Program Manager Update

The GCN program, brainchild of Ms. Kim Lomax (current MPA student) and Dr. Marcus Ingle of the Hatfield School of Government, culminated from discussions that took place in Dr. Ingle's fall 2007 Global Leadership and Management class on how best to further connect the extensive international work of the Hatfield School faculty, its alumni, and partners to current MPA students and their studies. With approved funding initiated by Dr. Ronald Tammen, Director of the Hatfield School of Government, and Dr. Lawrence Wallack, Dean of the College of Urban and Public Affairs, the GCN program was birthed with Kim as Program Manager and Dr. Ingle as Program Champion.

Since its inception, the GCN program has offered its services to empower and support students find international public service projects that supplement their coursework at the Hatfield School of Government. As evidenced by its program web site: http://gcn.pdx.edu, Kim and Dr. Ingle, with the support of other faculty and staff, have been successful with not only founding GCN as a program, but also with its efforts for reaching out to current students to assist in planning and executing an international public service project and strengthening the international network of public, private, and nonprofit sector partnerships. Among the program’s many accomplishments, several stand out, in no particular order, as follows:

• Creating and developing GCN blog
• Provisioning of GCN program related information
• Provisioning of resources for MPA students and partner organizations
• Establishing international alumni connections

Now, a new phase for the GCN program is upon us with Dr. Ingle as Program Champion and Mr. Anel Jayasuriya (current MPA student) as Program Manager. During this phase, our goal is to keep focus on the mission, which is to increase the number of MPA students who complete international public service projects while building upon the established foundation and working toward improving those accomplishments of the prior phase. Some notable future expectations, in no particular order, are as follows:

• Improve organization and functionality of GCN blog
• Generate more awareness of and participation in GCN program

On behalf of the Hatfield School, Prof. Ingle would like to thank Ms. Kim Lomax for her initiative and leadership with the Global Collaborative Network (GCN). Best of luck to her as she finishes her MPA!