Welcome

On behalf of the faculty and staff in the MPA program, welcome.

You are beginning a journey today; look around you, everyone in this room shares this one thing.

This is a record-breaking crowd; the largest ever MPA class (almost 50 of you in the first year general cohort and 30 of you in the tribal cohort – our third, and largest tribal cohort – something to celebrate) and the first folks admitted into the new joint MPA/MES program. Look around you – these are your compadres, folks with whom you’ll share the next 2-4 years and some of whom, as a result, you’ll be bonded to for life.

More than a few years ago we took some big risks and made serious changes to the MPA program; you are here because of those changes. We are very proud, and deeply appreciative of the founding faculty, to be the first and only MPA program in the country with a concentration in Tribal Governance and a tribal cohort. We are very pleased that our other concentrations are showing record breaking demand, even in the face of increased competition from both “bricks and mortar” and internet-based programs. We are doing something right and you are helping us do so.

You are making history; in your lives and in our program.

The vocation of public service – whether that is realized through work done with public, nonprofit or tribal organizations – is crucial to the present and histories of all people. As Howard Zinn, the author of the germinal “People’s History of the United States”

We want to support you, and help guide you, as you find – or refine – your place in the world through your work in this program. Let me introduce a few people to you.

First and foremost, are our Assistant Directors – Mary McGhee and Mike McCanna. Mary serves students in the general cohort; Mike serves the tribal cohort (although either can assist you). They are your first line of support for all your program needs.

Our program secretaries, Nan Mick and Lee Stellemacher, are also there to support you.

And the faculty…the faculty most important to first year students are those teaching in the first year Core:

Joan Bantz

Bruce Davies

Larry Geri

Amy Gould

Other MPA faculty present today:

Again, welcome and remember the African proverb: history….

Learning Communities/Introductions

Define:

1. The adult learner is primarily in charge of his or her own learning. Remember that instructors do not have the power to implant ideas or to transfer skills directly to the learner. They can only suggest and guide.

2. An instructor's primary responsibility is to do a good job of managing the process through which adults learn.

3. The learners are encouraged to use their own judgment and decision-making capabilities.

Instructors are leaders, not dictators. They do have responsibility to make decisions, provide guidance, and be a resource for the students' learning. Although instructors often view themselves as the ultimate authority on the subject matter, it is still up to the learners to determine whether the ideas presented in the session should be incorporated into their work or personal lives. Despite the primary role of the learner, instruction is not a passive, laid-back, go-with-the-flow process for the instructor. As the facilitator and catalyst for participants' learning, the instructor makes it possible for learning to happen by designing and performing all the activities that the learning processes requires.

In their research on adult learning, Sullivan, Wircenski, Arnold, and Sarkees (1990) assert that the establishment of a positive learning climate hinges on understanding the characteristics of adult learners who will be participating in the instructional process. They report the dynamics of the instructional process are very much dependent on the instructor having a clear understanding of the participants. Sullivan et. al. cited applicable characteristics of relevance, motivation, participation, variety, positive feedback, personal concerns, and uniqueness.

What makes an Evergreen education different?

What makes an Evergreen MPA different than others?

Questions for small group activity:

What are your desires for this learning community you are about to enter?

What are your roles and responsibilities in achieving these desires?

Mike and Mary facilitate introductions of all

name

cohort

place of employment

one thing we want to know about you (20 words or less)