MPA Advisory Board Meeting
October 29th, 2014
8:00-9:30AM
Halyburton Park
Tom Barth welcomes everyone to the Advisory Committee meeting. Tom Barth states the
board mission to the group.
Tom Barth introduces Dr. Aswani Volety, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. Dean
Volety introduces himself to the board, and thanks members for serving. UNCW and the
program would not exist without the support of the leaders.
Introductions continue throughout board, faculty, and students.
Tom Barth announces program updates:
a. 60 total enrolled students
i. 65% female
ii. 35% male
iii. Fulltime: 37%
iv. Part time: 63%
v. Minority: 7%
vi. 279 alumni
b. Annual accreditation report/program administration
c. Academy for Strategic Management
i. Main source of extra revenue for the program
ii. Meets for 6 sessions in the fall
iii. Generates revenue for the program and provides professional development
for the community. The academy is going very well. Eventually, we might
work with the Swain Center for Professional Development and Continuing
Education to take individual modules out to the community. This would
provide the opportunity to teach certain topics to organizations. Thank you to
all the members of the advisory board who send staff to the Academy!
Tom Barth introduces curriculum changes.
 Nonprofit Management courses
o Chris Prentice: I am thrilled about a couple of classes added to the curriculum.
These courses will continue to leverage faculty knowledge. Dr. Brudney is
teaching a Leading and Managing Volunteers course that is going very well, and
he is excited to have that added to the curriculum. I am trying to implement
Managing Nonprofits under the Law as a standard course within our Program.
Most classes like this are taught by the law school by the legal professionals
aimed at a legal audience. There is textbook for the material but I am excited to
MPA Advisory Board Meeting
October 29th, 2014
8:00-9:30AM
Halyburton Park
teach the subject. This will supplement traditional courses offered in the nonprofit
concentration.
o Jeff Brudney: I am fortunate to have Chris Prentice and Stephen Meinhold to
help contribute to nonprofit courses. Their efforts are helping to meet the
demands of students who have an interest in nonprofit management. UNCW will
soon have a minor in nonprofit leadership and management. This will help to raise
awareness across campus and help funnel the MPA program. Students across
campus will learn they don’t have to go any further for a great nonprofit
management education. Please let me know if you have meaningful opportunities
for students.
 Tom Barth: The nonprofit concentration is a good example of our
mission to prepare students broadly for careers in both government and
nonprofit careers.
John Brennan talks about his Local Government Course:
 The local advisory board wants an active course to work with local public
management. Students will engage in a semester long process and have
individuals come in to discuss specific components of local government from
planning to infrastructure, and all other aspects. Excited to involve local
government and the support of the advisory board. Really appreciates all the
excitement and the voluntary aspect. It is because of the support and passion from
the advisory board that the class will take place.

Chris May: Students can have great success in choosing local government as a
career, and I say this with over 30 years of being a local government manger. I
think this course will help foster interest among students. Thirty job openings in
city and county management all pay over $80,000, students should be interested
in these opportunities.
Tom Barth moves on to discuss alumni job news.
 I am proud of our recent alumni job placement:
 Samantha Bradshaw: HR Director for Surf City
 Jessica Cowles: Town Administrator, Berwyn Heights, MD
 Elton Daniels: Assistant County Manager, Franklin County
 Tate Johnson: Assistant Director, Craven Community College Small
Business Center
 Lashana Marshburn, Planner, Catawba County
MPA Advisory Board Meeting
October 29th, 2014
8:00-9:30AM
Halyburton Park


Megan Oakes: Talent Acquisition Coordinator, PPD
Austin Scott: Fiscal Analyst, House Fiscal Agency in the Michigan House
of Representatives
Tom Barth and Mark Francolini (HR Director for New Hanover County) discusses the New
Hanover County MPA Fellows Program
 The program is an example of the good governance model adopted by the County
 We strive to recruit and hire talent in the public service field
 Allows the MPA program to recruit bright students and have them work with New
Hanover County
- They are talented professionals applying what they are learning to help with county
projects.
The three MPA fellow for New Hanover County were in Attendance and each spoke about the
program.
1. Caroline Dawkins
 I work in Human Resources for New Hanover County. I am primarily working
on three projects.
i. Looking at the emergency management staffing system and identifying
improvements.
ii. Data input for a survey the county is distributing to identify areas for
improvement.
iii. Work on front lines at the front desk. I am able to put faces to names and
see how the county interacts with new employees from the begging.
2. Phil Lamotte
 I am a MPA fellow in The County Manager’s office. I am primarily working on
two projects.
i. Working to implement lean processes with the department of health and
department of social services.
ii. Developing an employee survey to assess the improvements
I have a really big passion for public service and like the idea of doing it every day while
learning new skills.
3. Megan Upchurch
 I am a fellow with The Planning and Inspections Department. I am primarily
working on public meetings that will be implemented. The department wants to
MPA Advisory Board Meeting
October 29th, 2014
8:00-9:30AM
Halyburton Park
take the Comprehensive Plan to schools to get input from students. These students
will be executing the comprehensive plan in the years to come, so their input is
important. I have learned a lot so far from interacting with the public.
Tom Barth talks about the details of the program. The schedule, pay rate, and other details are
flexible. Any organization that would be interested in hosting a fellow please contact him. It has
to be a win-win situation. The goal is for the MPA program to use programs like this as a
recruitment tool.
Tom Barth talks about the Advisory Board Mentoring Initiative.
o We are very interested in starting a mentoring network.
o A second prong in our recruitment strategy.
o Match selected students with appropriate member of advisory board members.
o Do not want to make this overly burdensome to busy people.
o The goals is:
 Guide the student to become a leader in his/her chosen career and
build a personal network as a resource to meet these goals.
 Meet with students on a regular basis.
 Guide your student to gain a job. Also help develop a resume and
interview skills.
Tom Barth makes an appeal for an Advisory Board Student Scholarship.
He outlines the details:
o A third prong in our recruitment strategy.
o Need your help in starting an annual $1,000 merit scholarship to help attract
high quality new students.
o 100% participation form our advisory board each year is our goal: lays the
ground work for further external contributions.
o Let him know if anyone knows of outside groups that would help support.
o We would appreciate your support with this scholarship.
 Susan Pomeroy: Tom, Who do we write the check to?
o Tom Barth: The MPA Program Scholarship Fund
Tom Barth Closing Remarks:
Thank you for coming. I look forward to seeing all of you soon as mentors, attending capstone
presentations, or as guest speakers. Tom Barth asks for any final questions.
Chris Nelson: How long does your typical MPA student take to complete?
MPA Advisory Board Meeting
October 29th, 2014
8:00-9:30AM
Halyburton Park

Tom Barth: A full time student completes the program in two years. A part time student
typically takes three years. Any student can go at their own pace and take up to 5 years to
complete the program.
Chris Nelson also states: The faculty has been amazing as far as their engagement in the
community. I can’t tell you the benefits the community has received from the offering of the
expertise and assets from the faculty. I have seen a trend of this over my past 6 years of
experience and I encourage the program to continue the trend. I am very pleased to see the
growth of the local government concentration and the growth of the nonprofit concentration. I
encourage the continuance of this and is happy to see it. I also recommend a quarterly luncheon.
Students would attend organizations like the Literacy Council, Bald Head Island, United Way,
etc. This would give students the opportunity to go to organizations and learn about what each
of them do. We would like to bring your students to our organizations.
 Tom Barth: I think this concept is wonderful. Thank you for bringing up this idea. We
welcome the opportunity.
Tom Barth thanked the board for their time and wished them a great holiday season. He then
adjourned the meeting.