2023 Newsletter template
Department Chair’s Message
Welcome to the 2022 annual department newsletter! We hope these words greet you in the best of health and in good spirits. The department is undergoing a wonderful transformation; one that we believe will bring us into a new era of learning, research, and service. It is said, “The only constant in life is change.” These words are as true today as when Heraclitus stated them about 2,500 years ago. My personal favorite quote on the topic is attributed to Benjamin Franklin, “When you are finished changing, you are finished.” It is safe to say we are not finished; we have only begun.
The department has chosen new leadership to guide us in the years ahead. I began as chair on September 1, 2021, with a strong desire to reinvent ourselves. A great appreciation goes to the department faculty who have entrusted this great responsibility to me. We also have a new Director of Graduate Studies, Dr. Rebecca Reid, who joins our current Director of Undergraduate Studies, Dr. Todd Curry, in guiding our students to success through curricular development and mentorship.
As you may have read in our 2019 newsletter, Public Administration and Political Science have joined forces. We are happy to report that the merger has gone very well. Under the directorship of Dr. Eric Boyer, the Masters in Public Administration Program will venture into a fully online degree. We have also embraced our new identity by rebranding ourselves, “The Department of Political Science and Public Administration.” The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board approved our new department name by giving its seal of approval effective May 31. We hope to report on our synergistic activities in further newsletters...