Doctoral Education at the Washington Public Affairs Center
28 Years (1973-2001) as an Outpost of the University of Southern California
by
Book Cover & Preview Text
The Washington Public Affairs Center was established by the School of Administration at the University of Southern California to serve the educational needs of public administrators in the Washington, D.C. area. One of its major programs led to the Doctor of Public Administration (DPA) degree, which had requirements generally equivalent to the PhD but which was designed to meet the imperatives of practicing administrators. It is regarded as a professional degree. In its 28 years the Center awarded 192 DPA degrees to administrators serving in all parts of the Federal government as well as many other public service organizations. Substantively, the degree curriculum covered much the same ground as other PhD programs throughout the country. Its approach, however, was very different. Such variations were required at WPAC because the entire student body was composed of people holding full-time jobs, most of them at high levels in public bureaucracies. This book records these differences and how the resulting education affected the lives and careers of 24 DPA graduates, one of whom received his degree 32 years ago. The accounts of these experiences and their implications for the delivery of higher education form the heart of this book. They not only validate the innovations at the Washington Public Affairs Center, but they form a mosaic of life stories of interest to those planning a career in the public service. The Center was closed in 2001 after the DPA degree was abolished by the University of Southern California in 1998. Because the writers in this book feel the WPAC was a great success, questions must be raised why it came to such an end. Much of the answer lies at the University of Southern California, where goals and priorities changed drastically in a relatively few years. The argument of the book is that this is not an isolated circumstance. It is occurring in universities across the nation, with the result that research is very much on the ascent and public service on a downward spiral. The DPA degree, with its emphasis on those working in the government, has had lessened acceptance because it is not seen as embracing research. With the disappearance of the Washington Public Affairs Center, there is the question how we will prepare our more senior civil servants for the increasingly difficult responsibilities they face.
Formats
Book Details
About the Book
The Washington Public Affairs Center offered the Doctor of Public Administration degree for public officials in the Washington, D.C. area for nearly 28 years. In that time it awarded 192 doctorates, with recipients coming from all parts of the Federal government and many other public service organizations. It pioneered a unique educational delivery system, the Intensive Semester, which divided courses into three phases: preparation through extensive reading, processing new information acquired, and applying new knowledge. There were many other innovations. This book provides a review of that experience, largely from the perspectives of 24 who received the doctorate and who wrote essays. Faculty members at the Center also provided insights. The DPA degree was abolished by the University of Southern California in 1998, with the closing of the WPAC coming about two years later. The DPA, as a professional degree with a focus on practicing administrators in the public service, has been losing favor in the nation's universities. The end of the WPAC, while a major concern, raises questions both about the possibilities of innovation in our educational institutions and also about the extent to which our major learning centers see public service as a significant obligation.
About the Author
Frank P. Sherwood is the founding director of the Washington Public Affairs Center and served there from 1973 to 1976. He was on the faculty of the School of Public Administration, University of Southern California, from 1951 to 1968, leaving his position as Director of the School that year to establish the staff college of the Federal government, the Federal Executive Institute. He retired in 1995 from Florida State University.