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Friends and Colleagues: 
I returned from a 2 week vacation in Hawaii
to enjoy Boston's
rigorous February snow and stormy rain.
The good news is March is here, and crocuses and daffodils are breaking
ground.
Meanwhile, things keep moving here at the McCormack Graduate
School. Perhaps the most significant is the launch of
a new research institute, the Collaborative Institute on Oceans, Climate and
Security. The Institute is jointly
sponsored by MGS and the College
of Science and Math, and
it will utilize both policy and science to search for the intersections among
the impact of climate change on oceans and their combined impact on human
security and national security. Robbin
Peach, who led the creation of the Massachusetts Ocean Partnership project and helped
bring it to UMass Boston, will serve as the Director of the new institute. I'd be very interested in your reactions.
Of nearly equal importance, there was an unusual note in my 3
year review as Dean:
"By establishing the expectation
that the MGS customer service orientation will be based on a stance of positive
action rather than passive problem identification, ("How can I help?") you've
set a tone that will build a spirit of cooperation and reflect well on MGS."
As many of you know, it has been among my highest priorities
to be sure that the staff at MGS, particularly the support staff, realize that our job is to solve problems and to make our faculty, students and senior
staff successful in their work. I take
great pride in those staff getting recognition in this way. Thank you.
And in a big win, UMass Boston, led by the McCormack Graduate School's Center for Social Policy, has been chosen to evaluate the Thrive in 5 Initiative in Boston. Thrive in 5 is a city wide initiative to prepare children by the age of 5 for school. In 2007 a team of 65 cross-sector professionals and 35 parents met to create a 10 year action plan to achieve universal school readiness and prevent an achievement gap in Boston. The project includes multiple communities and organizations and an emphasis on families, educators, and systems coordination. More information is available at the following website: www.thrivein5boston.org. Congratulations Donna Haig Friedman and CSP Staff!
Connie Chan as Associate Dean is undertaking a number of new
initiatives, as we try to improve the performance of our academic units and our
centers and institutes. We are
pilot-testing teacher training for new faculty in the Public Policy Department,
and holding grantsmanship workshops put on by Dr. Gary Siperstein. If these initiatives work well, we will
expand them throughout the college. In
addition, Connie and Gary are taking on a project with all of the center and
institute directors to establish a series of baseline performance metrics, and
to assess the extent to which their operations are integrated with our academic
programs. This baseline assessment will
give us the tools to track our performance in subsequent years. Similarly, Tim
Blackman has worked with Connie and the graduate program administrators to
develop a detailed database of applications, acceptances, and enrollments for the
class of 2009 in all of our academic programs, along with a variety of
demographic and achievement data for those students. Again, this provides us a baseline to track
our performance going forward.
We are deeply into the interview process for our two new
Global Policy and one new Public Policy faculty, and are delighted with the
candidate pools.
The Edward J. Collins, Jr. Center
for Public Management was cited several times in Governor Patrick's FY11 Budget
Message as critical partners in the Administration's efforts to relieve
pressure on the property tax, increase government efficiency, and preserve
critical services at the municipal level. In addition to working with
municipalities, the Collins
Center participated in
the Boston Police Department's Leadership Development Program for newly
promoted officers. This program was the first of its kind for the BPD and sets
the groundwork for continued leadership development programs.
And
I'm pleased to announce that Gerontology PhD Student Chae Man (Jay) Lee won a $2,000 student scholar award for the National Center
for Senior Transportation, transportation issues for seniors being one of the
major issues of our Gerontology Department.
Congratulations Jay.
There are a lot of interesting events that I want you to know about:
· Our Public Policy Department will be co-hosting a meeting with the Mass Chapter of the American Society of Public Administration (Mass ASPA) on "The Promises of Accountability," Wednesday April 28, from 5:00-7:30.
· Mayor Menino's Office of New Bostonians, with which MGS works closely, will be hosting a "New Bostonians Summit," Wednesday March 31, 2010 from 9:00AM-Noon.
· On April 23rd, our friends in the undergraduate Gerontology program are sponsoring a conference "Vibrant Living, the UMass Boston Gerontology Celebration."
· MGS is joining with the Gaston Institute to sponsor the lecture "Así fue. ¿Y ahora qué? Reflexiones sobre el cuatrienio 2004-2008 y sus repercusiones para el futuro" by the former Governor of Puerto Rico, Anibal Acevedo Vila, Thursday March 4th, 1:00-2:30. I hope you will attend.
· Governor Patrick will be keynoting the El Mundo Professional Mixer on Wednesday, March 17, 5:30-8:30, and I'll be on a follow-up panel discussing diversity and inclusion during difficult economic times.
Speaking of public policy, I wonder if we'll ever get a health care bill. Watching our President is such a pleasure-his intellect, nuance and ease. But does that matter? We shall see.
Steve Crosby, Dean
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Job Opportunities of Interest |
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UMass Boston Career Services
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Need additional assistance on your job/internship search or resume?
Visit Career Services or call 617-287-5519.
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Foe of Iran Government Calls for Referendum
New York Times, February 22, 2010
Center for Women in Politics and Public Policy visiting scholar Fatemeh Haghighatjoo, a former reformist member of the Iranian Parliament, is quoted in this article on one of Iran's opposition leaders calling for a national referendum to gauge the popularity of the government.
