The purpose of 1st year Core is to identify and explore the fundamentals of governing and administering for the public good. In Spring quarter, we will examine the policy and fiscal foundations of doing public service. Building on our work from winter quarter, we will examine the public policy, budget, and fiscal foundations of serving the public ethically and equitably. This quarter we explore what it takes to move a policy and budget agenda for the public in a democracy. We will engage in policy analysis to examine public problems and critique possible solutions; craft our recommendations into effective materials for decision-makers; while weighing sources of revenue against policy implementation expenditures. We will focus on how public funds are generated and allocated while recognizing the impacts of constant change in governing. In Fall and Winter, we examined the foundations of democracy and public service by investigating the enduring issues for public administrators. We increased our understanding of the political, social, cultural, and economic contexts of public administration. Our goal was to gain an understanding of how practitioners apply theories of public administration through praxis. We analyzed the roles and responsibilities of public administrators and their institutions at all sectors of governing. We examined the knowledge and skills needed to practice democratic public administration.
This course meets weekly on Thursday evenings and one Saturday.