Hello, Tarleton MPA Nation and all our Blog Readers:
I hope you all had a great, yet challenging, fall 2017.
The MPA program grew even more for spring 2018, and beyond, with four (4) of our students graduating, but almost 20 new students were admitted.
That is awesome.
Thank you all for putting the word out about our MPA program. Our reputation is growing and the demand is growing with it. In our new cadre of students we have several international students as well. Welcome.
By now, I hope you have all registered for spring 2018 courses. Or, you're thinking about joining our program. :)
We have full line up scheduled for spring, summer and fall 2018. If you're interested in joining the MPA nation at Tarleton, just let me know and I will be happy to visit with you about our program and applying for admission to TSU.
Great times ahead.
On behalf of Dr. Jackie Abernathy, our adjunct professors and I, we wish you all a very Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and a very Happy, safe and prosperous New Year!
Dr. G. M. Cox
Director, MPA Program
gmcox@tarleton.edu
(817) 484-4395
Friday, December 15, 2017
Thursday, October 5, 2017
Dr. Cox travels to Prague, Czech Republic and Cardiff, Wales
The visit had many objectives. First, we were participating in a symposium coordinated with University New York -- Prague and Tarleton State. You will see me in the picture delivering my presentation on "Crisis in Blue: Recruitment and Retention in the 21st Century."
Interestingly, not much sight seeing was done -- working way too hard -- but, we did have the opportunity to tour Prague Prison. It was a fascinating tour that included pre- and post-WWII Nazi occupation and post-Nazi periods, Russian Occupation. The prison was utilized to execute criminals and political prisoners. We saw the actual gallows and the guillotine that was utilized. A very sad and somber occasion.
Hello everyone.
A group of TSU, School of Criminology, Criminal Justice and Strategic Studies, profs ventured to Europe -- Prague, Czech Republic and Cardiff, Wales -- last week.
The visit had many objectives. First, we were participating in a symposium coordinated with University New York -- Prague and Tarleton State. You will see me in the picture delivering my presentation on "Crisis in Blue: Recruitment and Retention in the 21st Century."
Drs. Rhonda Dobbs, Tara Shelley, Eric Morrow, Chris Copeland and yours truly presented programs to distinguished academics, students and invited guests on a number of topics at the UNYP symposium to include a key note presentation by Dr. Copeland on Cyber Crime.
Drs. Shelley and Cox met with decision makers with UNYP to explore the possibility of offering the Tarleton MPA degree at the campus in Prague. The meeting was very positive and we will be further exploring the possibility -- opportunities abound if approved -- of taking our very respected program on the road to deliver to an international student population.
For more information on the symposium follow this link to an article posted by UNYP -- https://www.unyp.cz/news/unyp-hosted-first-crime-symposium.
Interestingly, not much sight seeing was done -- working way too hard -- but, we did have the opportunity to tour Prague Prison. It was a fascinating tour that included pre- and post-WWII Nazi occupation and post-Nazi periods, Russian Occupation. The prison was utilized to execute criminals and political prisoners. We saw the actual gallows and the guillotine that was utilized. A very sad and somber occasion.
Drs. Morrow and Shelley will be offering a "Study Abroad" opportunity in Prague summer of 2018. If you would be interested in going, let me, Dr. Shelley or Dr. Morrow know. I am sure they can make room for you.
Then, we transitioned to Cardiff, Wales to attend the European Society of Criminology Conference at Cardiff University.
Drs. del Carmen, Dobbs, Shelley, Copeland, and Butler presented. I attended numerous presentations by noted European and American criminologist. The group, pictured here, did get to see a beautiful campus -- old architecture with dragons everyone -- statues that is. The dragon is the symbol of Cardiff, Wales. Here I am in stocks inside Cardiff Castle.
The trip was a huge learning opportunity for me. I say some beautiful places and experienced a great deal of the culture of the Czech Republic, Wales and Spain -- we spent a night in the Center City of Madrid. Awesome place with over 3.1 million people living there.
Dr. G M. Cox, Asst. Professor
Director, MPA Program
 |
| Dr. Cox in the Stocks inside Cardiff Castle |
Wednesday, August 30, 2017
Good afternoon, MPAs and others interested people.
