School of Public and International Affairs

  

The School of Public and International Affairs challenges students, promotes research, and fosters partnerships within and beyond the JMU community to enhance the quality of life at home and abroad. Through a focus on civic engagement, SPIA is committed to nurturing the civic skills and attitudes necessary for promoting responsible and effective democratic citizenship.

 

Preparing engaged, active and responsible citizens.

 

Fall 2013 Symposium
From Volunteerism to Engagement: Transforming Our Community and Beyond

KEYNOTE LECTURES

Paul Loeb,  Soul of a Citizen

Wednesday September 18, Memorial Auditorium, 7:00-8:30 p.m.

{ Author and lecturer Paul Loeb has spent 30 years researching and writing about citizen responsibility and empowerment. Loeb’s award-winning books on civic engagement, The Soul of a Citizen, The Impossible Will Take a Little While and Generation at the Crossroads, have examined how citizens, and students in particular, can learn to take responsibility for our common future.}

Frank Blechman, Lessons from 50 Years of Activism: How YOU Can Be an Agent For Change

Wednesday September 25, ISAT 159, 7:00-8:30 p.m.

{Based in Northern Virginia, Frank Blechman is a consultant helping businesses, community organizations, and public agencies increase their effectiveness though internal and external consensus building and has worked in public policy as a community and political organizer and activist.}

Kendra Stewart, Engagement: What, How, Why and Should?

                Tuesday October 1, Harrison 2105, 7:00-8:30 p.m.

[Dr. Stewart is Professor of Public Administration and Director of the Joseph P. Riley Center for Livable Communities at the College of Charleston. The Center is committed to forging connections between the campus and the broader community.}

OTHER EVENTS

PANEL PRESENTATION  Community-Based and Local Organizations:  Engagement Needs and Impacts

Monday September 30, Harrisonburg City Council Chambers, 7:00-8:30 p.m.

{Panelists from community organizations will discuss what their organizations look for when it comes to university engagement and its impact on their organizations.}

Betsy Hay, United Way

Ragan McManus, Arts Council of the Valley

Reid Wodicka, Town of Woodstock

Trisha Blosser, Harrisonburg Downtown Renaissance

Dr. Nick Swartz, JMU Dept. of Political Science

 

SPIA STUDENT ORGANIZATION FAIR

                Tuesday October 1, Miller Hall Lobby, 5:00-6:30 p.m.

{Recruitment and informational fair for JMU student and community organizations committed to civic engagement.}

PANEL PRESENTATION Changing Lives and Communities

Wednesday October 2,  Taylor 405, 4:00-6:30 p.m.

{Presentation will focus on panelists’ experiences with community engagement as JMU students and then as alumni in the Harrisonburg community.}

Reid Wodicka, Town of Woodstock

Chaz Evans Haywood, Clerk of Court

Kai Degner, Harrisonburg City Council

ROUNDTABLE Engagement and Political Change: Tunisia and the Arab Spring

                Thursday October 3, Taylor 405, 4:00-6:30 p.m.

{Discussion will consider Mr. Zabaar’s experiences in Tunisia during the Arab Spring uprising.}

Fathi Zabaar, Political Activist

PANEL PRESENTATION Community Engagement and Economic Development

Monday October 7, Hiner Room, Memorial Hall, 7:00-8:30 p.m.

{Panelists from JMU and community organizations will discuss the impact of community engagement on local economic development efforts.}

Dr. James Shaeffer, JMU Outreach & Engagement

Frank Tambereno, Harrisonburg-Rockingham Chamber of Commerce

Eddie Baumbaugh, Harrisonburg Downtown Renaissance

Dennis Burnett, Shenandoah Valley Partnership

Dr. Nick Swartz, JMU Dept. of Political Science

FILM How I Became an Elephant

Tuesday October 8, Harrison 2105, 7:00-8:30 p.m..

{How far would YOU go to save a species? How I Became an Elephant captures one girl’s journey to inspire a movement. }

PANEL PRESENTATION: From Knowledge to Power? Citizen Science and Environmental Advocacy

Wednesday October 9 , Taylor 306, 12:15-1:30 p.m.

{Panelists from JMU and community organizations will discuss their experiences with engagement on a variety of environmental concerns.}

Dr. Rob Alexander, JMU Dept. of Political Science

Dr. David Mellor, Virginia Master Naturalists

Leslie Mitchell, Friends of the North Fork River

PANEL PRESENTATION Assessing the Impacts of University-Community Engagement

Thursday October 10, Taylor 306, 12:15-1:30 p.m.

{How do we measure the effects of engagement at our university and in the community? Panelists will discuss approaches and challenges in this area.}

Dr. Nick Swartz, JMU Dept. of Political Science

Sarah McDonald, JMU Outreach & Engagement

PANEL PRESENTATION How to Get engaged!: Starting a Student Organization on Campus

Monday October 14, Taylor 304, 12:30-1:30 p.m.

{Representatives from Democracy Matters and Building Tomorrow will join this informative panel to talk about the diverse missions of their groups, the rewards and challenges of participation in a student organization, and the process of becoming a recognized student organization on campus.}

 


SPIA Faculty

Dr. David K. Jeffrey, Dean
Dr. Jessica Adolino, Associate Dean

Political Science Faculty (Includes Political Science, International Affairs and Public Policy and Administration faculty)
Justice Studies Faculty

SPIA News

Political Science Department News

Justice Studies Department News

A Lab for Public Administration

Giving to SPIA

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Civic Engagement in SPIA