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"The Program operates on the premise that effective public mindedness comes about through collaboration, cooperation, and integrating theory and practice... I've found a willingness among past and present Program participants to share their knowledge with each other. Most importantly, there is a collective feeling that we are not alone in our commitment to public service and our desire for creating healthy organizations. This is the real beauty of the Program."

Roy Takumi
House of Representatives
District 36 (Pearl City-Waipahu)

 

Public Administration > News & Events

News & Events

UHM SEED Director visits PUBA 622

On April 20 Dr. Amy Agbayani joined PUBA 622, Strategies of Change -- Leaders and Leadership, as a guest speaker. Dr. Agbayani is the director the UH Manoa office of Student Excellent, Equity and Diversity (SEED). She is also well-known in the community, and is among many other things, former chair of the Judicial Selection Committee and a member of the Civil Rights Commission. Her talk described her history of engagement with the equity issues she cares about, and then reflected on her approach to trying to be effective on behalf of those issues.

Dator Starts The Future

Director of the Hawaii Research Center for Futures Studies, and Professor of Political Science, Jim Dator, began his annual Futures Module in the Core Year of the Public Administration Program on April 29th (2008). The Futures Module concludes the Core Year by exposing students the basic concepts and tools of Futures Studies, encouraging public administrators to consciously and deliberately incorporate the ideas into their organizations' work. Dator is a globally-recognized leader and scholar in the field and a member of PUBA's advisory board.

Honolulu Ethics Executive Director Visits Core Year

On April 22, 2008, Chuck Totto, Executive Director of the City & County of Honolulu Ethics Commission visited the Core Year class of the Master's of Public Administration. The class was part of the Core Year's Ethics module, and Mr. Totto explained the functioning of the Commission, and his office's role, in enforcing the City and County's ethics code. Mr. Totto is an attorney by training and previously served as the Consumer Advocate for the State of Hawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs.

Speaker's Forum, April 18, 2008

PUBA Alum Speaks on Budgeting Issues

Ken Kitamura, Administrative Services Officer for the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism, State of Hawaii, spoke at our April 18, 2008, PUBA-Community Speaker's Forum on public budgeting issues. Ken has wide experience in public budgeting, having worked with Honolulu's City Council Budget Committee, the Hawaii State Senate Ways and Means Committee, the State Legislative Auditor's Office, and the Lieutenant-Governor's Office. On April 18, Ken spoke to about 25 alums and other public managers on strategies for effective budgeting practice in the public sector. Establishing, and maintaining, good relationships with budget and legislative analysts was one important theme Ken stressed.

Guest speakers in PUBA 622, spring 2008

Mitch D’Olier, below left, visited "Strategies of Change - Leaders and Leadership"(PUBA 622) on January 23rd. Currently the CEO of Kaneohe Ranch, Mr. D'Olier has lots of experience with private sector projects that require early and sustained involvement with diverse local communities. He shared reflections on the sources of passion for what he does and the process he goes through to try to make a project work for a community and for his organization. When asked what he brings as a leader he named energy, enthusiasm, a team, and, perhaps most important, a willingness to listen and learn. Mr. D'Olier is one of a diverse set of leaders who visit the class during the semester. The course focuses on understanding what leaders do that works or doesn't work in terms of making an impact on a complex public issue. PUBA 622 is taught by Robbie Alm, a well-known community leader, and Dick Pratt. The current syllabus is available on our website.

Cheryl Kauhane, below middle with Robbie Alm, the CEO of the YWCA of Hawai'i, recently was a guest in "Strategies of Change: Leaders and Leadership." Ms. Kauhane had prior experience in the for-profit sector, and moved from a larger local company to start a small restaurant in the downtown Honolulu YWCA. Seven years ago she was appointed CEO and since then has coordinated a number of initiatives to refine and focus the YWCA's mission and organizational processes. She has been a guest in PUBA 622 a number of times. This visit was an opportuntity for her to reflect on the comparative influence of gender, ethnicity, social class and family history in shaping her values and how she does things.

