On Saturday, June 4, the Schaefer Center for Public Policy held a graduation ceremony for the inaugural cohort of its new Faith-Based Development Certificate Program.

The program, which began in January of this year, is available to faith-based groups in the Baltimore area with city-based real estate holdings that they plan to develop into affordable housing or community facilities. Participants go through a series of five monthly training sessions, and receive up to five hours a month in specific technical assistance, before receiving certification from the Schaefer Center.

The program and the graduates were featured in the Baltimore Sun last week. Read the article.

Learn more about the Faith-Based Development Certificate Program.

Learn more about the Schaefer Center for Public Policy.

School of Public and International Affairs Associate Professor Jessica Sowa has been named the recipient of the 2016 Slavin-Patti Award for Oustanding Practice Research for her article “Voluntary Turnover in Nonprofit Human Service Organizations: The Impact of High Performance Work Practices.” The award is given out annually by Routledge Journals, Taylor and Francis Group, for the best article published in the journal Human Service Organizations: Management, Leadership & Governance.

The award, which includes a certificate and a $500 check, will be presented to Sowa at the Network for Social Work Management Conference on June 17, 2016 in Los Angeles, CA.

Learn more about Prof. Sowa.

On May 6, Global Affairs and Human Security graduate students Nat Kofi Abu-Bonsrah, Maggie Coulter, Amrita Minhas and Narayan Shrestha were each awarded a Certificate of Accomplishment for their distinguished performance and successful completion of the UNA-NCA’s (United Nations Association of the National Capital Area) Graduate Fellows Program. The program provides an opportunity for graduate students in the Washington, D.C. area, who are interested in international affairs, development, trade, finance and related disciplines, to explore the field of international organizations. Participants build strong professional and academic skills through relevant internship experiences and regular seminars on global issues and the United Nations.

(pictured: all of the spring 2016 graduates from across the Consortium of Universities of the Washington Metropolitan Area)

Exciting things are happening over here at the College of Public Affairs! Check out some of the latest accomplishments from our students and faculty:

• M.P.A. student Ken Weaver was accepted for the American Society for Public Administration’s 5th Annual International Young Scholars Program and Conference in Public Policy and Administration Research, to be held July 20-23, 2016 in Cape Town, South Africa.

• Pharmaceutical Public Policy, co-authored by Prof. Alan Lyles, is now available on Amazon.com. Read the description and editorial reviews.

• Global Affairs and Human Security graduate student Sonce Reese was named the winner of the prestigious Newman Civic Fellow award. Learn more about Sonce’s honor.

• In early 2016, M.P.A. student Natasha Guynes launched HER Resiliency Center (HER), a nonprofit organization that supports all women, and serves women ages 18-25, regardless of race, class and background. Based in Washington, D.C., HER uses a multilateral, holistic and individualized approach – which is needed when combating substance abuse, homelessness and survival sex. Learn more about HER.

• Nu Omicron, the Criminal Justice Honor Society, received the 2015-16 Eubie Award for Community Engagement. This award is given annually to an organization that has demonstrated a commitment to exemplary community service.

• Health Systems Management undergraduate student Isedria Ward received the Student Achievement Award for High Academic Performance during The Universities at Shady Grove’s 12th Annual Student Achievement and Leadership Breakfast held last month.

• D.P.A. student Stephanie Dolamore has been appointed a Board Member At-Large for the American Society for Public Administration’s Section on Public Administration Education (SPAE). “This position will build on my prior experiences in leadership and service, while allowing me to contribute to the important work of this section,” Stephanie said.

Keep up the great work, CPA!

Candles were sold for $2 each; a total of $370 was raised for the Harford County Sheriff’s Benevolent Fund. (photo credit: Jim Lockard)

On the evening of Wednesday, April 20, students, faculty and staff gathered on Gordon Plaza to honor victims of homicide and to raise awareness about the impact of homicide on our community. The candlelight vigil was organized by Nu Omicron, the Criminal Justice Honor Society, and money raised from the event will go to the Harford County Sheriff’s Benevolent Fund in memory of Senior Deputy Patrick Dailey and Senior Deputy Mark Logsdon, who were gunned down in the line of duty on February 10, 2016.

