It would be great if you could circulate the link through your social networks and encourage your friends & coworkers to add their organizations as supporters of our application, leave a personal comment on the Google Map, or upload a YouTube support video! You can do all of the above directly from the website. A major portion of Google’s interest is centered around finding out if the community wants and supports this concept so we could really use your help there!

MCRSA sponsors the annual M. Jarvin Emerson Student Paper Competition. The winner of the competition receives a $1,000 award plus publication of the paper in the Association’s peer-reviewed journal, The Journal of Regional Analysis & Policy. The combination of the cash award and publication make this among the best professional association awards available. The winner must be able to attend the conference to present the paper, but the cash award should cover travel expenses. The deadline for submission of a completed paper is April 1, 2010. The winner will be notified by April 15.

MCRSA also has received a grant from the USDA North Central Regional Center for Rural Development (NCRCRD) to provide travel grants for NCRCRD-member institution graduate students to attend the conference to present a paper. A limited number of cash awards of up to $400 each to help cover travel expenses of graduate students enrolled in North Central Region Land Grant Institutions will be made. The deadline for submission of a travel grant application is April 1, 2010. Award recipients will be notified by April 15.

The Mid-Continent Regional Science Association is an organization consisting of an interdisciplinary membership from academics and other public and private organizations. We are interested in using the tools of regional science to help solve applied problems in rural and urban areas at the local, state, and national levels. Among our membership are campus-based teachers and researchers, outreach educators, public and private analysts, consultants, and many others. The disciplines represented within our group include economics, planning, geography, business, sociology, public administration, and others.

For your convenience, a student paper competition notice is attached. To learn more about the MCRSA annual conference, the student paper competition, and the available travel grant opportunities, go the MCRSA Website at www.mcrsa.org and click on the Conference links.

If you have questions, contact John Leatherman at 785-532-4492 or jleather@k-state.edu.

John Leatherman
Office of Local Government
Department of Agricultural Economics
Kansas State University
331G Waters Hall
Manhattan, KS 66506-4026

Phone: 785-532-4492
Fax: 785-532-6925
NEW E-mail: jleather@k-state.edu
Website: www.oznet.ksu.edu/olg

Greetings.  If you are interested in presenting a paper at the Public Management Research Association/International Research Society for Public Management Hong Kong conference in October 2010, please see the message from Professor Richard Walker below.  Thanks!

Sincerely,

PMRA Secretariat

The call for papers for the Public Management Research Association/International Research Society for Public Management Hong Kong conference in October 2010 closes at the end of the month. Please find details on the process for submitting abstracts at http://www.hku.hk/socsc/prmc.

Regards,

Richard

In addition to members of the SLU Transit Alliance, this training will be led by Liz Kramer and Adam Shriver, experienced transit advocates who have led Washington University’s incredible student effort in support of Prop A.

Date: Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Time: 7:00pm – 8:00pm
Location: BSC 253A

Dear Members of the Saint Louis University Community,
 
An issue of critical importance will appear this spring on the April 6th ballot
in St. Louis County. This is Proposition A, an initiative to raise a half-
cent sales tax to restore service cuts and expand the operations of Metro
public transportation services throughout the area. Without the passage of
this critical tax, extreme cuts will be made to the system, putting thousands
of St. Louisans either out of work or unable to find transportation to their jobs.
In addition, the long term economic growth of the region will suffer. In order to
vote on this important issue, students must be registered to vote by
March 10th. A student group, the SLU Transit Alliance, is leading an effort to
promote education about and organize support for Proposition A.  Questions
or inquiries may be directed to the SLU Transit Alliance at transitslu@gmail.com.
Listed below is information that you might find helpful:
 
REGISTERING TO VOTE OR CHANGING YOUR ADDRESS:
In order to vote in the April 6th St. Louis County election, you must be
registered by Wednesday, March 10.  As this falls during Spring Break,
students should register before leaving campus for the break. There will
be numerous opportunities to do this at our booth in the BSC Main
Entrance next week at these days and times:

Tuesday, March 2nd – 11am- 2pm
Wednesday, March 3rd – 9am- Noon
Friday, March 5th- 9am- Noon

NOTE:  You or your family must permanently reside in St. Louis County
to be eligible to register to vote on Prop A. If your family lives in the County,
but you registered to vote at the BSC last Presidential election, you must
re-register with your home address in order to vote on Prop A. If you can not
get to a polling station on April 6th, we can register you to vote absentee with
a mail-in ballot. More information about this is given further down. If you are
not eligible to vote, but might get involved in this campaign on campus or
throughout the city, more there are many opportunities with some information
listed below.

