2004-06 IUPUI Campus Bulletin

School of Public and Environmental Affairs

The School of Public and Environmental Affairs (SPEA) is a professional school dedicated to applied interdisciplinary learning combining the study of public affairs and environmental sciences. The interests of the faculty and professional staff typically fall into one or more of the following areas: criminal justice
environmental science and policy
finance and economics
health science and administration
law
policy and administration
public safety
urban affairs The school's faculty, staff, and students work individually and jointly to solve problems that require SPEA's unique combination of in-depth knowledge in the natural, behavioral, social, and administrative sciences.

SPEA, because of its broad program base, offers scientific and technical assistance to Indiana communities from any of the eight IU campuses. The organizational design of the school reinforces a wide network of continuing relations with a large number of public agencies at all levels of government.

Welcome from Dean Astrid E. Merget

The Indiana University School of Public and Environmental Affairs has no small agenda. Because society's most critical concerns are connected to quality of life and sustainability of all life forms, our teaching, research, and service are distinguished by immediate relevancy and benefit in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors. Founded in 1972, the school has, from its very beginning, embraced a distinctive interdisciplinary approach to the pursuit of comprehensive solutions for society's most complex challenges in our classrooms, labs, and research centers.

Our work touches citizens around the world in multiple ways on any given day. On our campuses throughout the state of Indiana, our students and faculty address an assortment of issues that help define how well citizens of the world live, how well their institutions serve and sustain, and how well their environments are protected and enhanced.

We assess the water people drink and how their governments define and assist those most in need. Members of our faculty study the safety of air and highway travel and transport and how health care and food quality can be enhanced. In our research centers, our students learn how developing governments define principles of justice and address criminal behavior and social welfare. Today, we lead the country in helping groups and organizations in all sectors learn inventive techniques to settle disputes and approach their environmental catastrophes. And internationally, our faculty and our students help new democracies determine how tax monies are best collected and utilized for society's betterment.

I am pleased with your interest in the School of Public and Environmental Affairs and hope that your investment of time here will ultimately serve you well as you prepare for a most meaningful and rewarding professional life.

With best wishes,

Astrid E. Merget, Dean

Welcome from Associate Dean, James L. Perry

I am pleased to welcome you to the School of Public and Environmental Affairs, which is a multidisciplinary division of Indiana University. We are located in downtown Indianapolis on one of the most dynamic urban campuses in the nation. Our location fosters strong relationships with public, private, and nonprofit organizations in the metro area. This allows us to offer unique opportunities to our students, which blend academic course work with practical experience.

Our faculty has earned national distinction for innovative programs in public affairs, urban affairs, environmental science, planning, criminal justice, and health administration. It is my pleasure to announce that our graduate concentration in nonprofit management is consistently ranked among the top ten in the nation.

In addition to our academic programs, SPEA is affiliated with a variety of nationally recognized research centers. Students and faculty are developing cutting-edge research in such areas as health policy and health services, urban policy and the environment, and the intersection of government and the nonprofit sector.

We invite you to join the legacy of SPEA and challenge you to make a world of difference in your community!

James L. Perry
Associate Dean

SPEA Centers, Institutes, Programs, and Services

The School of Public and Environmental Affairs encompasses public service activities that complement innovative academic programs. The school provides a wide variety of services to an equally broad range of federal, state, and local agencies.

The Bowen Research Center, based in Indianapolis, is the result of a joint effort of the Department of Family Medicine, School of Medicine and the School of Public and Environmental Affairs. Named for Governor Otis Bowen, M.D., the former director of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Bowen Research Center is the university's leader in health policy and health services research. The center's multimillion-dollar research program provides important research opportunities for the faculty, staff, and students. The center's research focuses on primary health care service among rural and underserved populations and promotes health, disease prevention, and reduction of the untimely loss of life through research on lifestyle changes. The center also develops methods to control health care costs and improve the effectiveness, efficiency, humaneness, and appropriateness of health services. The Bowen Research Center can be reached at (317) 278-0312.

The Executive Education Program is one of the most prestigious leadership programs in the nation. Offered through the School of Public and Environmental Affairs, the Executive Education Program works with the government, nonprofit agencies and the private sector to prepare leaders and managers to meet today's challenges and anticipate tomorrow's opportunities.

The Executive Education Program offers graduate-level programs at four sites nationally: Washington, DC; Seattle, Washington; Indianapolis, Indiana for the United States Navy; and Louisville, Kentucky for the United States Army Corps of Engineers. Graduate programs include the Master of Public Affairs (M.P.A.), the Public Management Certificate and the Environmental Management Certificate.

The Executive Education Program has formed a partnership with the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) which also meets in Indianapolis. Together, they have created two institutes to challenge and educate transportation managers and leaders. The National Transportation Leadership Institute and the Graduate Leadership/Management Institute are two of the most influential programs for transportation management.

The Executive Education Program's partnership with the Indiana Health and Hospital Association (IHHA) created a 10-course management institute for health care officials in Indiana to help them lead their organizations through the continually changing health care industry.

SPEA's Executive Education Program also offers customized leadership and management programs for local and national clients.

The Institute for the Study of Government and the Nonprofit Sector is the result of a joint initiative of Indiana University's Center on Philanthropy, the Center for Urban Policy and the Environment, and the School of Public and Environmental Affairs. The purpose of the institute is to support intellectual exchange between faculty members, stimulate extramural support for faculty research, and engage students and returning practitioners in a discussion of issues involving the intersection of government and the nonprofit sector. The mission of the institute is to create and disseminate knowledge about the complex linkages between government and the nonprofit sector and to develop specialized faculty expertise. The institute strives to be the preeminent national and international resource on matters related to government and the nonprofit sector. The institute can be reached on the Web at www.isgns.spea.iupui.edu.