CPA Dean Roger Hartley and Jim Lockard, a UB student and member of the Bel Air Police Department who was good friends with Senior Deputies Dailey and Logsdon, both offered brief remarks before the lighting of the candles.

“It was a really meaningful evening,” said Heather Pfeifer, associate professor in the School of Criminal Justice and faculty adviser to Nu Omicron. “I believe everyone in attendance was very moved. I know I was.”

Join us for “From Rights to Rhetoric: Why Voting Matters” this Thursday, March 31 from 6-8 p.m. in the H. Mebane Turner Learning Commons Town Hall. Our panel of experts will provide multiple perspectives on voter registration and legislation to help you become more informed before Election Day. Refreshments will follow the discussion.

RSVP on OrgSync: https://orgsync.com/86827/events/1082806/occurrences/2409207

On March 22, 23 and 25, the University of Baltimore will host forums for the Democratic and Republican candidates for the Baltimore mayoral race and the Maryland representative to U.S. Senate race. The forums are co-sponsored by the University of Baltimore’s College of Public Affairs, Yale Gordon College of Arts and Sciences and Schaefer Center for Public Policy, the Baltimore City League of Women Voters, The Baltimore Sun and WJZ-TV, who will be taping the forums for rebroadcast. The forums are FREE and open to the public, but tickets are required for entry.

In addition to the forums, the Schaefer Center and the College of Public Affairs have been working in conjunction with The Baltimore Sun to keep tabs on voters’ thoughts through co-sponsored polls as the primaries approach.

To reserve tickets, submit questions for the candidates and read commentary on the latest Sun/UB election poll results, visit www.ubalt.edu/election2016.

School of Criminal Justice Executive Director and Professor Debra Stanley and School of Public and International Affairs Associate Professor Ivan Sascha Sheehan have been named recipients of a 2016 University System of Maryland Regents’ Faculty Award. Sheehan received the award for Excellence in Mentoring, while Stanley received the award for Excellence in Public Service. 

“To say the least, we are very proud of Deb and Sascha for this marvelous accomplishment,” said College of Public Affairs Dean Roger Hartley. “The USM Regent’s Faculty Awards are the highest honors offered to faculty by the Board of Regents. These honors are well deserved and speak volumes about the quality of our faculty in the college.”

Stanley and Sheehan will join their fellow faculty winners at a special presentation ceremony hosted by the board on Friday, April 15, at the University of Maryland University College in Adelphi, Md.

Learn more about Assoc. Prof. Sheehan.

Learn more about Prof. Stanley.

In a new video for Strong Returns, School of Criminal Justice Assistant Professor Andrea Cantora talks about what it’s like to teach UB students alongside incarcerated men and women at the Jessup Correctional Institute through the national Inside-Out Prison Exchange Program. Inside-Out, an initiative of Temple University’s Inside-Out Center, brings ‘outside’ (undergraduate) students together with ‘inside’ (incarcerated) students to study as peers. According to the Inside-Out website, the program provides college students with an opportunity to go behind prison walls to reconsider what they have come to know about crime and justice, and gives men and women inside prison the chance to place their life experiences into a larger context.

Watch the video.

Learn more about Asst. Prof. Cantora.

On January 20, Ann Cotten, director of UB’s William Donald Schaefer Center for Public Policy, was presented with a certificate of recognition by Maryland Comptroller Peter Franchot, for the policy institute’s 30+ years of contributions to the State of Maryland.

Pictured l. to r.: Maryland Comptroller Peter Franchot, Schaefer Center for Public Policy Director Ann Cotten, College of Public Affairs Dean Roger Hartley and University of Baltimore President Kurt L. Schmoke

Established in 1985, the Schaefer Center is Maryland’s preeminent applied research and policy analysis center. As part of the College of Public Affairs, the Schaefer Center offers opportunities for faculty and students to put their knowledge to work on research and technical assistance projects sponsored by local, state and federal governments, nonprofit organizations and other enterprises.

Learn more about the Schaefer Center for Public Policy.