The Tarleton MPA program is growing fast -- started in 2015 with just under 20 students, offering 3 course to over 115 students offering 17 courses -- online and face-to-face -- fall 2017.
The program will offer over 20 courses in spring 2018.
We have grown from one full time assistant professor to two full time assistant professors and 7 adjunct faculty. To accommodate the increased enrollment, the School of Criminology, Criminal Justice and Strategic Studies has added another full-time professor exclusively for the MPA program. Dr. Jacqueline H. Abernathy has a Ph.D. in Public Administration and Management from the University of North Texas and has been teaching in this field since 2010. Moreover, Dr. Abernathy brings over 12 years of practical experience working with non-profits, governments and other non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Dr. Abernathy represents one such NGO at the United Nations and hopes to include students heavily in her research agenda.
Please, spread the word, our MPA is a core based public administration program that is focused on making our students successful both educationally and professionally.
You are our best recruiters.
We have several interesting opportunities that we are pursuing -- the opportunity to offer our MPA degree in Prague, Czech Republic, which might also allow for a summer Study Abroad program and proposing a B.S. in Public Administration at the RELLIS campus of Texas A & M.
Our Motto: All communities deserve great leadership.
The Tarleton MPA program is growing fast -- started in 2015 with just under 20 students, offering 3 course to over 115 students offering 17 courses -- online and face-to-face -- fall 2017.
The program will offer over 20 courses in spring 2018.
We have grown from one full time assistant professor to two full time assistant professors and 7 adjunct faculty. To accommodate the increased enrollment, the School of Criminology, Criminal Justice and Strategic Studies has added another full-time professor exclusively for the MPA program. Dr. Jacqueline H. Abernathy has a Ph.D. in Public Administration and Management from the University of North Texas and has been teaching in this field since 2010. Moreover, Dr. Abernathy brings over 12 years of practical experience working with non-profits, governments and other non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Dr. Abernathy represents one such NGO at the United Nations and hopes to include students heavily in her research agenda.
Please, spread the word, our MPA is a core based public administration program that is focused on making our students successful both educationally and professionally.
You are our best recruiters.
We have several interesting opportunities that we are pursuing -- the opportunity to offer our MPA degree in Prague, Czech Republic, which might also allow for a summer Study Abroad program and proposing a B.S. in Public Administration at the RELLIS campus of Texas A & M.
Our Motto: All communities deserve great leadership.
Again, welcome back! We are delighted that you chose
Tarleton for your MPA and look forward to another successful semester.
Dr. GM CoxAsst. Professor
Director, MPA Program
Tarleton State University
Monday, November 21, 2016
Tarleton MPA Students and beyond,
Well, the fall semester is coming to a too quick end it seems. Finals are just ahead and papers are being finalized and ready for submission. I hope you all have had a great semester.
The MPA program has grown exponentially since it became a part of the School of Criminology, Criminal Justice and Strategic Studies -- from about 20 students in August 2015 to over 90 at this point. I hope you are continuing to get the word out among your colleagues and friends who are looking for a great MPA learning experience that will, no doubt, help them achieve not only personal goals, but also career goals.
Registration is now open for spring 2017 courses. We have a great line-up of both online and face-to-face courses to choose from. There will be three (3) courses offered at the Hickman Building in Fort Worth and eight (8) online courses.
F2F courses:
MAPA 5300, Public Administration (Mondays, 6 to 9 p.m.), Dr. Kathy Rowe
MAPA 5301, Org Behavior (Tuesdays, 6 to 9 p.m.), yours truly
MAPA 5302, HR Management (Wednesdays, 6 to 9 p.m.), yours truly
Online courses:
MAPA 5300, Public Administration, Dr. Brian Wish
MAPA 5304, Public Sector Law, Dr. Weeks
MAPA 5320, State and Local Government (IGR), Dr. Harvey
MAPA 5322, Advance Ethics, Dr. GM Cox
MAPA 5340, Critical Incident Management, Dr. Munn
MAPA 5345, Critical Social Issues, Dr. Rowe
MAPA 5311, Intergovernmental Relations, Dr. Pewitt
MAPA 5331, Public Policy, Dr. Morrow
Some of these courses are very close to being cancelled due to low enrollment. If you're interested in taking any of these courses, please register soon so that decisions can be made about what courses will make.
