NASPAA expects accredited public affairs programs to stress public service values in their educational program. This article examines the values that are included the mission statements of 125 public affairs programs. There is wide dispersion in the number and content of the values identified in these mission statements. Content analysis of the…

Describes the Institute of Government, a hybrid unit that successfully straddles the academic fault line between public service and traditional scholarship. Discusses its mission, major areas of work and successful programs, organization and funding, and future directions in funding, faculty fields of expertise, civic education, and local…

Established in 1994 at the University of Florida, the Reubin O'Donovan Askew Institute on Politics and Society has focused its energies on reinvigorating civic culture and revitalizing community building in Florida. This article discusses civic culture in Florida, Florida's evolution in the twentieth century, development of the institute, and its…

The public service research program at the University of California, Davis, a model linking university resources with those of public agencies in the interest of public service, is described. Collaborative research is seen as an effective form of public service, profitable to both university and government. (MLW)

The University of Georgia's Carl Vinson Institute of Government, one of the nation's oldest and largest university-based public-service organizations, provides a case study of the problems and challenges for these organizations, one of which is to mix and match institutional and personal objectives and capabilities to optimize the contributions of…

Describes the John W. McCormack Institute of Public Affairs at the University of Massachusetts at Boston, including: (1) origins; (2) organization and operation; (3) impact (independent analysis, education/training of public servants, publishing, convening and catalyzing, developing mechanisms to modernize state government, empowering new…

Describes the Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota. Addresses financing, policy making as institutional design, the institutional design perspective at the institute, scope and range of activities, decision-making about programs, and activities (including Sasakawa Global 2000 Program in Sub-Saharan Africa…

Describes efforts by the LBJ School of Public Affairs to draw on the strengths of the University of Texas at Austin while cultivating external relationships crucial to its research and service programs. Discusses its research partnerships, policy research projects, research centers and programs, professional development partnerships, public…

Describes the early years, shift toward greater autonomy, and current structure and roles of the Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government, a public policy research institute of State University of New York. Founded to facilitate relationships between the university system and state government, it has emerged as a more autonomous research…

Describes the founding, organization and structure, and relationship between social issues and funders of the Institute for Policy Research at Northwestern University. The institute's history and research have been marked by a commitment to societal concerns such as poverty, crime, race and inequality, social welfare policy, and community…

This paper examines various aspects of public employment programs designed to reduce unemployment in Western industrialized countries. The historical context in which these programs emerged and the forms such programs might take are discussed. Public employment is considered in terms of special public service jobs, public works, and training and…

Accumulating research attests to the benefits of self-help groups for people who have various chronic health problems. Expansion of self-help group participation may enable a broader portion of society to experience these health benefits. The Media and Education for Self-Help (MESH) Project was an effort to increase interest in health-related…