2008 Samuel DuBois Cook Summer Academy Seeks Staff

The Ohio State University Office of Minority Affairs Young Scholars Program seeks mature, goal oriented, and self motivated individuals to staff its 2008 Samuel DuBois Cook Summer Academy July 6 – August 2 on The Ohio State University’s Columbus campus. The aim of the academy is to prepare Young Scholars Program participants for the college transition.

Scheduled interviews will be held Wednesday and Thursday, April 23-24. Applicants will be contacted about exact times and locations for interviews as they vary by position. To be considered for employment, applicants must submit resumes with their applications.

Full position descriptions and applications are available at the Young Scholars Program website: http://oma.osu.edu/ysp/main.html. Available positions include: Scholar Mentor, Resident Advisor, Program Evaluator, Lead Office Assistant, Office Assistant, Public Relations Assistant, Transportation Lead, Transportation Assistant, Writing Instructor, Calculus Instructor, Advanced Algebra Instructor, Physics Instructor, Chemistry Instructor, Psychology Instructor, Data Analysis Instructor, OSU Survey Instructor, and Career Exploration Instructor.

Paper applications are also available at the Frank Hale Black Cultural Center. ALL applications—online and paper—are due by April 11. Paper applications may be submitted to the Young Scholars Program office at 025 Mount Hall, 1050 Carmack Road, Columbus, Ohio 43210.

The Future of the News

Interested in learning about the future of print journalism? How does online publishing change our relationship to the news? Are RSS feeds and abbreviated headlines leaving Americans less informed about global issues? The Digital Union presents “The Future of the News,” a panel discussion with correspondents from the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, and the Director of the Kiplinger Program in Public Affairs Journalism at OSU. We hope to see you there.

Federal Career Fair

As you may be aware, the federal government is expecting the retirement of nearly 50 percent of its 1.9 million person civilian workforce over the next 4 - 7 years. Last year Ohio State served as a pilot institution in dealing with this expected shortfall of highly trained and educated civil servants by working with Partnership for Public Service and the Office of Personnel Management. We were quite pleased at having almost 1,800 students attend the Federal Career Fair.

We do not, of course, believe that we should give preference to federal employment over opportunities in the private sector. However, many federal positions have relatively high starting salaries, and even the entry level positions involve considerable responsibility.

Consequently, we hope that you will attend the OSU Federal Career Fair on Wednesday, April 2, 2008, in the Huntington Club of the Ohio Stadium. The fair will run from 10 a.m.-3 p.m., and over 50 agencies have committed staff to provide extensive information and to conduct interviews for seniors and graduates who match their current hiring needs.

The Federal Career Fair website is located at: http://esue.ohio-state.edu/federalcareer/ and it contains much information that might be useful. Please urge fellow students and colleagues to attend.

Publication Opportunity

Greetings from the Cornell Institute for Public Affairs!

The Current, the academic journal of the Cornell Institute for Public Affairs (CIPA), is seeking submissions for its Spring 2008 edition.
Graduate students are invited to submit original research with themes related to politics, public policy, and public administration in national and global contexts.

Guidelines for submission can be viewed at:
http://www.cipa.cornell.edu/cip_thecurrentsubmission.html. The deadline for submissions to the Spring 2008 edition is April 4th. If you have any questions please contact thecurrent@cornell.edu.

Best,

Amanda LaBelle, Editor-in-Chief
Denise M. Ziobro, Managing Editor

--
As the academic journal of the Cornell Institute for Public Affairs (CIPA), The Current provides a platform for public policy discourse through the work of CIPA fellows and their mentors, with contributions from the public affairs community.