The Center for Urban Policy and the Environment brings analyses and decision facilitation competencies to complex societal problems, especially in central Indiana. Foundations, governments, nonprofit organizations, and businesses have supported center projects. Affiliated faculty from Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis and other universities, professional staff of the center, and graduate assistants commonly forms teams for projects. Clients who have engaged the center in recent projects include: the Central Indiana Corporate Partnership, the State of Indiana, the Indianapolis-Marion County Public Library, the City of Indianapolis, the Indianapolis Neighborhood Housing Partnership, and the Catholic Diocese of Cleveland. The center is evaluating implementation of the charitable choice provisions of the welfare reform act with an award from the Ford Foundation. The Lilly Endowment has provided an award of general support to the center that is funding extensive analyses of investments by households, businesses, governments and nonprofits in central Indiana.

Center for Urban Policy and the Environment
School of Public and Environmental Affairs
342 North Senate Avenue, 3rd Floor
Indianapolis, IN 46204-1708

Contact: John J. Kirlin, Director
(317) 261-3000
(317) 261-3050 (fax)
jkirlin@iupui.edu

Placement and Internship Office

SPEA's students utilize IUPUI's Career Center and the expertise of SPEA's career representative in making the transition from the university setting to the working world. Workshops, individual counseling, alumni mentoring, and an extensive library are provided. Other services include bulletins, directories, and networking interviews with on-campus recruiters, and automated resume preparation and distribution to employers.

SPEA students also may make internship arrangements through faculty and the SPEA program directors.

In recent years, students have held internships in the following types of organizations: county government, state government, federal government, police departments, environmental consulting firms, hospitals, assisted living facilities, nursing homes, law firms, nonprofit agencies, private corporations, pharmaceutical firms, insurance companies and more.

Internship programs are designed for maximum flexibility so that many valid learning experiences can qualify as internships. Work can be full- or part-time, and paid or unpaid; however, prior approval by the student's faculty advisor is always required. After obtaining approval for an internship, a student may register for 1-6 credit hours, earning one credit for every 80 hours of work, with a minimum of 120 hours of work. All credit for an internship is awarded on an S/F (Satisfactory/Fail) basis. Credit is not granted for work experience obtained prior to approval of an internship and enrollment in the appropriate internship class.

Students on the IUPUI campus seeking career-planning assistance should contact:

Career and Employment Services
Business/SPEA 2010
(317) 274-2556 Career-planning assistance also is available on other campuses. For information, contact: Placement and Internship Office
SPEA 200
Bloomington Campus
(812) 855-9639

SPEA Alumni Association

SPEA maintains contact with alumni through the SPEA Alumni Association, a constituent society within the parent Indiana University Alumni Association. The SPEA Alumni Association publishes the school's newsletter, Alumni Update, mailed two times a year to more than 18,000 SPEA alumni located in all 50 states and 50 countries. Through this newsletter, alumni, faculty, and students are able to maintain contact. The Alumni Association raises funds for student scholarships with a summer golf outing in Indianapolis and with specialized efforts for specific programs. It sponsors the publication of an alumni directory and sponsors alumni events in several major cities. The SPEA Alumni Association is governed by an elected board of directors, which meets biannually.

Student Organizations

Alpha Phi Sigma

Alpha Phi Sigma is the national criminal justice honor society, with chapters established on the Northwest, Fort Wayne, South Bend, Kokomo, and Indianapolis campuses of Indiana University. The society recognizes scholastic excellence by students in the field of criminal justice. It was founded in 1942 and was admitted to the Association of College Honor Societies in l980. Membership of graduate students is limited to those who have a bachelor's degree in criminal justice or who are currently doing graduate work in this field. A minimum grade point average of 3.4 is required of graduate students seeking membership in Alpha Phi Sigma.

Indiana Health Student Association

The purpose of the Indiana Health Student Association is to: stimulate professional career development and leadership of its members; provide the opportunity to assemble with and enjoy the fellowship of students and faculty whose professional interests are in public and environmental health; encourage students to become active in causes and projects which will protect the environment and provide better health care for our society; and keep members informed of recent trends in health-related areas.

Pi Alpha Alpha

Pi Alpha Alpha is the national honorary society for schools of public affairs and administration. The society acknowledges outstanding scholarship and contributions to these fields. It was founded in 1972 by the National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration (NASPAA) to honor those whose performance in public affairs has been distinguished. The Indiana chapter of Pi Alpha Alpha is a charter chapter. Membership in Pi Alpha Alpha may be compared to membership in Phi Beta Kappa for liberal arts graduates. A person evaluating credentials in the various fields of public service should recognize the professional quality such a membership represents.

Undergraduate students are eligible for Pi Alpha Alpha membership when they are in the top 10 percent of their graduating class with a minimum grade point average of 3.50 in at least 15 credit hours of SPEA courses, when they are in the last semester of the junior year or in the senior year, and when they have earned a grade point average of at least 3.00 in all course work.

Alumni are eligible for membership if they meet all the requirements of student membership, even if they graduated before induction by the Indiana chapter.

Honorary membership is available to any person who has achieved distinction in public administration and who has the distinguished qualities that Pi Alpha Alpha fosters.

Phi Alpha Delta Law Fraternity, Prelaw Chapter

Phi Alpha Delta Law Fraternity, International is a professional service organization composed of prelaw students, law students, legal educators, attorneys, judges and government officials. Phi Alpha Delta was founded in 1902 for the purpose of promoting professional competency and achievement within the legal profession. It is also the first law fraternity to admit women. Phi Alpha Delta (PAD) is the world's largest law fraternity with almost 200 prelaw chapters, 179 law school chapters and 94 alumni chapters in the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico and Mexico.