Executive Education News

Executive Education News
MPA grad turned Excelsior Fellow: It’s an honor to work with the state
Ari Epstein ’14 M.P.A. was providing information technology services at a major university when he joined Maxwell’s master of public administration (M.P.A.) program. “I was interested in community-building activities and wanted to get involved in shaping and improving the institutions around me,” he said. “Nothing does that like the government.” He completed his M.P.A. in 2014 and was accepted into New York’s two-year Excelsior Service Fellowship Program.

Humphrey fellows kick off Syracuse experience
During orientation in early August, 11 Maxwell Humphrey Fellows from nine countries broke into small groups to get to know each other. Activities that build relationships and other orientation events set the stage for the 2021-22 cohort’s 10-month program of professional development, academic study and cultural exchange at Syracuse University.

Humphrey Fellows leave with new tools and many memories
Syracuse’s 2020-21 Humphrey Fellows, Maxwell’s 12th cohort, built relationships over six months at Maxwell, where they engaged in academic study, professional development and cultural exchange. The midcareer professionals hail from Brazil, Guatemala, Mexico, Montenegro, Nepal, Papua New Guinea, South Africa, Tanzania and Togo. The fellows completed “an impressive journey in very uncertain times,” said Margaret Lane, Humphrey Fellowship Program director and Executive Education assistant director.

Humphrey Fellows return home with proposals to lead change
Ramiro Suárez Galán plans to spend the next six months pitching a plan for a financial oversight office in his home state of Oaxaca, Mexico. “We don’t have checks and balances,” said Suárez Galán, a 2020 Humphrey fellow at the Maxwell School. “What the governor wants is done. Once [a project] is approved, the governor can allocate wherever he wants. He can modify as he likes.” As part of the new Humphrey Impact Project, he developed a proposal modeled on the U.S. nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) for Oaxaca’s legislative branch.

Grads set to make the world greater, better and more beautiful
The Maxwell School closed its 2020-2021 academic year the same way it met the complications of the COVID-19 pandemic: a mix of health precautions, expanded technology and commitment to tradition. That meant a prerecorded graduate convocation and faculty farewells via video. Maxwell’s May 22 graduate convocation also included speeches and award presentations, capped with recitation of the Athenian Oath.

Exec Ed grad serves panel on merging mental health, addiction services
Lisa Hoeschele ’03 M.A. (PA), recently served on a statewide committee guiding a merger of New York’s Office of Mental Health (OMH) and Office of Addiction Services and Supports (OASAS). The new entity, the Office of Addiction and Mental Health Services, will integrate mental health and addiction services and streamline procedures and regulations.

Maxwell faculty, staff and students honored with 2021 One University awards
Syracuse University announced its 2021 One University Awards, honoring members of the University community for their scholarship, teaching, academic achievement, leadership and service. The ceremony was held virtually this year due to COVID-19 precautions.

Prepare for crises, speakers tell Humphrey Fellows
The global pandemic kept Humphrey Fellows from gathering at Syracuse University for an annual workshop on crisis management. But a virtual program taught lessons relevant to the ongoing public health crisis as well as strategies to prepare for future crises. The workshop, the ninth Maxwell has hosted, took place in nine two-hour remote sessions over three weeks rather than one week. Twenty-one Humphrey Fellows representing 19 countries and 11 host campuses participated in the program. Fellows reflect a wide range of academic interests, including education, media, health care, economics, politics and public policy.

Maxwell alumni, student honored with 2021 ASPA awards
The American Society for Public Administration (ASPA) announced it will honor more than 40 individuals and organizations when it convenes its annual awards program next month during their 2021 Annual Conference. Several Maxwell alumni and one current online EMPA student are among the award honorees.

Career growth without compromise
Though she’s somewhat confined to her home office these days, Lindsay Bentley '10 B.A. (PSc/Soc) is busy opening new doors. She's just completed her first semester of graduate study at Syracuse University's No.1-ranked public affairs school without missing a beat in her career with a local nonprofit health insurer. The online executive master of public administration (EMPA) degree offered through the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs is designed for midcareer professionals, like Bentley, who want to expand their credentials without losing traction in their work. Read more about Bentley's experience in the online EMPA program via the SU News website.

