MPA Professor Elected as NAPA Fellow

MPA Professor Leisha DeHart-Davis has been elected as a Fellow of the prestigious National Academy of Public Administration.  Leisha is one of 41 new Fellows elected in 2018 for their exemplary contributions to the field of public administration.  This is a wonderful and well-deserved honor for one of our best.  Come to find out, she joins two other UNC School of Government faculty members Carl Stenberg and David Ammons and MPA alum Tom Lundy (former Catawba County Manager) as current NAPA Fellows.  Now, what does this all mean?

Luckily, when this announcement came, it provided a little bit of background on what this organization and honor is all about.  The National Academy of Public Administration is an independent, non-profit, and non-partisan organization established to assist government leaders in building more effective, efficient, accountable, and transparent organizations.  It is headquartered in Washington, DC, but they work with all levels of government across the United States and world. 

 

 

 

One interesting feature of the Academy is that its members include practitioners and academics all focused on public administration.  The Academy’s 850 Fellows include former cabinet officers, members of Congress, governors, mayors, senior federal and state government executives, city and county managers, prominent scholars, and nonprofit and foundation leaders.  For example, its members include Sandra Day O’Connor and Colin Powell.  In fact, Leon Panetta, former Secretary of Defense and CIA Director, joins Leisha as a Fellow in the class of 2018.  The network of Fellows are at the top of their game and responsible for providing expert advice on current and emerging issues faced by government leaders.

It’s worth checking out this renowned group of leaders and consultants for public administration to find out what they have done in their careers.  And UNC MPA’s program is proud to have representation from 4 (and counting!) of our faculty and alumni.

 

 

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