Welcome to the School of Public Administration
Founded in 1969 under the leadership of former UNM president, Dr. Ferrel Heady, the school provides a solid academic foundation to prepare students for leadership and management positions in the public and non-profit sectors. From public management and organizational behavior to public policy evaluation and health policy and management - our faculty provide insights into the numerous challenges facing our society and government and how they can best be managed.
SPA’s students come from diverse backgrounds - some from years of professional work experience, some are recent college graduates, and others are mid-career professionals interested in advancing in their current positions or exploring new career opportunities. Our students pride themselves in fostering debate on important issues, encouraging one another, and creating a vibrant learning environment.
We invite you to explore our website and learn about our professional administration programs.
SPA Spotlights
Speaker Series Shines a Light on the "Levels of Inequality in Municipal Policing" Research
Assistant Professor Agustin Leon-Moreta presented his findings at the last installment of the SPA Speaker Series for this past spring as the public has a “renewed interest in the performance of policing services in America.” He said, “inequality in policing is a defining public policy challenge of our time. Recent events in Ferguson and other cities have raised the sense of urgency about policing programs of municipalities.”
To measure the level of police resources across American municipalities, he used the amount of police expenditures per capita and discovered that New Mexico has the 13 highest amount of police expenditure per capita. Comparing the level of resources to an American Community Survey that recorded metropolitan disparities, income inequality as well as racial and ethnic heterogeneity, Professor Leon-Moreta also discovered that police expenditures increase with racial and ethnic heterogeneity, years of municipal incorporation as well as prevalent income inequality.
Professor Leon-Moreta said the solution for fixing inequalities is through the development of institutional capacity, which will have an increase in intergovernmental aid, inter-local cooperation and oversight of municipal policing. His research indicates that “social and institutional mechanisms should be a part of policy analysis if the intent of policy or administrative practices is to reshape programs of municipalities.”
For a complete overview of the talk, please read the DailyLobo article. As well, check out Events for future SPA Speaker Series announcements!
MPA Students Join 2017 NASPAA-BATTEN Student Simulation Competition
On February 25, nearly 400 graduate students in public policy and management from around the world traveled to eight university locations to compete in a one-day immersive computer simulation that challenged them to advance global food security. Students were divided into two worlds, where they bonded as members of staff of a fictional global non-governmental organization (NGO). They analyzed data, made policy proposals, reacted the computer simulation results, drafted memos with recommendations, and presented their strategy recommendations to teams of local site judges.
The School of Public Administration was able to send three MPA students, pictured right, (L-R: Shruthi Nadig, Zlata Nourie, NASPAA Director of Membership David Marshall, and Jazzai Jimerson) to Arizona State University in Phoenix to participate in the site’s student simulation competition. "We had an opportunity to contribute our ideas and efforts to help solve regional food security problems. It was a very busy day, but so rewarding!" Nourie commented. Remarkably, the Arizona State World One site team won the regional level, which Nadig and Nourie collaborated with. Super judges noted the team's excellent visual presentation.
“The School of Public Administration is proud that three of its students represented UNM so excellently at the recent NASPAA Student Simulation Competition. We hope to make such participation a tradition of our program,” said SPA Director, Felipe Gonzales.
MPA Program Makes Top 50 in the Nation for 2017
One of the University of New Mexico’s School of Public Administration master's programs is being hailed one of the best in the country.
According to the website “Top Management Degrees,” the MPA program is #42 in the nation. The ranking touts the School of Public Administration’s intensive curriculum, its numerous accreditations, and recognitions as more than 1,500 UNM students have received Master's in Public Administration (MPA) degrees. It is one of the largest graduate programs on UNM’s campus and the only School of Public Administration in the state of New Mexico. It offers two master’s programs: Public Administration and Health Administration.
“It is very gratifying to get this national recognition as we do a fine job of training and graduating our students,” said SPA Director, Dr. Felipe Gonzales.