See you all in the spring.
Dr. Cox
Asst. Professor
Director, MPA Program
SCCJSS
Tarleton State University
Well, the fall semester is coming to a too quick end it seems. Finals are just ahead and papers are being finalized and ready for submission. I hope you all have had a great semester.
The MPA program has grown exponentially since it became a part of the School of Criminology, Criminal Justice and Strategic Studies -- from about 20 students in August 2015 to over 90 at this point. I hope you are continuing to get the word out among your colleagues and friends who are looking for a great MPA learning experience that will, no doubt, help them achieve not only personal goals, but also career goals.
Registration is now open for spring 2017 courses. We have a great line-up of both online and face-to-face courses to choose from. There will be three (3) courses offered at the Hickman Building in Fort Worth and eight (8) online courses.
F2F courses:
MAPA 5300, Public Administration (Mondays, 6 to 9 p.m.), Dr. Kathy Rowe
MAPA 5301, Org Behavior (Tuesdays, 6 to 9 p.m.), yours truly
MAPA 5302, HR Management (Wednesdays, 6 to 9 p.m.), yours truly
Online courses:
MAPA 5300, Public Administration, Dr. Brian Wish
MAPA 5304, Public Sector Law, Dr. Weeks
MAPA 5320, State and Local Government (IGR), Dr. Harvey
MAPA 5322, Advance Ethics, Dr. GM Cox
MAPA 5340, Critical Incident Management, Dr. Munn
MAPA 5345, Critical Social Issues, Dr. Rowe
MAPA 5311, Intergovernmental Relations, Dr. Pewitt
MAPA 5331, Public Policy, Dr. Morrow
Some of these courses are very close to being cancelled due to low enrollment. If you're interested in taking any of these courses, please register soon so that decisions can be made about what courses will make.
See you all in the spring.
Dr. Cox
Asst. Professor
Director, MPA Program
SCCJSS
Tarleton State University
Sunday, September 11, 2016
Tarleton MPA Nation
I am an MPA Student at Tarleton.
Here is my post and question:
Taxation
So a a topic that I have been learning on appears to be an anomaly to not only Texas but also to seems just the DFW area. That is the Crime Control Prevention District. I lived in the City of Fort Worth from 2007 to 2013. Fort Worth operates a crime control budget for 2017 is proposed at $74,884,251. This money is derived from the 1/2 cent sales tax on purchases made in the City of Fort Worth. That is nearly $75 million dollars. This is money that comes from a regressive tax that appears to add up substantially. This is money that is used, especially in Fort Worth for a wide variety of uses from leasing a new helicopter for the police department to funding after school and parenting programs for youth and disadvantaged parent. Several cities in the area also use this form of taxation for fundraising. If you will pay attention many of the patrol cars on the street today in these communities have a "Funded by CCPD" marking on the trunk. The definition of what qualifies as a crime control prevention eligible program appears to depend on the city. Fort Worth seems to have a fairly liberal definition as to qualifications, but funds important programs that may not get the funding if not for it.
Obviously this sales tax frees up other accounts including General Funds, Police Department Budgets and others. The observation and accountability of these budgets is by a citizen or appointed community panel that appears to be made up of 5-9 members depending on the city that report to the city council.
Here is my discussion piece. If $75 million dollars is pulled separately from the operating budget and is operated as a separate entity for the purpose of the broad subject matter of 'crime control prevention':
1- why are not more cities doing this
2- what pit falls do you potentially see
3- Should there be more knowledge about these tax districts to the citizens as well as input.
Review the Fort Worth budget proposal for 2017 here.
C. Aller
Thursday, September 1, 2016
Hello Tarleton MPA Nation.
The fall semester of the MPA program at Tarleton is off to a robust start. All our class offerings made with over 80 students taking classes from Public Administration to Critical Social Problems. Our students come all walks of public administration environments -- federal government, education, police officers, public works, city management, fire fighters, corrections, nonprofits and NGO employees. We even have a couple private sector folks interested in branching into the public sector. Welcome, all.
