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Walter Broadnax to be MPA Convocation Speaker

Walter Broadnax, Maxwell PhD, 1975

Walter Broadnax, Maxwell/SU PhD, 1975

This week is an exciting time in the Maxwell School and in the Department of Public Administration and International Affairs in particular. On Friday, the MPA Convocation ceremony will take place, honoring the achievements of the 2014-15 MPA Class.  It is a wonderful celebration for our students, their family and loved ones, our faculty, administration and staff.

We are even more pleased to celebrate the lifetime accomplishments of one of our own this year as well.  Walter Broadnax, Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Public Administration and International Affairs, will deliver the keynote address at this year’s MPA Convocation.  The school recently honored Walter at a retirement party, and many wonderful stories about his career and witty personality were shared. Walter returned to Maxwell in 2008, capping a long and distinguished career in public administration and public policy as both a practitioner and an academic.

Before joining the Maxwell School, Broadnax served as president of Clark Atlanta University, dean of the School of Public Affairs at American University and professor at the University of Maryland.  I first met Walter when he was Dean at AU, during my early days at Maxwell. Delightful, firm in his resolve to do the right thing, warm and incredibly intelligent are all things that come to mind as I think of Walter.

Outside his time in academia, Walter oversaw the restructuring of the Social Security Administration during his tenure at the Department of Health and Human Services from 1993 to 1996.  He also held key positions in state government, among them president of the New York Civil Service Commission and director of Children, Youth, and Adult Services for the State of Kansas.  A letter from former President Jimmy Carter (who was unable to attend) was read at his retirement party, further attesting to the lasting impact of the collegial relationships he has had over the lifetime of his career.

This year, Walter Broadnax was appointed a Life Trustee on the Syracuse University Board of Trustees.  He received a PhD in public administration from Maxwell in 1975.

The Convocation is scheduled to begin at 10:00 a.m. on Friday, June 26, in Hendricks Chapel with a reception afterward on the SU Quad.

The Department of Public Administration and International Affairs will be closed Friday, June 26 for this celebration. We will reopen on Monday, June 29 as we welcome the next class of MPA students to our school and program!

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