Canton Receives Stimulus Grant for Rodman Preschool
Canton Journal, February 21, 2010
The City of Canton, working with the Edward J. Collins Jr. Center for Public Management at the McCormack Graduate SChool, recieved a $150,000 award to convert the Rodman Preschool's heating system from steam to energy-saving hot water.
Millions of Unemployed Face Years Without Jobs
New York Times, February 20, 2010
Randy Albelda, Senior Fellow at MGS, is quoted in this article on how even as the economy shows signs of rebounding, millions of Americans remain out of work and nearing the end of unemployment benefits.
After Earthquakes, UMass Boston Increases its Efforts in Haiti
The Point, February 19, 2010
Public Policy alumnus Dr. Alex Cantave reaches out to help his homeland.
Happy Birthday Stimulus!
CNBC, February 17, 2010
Celebrating one year since the stimulus, with MGS Professor Christian Weller.
Lessons in American Leadership, on Presidents Day 2010
Huffington Post, February 15, 2010
Nigel Hamilton's American Caesars: Lives of the Presidents, Franklin D. Roosevelt to George W. Bush will be published in July.
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 Public Policy students David Gonzalez Nieto, Diana Salas Coronado & Elaine Donnelly are presenting papers at the Eastern Sociological Society Annual Meeting in Boston on March 19th. The papers were co-authored with MGS Public Policy & Public Affairs Professor Billie Gastic. The titles of their collaborative work are: Gastic, B., & Salas Coronado, D. An assets approach to community-initiated, community-university partnerships. Gastic, B., & Donnelly, E. School leaders talk about school violence and its remedies. Gastic, B., & Nieto, D. The mixed success of Hispanic-Serving Institutions |
 The Center for Rebuilding Sustainable Communities after Disasters presents:
April 2010 Workshop on Haiti
After the Cameras have gone: Rebuilding Sustainable Communities in Haiti
Register for the Workshop
And
July 2010 International Conference
Rebuilding Sustainable Communities with the Elderly and Disabled People after Disasters
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 Theda Skocpol has been named as the 2010 Robert C. Wood Visiting Professor. Professor Skocpol is the former Dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences at Harvard University and holds joint appointments in Government and Sociology. She will deliver the Wood Lecture on "Barak Obama and American Politics" on Tuesday, April 27th at 5:00 PM in the UMass Boston Campus Center Ballroom.
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 March 2nd Give US Your Poor Executive Director John McGah met with the Obama Administration's point person on homelessness Barbara Poppe, Executive Director of the Interagency Council on Homelessness (ICH). The ICH is working on the first Federal Strategic Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness.
Fri. April 30 (and possibly May 1) - Renowned Greek Tenor, Mario Frangoulis, is performing a benefit concert in New York City for the McCormack Grad School's Give US Your Poor campaign to end homelessness. The event is a partnership between Give US Your Poor and the Greek Institute and is being held at Lincoln Center's elegant Atrium Room. Former New York Mayor David Dinkins will be onhand and hopefully making remarks at the benefit as well. More information to follow at GiveUSYourPoor.org in the coming week.
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Center for Democracy and Development
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 The Center for Democracy and Development is conducting a four month judicial education and internship program for six Chinese Judges from Beijing. During the first month of the Program, the visiting Judges will be enrolled in a specially designed intensive English as a Second Language class with a focus on legal terminology. The ESL classes, provided by EC Boston, will be complemented by presentations at UMass on the American legal and political system. During the following months, the Beijing judges will be integrated into the work of Massachusetts Courthouses, while living in the homes of sitting American judges and traveling to court everyday with their American counterparts. This remarkable, ground-breaking program is a result of CDD's close, long-standing relationships with the Massachusetts Judiciary and with the Beijing College of Political Science and Law. |
Center for Women in Politics & Public Policy
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 BOSTON: The Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Boston (JCRC) announced that Donna Stewartson, a Dorchester resident, recently traveled to Israel with a delegation of Boston-area business and nonprofit leaders as part of the Boston-Haifa Learning Exchange. The weeklong trip to Israel included briefings on political and policy issues, as well as site visits and learning time with leaders from Haifa, Israel.
"As UMass focuses more on global policy, I am pleased to have the opportunity to learn more about Israel's fascinating political history" said Stewartson, the Associate Director of the Program for Women in Politics and Public Policy at McCormack Graduate School of Public Policy at UMass Boston. "This exchange gave me new insights that I can share with my colleagues." Donna was sponsored by JCRC and the McCormack Graduate School of Public Policy and Office of the Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs.
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Gerontology Institute Colloquium Series
Monday, March 29th, 2010, Wheatley Hall-3rd Flr-Room 125 - (1:00-2:30PM)
Dr. Fredman, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Epidemiology, B. U. School of Public Health
Title: "The Healthy Caregiver Hypothesis: a new model to explain health outcomes in older caregivers."
Monday, April 12th, 2010, Wheatley Hall-3rd Flr-Room 125 - (1:00-2:30PM)
Derek M. Isaacowitz, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Psychology & Volen National Center for Complex Systems, Brandeis University
Title: "How Positive Are Older Adults?"
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Want to post your event?
All submissions should be received at least ten days before the event date. The MGS Update cannot guarantee that all submissions will be published. Inquiries regarding the events published in The MGS Update should be directed to the phone number or email provided. Please send listings to robert.okeefe@umb.edu or call 617.287.5536.
Thank you.
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