SLU Public Policy Studies

There has been growing interest in starting a student-run online journal. Professors and other staff at SLU are supportive of this project as well. Thus, we are gauging the interest of students in this endeavor and request you take some time to complete this less than 10-minute survey to assist in these efforts. A number of goals have been identified for starting a new journal, which include:

* Harbor the energy from the Fall student Retreats
* Provide a forum for students to “practice” submissions, with the longer-term goal of fashioning them into Conference presentations and formal submissions to academic journals
* Encourage students to use classes as a catalyst for developing professional papers
* Promote creativity with media forms beyond traditional papers (harbor technological creativity)
* Create a sense of community among PPS students

Please participate in the growth of our department and collective research interests by clicking the link below and completing the survey.

Click here to complete the survey.

If you have any additional comments or questions not addressed in this survey, please contact any of us at the addresses below.

Sincerely,
Joe Squillace: squillj@slu.edu
Rob Ryan: ryanrw@slu.edu
James Hillis: hillisj@slu.edu

Florida State University
Urban and Regional Planning
Tallahassee, FL 32306-2280
(850) 644-4510
durp@coss.fsu.edu

Dear Colleagues,

I would like to bring to your attention several excellent fellowship opportunities for doctoral study at Florida State University. If you know any undergraduate or Master’s students who are interested in pursuing a doctoral degree in planning, please encourage them to apply.

Presidential fellowships carry a stipend of $24,000 for 9 months plus a 24 credit hour tuition waiver.  Department fellowships typically carry a stipend of $13,500 for 9 months plus a 18-24 credit hour tuition waiver.  There are also summer teaching opportunities which come with additional funding.  Awardees have the opportunity to work on research projects with faculty, and are encouraged to present and publish the results of their collaboration.

I have attached a flyer advertising our doctoral program and would appreciate your posting it and circulating it to students you know who may be interested in pursuing doctoral studies in policy and planning. We are looking for students whose interests fit with those of department faculty members and who are highly motivated.

The fellowships and assistantships are highly competitive and students should write a strong personal statement and submit three letters of recommendation. To be considered for all forms of financial aid, students should have their application, including the department’s application for financial aid, to the department before January 15, 2009.

For more information please contact, Rebecca Miles, Professor and Doctoral Program Director (850) 644-7102, or visit our website http://www.coss.fsu.edu/durp/.

Sincerely,

Rebecca Miles
Professor and Doctoral Program Director,
Dept. of Urban and Regional Planning, and
Research Associate, Center for Demography
and Population Health
113 Collegiate Loop
PO Box 3062280
Florida State University
Tallahassee,  FL  32306-2280
Tel.  (850) 644-7102

All,

If you have an interest in our Renewing the Region initiative and how it might link with other regional plans and initiatives now underway in the St. Louis region, please come to our panel discussion on Friday, November 13 at 9:00 am at the Millennium Hotel in downtown St. Louis.

This morning panel discussion precedes our Annual Meeting luncheon at 11:30 that day – you may attend one and not the other – the panel discussion is free and the luncheon is $35 per person. Here is the link to the invitation which includes information about both events: http://www.ewgateway.org/amtg09/amtg09invitation.pdf

The panel will include Metro, Great Rivers Greenway, Leadership Council Southwestern Illinois, RCGA, St. Louis County and East-West Gateway, all of whom will present elements of their plans.  The discussion will include moderated questions and answers and small group discussions where you will have a chance to discuss how these organizations might work together on a coordinated plan for a more prosperous and competitive St. Louis metropolitan area.

If you are interested in attending either the panel discussion or the Annual Meeting, please let us know here: http://www.ewgateway.org/amtg09/amtg09.htm

Thanks -

Maggie Hales

Interim Executive Director

East-West Gateway Council of Governments

One Memorial Drive, Suite 1600

St. Louis, MO 63102

314-421-4220

618-274-2750

Fax: 314-231-6120

www.ewgateway.org

Tenure Track Position – Assistant Professor in Public Management and Policy

The Department of Public Management and Policy, Andrew Young School of Policy Studies, Georgia State University, seeks a tenure track faculty member at the Assistant Professor level, with expertise and teaching and research interests in nonprofit management and public affairs, beginning fall 2010.

The Department of Public Management and Policy offers a NASPAA-accredited MPA degree, a new MPP degree, an undergraduate degree in public policy and, in partnership with Georgia Tech, a doctorate in public policy. The department focuses on four areas of excellence: management and finance of public and nonprofit organizations; nonprofit management and policy; economic development and urban policy; and program evaluation and policy analysis.

