New Public Affairs curriculum aimed at career advancement
November 19, 2006
KOKOMO, Ind.—Recent changes in Indiana University Kokomo’s Bachelor of Science in Public Affairs degree program will provide graduates more focused skills needed “to move up the echelon of public service careers,” said Robert Dibie, Ph.D.
Dibie is assistant dean and a professor of public affairs in IU Kokomo’s School of Public and Environmental Affairs (SPEA), which offers the B.S. in Public Affairs. “With this revised degree, graduates could easily move up the management levels of city, state, and national government,” Dibie said. “We expect our graduates to be highly employable across the nation and internationally as senior administrators, not only within governmental agencies, but also with nonprofit organizations, criminal justice, and health care.”
Previously, Dibie explained, the Public Affairs curriculum was heavily weighted toward courses on management in law enforcement agencies. “The program now offers a broader perspective on all government and management professions,” he said. Those specifically interested in law enforcement careers can still pursue SPEA’s B.S. in Criminal Justice, he added.
Dibie and his SPEA faculty developed the B.S. in Public Affairs curriculum changes, which include several new courses and the choice of three academic concentrations within the major. Students can focus their studies on
• Public Affairs, which includes such core courses as Urban Structure and Policy, Government Finance and Budgets, Introduction to Environmental Science, and Law and Public Policy
• Public Management, which Dibie described as “managing affairs of government outside of the political field.” Core courses include Managing Government Operations, Human Resources Management, Policy Analysis, and Governmental Accounting, and Financial Reporting.
• Organizational Leadership, a concentration geared toward leadership positions in nonprofit, volunteer, and private organizations. Core courses cover such topics as Managing Behavior in Public Organizations, Workforce Diversity, and Urban Development and Planning.
The degree should also prepare graduates for careers in policy and program analysis, economic development, urban planning, or grant writing, and for postgraduate studies such as law school.
IU Kokomo SPEA currently offers a graduate certificate in public management. Students complete up to 15 credit hours at IU Kokomo, and then can transfer credits directly into the Master of Public Affairs degree programs on other IU campuses. Dibie said IU Kokomo hopes to have its own Master of Public Management degree program developed and approved by the state in the near future.
For more information on SPEA offerings at IU Kokomo, visit www.iuk.edu/spea or call (765) 455-9417.
