy.  She will be busy that day, because in the evening, from 6:00-8:00 the women in her Center's certificate program will be graduating, with a keynote address from Attorney General Martha Coakley.  Please join us for this event as well.
 
The budget cut/tax increase debate continues to rage in Massachusetts, as the Commonwealth's tax receipts seem to be dropping almost $3B from their originally projected levels-a nearly 15% drop. I decided to weigh in on the debate from the perspective of one who was deeply involved on behalf of the tax cut campaigns in the 1990's.  I hope you'll find this Globe op-ed of interest.
 
We've now completed our hiring of 5 new tenure track faculty at the McCormack Graduate School for next year:

Department of Gerontology:

 

*     Beth Dugan, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor at the University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worcester. Her research interests include Older Drivers and Geriatric Health Care.

*     Eddie Miller, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor of Public Policy at the Taubman Center for Public Policy at Brown University. His research interests involve Long-Term Care Policy, Medicaid, and Retirement Readiness.

 

Department of Public Policy and Public Affairs:

*     Michael Ahn, Ph.D. is a postdoctoral fellow at the Taubman Center for Public   
Policy, Brown University, with a specialty in Public Management, E-Government, and Information Technology in the Public Sector.

 

*     Amy Smith, Ph.D. is a Visiting Assistant Professor at SUNY Albany with research specialties in Social Networks in Organizational Settings, Best Practices in Teaching Statistics, and Scholarship and Inventive Activity.

 

Dispute Resolution:

 

*     Rezarta Bilali (Ph.D. in Psychology expected June 2009) researches issues in peace and violence from the perspective of social psychology. Her dissertation is entitled "The Effect of Group Identity on Memories of Past Conflicts." She is a specialist in Middle East conflicts and U.S.-Turkish relations.

 

In just three weeks, Commencement for the academic year 08-09! I will have completed 3 years as Dean.  This has been a challenging and stimulating experience for me, to continue to be involved in the policy world, but from an altogether new and different perspective.  I'm tremendously appreciative of the students, faculty and staff who have been so supportive during my learning curve, and of many (if not most) of my new ideas.  The McCormack Graduate School is comprised of a number of remarkable academic and research units, which are in the process of coming together as a powerhouse of a public, urban college of applied and academic policy studies.  The strategic planning process is helping us to crystallize a distinct vision, mission and values which will distinguish us from our peers and inform our future.  I am proud of what we're doing and confident about our future.
 
Daffodils give way to tulips, and tulips give way to lilacs.  Life progresses.  I look forward to continuing to work with you.