Maxwell Humphrey Fellows visit the LaunchPad to talk global innovation
Nine Hubert H. Humphrey Fellows from Brazil, Guatemala, Mexico, Montenegro, Nepal, Papua New Guinea, South Africa, Tanzania and Togo visited with the LaunchPad team recently as part of a cross cultural exchange program. The Fellows, who are being hosted by the Maxwell School, are young and midcareer professionals from the public, private and NGO sectors who bring rich experience in public policy, public health, public finance, economic development, workforce and youth development, technology, volunteerism and community building, as well as other areas. Read about their visit via the Blackstone LaunchPad website.

In a challenging year, Humphrey Fellows focus on program goals
Nompumelelo Prudence Radebe, a director at the National Treasury of South Africa, was thrilled when she learned in February that she would spend a year at the Maxwell School as a Hubert H. Humphrey Fellow. Radebe and eight more Maxwell Humphrey Fellows started a compressed program Dec. 1. The program, typically 10 months beginning Aug. 1, will last six months this year. Radebe hopes her Humphrey experience will teach her to collect and use data to develop public policy. She also is interested in using technology to improve service delivery.

Exec Ed plays supporting role as arts leaders confront COVID-19 crisis
When the novel coronavirus pandemic spurred shutdowns in mid-March, Executive Education alumnus Stephen Butler ’04 MA (PA), quickly organized a call with stakeholders in Central New York’s arts community. A priority was developing a survey to quantify the anticipated financial losses the health crisis would cause the arts and entertainment industry in Central New York. The survey results provided data for CNY Arts to launch the CNY Arts COVID-19 Impact Fund, which has raised nearly $500,000 toward its $1 million goal.

Hometown Hero: Jay Knight
United States Army Captain Jay Knight is a student in the prestigious Defense Comptrollership Program pursuing his MBA at the Martin J. Whitman School of Management. Read more about what makes him a hometown hero via the Office of Veteran and Military Affairs website.

EMPA student continues his education journey with freedom, flexibility
When Brian Green earned his MBA from the Martin J. Whitman School of Management at Syracuse University in 2018, he swore to himself that he was done with school. Although he was happy to get 15-20 hours back each week to spend with his wife and four children, Green eventually felt the pull to continue studying and decided to go back for a second master’s degree. A graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point with a degree in engineering management, Green knows all about hard work and discipline. So it’s no surprise that when he enrolled in the Executive Master of Public Administration (EMPA) program, he knew he could juggle all of his work and household responsibilities.

Executive Education event outlines lessons of COVID-19 disruption
Catherine Gerard, associate director of Executive Education, and University Professor Sean O’Keefe led a discussion with Executive Education students on how the global health crisis impacts learning and leadership. About 15 students attended the October 27 event in-person; another 26 students participated via Zoom.

Army National Guard member builds experience through DCP
For Major Chinedu Nwankwoala, a member of the National Guard, a career in finance was a gateway to explore a much larger world—even larger than either of the continents he grew up on. Nwankwoala is attending the Defense Comptrollership Program (DCP), a joint program between the Whitman School and the Maxwell School at Syracuse University and the Department of Defense. Graduates earn both a master of business (MBA) degree and an executive master of public administration (EMPA) degree. Read about Nwankwoala's journey to DCP in the SU News article, "Army National Guard Member Builds Experience through Defense Comptrollership Program."

Online pivot offers new options for Executive Education programs
More than 50 students in the Veterans Program for Politics and Civic Engagement (VPPCE) are engaging online rather than on campus this semester. Like educational programs across the world, the program shifted to virtual learning this fall amid the novel coronavirus pandemic. “It’s imperative for the School to constantly adapt in the face of the trends in adult education that suggest online learning is becoming more mainstream,” says Steve Lux, director of the Executive Education program.

Exec Ed alum links Syracuse’s disability rights work with Uzbekistan
Mirjakhon Turdiev, a member of the International Board of Experts at the Republic of Uzbekistan’s El-Yurt Umidi Foundation, current social science Ph.D. candidate, and former Humphrey fellow at Maxwell, spoke at the September 16 webinar, “Opportunities in applying the experience of the prestigious U.S. university in protecting the rights of persons with disabilities in Uzbekistan,” highlighting Syracuse’s Disability Rights Clinic (DRC) in his native Uzbekistan. Turdieve also appeared on Uzbek national television to discuss his research on people with disabilities.

Jacobson comments on US defense secretary's travel in Politico
"The further away, the less likelihood of being fired," says Assistant Dean Mark Jacobson of US Defense Secretary Mark Esper's frequent travel amid persistent rumors that he will either quit or be fired after the election. "That’s my take – you stay out of the line of drive-by fire." Jacobson was quoted in the Politico article "Esper plans more official travel as calls grow for him to stay put."