SPPA recognizes alumni, community partners at anniversary reception

3:19 p.m., March 22, 2012--Following the March 19 conference on careers in public and community service, the University of Delaware's School of Public Policy and Administration (SPPA) hosted a reception to celebrate its 50-year anniversary, with University administrators, members of the congressional delegation and state leaders applauding the school’s impressive legacy and commending its vision for the future. 

Attended by more than 300 alumni and friends of SPPA, the reception included proclamations from Gov. Jack Markell, Lt. Gov. Matt Denn, both the Delaware State House and Senate, the New Castle County Council and New Castle County Executive Paul G. Clark. 

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“There are a number of young men and women, undergraduate and graduate, who have come to work for me, right out of the public policy program, and they’ve gone on to do even better things with their life,” said U.S. Sen. Tom Carper, reprising remarks from a video about SPPA's legacy.  “How proud I am of them and how grateful I am to the University of Delaware and to this program for providing them not just for me, or our state, but as it turns out, our nation.” 

“When we talk about UD’s service mission -- when we talk about ‘Citizen University’ -- we’re talking about the School of Public Policy and Administration,” said UD President Patrick Harker. “It’s at the heart of service scholarship -- research applied to public policy and the public good.” 

“A half-century after it became one of the nation’s first university centers focused on the challenges of urban America,” SPPA Director Maria Aristigueta said, “the school has emerged as a nationally-ranked and globally recognized, comprehensive school of public affairs.”

George Watson, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, which welcomed SPPA in 2010, discussed the many ways in which the strengths of the school contribute to the college's strategic plan.

“One of our goals is to develop an outstanding faculty,” he said, adding the college has been able to invest in four new SPPA faculty appointments, even in tough economic times. 

“It’s an investment with great return,” Watson said. “We have already seen the advantages and synergies between the School and other departments and centers.”

Article by Artika Rangan Casini

Photos by Kathy F. Atkinson