Jessica Sowa, associate professor in the School of Public and International Affairs and director of the M.S. in Nonprofit Management and Social Entrepreneurship program, published a new book titled The Nonprofit Human Resource Management Handbook: From Theory to Practice. The book—which Sowa co-edited with Jessica K.A. Word, an associate professor in the School of Public Policy and Leadership at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas—was published by Routledge, the world’s leading academic publisher in the humanities and social sciences.

Learn more about Prof. Sowa’s new book.
Learn more about Prof. Sowa.

School of Public and International Affairs Associate Professor Ivan Sascha Sheehan recently published three new articles:

Sheehan | Trump is right to focus on Iran’s support of terrorism | The Baltimore Sun | June 26, 2017
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/oped/bs-ed-op-0626-iran-terrorism-20170623-story.html

Sheehan et al | Why the world needs a Metropolitan Compact | Citiscope | June 19, 2017
http://citiscope.org/commentary/2017/06/why-world-needs-metropolitan-compact

Sheehan | In Discussing Middle East Policy, US Should Acknowledge the Goal of Regime Change | Townhall | June 19, 2017
https://townhall.com/columnists/ivansheehan/2017/06/19/in-discussing-middle-east-policy-us-should-acknowledge-the-goal-of-regime-change-n2343186

Learn more about Prof. Sheehan.

School of Public and International Affairs faculty members Al Gourrier, Lorenda Naylor, Kelechi Uzochukwu and Heather Wyatt-Nichol all attended and presented at the 5^th Global Conference on Transparency Research, held June 19-21 in Limerick, Ireland. Doctor of Public Administration candidate Yinglee Tseng and Master of Public Administration student Evangula Brown also attended and presented at the conference.

Pictured l. to r.: Kelechi Uzochukwu, Lorenda Naylor, Kieran O’Hanlon (retired mayor of the city and county of Limerick), Heather Wyatt-Nichol, Al Gourrier, Yinglee Tseng and Evangula Brown

Learn more about the conference and read the presentation abstracts.
Learn more about Profs. Gourrier, Naylor, Uzochukwu and Wyatt-Nichol.

On June 20, Alan Lyles, professor in the School of Health and Human Services and the School of Public and International Affairs, attended the Maryland Gerontological Association’s 35^th Annual Spring Conference, held in Columbia, MD. The conference theme was “The Hidden Epidemic: Substance Use, Misuse, and Abuse in Older Adults,” and Lyles served as a panelist for the session titled, “Prescriptions & OTC Medications: Use and Abuse.”

Prof. Alan Lyles (far right)

Learn more about Prof. Lyles.

School of Health and Human Services faculty members Tina DiFranco, Elizabeth Gammon and Carol Molinari all attended the Association of University Programs in Health Administration (AUPHA) Annual Meeting, June 14-16 in Long Beach, CA.

Gammon, along with colleagues from several other institutions across the country, presented research titled, “Practitioner Faculty and Other Strategies to Achieve Competencies During Disruptive Change.”

Prof. Liz Gammon (center)

During the conference, Molinari—who is a current member of the AUPHA Board of Directors—was appointed as a co-chair of AUPHA’s Undergraduate Program Committee.

Prof. Carol Molinari

Learn more about Profs. Di Franco, Gammon and Molinari.

If you didn’t make it to the spring 2017 graduate commencement ceremony on May 24, then you missed a passionate and inspiring speech delivered by Negotiations and Conflict Management graduate, Shilesha Bamberg, M.S. ’17. Here’s a video of Shilesha’s moving remarks:

On May 22, the College of Public Affairs hosted its annual Honors Ceremony, an event that celebrates the outstanding scholarly achievements of our students. The ceremony included remarks from Dean Roger Hartley and Provost Darlene Brannigan Smith, honor society inductions, and an awards presentation. The major awards presented were as follows:

• Jami R. Grant Memorial Award, School of Criminal Justice
  Recognizes a student for exceptional academic achievement in the undergraduate forensic studies program.
  2016-17 recipient: Graham Mitchell
• Johannes M. Botes Award, School of Public and International Affairs
  Recognizes a graduating student from the M.S. program in Negotiations and Conflict Management (CNCM) or the M.A. program in Global Affairs and Human Security (GAHS) in two ways: (1) for academic excellence in the Capstone Project, the final integrative research project in either program, and (2) for embodying the shared mission and spirit of the programs more broadly.
  2016-17 recipient: Bhoja Shrestha
• Dean’s Advisory Council Award
  Presented to a graduate and an undergraduate student who have done exceptional work in their classes, conducted research, published papers, completed honors projects, or initiated independent projects which have pushed them beyond the normal classroom.  The award carries with it a $1,000 prize.
  2016-17 recipients: Ashley Hester and Matthew Joseph
• Lenneal Henderson Award
  Presented to a high-achieving graduate student in the Master’s of Public Administration program.
  2016-17 recipient: Matthew Scassero, M.P.A. ’17