PUBA - Community Speaker's Forum, January 11, 2008

New HGEA Executive Director Randy Perreira, below left, and City and County of Honolulu Human Resources Administrator, Vera Onouye, below right, participated in a panel discussion on public human resources issues at the January 11, 2008, PUBA-Community Speaker's Forum. The discussion covered issues of leadership transition, attracting young people to careers in public service, and managing human resources for the long-term. There was lively discussion from the audience, as experienced public employees shared their perspectives on these and related issues. The Speaker's Forum continues to be a vehicle for connecting current Program students with alums and other public service professionals.

Graduation December 16, 2007

On December 16, 2007, three of our students graduated with their Masters of Public Administration degrees. Jason Lai, Vinh Nguyen, and Kristine Pagano completed the requirements for the masters degree by doing a capstone project entitled "Risk Communication" under the direction of Professor Jeffrey Ady. We are proud of this group of new PUBA alums and we wish them all the best in their new endeavors. Right: Jason and Kristine. Far right: Vinh and Kristine.

Current PUBA Practicum

Keona Mark, a current PUBA masters degree student, recently completed a practicum with Habitat for Humanity--Leeward Oahu Chapter. Keona served as site manager for the construction of the new Kaneakua family home in Nanakuli. The adjacent photo shows Keona handing the house keys to the new owners. PUBA is especially gratified with the community-building and public leadership aspects of this type of practicum experience.

Alums visit Capstone Planning

On November 20, 2007, three PUBA alums visited with the current Capstone Planning class. Colleen Holmes (Army Corps of Engineers), Brandon Yamamoto (Veterans Administration), and Laurie (Young) Komatsu (American Savings Bank) shared with current students their experience and perspectives on assembling capstone project proposals and for implementing the projects in the Spring 2008 semester. We appreciate their taking time out of their busy lives to contribute to current students' work.

Guest speaker in PUBA 662

On November 16, 2007, Dr. Pearl Imada Iboshi, Chief Economist for the State of Hawaii, spoke to students in the Applied Policy Analysis course. The discussion focused on ethical issues that arise in the relationship between public policy analysts and clients (such as the Legislature, Governor's office, and executive departments). Since 1995, Dr. Imada Iboshi has been Chief of the Research and Economic Analysis Division of the State of Hawaii's Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism. Included in the photo with Dr. Imada Iboshi (front center) are (from left to right) Erik Chun, Mai Chu, Tony Siamomua, Chelsea Tanimura, and Byambayar Yadamsuren.

Annual National Schools of Public Affairs and Administration (NASPAA) Conference in Seattle

PUBA is a member of NASPAA and Dick Pratt attended the annual conference in Seattle in early October. Most of those attending are the chairs, directors and deans of graduate programs in public service. Topics focus on issues facing the field of public service education, and include curriculum, the quality of research in the field, accreditation standards and the future of public service. A couple of sessions were of special interest to Dick. The first was a presentation by Rosemary OíLeary from Syracuse University about her book THE ETHICS OF DISSENT. The research looks at what she refers to as ìguerilla governmentî ñ career public servants who act against the implicit or explicit wishes of their superiors. She is interested in the extent to which these acts occur, the reasons that individuals decide to go guerilla, and how they do it. Reasons include an over-riding sense that a public interest is being violated or the belief that the spirit of a policy is being undermined. The worthwhile point of the book is to shed light on a common dilemma for people in public service: how to balance respect for their organizationís authority structure with their commitment to doing what is in the public interest.

Another session of special interest organized a dialogue about the arena that is variously called ìindirect government, cross sector collaborations, third party government and issue networks.î The panelists focused on what we know about how the networks operate, what education and training will help them to be public-regarding, and what challenges these networks present for how we think about public organizations. This is all still quite new and, as one panelist from the Humphrey School put it, ìquite a mess.î

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