Education 4.13.25 - Flipbook - Page 2
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The Baltimore Sun | Sunday, April 13, 2025
Shaping a new generation of public service leaders
Universities provide paths to impact through public policy and
public administration programs
By Kate Lawless, Contributing Writer
O
f all the careers Caleb Bowers could
imagine, politics was the last place
he wanted to end up – yet public
service still called to him. After
years of administering grants and
supporting stakeholders at a Baltimore-based
foundation, he realized public administration
would be a perfect fit, allowing him to work
close to politics while making a direct impact
on communities.
“[Public administration] combines my
interest in giving back in meaningful ways
while also working adjacent to politics,”
Bowers says. “Civic-minded public administrators are an integral part of making government work for the people and have a responsibility to ensure constituents are getting the
most out of their governments. For me, it is
one of the purest forms of service.”
A recent graduate of the University of
Baltimore college of public affairs’ Master
of Public Administration (MPA) program,
Bowers now serves as an operations research
analyst for Baltimore City’s Department of
General Services. There, he leads conversations on data-driven decision-making, using
analytics to optimize city operations and
improve efficiency.
Bowers’ journey highlights a broader
trend in public policy and administration, a
field that remains critical despite shifting government priorities, public expectations and
technological advancements. As government
agencies face mounting pressure to improve
efficiency and do more with fewer resources,
the demand for skilled professionals persists.
To meet these challenges, universities are
integrating leadership development, analytical and technical training, and experiential
learning to equip students for a future in
public service.
Educating Public Service Leaders of the
Future
The University of Maryland’s school of
public policy and UB’s college of public affairs
offer specialized coursework and hands-on
learning experiences designed to prepare
graduates for impactful careers in public
policy and administration. Both programs
emphasize policy analysis, real-world application and leadership development opportuni-
Students take notes during a lecture on nonprofit leadership and social innovation at the University of Maryland School of Public Policy.
ties, but take different approaches to their
programming.
While UB offers an MPA, UMD provides
both public policy and public administration master’s degrees, including a program
tailored for nonprofit and state and local
government professionals. Both schools offer
public finance and nonprofit leadership specializations, with UMD incorporating policyfocused tracks and UB offering organizational
leadership and management paths.
Leadership development is a cornerstone
of UMD’s and UB’s programs. “Our goal is to
develop global citizens who can analyze poli-
cies, lead organizations and tackle complex
challenges,” says Roger Hartley, dean of UB’s
college of public affairs. Through coursework
that fosters ethical governance, stakeholder
collaboration and problem-solving skills, students at both institutions gain the expertise
necessary to lead effectively in all levels of
government, nonprofits and the private sector.
Universities are also adapting their
programs as new technologies emerge.
“Technology is transforming public administration,” explains Mike Goodhart, director
of executive and cohort programs at UMD.
Anne Arundel Community College partners with Anne Arundel Work Force Development and Baltimore Washington Medical Center to create pathways for nursing students.
Partnering proves positive for
area universities
Local schools create programs to meet needs of burgeoning
health care industry
By Lisa Baldino, Contributing Writer
T
hree local schools are introducing new
health education programs designed to
supply the industry with sorely needed
professionals in nursing, physician assistant positions (PA) and medical technology jobs. These programs are intended to be flexible,
accelerated and convenient. They are also beacons
for other growing industries that simply cannot send
faculty to teach in-person training sessions.
Anne Arundel Community College created an
opportunity for it to become a formidable nursing
player by partnering with Anne Arundel Work Force
Development (AAWFC) and Baltimore Washington
Medical Center (BWMC). Through the Career
Pathway at AACC, employees can attend classes during the day while at work, or more simply a “schoolat-work” program. It has proven to be popular with
adult learners, according to Elizabeth Appel, dean of
health sciences at the community college.
“We know there is a need to increase the health
field workforce,” Appel comments. “The program
has proven successful because it works around students’ time schedules, and it’s paid for by the BWMC
and AAWFC.” Already the program that started in
February 2024 has graduated eight practical nursing
students in December and it welcomed a new cohort
of 16 students this February.
Appel says this is the first time that AACC has
offered practical nursing classes off-campus. The
labs that accompany the “Career Pathway” program
are recreated on-site for the BWMC students. Classes
taught by AACC faculty are both online and in
person.