When you come to to our booth at the BSC to register to vote, please bring a photo
ID. Even if you are already registered in the City, you are to re-register as a “New Voter”
in the County. We will submit your Registration to the Election Board, and within a
few weeks you will receive a notification of your polling station at your home address.
If you will require an absentee ballot because you will be unable to get to the polling
station on April 6th, we will have these applications available and can submit them
for you as well. Your absentee ballot will then be mailed to your home address. You
must then fill it out and mail it in to the St. Louis County Board of Elections ten days
prior to election day.

For those ineligible to vote, at our booth we will also have a petition available
to be signed to lobby the SLU Administration to take a more active role in publicly
endorsing and supporting Proposition A, as every other major academic institution
in St. Louis has done.

Other info about opportunities to get involved such as phone banking, canvassing,
the Voter Neighbor program, and with the SLU Transit Alliance on campus will be
discussed at the Public Transportation Advocacy Training in BSC 251A on Tuesday,
March 2nd from 7pm- 830.

Also please check out the Metro Transit Panel hosted by the Saint Louis University
Urban Planning Association (SLUUPA) this Friday, February 26th at 5:30 in Tegeler 102.
This will be an excellent panel discussion led by Courtney Sloger (Public Relations),
Mark Phillips (Long-Range Planner) and Jennifer Ash (Real Estate Manager) from Metro.
They plan to lead a discussion on long-range plans for public transit expansion in the
St. Louis region, the construction of the new Scott Avenue Transit plaza (Grand Metrolink
Station), as well as the impact of Proposition A.

Thank you for your time, and we hope to hear back from you. Remember, you may not
ride it, but we all need it.

SLU Transit Alliance
transitslu@gmail.com

P.S. Check out or Facebook page! SLU Transit Alliance

Position Announcement

February 19, 2010

 Position Title:  County Program Director

Position Summary:  Working collaboratively with a team of extension professionals and the St. Louis County Extension Council, the county program director will be responsible for giving programmatic leadership to University of Missouri Extension programs in St. Louis County.  Programmatic leadership includes community partnerships and capacity assessment followed by program planning, implementation, and evaluation.  Linkages will be developed for both the University of Missouri System and Lincoln University campuses as well as external resource people.

The County Program Director is expected to work in program development, public relations, and resource development in the metropolitan area.

Minimum Qualifications:  This position requires demonstrated leadership ability, supervisory experience, and a minimum of an earned master’s degree in public administration, public affairs, non-profit organizations, public policy, business administration or similarly related field of study that relates to the responsibilities of this position.  Experience in adult education or resource development is preferred. 

Ability to travel and to work flexible hours including evenings and weekends is required to fulfill assigned responsibilities.

Position Location:  Headquartered in St. Louis County, Clayton, Missouri in the East Central Region.

County/Regional Profile:   St. Louis County is the most urban and culturally diverse county within the East Central Region.   The 2008 population of 991,830 in St. Louis County defines this as one of the three major centers of trade in the region and state.  There are unique educational needs and opportunities for extension programming.  Currently, there are 11 faculty and 15 nutrition education staff located in three physical locations.  These staff members deliver programs in five program areas.  The St. Louis County Program Director (CPD) locally works with the members of the St. Louis County Extension Council in the headquarter county as well as the local faculty and staff.

University of Missouri and MU Extension:  University of Missouri provides teaching, research and service to Missouri and beyond. The university was the first publicly supported institution of higher education established in the Louisiana Purchase territory. Its philosophy of education was shaped in accordance with the ideals of Thomas Jefferson, who was an early proponent of higher education. Today, the University of Missouri System is one of the nation’s largest and most prestigious public research universities.

University of Missouri Extension, an academic division of University of Missouri-Columbia, is dedicated to improving people’s lives, communities and the economy by providing relevant, responsive, and reliable research-based education. MU Extension faculty and staff continually work to find more effective and efficient ways to develop and deliver research-based educational programs to enhance the success and well-being of individuals and families, businesses and public-sector organizations through Missouri.

Salary/Benefits:  $36,500-46,500 (based on applicable experience)

This position offers paid time off, including 17–22 vacation days, 12 sick days, 4 personal days, and 8 paid holidays each year. Enrollment in health, dental, vision, life, and accidental insurance, retirement, work injury benefits, disability insurance, and flexible spending accounts are available. In addition, a 50% reduction of educational fees is available for eligible spouse or dependent child of eligible employees for up to six credit hours of University of Missouri college level courses per semester. For more information about our benefits, please visit http://www.umsystem.edu/ums/departments/hr/benefits/.

