David Van Slyke takes Chair as new MPA students arrive

Ross Rubenstein and David Van Slyke at PAIA Convocation, Friday, June 26

On a beautiful summer day, Friday, June 26^th, the PAIA department celebrated with the 2015 MPA Class Graduates at our Convocation ceremony.  Hosting this event was also the last official duty of outgoing Department Chair and Associate Dean, Ross Rubenstein.  As a department of extremely close colleagues we are all pained to see Ross leave the Maxwell School and SU after 12 years of dedicated service, and exceptional teaching and leadership. We wish Ross and his wife, Kris Byron all the best as they embark on the next chapter in their professional careers.

But, there is no time for rest and reflection in our 12 month MPA program… and David Van Slyke was all set to take the helm of the PAIA Department as the new Chair and Associate Dean beginning, Monday, June 29^th as we welcomed 120 new MPA students to Syracuse University’s Maxwell School.  David calmly and with great charm and enthusiasm welcomed our new students at the start of PAIA Colloquium at 9:00 am yesterday. We are pleased to welcome a talented and diverse group of public service minded students from 12 different countries plus the US, with over 25 different states also represented.

On their first day, they heard from University Professor and Maxwell MPA alumnus (’78) Sean O’Keefe who shared great insight and advice as they embark on their Maxwell journey.  This afternoon the students are participating in a team building exercise and will celebrate with a department BBQ with faculty and staff, followed by an evening Welcome Reception hosted by the Central New York Maxwell Alumni Association. Tomorrow they will meet and hear from several more alumni who are serving on panels discussing the challenges of managing in crisis environments across all levels of government and in the international arena.  Thursday they will get a chance to hear more about this incredible field of public administration and policy and Maxwell’s unique scholarly contributions to the field over our 90+ year history before wrapping up the course.  We are excited to welcome our new students, and to start our department’s new chapter as lead by new Associate Dean and Chair, Professor David Van Slyke.

David Van Slyke is the Louis A. Bantle Chair in Business and Government Policy, a 2006 recipient of the Birkhead-Burkhead Teaching Excellence Award and Professorship and a 2010 inductee as a Fellow in the National Academy of Public Administration.  This summer he begins his 12th year at the Maxwell School of Syracuse University in our department.