Appel is deeming the program successful already,
saying, “The AACC faculty are dedicated, and
BWMC’s investment in their employees is paying off.
We can provide high quality practical nursing education while meeting a need in the community.”
Goucher College has also created a 4+1 program that will allow it to offer its students a previously unavailable nursing major. In a partnership
with Notre Dame of Maryland University, Goucher
College students will complete a four-year liberal arts
degree at Goucher, then enroll in a 15-month accelerated nursing program at Notre Dame of Maryland.
“We needed a solution to address the shortage of
nurses in Maryland,” says Aimee Marson, assistant
director of the post-baccalaureate premedical program and pre-health advising office at Goucher.
“The program is also being used as a recruitment
tool,” she notes. Students can get a degree in biology,
chemistry or public health at Goucher, while taking
the prerequisite classes for the nursing program, like
human anatomy, microbiology and bioethics.
While Marson anticipates having two or three
graduates per year for the first few years, she does
look forward to filling the 10 spots that Notre
Dame is holding for Goucher graduates. “Students
come in wanting to be a doctor, but the amount of
schooling is daunting, so they go the nursing route,”
Marson says. “They know they want to help people,
but they don’t know how to do it. The program is
especially interesting to them because of the quick
“Our curriculum includes AI policy, cybersecurity and digital governance courses, as
well as practical applications of emerging
tech to improve efficiency in local and federal
government.” UB is also responding to these
shifts, with faculty exploring ways to integrate
generative AI into their curricula.
Beyond coursework, experiential learning
is a key part of UMD’s and UB’s programs, giving students hands-on opportunities in policy
and governance. For its programs, UMD
Public Policy,
continued on page 6
turn-around.”
Marson concludes, “The program is providing a
direct pipeline to an education that will help students
reach their goals.”
Notre Dame of Maryland University itself is now
offering a 26-month program to earn a physician
assistant (PA) degree. Initiated in fall of 2024, the
program’s first cohort of students has finished its
in-classroom learning and is now in the field doing
internships. A second class will begin its academic
studies this spring.
Jack Goble, Ph.D., associate dean of the school of
pharmacy and chair and founding program director
at Notre Dame of Maryland University says, “The
needs in health care are so big right now. There is a
demand for PA candidates.” In fact, the PA profession
is expected to increase by 28.5% in the next decade,
according to the U.S. Department of Labor Statistics.
That translates to an estimated 47,500 new jobs.
Notre Dame of Maryland University is the first
private university in Maryland to offer a physician
assistant program, and it’s a long time coming, Goble
notes. “Our biggest challenge was the initial hurdle
of accreditation review to approve the curriculum
and initiation of the program. The academic director, clinical director and program director all worked
tirelessly for a full year to get to the accreditation
phase.”
The first 15 months of the program are spent
gaining knowledge and practical skills, with students
being mentored individually. The latter half of the
program consists of a series of clinical rotations covering eight different specialties. Students must meet
the program prerequisites before acceptance, participating in a two-step admissions process. The first is
academics and the second is group and individual
interaction in interview settings.
Once selected for the program, students are
monitored and flagged when grades are low. Goble
explains that the school has a remediation process
featuring an expert PA educator with 40 years’ experience. “That helps to retain students who are facing
challenges. The educator looks at the entire picture
of the student’s lifestyle and makes recommendations
that help get them back on track,” Goble notes.
Jason Santos, a native New Yorker and standout
student, endorses the faculty in the PA program.
“They genuinely care about students and their overall
well-being.” Santos demonstrated both his empathy
for his fellow students and his technological skills
by creating an electronic Jeopardy game designed
to help the entire class review for their exams.
Originally an engineering major, Santos says he pivoted to the medical track at Notre Dame of Maryland
University because of the PA degree. After completing his first clinical rotations in family medicine and
pediatrics, he hopes to pursue emergency medicine.
“I trust the entire faculty with my education,”
Santos says. “They’ve impacted me and changed me
to become a better provider.”
Goble says students in this program know where
they want to be. “They are intentional in their
direction for their health care careers. They are talented and compassionate individuals who also have
demonstrated soft skills like good bedside manner.”
He concludes, “They need to be both hi-tech and
hi-touch.”
