Below you will find updates for this week:

SAPA’s final General Meeting of the semester will be held on Friday, November 30th, 2012 at 5:45PM in Graham Hall Room 187. Hope to see everyone there! **Please note that the SAPA General Meeting scheduled for December 7th has been canceled.

SAPA THANKSGIVING POTLUCK: Come and celebrate Thanksgiving with SAPA! On Friday, November 16th, 2012, SAPA will hold its annual Thanksgiving Potluck! The event will begin at 7PM and will be hosted by Allison Rice (24 Winnwood Rd, Newark, DE 19717). SAPA will provide the turkey-and we ask that all attendees bring a dish to share! Family recipes, international dishes, and unique flavors are all welcome and encouraged! We love contributions that are homemade, but we will gladly eat your store-bought dessert. Please take a look at our googledoc here to see what others plan to contribute to the meal, and be sure to fill out the document to let us know what dish you plan to bring to the event. We encourage everyone to carpool to the event, as parking space is limited in Allison’s residential neighborhood. For more information, please join the event on Facebook here.

FOOD BANK OF DELAWARE FOOD DRIVE: SAPA’s Community Service Committee is extending their Thanksgiving Food Drive through Friday, November 16th, 2012. All donations will benefit the Food Bank of Delaware. Please bring your non-perishable food items to Graham Hall’s Front Entrance or the CCRS Graduate Student Office (Graham Hall 2nd Floor). Thank you for your support!

SAPA HOLIDAY PARTY: Come out and celebrate the end of the semester! On December 11th, 2012 from 7PM to 10PM, SAPA will host its Annual Holiday Party at the Courtyard by Marriott Newark Hotel. Tickets can be purchased (cash/check) for $25 from SAPA Board Members, Diana Simmons, Verity Watson, Kelly Smith, Alex Leach, or Steve Ottinger. Tickets will be sold from November 12th to December 3rd so be sure to pick one up soon! Please contact Kathryn Lonczewski (klon@udel.edu) if you have any questions, or if you have any special dietary needs.

**When you purchase your Holiday Party ticket you also have the opportunity to sign up to participate in a $10 optional gift exchange!

Below you will find updates for this week:

GRADUATE STUDENT GOVERNMENT (GSG): Join your SAPA program representatives for the November GSG meeting this Thursday (11/8) at 5:30 pm in Memorial Hall Room 127. After the meeting, join GSG members for an ‘Eat and Greet’ graduate student get-together at Caffé Gelato!

FOOD BANK OF DELAWARE FOOD DRIVE: SAPA’s Community Service Committee is hosting a Thanksgiving Food Drive for the Food Bank of Delaware from November 5th – November 12th. We invite you to help us provide food relief to Delawareans by donating non-perishable food items. Bring your non-perishable food items to Graham Hall’s Front Entrance or the CCRS Graduate Student Office (Graham Hall 2nd Floor) by Monday, November 12th. Thank you for your support!

INTEREST MEETING FOR POLAND STUDY ABROAD TRIP: At 3PM on November 7th, 2012, an interest meeting for the Study Abroad Trip to Poland will be held in Graham Hall Room185. If you are interested in traveling to Poland, stop by and get an overview about the trip itinerary. For more information about program costs and courses offered on this trip, please click here.

FEDERAL RESUME SESSION: On Friday, November 9th, SAPA will be hosting a Federal Resume session. Our speaker will be Marianne Green, who is trained in the federal resume process and owns her own resume advising company. The resume session will begin at 9AM in Graham Hall Room 187. Anyone who is considering a career with the federal government is welcome to attend!

Below you will find updates for this week:

STUDENT APPRECIATION SOCIAL: Stop by Kildare’s (45 East Main Street Newark, DE 19711) this Friday (November 2nd) at 5:30PM to meet and socialize with current SPPA students! (P.S. there’s free food)! Hope to see everyone there!

DELAWARE ASSOCIATION FOR PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION (DAPA) UPDATE: DAPA’s Fall luncheon has been CANCELED.

FEDERAL RESUME SESSION: On Friday, November 9th, SAPA will be hosting a Federal Resume session. Our speaker will be Marianne Green, who is trained in the federal resume process and owns her own resume advising company. The resume session will begin at 9AM in Graham Hall Room 187. Anyone who is considering a career with the federal government is welcome to attend!

Below you will find updates for this week:

October Fundraiser Update: Only FIVE guess cards have been submitted for a chance to win SAPA’s M&M Jar. If you really love peanut M&M’s, stop by SPPA’s Front Office (Graham 184), fill out a guess card, and drop the card along with a donation of $1 or more into the donation box! Remember, the more guesses you make, the greater the chance you’ll win the entire jar!