Matthew Scassero, M.P.A. ’17, Dean Roger Hartley and Distinguished Professor Emeritus Lenneal Henderson

Students were also inducted into the following honor societies:

• Alpha Phi Sigma (Nu Omicron), the honor society of the School of Criminal Justice
• Pi Alpha Alpha, the honor society of the Doctorate and Master of Public Administration programs
• Pi Sigma Alpha, the honor society of the Government and Public Policy program
• Upsilon Phi Delta, the honor society of the Health Systems Management programs

Pi Alpha Alpha inductees (not all pictured)

A big congratulations to all of the honorees!

The College of Public Affairs Hosts the 2017 INSS Conference

On June 6 and 7, the College of Public Affairs hosted the 2017 Integrated Network for Social Sustainability (INSS) Conference. The conference was simulcast across multiple sites, including Atlanta, GA, Charlotte, NC, and Lima, Peru, in addition to Baltimore. The theme of this year’s conference was “Smart, Connected Communities,” and David Ludlow—associate professor, European Smart Cities at the University of the West of England—served as the keynote speaker.

The conference explored the notion that while smartness and connectedness are both the product of emerging technological applications, they are also bound up in social relationships, institutions, and practices with specific historical contexts. These contexts need to be examined if emerging technological innovations are to address challenges to inclusion and equity. Participants considered the ways that technology can be integrated into and enhance social change for sustainability; at the same time, aiming to challenge the preference for technological solutions by identifying problems that exist outside of the sociotechnical system, or those for which the best solution does not depend on improved technology.

Tylis Cooper, graduate academic adviser and lecturer in the College of Public Affairs, served as the Baltimore site leader and a panelist for the “Baltimore: Technology and Urban Sustainability” session, along with Bill Kelly, retired, American Society for Engineering Education. UB student Rachael Edwards, an Integrated Arts major and student assistant in the College of Public Affairs, served on the student panel and discussed the importance of technology in the arts and the value of community inclusion to address the digital divide.

Rachael Edwards, Integrated Arts major

Tylis Cooper, graduate academic adviser and lecturer, College of Public Affairs

Learn more about the INSS.

Prof. Sheehan Moderates Premiere of National Geographic TV Film on ISIS

On June 6, Ivan Sascha Sheehan, associate professor in the School of Public and International Affairs, served as the moderator for the National Geographic Channel’s premiere of Hell on Earth: The Fall of Syria and the Rise of ISIS, in Washington, D.C. The documentary, by Academy-Award-nominated director and New York Times #1 best-selling author Sebastian Junger and Emmy winner Nick Quested, traces the origins of the Syrian crisis and the rise of Islamic State.

Prof. Sheehan was invited to moderate the Hell on Earth premiere after having provided the welcome remarks for the media-only screening of LA92—another National Geographic Channel documentary—held on the UB campus in April.

Prof. Sheehan (left), Sebastian Junger (center) and Nick Quested (right) at the Washington, D.C. premiere of “Hell on Earth: The Fall of Syria and the Rise of ISIS.”

Prof. Sheehan pictured with Jamal Simmons, political analyst and television commentator, who served as moderator at the media screening of “LA92” held at UB.

Learn more about Prof. Sheehan.
Learn more about Hell on Earth.
Learn more about LA92.

Dean Roger Hartley was busy last week! Check out his latest media hits…

• Quoted in Marylanders’ opinions vary on Comey’s testimony, WBAL-TV 11(June 9, 2017)
• Quoted in Coalition forms Super PAC to oppose Marilyn Mosby, The Baltimore Sun (June 9, 2017)
• Quoted in City Council flexed muscles to secure Baltimore budget deal with Pugh, The Baltimore Sun (June 8, 2017)

Learn more about Dean Roger Hartley.

On April 26, the School of Criminal Justice and Maryland Public Television hosted a special screening of Rikers: An American Jail, a compelling new documentary film from Bill Moyers that brings you face to face with what it’s like to be incarcerated in the United States. The screening was followed by a panel discussion moderated by MPT anchor and news correspondent, Karen Gibbs. College of Public Affairs Dean Roger Hartley and School of Criminal Justice Executive Director Debra Stanley both served as panelists, along with Johnny Perez, Safe Re-entry Advocate at New York City’s Urban Justice Center, and Tarolyn Thrasher, Re-entry Program Case Manager for the Druid Heights Community Development Corporation in Baltimore. Check out this recap and commentary from the screening event…

The film aired on MPT’s second channel, MPT2, on May 30 at 10 p.m.

Learn more about the film: http://rikersfilm.org/