The successful applicant will be expected to bring and maintain an active scholarly research agenda, and should also have the ability to teach courses in some combination of nonprofit management and one of the other areas of excellence, as well as to advise students in these areas. Priority will be given to candidates who can bridge the nonprofit management area and one of these areas of excellence in the department. The position requires a doctorate in an appropriate field of study from an accredited university by August 2010. Candidate must be eligible to work in the USA.

The department is one of two academic departments in the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies, which U.S. News & World Report ranks 27th nationally among schools of public affairs and public policy. The school also houses the Department of Economics and several outstanding research centers in fiscal policy, nonprofit studies, health policy, experimental economics, and public performance and management. The school is located in new offices in downtown Atlanta at the heart of a vibrant public and nonprofit sector. That location in combination with the school’s research centers generates excellent opportunities for faculty involvement in scholarly research that also contributes to policy-making and management at all levels of government and the nonprofit sector.

Candidates should submit a letter of interest, curriculum vitae, three letters of recommendation, and representative teaching evaluations to: Dr. Dennis Young, Chair, Faculty Search Committee, Department of Public Management and Policy, P.O. Box 3992, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA 30302-3992. Review of applications will begin December 1, 2009, and will continue until the position is filled. Information about the Andrew Young School is available at www.aysps.gsu.edu. Georgia State University, a unit of the University System of Georgia, is an equal opportunity educational institution and an equal opportunity affirmative action employer. The position is subject to budgetary approval.

GSA Follow-up to Town Hall Meeting-Graduate Student Survey

The following link will take you to a form listing the concerns that were expressed at the town hall meeting on October 21, regarding the dissolution of the Graduate School. Please take the time to review this summary, and provide a response by 10am on Tuesday, October 27th.  The survey is anonymous.

We appreciate your participation! The more responses we get, the better chance we have that the administration will listen to what we have to say.

Concerns List/Survey

https://spreadsheets.google.com/embeddedform?key=twA28NeS7vdc6522YNqtfOQ

Additionally, the link below will take you to the minutes from the meeting.

Meeting Minutes

https://docs.google.com/a/slu.edu/Doc?docid=0AQyYpy_JyvczZGdtNXNmY3dfMXFiY2Z2d2pq&hl=en

This is an invitation for anyone interested in learning more about peacemaking and non-violence to consider enrolling in Foundations of Non-Violent Peacemaking (SWRK 417-undergraduate/ SWRK 717-graduate).  This course focuses on essential knowledge and skills necessary to engage in the peacemaking process.  Participants explore and analyze their own understanding of the concepts of peace, conflict, and non-violence.  Emphasis is placed on the development and application of practical peacemaking strategies.  The course is open to junior and senior undergraduate students and all graduate students.  The course will be offered in spring 2010 on Thursday afternoon from 3:00-5:30.  For additional information contact Dr. Jim Allen at allenj3@slu.edu.

Wednesday, October  21st

2:00pm

Carlos Auditorium, Tegler Hall

Moderated by GSA’s Executive Board & Grad. School’s Dean of Student Affairs. 

As your voice to the administration, GSA wants to know what grad students think and how they feel! We are hosting a public forum in order to discuss the decision to decentralize the Graduate School. The purpose of this meeting is to raise awareness and share information and concerns about this change. Students should feel free to come and go as their schedules permit. If you cannot attend but still have thoughts to share, please send them to gsa@slu.edu.

We’re working hard to bring Street View to new places, but some interesting areas, like pedestrian malls and trails, cannot be reached by car. That’s why we’ve created the Street View trike; a mechanical masterpiece made of 3 bicycle wheels, a mounted Street View camera, and a very athletic cyclist.

Tell us where to ride!

The Street View trike has already collected some imagery, but now we’re accepting your suggestions for where to send it next in the United States. Send us your most inspired suggestions for the places you really want to see featured in Street View.

Click here to vote

We will be accepting suggestions for US locations until Wednesday October 28, 2009.

Are you worried about losing your home to foreclosure?

 Don’t Miss This Opportunity to Meet With Your Lender

Face-to-Face

It’s FREE!

 Wednesday, November 4, 2009

2:00-8:00 pm

America’s Center

(Downtown Convention Center)

701 Convention Plaza

St. Louis MO 63101

Self-pay parking and entrance at 7th Street. Also accessible by Metrolink.

Opportunity to meet one-on-one with your lender and/or a non-profit housing counselor to discuss workout options to avoid foreclosure

• Information and assistance on homeownership preservation
• Please bring all necessary mortgage and financial documents, for a complete list go to: http://www.hopenow.com/upcoming-events.php or call the United Way helpline at 211 or 800-427-4626.