Dalmas A. Taylor Memorial Summer Minority Policy Fellowship

>>Dalmas A. Taylor Memorial Summer Minority Policy Fellowship**
>>
>>The purpose of this award is to honor the memory of Dalmas Taylor, who
>>passed away during his term as President of SPSSI. Dr. Taylor had been
>>involved for many years with SPSSI. In addition, he was instrumental
>>in establishing the Minority Fellowship at the American Psychological
>>Association and in increasing the APA's attention to inclusion of
>>people of color. This fellowship is administered in conjunction with
>>APA's Minority Fellowship Office, and provides an opportunity for a
>>graduate student of color to work on public policy issues in
>>Washington, DC.
>>
>>**ELIGIBILITY**
>>
>>Applicants must be a graduate student in good standing who is a member
>>of an ethnic minority group (including, but not limited to, African
>>American, Alaskan Native, American Indian, Asian American, Hispanic,
>>and Pacific Islander) and/or has demonstrated a commitment to a career
>>in psychology or a related field with a focus on ethnic minority
>>issues.
>>
>>**AWARDS AND CRITERIA**
>>
>>The summer stipend will be $3000 plus housing and travel funds. We
>>will also assist the successful candidate in finding housing in Washington.
>>
>>**The application should include:**
>>
>>**1.** A cover page stating your name, institution, address, telephone
>>number, fax number (if applicable), and email address.
>>
>>**2**. A 3-page statement with detailed information that includes:
>>(**a**) reason for your interest in this fellowship
>>(**b**) your previous and current research experiences
>>(**c**) indication of your interest in ethnic minority psychological
>>issues
>>(**d**) statement of how this fellowship would contribute to your
>>career goals
>>
>>**3.** Two letters of recommendation
>>
>>**4.** Current curriculum vitae
>>
>>**HOW TO APPLY**
>>
>>**APPLY ONLINE NOW!
>>>>arentID=482>
>>
>>Online submissions are the preferred method. Please limit the number
>>and size of files uploaded when applying online. *** *At the time you
>>submit the application, please also send an email to Central Office at
>>awards@spssi.org
>><mailto:linking%20pages%20within%20CitySoft?subject=Taylor%20application>.
>>As the subject of the email write "Taylor application". In the body of
>>the email include the information from your cover page.
>>
>>**DEADLINE**
>>Applications must reach SPSSI Central Office by **March 31, 2008.**
>>Announcements will be made by May 1st, 2008.

Ohio Public Issues Negotiation Initiative Workshop

Sponsored by
The Ohio Commission on Dispute Resolution

May 12th, 2008
Riffe Center 77 S. High Street, 31st Floor Columbus, Ohio

1 PM - 2:30 Public Issues Negotiation in Ohio
This workshop will discuss the principles of collaboration and consensus building used to reach agreement in community, faith-based, energy, public policy, land use, natural resource, public health, social policy issues and transportation settings. Participants will learn about the skills and training required for employment in multiparty mediation in public policy, environmental, labor-management and other settings.

2:30 - 4:00 Ohio Public Issues Negotiation Initiative Orientation
The Ohio Public Issues Negotiation Initiative (OPINI) is designed to expand and diversify the availability of facilitation and consensus building service providers in Ohio. The initiative will offer education, training, observation and opportunities to work with mediators and facilitators in “real-time” multi-party stakeholder negotiations. The orientation session is open to those interested in learning more about the Ohio Public Issues Negotiation Initiative. Individuals from underrepresented communities are encouraged to attend.

Upon acceptance to and completion of this program, individuals will be qualified for application to the Ohio Commission on Dispute Resolution’s Public Disputes Roster. This roster serves as a resource of public policy dispute resolution practitioners available to state and local governments and non-governmental agencies.

Please visit OPINI’s website at www.disputeresolution.ohio.gov/opini.htm to download the announcement and application materials.

Who Should Attend?

Individuals with a background and/or experience in dispute resolution, public policy, governmental relations, community affairs.

Professionals who are interested in third party (neutral) service provision (mediation and facilitation). Emerging and mid-career professionals are welcome!

Registration
Space is limited! Registration will be taken on a first come, first served basis.
This workshop is free for registered individuals.

The May 12th program registration deadline is April 21st
To register, please call 614/752-9595.

Additional information about the OPINI is available at
www.DisputeResolution.ohio.gov/opini.htm

Ohio Commission on Dispute Resolution
77 S. High Street, 24th Floor
Columbus, OH 43215
614-752-9595

Bright Spots for Workers in a Shaky Economy

The Baltimore Sun
By Hanah Cho

Whether the economy is in a recession right now or not, workers are starting to feel wary about job security and professional prospects.

But there is a sliver of good news.

Several industries are resistant to the woes of a slowing economy, according to John A. Challenger, chief executive of Challenger, Gray & Christmas, a Chicago outplacement firm.

The credit crunch and a slumping housing market have brought depressing job news from manufacturing, retail, construction and the real estate sectors.

However, Challenger says the job market in the areas of security, energy, environment, healthcare and education are strong because of "major long-term forces going in our economy, whether it's demographics or globalization."

Let's take a look at the strengths of these sectors:

• Security:

• In the post 9/11 world, there's growing demand for protecting the country's ports, borders and other infrastructure, Challenger says.
• For instance, the Department of Homeland Security is expected to hire more than 15,000 customs and border protection officers and border patrol agents as well as another 22,000 airport screeners in the next three years, according to a 2007 report by the Partnership for Public Service.
• Challenger says information technology expertise in the areas of anti-hacking and computer security is also hot.

• Energy:

• Population growth in China, India and elsewhere is fueling increasing demand for alternative sources of energy, Challenger says.
• With interest in wind, solar and ethanol as well as nuclear power, Challenger says job demands can grow in this area.

• Environment sector:

• With corporate America going green and concerns about global warming, Challenger says so-called "green-collar" jobs will be created.
• They include environmental engineers, corporate sustainability managers and solar panel technicians.

