The Demise of the Public Administration Department

This one is more personal than others. It was written for and published by the Kennebec Journal, Augusta Maine in conjunction with two alums of the University of Maine Public Administration Programs

Public administration at the University of Maine (Orono) is scheduled to be eliminated. This directly affects citizens of the state because the Public Administration Department has trained town managers and other public officials for this state since 1945 through its Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in Public Management. The University of Maine (UM) Master’s in Public Administration (MPA) degree program, located in Augusta, is also part of the budget cutting proposal. Cutting public administration affects the Augusta community particularly because the UM Public Administration Department offers the only graduate degree available within the Augusta area. The presence of an MPA program in our capital city is not irrelevant. The legislature established the MPA program in Orono and Augusta in 1968 to meet the needs for trained managers in state government and local communities.

Within the greater Augusta area, 11 public administration graduates serve in positions from town managers to police officers. Eighty-seven work in state government, from executives in commissioner’s offices to nonpartisan support positions in the legislature to professionals in areas as diverse as environmental protection, engineering, technology, transportation, finance, and planning. The former commissioner of Administration and Finance who has an MPA is now serving as the Vice President of Finance for the University of Maine System. Eighteen Augusta area alums work in professional associations ranging from the Maine Municipal Association to the Maine State Chamber of Commerce and in direct-service nonprofits such as Uplift, Inc and local hospitals.

In a state hard-pressed to fund its services even in good times, a public administration degree is cost efficient. It is far cheaper for state employees, area town managers, or nonprofit managers to take a UM course in Augusta leading to an MPA degree than to attend short seminars, stay over a night in Boston or some other city, and lose a day or two of work. The flagship university’s courses are specific to the needs of the state for public servants who are knowledgeable about finance, personnel, planning, organizational development, ethics and many specific relevant subjects. Further, UM’s MPA is accredited which means the MPA is a value-added degree recognized nationally as having the rigor and course work identified as relevant to meet today's needs for public servants.

As public administrators, we need to respond to the public to reduce the size of government, while maintaining its effectiveness. We must also offer a solution. And there is a solution that will save money and add value. It is time to merge the public administration programs of UM with those of the University of Southern Maine (USM) and UM Augusta (UMA).

The University of Maine Augusta offers a BA and Associate degree in public administration (2 faculty); the University of Maine offers a BA in public management and an MPA (4 faculty); and the University of Southern Maine offers a Master's in Public Policy and Management (6 faculty). All have small faculties, many nearing retirement. Merging saves money by reducing course duplication and administration while continuing to provide courses in Orono, Augusta and Portland. Merging has the advantage of improving placement of interns and graduating students, increasing service and research productivity as well as creating fiscal efficiencies the higher education system desperately needs. Administrators at UM, USM, and the system office (and to a much lesser extent UMA) have had opportunities to make this fiscally prudent solution possible but for many reasons chose not to implement this type of consolidation. This program consolidation solution is a win-win for students, certainly for the Augusta area, and, most importantly, for the citizens of our state, who will be better served.

This solution even has a name, the Academy of Public Service, previously agreed upon and signed by the Presidents of UM and USM. But to make this happen beyond a paper agreement, leaders must emerge from the universities, students, alumni, elected officials and citizens. Building on existing program excellence is the sensible way to keep the university system lean while fostering long-term, high-quality public service throughout Maine’s government and nonprofit endeavors. We are willing to be part of the solution team.

Carolyn Ball is MPA director at the University of Maine and teaches classes in Orono and Augusta; Tina Plummer is a current student in the MPA program in Augusta and has BA in Public Administration from UM Augusta and Nathan Poore, Falmouth Town Manager, has a BA in Public Administration from the University of Maine and a Master’s in Public Policy and Management from the University of Southern Maine.