Application Procedure:  All interested applicants must submit a completed application, cover letter, current resume and copies of all academic transcripts to: MU Extension, Human Resource Development, 205 Whitten Hall, Columbia, MO  65211.  If you have any questions, please call (573) 882-4721 or email hrdext@missouri.edu.  An application form and complete position description are available at http://extension.missouri.edu/careers.  Review of applications will begin March 22, 2010. 

EEO/AA/ADA employer

Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning

 2010 PhD Workshop

23-26 June 2010

Georgia Tech

 PURPOSE

The Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning invites doctoral students of planning working on their dissertation research to attend the 2010 ACSP PhD Workshop. This year, the workshop will be hosted by the School of City and Regional Planning at Georgia Institute of Technology.  The Workshop attracts PhD students from planning programs from around the world to gather and discuss the practical details of creating, producing, distributing and consuming planning knowledge among scholars. Workshop participants will learn to conceive, organize, and present PhD-quality research to multiple audiences, including, most centrally, their peers. Students will advise one another as scholars pursuing unique research paths within a community of shared inquiry. The faculty work mainly as advisors and coaches. International students are welcome to apply.

PARTICIPANTS and FACULTY

The Workshop is geared toward planning doctoral students who will be taking, or have recently passed their PhD qualifying examination (or equivalent). Students will have several opportunities to present their work to their fellow students and workshop faculty in large group as well as breakout sessions. Students will be expected to have submitted some written work beforehand, whether a dissertation prospectus, research work plan, or draft chapter. The workshop will be limited to approximately 20 students to ensure adequate time for participation and feedback. This year’s workshop faculty will be drawn from several institutions.  All have extensive experience advising PhD students in multiple areas.  This year’s workshop faculty will include: Georgia Tech’s Michael Elliott, Steven French, Dan Immergluck, and Nancey Green Leigh; as well as University of Pennsylvania’s John Landis.

WORKSHOP THEMES

The workshop will include both plenary and small-group sessions. Each student will make at least two presentations about their research with the objective of gaining insight into how to maximize the impact of the participant’s dissertation research.  Supplementary objectives include broader learning about planning research design and communication, enhanced understanding about the place of planning scholarship in careers and in the advancement of our profession, and network building among young planning scholars.

Building Block questions of the workshop will be Why? What? How? and Who?

• WHY: What purpose does your inquiry serve?  Why should others care about your research? What difference will your inquiry and results make?
• WHAT: What is your thesis or argument? What knowledge claims do you expect your research to support? What questions do you hope to answer?
• HOW: How do you expect to conduct your inquiry?  How will you organize your inquiry?  What tools do you need to answer your major questions?
•  WHO: Who is the audience for your research?  Will it be undertaken and presented in a manner that is understandable to your audience?

FACILITIES AND COSTS

The workshop will take place on the campus of Georgia Tech in Atlanta.  A registration fee of approximately $400 will cover lodging and selected meals.  Students (or their home institutions) will be expected to provide their own transportation to Atlanta, and laptop computers.  Internet access will be provided by Georgia Tech.  Limited partial scholarships funded by ACSP may be available. Home institutions are encouraged to assist students with costs.

APPLICATIONS

Applications for participation in the workshop are available at www.acsp.org, and are due to the workshop organizers by March 8 (extended deadline).   Applicants will be expected to submit a completed application form together with a resume, statement of interest discussing why they expect the workshop to be useful to them, and a letter of support by their principal dissertation advisor.  Applications will be reviewed by the ACSP PhD Workshop Committee and applicants will be notified of acceptance or otherwise by 1 April 10.

DISSERTATION PROSPECTUS

Those selected to participate must submit a 5-page dissertation research prospectus or summary no later than 15 May 10.  These will be distributed to all participating students and faculty prior to the workshop, so this deadline is firm.  In addition, all participants will make a 10-minute, 5-slide maximum presentation of their research on the first day of the workshop. 

FURTHER INFORMATION

For additional information, check www.acsp.org , or contact: Dracy Blackwell, dracy.blackwell@coa.gatech.edu, +1.404.894.2352. 

DRAFT WORKSHOP AGENDA

Wednesday, June 23, 2010 7:00-9:00 Opening Reception

 Thursday, June 24, 2010

Day 2:  Friday, June 25, 2010

Day 3: Saturday, June 26, 2010                              

Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning

2010 PhD Workshop Application

 PERSONAL INFORMATION

ACADEMIC INFORMATION

FUNDING

Please return an electronic copy of this form to dracy.blackwell@coa.gatech.edu together with copies of the following items: (1) Resume; (2) Letter of support from Faculty Advisor; and (3) Summary of why you would like to participate in this workshop (1 page)

All items must be submitted by Monday, March 8, 2010 (deadline extened). Applications will be reviewed shortly thereafter. Selected applicants will be notified of their acceptance on or before April 1, 2010.