• Healthcare:

• As baby boomers age, the demand for health-related occupations are increasing as well. Personal and home care aides as well as medical assistants, physical therapist assistants and pharmacy technicians are expected to be among the fastest-growing jobs in the next 10 years, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

• Education:

• Challenger says a wave of retirements of kindergarten-through-12th grade teachers and increasing student enrollment are creating vacancies.
• And as more people consider education as lifelong learning that extends beyond high school or college diplomas, Challenger says workers will request training and development on the corporate level.

C’mon and Be a Bureaucrat

NEWSWEEK
By Tony Dokoupil

With close to a hundred undergraduates looking on, federal recruiter Jesse Tampio took the stage recently at Bates College in Lewiston, Maine, and set about busting the "myths" of government work. "People say that the government is this huge bureaucracy," said Tampio, 31, a State Department lawyer and volunteer pitchman. "But it's a useful skill to learn how to navigate it." The hour-long PowerPoint presentation also addressed Uncle Sam's reputation for poor pay and cronyism, while selling the upsides of federal service—like proximity to power. One slide featured a photo of federal workers hobnobbing at a chili cook-off. As Tampio said: "You're on the inside rather than on the outside yelling in."

The session is part of the government's push for talent, an intensifying effort to recruit a new generation of civil servants amid the biggest hiring crisis in U.S. government history. More federal employees are expected to retire in 2008 than in any previous year, and 2009 could be even worse, according to the Office of Personnel Management. By 2012, more than 50 percent of the current work force, including 90 percent of senior management and a third of all scientists and economists, will be gone—leaving a quarter million jobs in their wake.

As the retirement wave hits, many agencies are flashing unprecedented signing bonuses and scholarships to attract new talent. The Department of Defense is doling out bonuses of $5,000 or more to would-be intelligence analysts, while the Nuclear Regulatory Commission is courting young scientists with funding for second or third degrees. But despite these enticements, the United States is struggling to woo a generation of young people who see a more productive and lucrative future for themselves in the private sector. "Kennedy's message is no longer the right one," says Max Stier, president of the nonprofit Partnership for Public Service, which organized the Bates event with government cooperation. "It's not about what you can do for government. We need to convey what government can do for you."

OPM's military-style recruiting campaign includes job fairs at more than 600 universities and prime-time national advertising. The first-ever commercials for civil-service work feature young Feds waxing grandly about their jobs before a voice-over exclaims: "Wow! That's impressive. Who do you work for?" If the OPM's efforts fail—since 2006, the government has made more than 100,000 hires to keep pace with retirements—private contractors are poised to pick up the slack. But the repercussions could go beyond privatization if the government fails to replenish its ranks. "When it comes to problems like climate change and disaster relief, if government is not involved, it will not happen," says David Ellwood, dean of Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, who adds that "it's absolutely vital to get spectacular people into government."

At the center of the government's talent troubles is a salary gap. "Why would you want to work for government when you can earn more and get more done working for a government contractor?" asks John Cassidy, 29, who plans to take a job in the federal-projects branch of the consulting firm Deloitte & Touche after graduating from the Kennedy School this spring. The firm offers nearly twice the salary and a full year of school reimbursement money. By law, the government's best counteroffer is loan forgiveness (a maximum of $10,000 annually for up to six years) and a salary of about $50,000 for any job taken by a master's degree recipient without government experience. "The fact is you can earn two or three times as much in a consulting job, and that's not even counting the higher investment-banking jobs," says Ellwood.

There's also an aura of incompetence around government work. The days of desks' disappearing into the distance may be over, but there are still 35-page job listings, 14-page applications and dreary job titles. Matt Volner was a "building management specialist" at the General Services Administration from October 2006 to October 2007. "I couldn't tell you what that means," says Volner, 24, a 2006 Cornell graduate, who has since quit government work to become an actor in New York. "The whole year was a Kafkaesque nightmare in which my job was to find out what my job was."

The roots of the government's image issues run deep. President Ronald Reagan framed the federal worker as a handy scapegoat for society's ills in 1981 with the words "Government is not the solution"; since then, almost every presidential hopeful has run on some version of "Washington is broken." When an interest group wants to torpedo a government initiative, it simply invokes the "bureaucrat" as an emblem of ineptitude. "We saw a slight change during the 'West Wing' era," says Pat McGinnis, president of the Washington-based nonprofit Council for Excellence in Government. "But otherwise it's just been nonstop portrayals of the bungling bureaucrat. It takes a toll."

Back at Bates, a more positive message seems to be getting through. "I want to be part of the change sweeping the government," says Becky Rubenstein, a senior psych major who wants to work in public health. Maybe all hope is not lost for Uncle Sam: after Rubenstein spent a summer as an intern at a Boston nonprofit that struggled with funding, government chili might sound good.

A Useful Job Hunting Lesson?