Sharon Paynter '01 (pictured left) and first-year MPA student Ben Chambers examine "what it actually means to be poor" in a January 16, 2012, op-ed piece for the News & Observer. The column explains the federal government's "poverty lines" and recommends new guidelines for government definitions of poverty.

According to a new ICMA paper by faculty member Carl Stenberg, many local government managers and elected officials will need to rethink their strategies related to service delivery priorities and intergovernmental relationships during these cost-cutting times. "Coping with Crisis: How are Local Governments Reinventing Themselves in the Wake of the Great Recession?" examines the scope of strategies considered over the past two years.

When Erskine Bowles was at the School of Government on November 3 to deliver the Deil Wright Lecture, he spoke with a reporter from WRAL, saying that the United States must drastically cut the federal deficit to improve the economy.

MPA student Emily Roscoe has received a Graduate Education Advancement Board Award from the UNC Graduate School for consulting and research she has done during her time in the graduate program, including her 2011 capstone research on "Only the Appearance of Accountability: The Need for a Return to First Principles in Public Records Law." Roscoe is a dual-degree student with the UNC School of Information and Library Science.

Chuck Szypszak's article, "Teaching Law in Public Affairs Education: Synthesizing Political Theory, Decision Making, and Responsibility," appears in the Fall 2011 issue of the Journal of Public Affairs Education. In the article, he emphasizes the need for administrators to understand the legal and ethical foundations at the core of public affairs.

2011 graduate Francinia McKeithan has been selected to serve as a 2011 State Policy Fellow along with four other top graduates from around the country. The five fellows will work as research and policy analysts at independent think tanks across the country in the program's second year. McKeithan graduated with dual degrees in public administration and social work.

Faculty member John Stephens has recently published Creating Effective Citizen Participation in Local Government Budgeting. The free bulletin provides practical tips and examples for elected officials and budget administrators.

After announcing that he will retire in the summer of 2012, Professor Gordon Whitaker, the "heart and soul of the MPA program," reflects on nearly 40 years of preparing students for successful careers in public service.

An innovative and engaging tool has been developed to help public officials make strategic long-term budget choices, and help citizens understand the complexity of the local budgeting process. The facilitated simulations—Budgetopolis for municipalities and Bottom Line! for counties—are designed as classic board games that approach budgeting as serious business. The games were developed by MPA faculty members Bill Rivenbark and Dale Roenigk, and alumni Donna Warner '78 and Doug Bean '74.