When MPA alumna Monica Caballeros (MPA ’20) went looking for a capstone project, her focus was on public health and reproductive rights. Caballeros, who is the PR and Communications Director for Connect for Health Colorado, is passionate about equitable access to healthcare. However, when she could not find a good fit in her field, she turned to the school’s list of sourced capstone projects. She found a powerful partnership with the Center for Community Wealth Building that allowed her to look at issues of equity through a lens of economic development.
At both the local and state level, School of Public Affairs alumni have been instrumental in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. Scott Bookman (MPA '15), Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment incident commander for COVID-19, and Geoff Butler (MPA '19), Battalion Chief, Poudre Valley Fire Authority, recently took some time to answer questions about their current roles addressing COVID-19 and how they have grown as leaders dealing with the challenges posed by the pandemic.
Emma Sindelar (AMPA ’20) completed this interview with Kristen Freaney from the Outdoor Industry Association as part of her specialization in nonprofit management. Specializations are an opportunity for students in the accelerated Master of Public Administration program to customize their degree by completing a series of co-curricular activities in their area of interest. These activities are intended to deepen a student’s understanding of a content area and to provide opportunities for professional development.
School of Public Affairs alumni Annie Davies (MPA ’03), Engagement Director Western U.S., at the United Way (formerly Executive Director of United Way Larimer County), and Rachel Fuchs (MPA ’16), Director of Partner Services at Intercambio, recently answered questions on how they, as nonprofit leaders, continue to lead their organizations through challenging times and into the future.
Emma Sindelar (AMPA ’20) completed this interview with Amanda Jameson from Big City Mountaineers, a Denver-based nonprofit, as part of her specialization in nonprofit management. Specializations are an opportunity for students in the accelerated Master of Public Administration program to customize their degree by completing a series of co-curricular activities in their area of interest. These activities are intended to deepen a student’s understanding of a content area and to provide opportunities for professional development.
The Master of Criminal Justice (MCJ) program at the University of Colorado Denver’s School of Public Affairs has been ranked fourth in the nation, according to College Consensus’ rankings for Best Online Master's in Criminal Justice for 2020.
This year has been like no other in recent history, and issues of social inequity are front and center in the hearts, minds and consciences of many Americans, amidst a pandemic and protests against police violence toward people of color. The timing of the new textbook, “Achieving Social Equity: From Problems to Solutions,” co-written and edited by Mary Guy, professor of Public Affairs at the CU Denver School of Public Affairs, and alumnus Sean McCandless, assistant professor at the University of Illinois – Springfield, could not be better.
Youth violence has been on the rise in Denver, and with the help of Dr. Sheila Huss, the City of Denver is on the case. Dr. Sheila Huss is an assistant professor of criminal justice, clinical teaching track, at the CU Denver School of Public Affairs, and she also serves as the program director for the school’s Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice. Since early 2020, she has been performing a needs assessment around youth violence prevention efforts in Denver as part of the Youth Violence Prevention Action Table (YVPAT).
The COVID-19 Pandemic struck the world in early 2020 and resulted in a shutdown of the state of Colorado on March 25, 2020. The stay-at-home order not only impacted the University of Colorado Denver, but dramatically affected retail businesses, restaurants, community events, and other vital main street institutions that drive the economy of our state. A cross-section of these impacts comes into play when Randy Harrison’s ‘Economic Development’ class (PUAD 5630) and its partners Downtown Colorado, Inc. (DCI) shifted their work with five Colorado communities entirely online and helped transition these communities into the recovery process.
Jongeun You, who is pursuing a doctoral degree in public affairs at the CU Denver School of Public Affairs, recently had his article “Lessons from South Korea’s Covid-19 Policy Response”published in The American Review of Public Administration. Jongeun reviewed South Korea’s public health policy approaches, by using documents and materials written in Korean and English, to learn how the country managed the coronavirus from January through April 2020. In the article, he proposes some lessons about country-level responses in South Korea that can potentially be applied in other contexts. We interviewed Jongeun to learn more about his research in this area.
The CU Denver School of Public Affairs Colorado Education Policy Cohort has accepted 10 people into its 2020-21 program. The program provides 10 months of professional development to individuals whose work record reflects strong leadership abilities and a concern for issues important to children and education. Participants in the cohort hold full-time positions in diverse organizations at the local, state, and national levels, and are endorsed and supported by their employing agencies.
No issue has more national attention right now than police and community relationships and related racial inequities, after the brutal killings of George Floyd and others by police officers. Massive protests and calls for police reform continue across the nation, even as we continue to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic. The CU Denver School of Public Affairs hosted a webinar on June 30, delving into the topic of improving police and community relations.
Dr. Deserai Crow shares her thoughts on the positive effects of nature on physical and mental health during a pandemic, as well as inequities in access to nature.
CU Distinguished Professor and School of Public Affairs Emeritus Professor Peter deLeon passed away on May 19. Prof. deLeon was a giant in the field of policy studies and policy sciences. He was the professor, turned mentor, turned friend, turned family to so many at the CU Denver School of Public Affairs. His legacy lives on through the many accomplishments of his career, the achievements of his students, and the gifts he leaves to generations to come at the university.