SPPA Alumni Association (Help Wanted): On April 10^th, 2012, SPPA’s Alumni Association is hosting a fundraiser. If you are interested in joining the Alumni Association’s April Fundraiser Planning Committee, please email Kathryn Lonczewski (klon@udel.edu). Joining the Planning Committee is a great opportunity to work closely with our alumni and network with professionals. Also, the April fundraiser benefits SPPA students.

Delaware Association for Public Administration (DAPA): DAPA is hosting its Fall luncheon on Wednesday, October 31^st at Timothy’s (on the Riverfront), 930 South Justison Street, Wilmington, Delaware. Attending the luncheon is a great way to meet public service professionals and other students who share your passion for public administration. To register, please visit http://www.dapanet.org/registration.html. ** Please register for the event by October 25^th.

Habitat for Humanity Volunteer Event: There are only FOUR spots left on the Habitat for Humanity Volunteer Team! If you would like to participate in the event being held on November 10^th in Wilmington, Delaware, please email Matt Parkhurst (mpark@udel.edu) as soon as possible! For more information about the event, please click here.

For more updates, please take a look at our ninth weekly mailer here.

Thanks.

SAPA Board

Below you will find updates for this week:

PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE WATCHING PARTY: Kathryn Lonczewski, SAPA Vice President, will be hosting a Presidential Debate Watching Party at her apartment tonight. The event will begin at 8:30PM. Feel free to contribute a snack or beverage. Please RSVP by emailing klon@udel.edu. When you RSVP, you will receive a follow up email with directions to her apartment.

GOVERNMENT BY AND FOR MILLENNIAL AMERICA CONVERSATION: On Wednesday, October 17th, Roosevelt Institute at U.D. is hosting a workshop. The topic of the workshop will be: Obstacles to an ideal democracy. The event will begin at 5:30PM in Gore Hall Room 115. If you are passionate about government policy, politics, or social change, come out and join the conversation! If you can’t attend the event, click here to get a glimpse of a blueprint for 21st Century governance…Built by you.

HABITAT FOR HUMANITY VOLUNTEER EVENT: Matt Parkhurst, Continuing Ed Representative, has put together a Habitat for Humanity Volunteer Event! The event will be held on Saturday, November 10th, 2012 in Wilmington, Delaware. The event is unfortunately limited to nine people, so if you would like to be a part of the Habitat Volunteer Team on November 10th, please email Matt at mpark@udel.edu as soon as possible! For more information about the event, please click here.

For more updates, please take a look at our eighth weekly mailer here.

Thanks.

SAPA Board

The Graduate Student Government ‘s (GSG) first meeting on Thursday 9/13 began with guest speaker Dean George Watson, Chair of the Provost Search Committee,  presenting students with information regarding UD’s search for a new Provost.  Dean Watson explained that the provost is the academic head of the university, overseeing the academic deans, the director of the library, and the dean of students. GSG President Emily Bonistall sits on the committee representing graduate students.

When the Search Committee was initially formed, President Harker discussed with Search Committee members what qualities provost nominees should possess. These qualities, along with supplemental selection criteria, can be found on the Committee’s Position and Candidate Specification document.   The Search Committee would like graduate student input; graduate students are encouraged to read the document and contact President Bonistall with feedback. The Provost Search Committee vets candidates and makes a recommendation to President Harker, who makes the final decision. Dean Watson also noted that this search is highly confidential. Thus, there will probably not be an opportunity for the public to meet the candidates – all the more reason to check out the position document!  Meeting minutes are available on the GSG website.

The first SPPA faculty meeting was held on Friday 9/14, and SAPA Board Members Jen Lazo, David Barnes, and Rachel Linstead Goldsmith attended.  The faculty reviewed reports on the incoming class, discussed the Doctoral Program Curriculum, and talked about recruitment strategies to ensure diversity and develop relationships with undergraduate schools.  The faculty also addressed course scheduling, which has become a problem for students and professors alike as course offerings have grown more complex over time (in the fall semester there are 109 sections, with 113 in the spring).

The Academic Curriculum Committee has created a course map for the next three years to identify holes that the current faculty cannot fill. The course map will help to justify requests for new hires, and will also create a database to manage course information.  The new system will be put into operation during the Fall 2013/Spring 2014 schedule.  Eventually, this system will be posted on SPPA’s website, and will include a schedule of course offerings for the next four years. Academic advisors will have access to the system to help students navigate their degree program plan.

On Thursday 9/20 SAPA hosted an overview workshop on how to approach abstract submissions.  There is an easy format you can use (check out these slides to see it) and you can seek funding to attend conferences (through the grad office, SPPA, and the research centers)!