We offered 5 online courses and 3 face-to-face. Students are exploring public budgeting, public policy and policy analysis, intergovernmental relations, critical incident management, critical social issues, and intro into public administration.
As you all know, we are in the middle of a presidential campaign. While the candidates themselves create a great deal of political theater, it is the policy issues that I find most germane to the Administrative State.
So, I hope you all start paying attention to what the candidates say about all the policy issues that usually accompany such campaign silliness. However, more often than not, what the candidates talk about, what makes the list of items to be included in the debate circuit, we in public administration will have to deal with the fallout or deal with the process of formulating, negotiating and implementing those very policy initiatives.
Have fun, don't take what the candidates say to serious, especially what they say about each other, focus on the policy issues and ask yourself this question, if I have to deal with the policy issues being debated, how would I go about it?
Dr. G. M. Cox, Chief (Ret)
Asst. Professor
Director, MPA Program
The fall semester of the MPA program at Tarleton is off to a robust start. All our class offerings made with over 80 students taking classes from Public Administration to Critical Social Problems. Our students come all walks of public administration environments -- federal government, education, police officers, public works, city management, fire fighters, corrections, nonprofits and NGO employees. We even have a couple private sector folks interested in branching into the public sector. Welcome, all.
We offered 5 online courses and 3 face-to-face. Students are exploring public budgeting, public policy and policy analysis, intergovernmental relations, critical incident management, critical social issues, and intro into public administration.
As you all know, we are in the middle of a presidential campaign. While the candidates themselves create a great deal of political theater, it is the policy issues that I find most germane to the Administrative State.
So, I hope you all start paying attention to what the candidates say about all the policy issues that usually accompany such campaign silliness. However, more often than not, what the candidates talk about, what makes the list of items to be included in the debate circuit, we in public administration will have to deal with the fallout or deal with the process of formulating, negotiating and implementing those very policy initiatives.
Have fun, don't take what the candidates say to serious, especially what they say about each other, focus on the policy issues and ask yourself this question, if I have to deal with the policy issues being debated, how would I go about it?
Dr. G. M. Cox, Chief (Ret)
Asst. Professor
Director, MPA Program
Sunday, July 31, 2016
Good morning, Tarleton MPA nation. Wow, it has been a year now since the Master's in Public Administration degree program moved from the College of Business Administration to the School of Criminology, Criminal Justice and Strategic Studies, Since that time, the program has grown immensely.
Two of our students, one who graduated spring 2016, Dallas Sims, and another that graduates in August, Alan Fourmenten, accomplished graduate papers to complete their degree requirements. Their papers have made practical and real contributions to our citizens and governmental operations. These graduate papers are excellent and I hope they will consider having their papers submitted for publishing in trade journals.
In about a week, on August 6th, the MPA program will have seven students graduate with their MPAs -- six of those will be our Emirati students that transferred in from Western Kentucky University a little over a year ago. These seven students will be a milestone for our program since they will be the first cohort of students who went through our program to graduation. I am very proud of these students. I will have the honor of hooding them at Commencement.
From August of 2015 to now, we have grown from a program of just under 20 students to one with over 75 students. Plus, more students are being admitted every week. This is awesome growth. Our best recruiters are our students. I hope you all take the opportunity to extol the virtues of Tarleton State University and, in particular, the MPA program. I know many students have applied who were first told or our program by one of our current or past students. Please, keep that up.
As our program grows, so too must our cadre of faculty. We have added four (4) adjunct faculty and, hopefully, will be adding another full-time PA professor as of fall 2017 to handle the course load for our ever growing program. Drs. Brian Wish and Coby Pewitt have along with me handled all of the teaching duties over the past year. Starting this fall, Drs. Kathy Rowe and Bill Munn will be assisting. All our PA faculty are Ph.D.s and seasoned professionals in the public administration field.
Currently, our students represent a very broad range of practitioners in PA, nonprofits and NGOs -- we have educators, police officers, fire fighters, assistant city managers, public works personnel, probation, corrections, and administrative personnel from local and state agencies and many, many others in the program. Some are private sector professionals looking to transition into public administration careers.
