DEPARTMENT HISTORY

Since its beginning in 1979 as an interdisciplinary program offering a Master of Public Policy (MPP) for public servants in the South Jersey Region, the Department of Public Policy and Administration (DPPA) has grown to a nationally accredited department in the Graduate School at Rutgers University’s Camden Campus. The DPPA now offers a Master of Public Administration (MPA) with concentrations not only in Public Management, but also International Public Service and Development (IPSD) and Education Policy and Leadership. While the DPPA continues to serve southern New Jersey, the fastest growing region in the state, our students now come from across the nation and around the world. We hope the following brief history is informative for prospective students.

In 1976 Professors Rita Mae Kelly (Urban Studies) and Jay Sigler (Political Science) undertook an intensive study of regional needs that demonstrated a strong demand for professional education among public servants in South Jersey. Under their leadership, Rutgers-Camden established an interdisciplinary program in Public Policy that offered an MPP in either a Management or Analyst track. Responding to career requirements of our students for a more professional credential that would align with the emerging market for public service, the program developed plans to offer the Master of Public Administration and to seek official accreditation for the National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration.

In 1988 Rutgers University approved the creation of a separate Department of Public Policy and Administration to govern and deliver the MPA degree program on the Camden Campus.  The new DPPA continued its tradition of interdisciplinary education by combining core faculty of Public Policy and Administration with jointly appointed faculty in a variety of social sciences. In 1991 Rutgers University officially recognized a change in degrees conferred by the DPPA from an MPP to an MPA.

In 1987, the track in International Development Administration was created in partnership with the United States Peace Corps.  This program, the first of its kind in the nation, has been extremely attractive to high caliber applicants from all over the country and overseas.  Our IPSD/MPA students have served in the Peace Corps and other international organizations in more than 50 nations over the years.  In preparation for their overseas assignment with indigenous NGOs, all students in this track spend two semesters on a community service placement working with nonprofit housing, health, human services, education, planning, or other organizations serving citizens of Camden.  Since almost all students in the IPSD track return to public service or NGO careers in the United States, the Camden NGO placement provides a superb career development experience.

In 1989, the Public Management track was formalized to provide a more robust management concentration that employers and external reviewers advised was needed for government and other public service employment as well as nonprofit careers.  This track serves the majority of our students who are preparing for or advancing their careers in local, state and federal government.

Responding to the growing demand for high quality and innovative leadership in education within the South Jersey region, the DPPA launched its most recent concentration, Educational Policy and Leadership, in 2003.  The concentration began with a cohort of aspiring principals from Camden City. The NJ Department of Education approved this pilot as part of the district’s improvement plan. The pilot program was completed in May 2005, with the graduation of 17 candidates from Camden City Public Schools who completed their MPA while simultaneously fulfilling the requirements for principal certification in New Jersey.  The concentration is now formally in place.

The public service mission of the DPPA has grown along with its academic programs. The first of the related research and public service unit, the Forum for Policy Research and Public Service, started in 1977 with a specific mission of providing in applied research and service in Southern New Jersey. The Forum has played a provided an opportunity for faculty and student research on New Jersey issues and has conducted conferences and workshops on issues such as internet use, women’s health, and distributive justice.

The Senator Walter Rand Institute for Public Affairs (WRI) was created in 1999 under the leadership of Dr. Richard Harris, longstanding member of the Department and MPA program.  The Rand Institute’s mission is to “engage Rutgers-Camden faculty and students with public administrators, elected officials, non-profit organizations, and community leaders to address the real world challenges that shape the lives of citizens. The Institute focuses on regional development and smart growth, and public sector capacity building, including the many nonprofits doing important work in Camden and beyond.  The Rand Institute has also been highly involved in research and programmatic initiatives with the State Attorney General’s Office to implement collaborative public safety projects.  The Institute supports the DPPA, employing MPA students as research interns in 2005-06, and engaging MPA faculty in its leadership and its programmatic activities.  The Institute has become the primary public service and applied research unit on campus, working under grants and contracts with state and federal agencies to address issues of regional development/smart growth, nonprofit and governmental capacity building, public safety, and financial literacy for the working poor.

The inclusion of the campus’ Urban Studies faculty members with the DPPA in 2002 brought Board of Governors Professor Gloria Bonilla Santiago to the department and with her a closer connection to the Center for Strategic Urban Community Leadership that she directs.  The Center is the driving force behind the LEAP Academy University Charter School (K-12), the first charter school in New Jersey. LEAP serves Camden children and families, providing holistic education, health and legal services.  The Center also runs leadership institutes for south, central, and north Jersey and statewide for Latino college students has an early childhood literacy initiative.  MPA faculty and students are involved in the Center’s leadership development, research program. 

Looking forward, the excellence of the DPPA has led to its designation as home for one of three new doctoral programs at Rutgers-Camden. The proposal for an innovative Ph.D. in Public Affairs delivered in partnership with the Business and Law Schools has been completed and is anticipated to open in the Fall of 2008. This doctoral program will focus on Community Development in its social, economic, policy, and legal-regulatory dimensions, and will engage faculty and students interested in understanding international as well as domestic settings where public, private and nonprofit organizations work on these issues.