HOPE NOW is a partnership between lenders and non-profit housing counselors. Our mission is simple: we reach out to and attempt to assist homeowners who may be having difficulty paying their mortgages.

NeighborWorks® America creates opportunities for people to live in affordable homes, improve their lives and strengthen their communities.

For more information about the HOPE NOW Alliance visit www.hopenow.com

For more information about NeighborWorks® America visit www.nw.org

For more information about the foreclosure task force visit www.foreclosurehelpstl.org

FAQ for Save Your Home!, a foreclosure intervention event at

America’s Center, November 4, 2009:

Q: What is the Save Your Home! event?

A: Save Your Home! is an outreach effort by loan servicers, non-profit partners and local agencies to help homeowners meet face-to-face with their lender to find ways to avoidforeclosure.

Q: Who is sponsoring the event?

A: The event is sponsored by Hope Now and NeighborWorks America with support from  local St. Louis partners including the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, the Metro St. Louis Foreclosure Intervention Task Force, KETC Channel 9 and the United Way of St. Louis.

Q: What is Hope Now?

A: HOPE NOW is a partnership between lenders and non-profit housing counselors. Their mission is to reach out to and attempt to assist homeowners who may be having difficulty paying their mortgages.

Q: Who should come to the event?

A: Anyone who is behind on their mortgage payments or is afraid that they might get behind.

Q: Will my loan servicer (lender) be there?

A: Most of the major loan servicers will be there. We don’t have a final list of confirmed loan servicers; but if for some reason your loan servicer is not there, you will at least be able to get the loan workout process started with a non-profit housing counselor.

Q: What documents should I bring?

A:  The appropriate paperwork and documentation will make the process flow easier and results faster. Information about the monthly gross (before tax) income and expenses for all the borrowers who signed your mortgage (for example spouse) is needed. These are documents that homeowners need to bring to the event.

•  Most recent tax return with all the schedules and W-2s
•  Two most recent bank statements
•  Two most recent pay stubs (if you receive them) or documentation of your income you receive from other sources (e.g. alimony or child support)
• Monthly mortgage statement showing the mortgage servicer information and the mortgage loan account number
• Information about other mortgages on your home, if applicable
• Account balances and minimum monthly payments due on all your credit cards
• Account balances and monthly payments on your other debts (such as student loans and car loans)
• Estimates of monthly expenditures (such as utility bills, food expenses, insurance payments, medical bills)

Q: Where do I park?

A: Parking is available in many parking lots and garages around the convention center. The closest garage is at 7th and Convention Center Plaza. Cost is $1.00 per hour.  Surface lot at same intersection is $5 per day.

Q: Can I get there on Metrolink?

A: Yes, get off at the Convention Center stop. The best entrance to the convention center is at 7th Street and Convention Plaza. You can also enter at Washington Street and Convention Plaza.

Q: Is this like other foreclosure prevention events held in St. Louis?

A: The event will be similar to other foreclosure prevention events in that mortgage servicers and non-profit counselors will be at the event to meet with homeowners, talk to them about their mortgage, and help them find solutions that may prevent foreclosure. There will also be information tables provided by other non-profit organizations that may be helpful to homeowners experiencing a financial crisis.

Q: If I started the mortgage work-out process with a non-profit organization and/or with my loan servicer, should I attend the event?

A: If you started the workout process, you should continue to work with your lender and/or your housing counselor. However, you might want to attend the Save Your Home! event if you have a sale date (after November 4th) or you are having trouble communicating with either the lender or your counselor.

Q: If I attend the event will I be guaranteed a workout agreement with my lender?

A: There are no guarantees but you will be able to meet with your loan servicer (lender) and/or a housing counselor to try to work something out.

The Eighth Annual Urban Land Institute/Gerald D. Hines Student Urban Design Competition is now accepting applications for the 2010 competition.

 Application due date: December 4, 2009

Applicants notified of eligibility: December 11, 2009

Competition dates: January 18, 2010 – February 1, 2010

This interdisciplinary ideas competition calls for a real estate development and urban design solution for a challenging, large-scale site within a U.S. city. Graduate students from at least three disciplines are asked to develop a program that integrates design, planning, market potential and feasibility, and development and finance. The competition encourages cooperation and teamwork among future real estate professionals and the many allied professions, such as architecture, landscape architecture, urban planning, historic preservation, engineering, real estate development, finance, law, and others.

The real estate development and urban design competition is open to graduate students in the United States and Canada.

This is an ideas competition with no expectation that any of the submitted schemes will be applied to any site. The winning team will receive $50,000 and the finalist teams $10,000 each.

For more information, visit the Web site: http://www.udcompetition.uli.org.

For inquiries, please e-mail: udcompetition@uli.org.