Fall is approaching quickly. The fall semester will start a week later than usual -- August 29th. This change will also result in changing down the line. Graduation for the fall will, as a result, will be a week later than usual.
The MPA program has a great line-up of courses scheduled for fall. As many of you are already aware, our program is fully online as well as face-to-face. So, a student can mix and match or pursue their Master's online or F2F. I will be teaching MAPA 5311, Intergovernmental Relations; MAPA 5315, Public Budgeting; and, MAPA 5331, Public Policy this fall -- all face-to-face at our Southwest Metro Campus in Fort Worth. The online offerings will be MAPA 5331, MAPA 5300, MAPA 5315, and MAPA 5340, and MAPA 5345. Plus, we have a number of criminal justice courses that are cross-listed and available -- ethics, research methods and statistics. On the CJ courses, I have personally visited with all the profs that teach these courses and they are aware and supportive of PA students taking their classes and allow them to pursue PA topics to fulfill course requirements.
I have some great plans for the MPA program's future -- publishing our own journal for our students' papers to be published in, an annual colloquium for our students to present their papers and inviting visiting scholars to our colloquium just a few example. So, stay tuned.
See you all soon and I hope you are having a great summer.
Dr. G.M. Cox
Assistant Professor
Director, MPA Program
Two of our students, one who graduated spring 2016, Dallas Sims, and another that graduates in August, Alan Fourmenten, accomplished graduate papers to complete their degree requirements. Their papers have made practical and real contributions to our citizens and governmental operations. These graduate papers are excellent and I hope they will consider having their papers submitted for publishing in trade journals.
In about a week, on August 6th, the MPA program will have seven students graduate with their MPAs -- six of those will be our Emirati students that transferred in from Western Kentucky University a little over a year ago. These seven students will be a milestone for our program since they will be the first cohort of students who went through our program to graduation. I am very proud of these students. I will have the honor of hooding them at Commencement.
From August of 2015 to now, we have grown from a program of just under 20 students to one with over 75 students. Plus, more students are being admitted every week. This is awesome growth. Our best recruiters are our students. I hope you all take the opportunity to extol the virtues of Tarleton State University and, in particular, the MPA program. I know many students have applied who were first told or our program by one of our current or past students. Please, keep that up.
As our program grows, so too must our cadre of faculty. We have added four (4) adjunct faculty and, hopefully, will be adding another full-time PA professor as of fall 2017 to handle the course load for our ever growing program. Drs. Brian Wish and Coby Pewitt have along with me handled all of the teaching duties over the past year. Starting this fall, Drs. Kathy Rowe and Bill Munn will be assisting. All our PA faculty are Ph.D.s and seasoned professionals in the public administration field.
Currently, our students represent a very broad range of practitioners in PA, nonprofits and NGOs -- we have educators, police officers, fire fighters, assistant city managers, public works personnel, probation, corrections, and administrative personnel from local and state agencies and many, many others in the program. Some are private sector professionals looking to transition into public administration careers.
Fall is approaching quickly. The fall semester will start a week later than usual -- August 29th. This change will also result in changing down the line. Graduation for the fall will, as a result, will be a week later than usual.
The MPA program has a great line-up of courses scheduled for fall. As many of you are already aware, our program is fully online as well as face-to-face. So, a student can mix and match or pursue their Master's online or F2F. I will be teaching MAPA 5311, Intergovernmental Relations; MAPA 5315, Public Budgeting; and, MAPA 5331, Public Policy this fall -- all face-to-face at our Southwest Metro Campus in Fort Worth. The online offerings will be MAPA 5331, MAPA 5300, MAPA 5315, and MAPA 5340, and MAPA 5345. Plus, we have a number of criminal justice courses that are cross-listed and available -- ethics, research methods and statistics. On the CJ courses, I have personally visited with all the profs that teach these courses and they are aware and supportive of PA students taking their classes and allow them to pursue PA topics to fulfill course requirements.
I have some great plans for the MPA program's future -- publishing our own journal for our students' papers to be published in, an annual colloquium for our students to present their papers and inviting visiting scholars to our colloquium just a few example. So, stay tuned.
See you all soon and I hope you are having a great summer.
Dr. G.M. Cox
Assistant Professor
Director, MPA Program
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