Six of the nation’s top public affairs schools are coming together to promote more diversity among scholars within the realms of public affairs and policy.
The Public Affairs Diversity Alliance, announced on Thursday, aims at encouraging, training and mentoring candidates for taking up positions in public policy, public administration and criminal justice.
The alliance was inspired by the Diversity Alliance of the Association of College & Research Libraries. It is currently being led by the American University School of Public Affairs, which will continue to chair it for the next two-years.
“The diversity of SPA’s student body – both graduate and undergraduate – has improved over the last decade and continues to do so,” Vicky Wilkins, Dean of American University School of Public Affairs said.
“The Alliance can play a role in strengthening a group of qualified and talented diverse candidates – from creating a welcoming post-doctoral experience to providing ongoing professional development and networking platforms. All member institutions and their students will benefit from increased access to a robust, inclusive candidate pool.”
The schools that are part of the alliance will help their doctoral students achieve success as faculty members through specialized programming, and will also hire up to two Alliance post-doctoral fellows or visiting scholars annually.
The other five schools that make up the alliance are the Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke University, the Price School at the University of Southern California, the Evans School at the University of Washington, the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University and the Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan.
