The State of the School
by Edwin Dorn
March 4, 1999
Introduction
This is my second annual State of the School meeting, and I've been looking forward to it.
Over the course of a year, all of us attend a lot of gatherings at the LBJ School. For example, we started 1999 with a symposium on Access to Higher Education in the Post-Hopwood Era. Then, in February, we held the third annual Barbara Jordan Memorial Forum on Diversity in Public Policy. Last week, we gathered for a less serious purpose--a party to celebrate the renovated student lounge. And, many of us are looking forward to attending the University's huge open house, "UT Interactive", this Saturday.
However,the annual State of the School meeting is a different kind of gathering. It's the only event that enables all of us--students, faculty and staff--to reflect on where we are as an institution, where we want to be, and how we plan to get there.
Before we start talking about the State of the School, let's take a moment to cast a good thought skyward for GPAC President Olga Garcia. Olga, we're thinking about you, and wish you a speedy recovery.
The State of the School
Now, where are we? Simply put, we're one of the best. During the past year-and-a-half, I've learned a lot about other schools of public affairs around the country, and about other schools and departments at UT. What I've concluded is that the LBJ School is an extraordinary institution. First, its people: we have high quality faculty, competent and dedicated staff, and energetic, committed and intellectually vigorous students.
Second, the LBJ School has a solid financial base, thanks in large part to the support of the LBJ Foundation, the grantsmanship of our faculty and the entrepreneurship of the folks who run our executive education and conference programs. Our physical facilities, now nearly 30 years old, need a life-cycle renovation. While we're waiting for that, we have plans to meet our short-term needs for additional space and updated technology.
Our graduates are finding good career opportunities, thanks partly to our aggressive placement program. And our graduates are attaining positions of great prominence and power--for example, Colorado Governor Bill Owens, Dallas Chamber of Commerce President Jan Hart Black, State Senator Rodney Ellis and Austin City Manager Jesus Garza. I want to mention two graduates in particular, because this University recently recognized their accomplishments.
- Social Security Commissioner Ken Apfel, LBJ '78, has
been selected a distinguished alumnus of the UT Graduate
School. Ken will be here in May, and his accomplishments
will be recognized during the Graduate School
commencement exercises that precede the LBJ School's
commencement. A $5000 fellowship in Ken's name will go to
some fortunate LBJ School student next school year.
- Investment banker Kim Goodwin, an '86 recipient of a joint MPAff/MBA degree, has been selected for an award by the UT Ex-Students' Association. Kim also will be here for commencement.
Our Strengths
One of the LBJ School's strengths is its commitment to continuous improvement. We're constantly on the lookout for new talent and new ideas. At the same time, we need to appreciate the things that we already do well--qualities that place us in the top ranks of public policy schools.
The LBJ School is a well-rounded institution. Our students receive rigorous training in analytic methods, public administration and finance, human resources management, and a wide variety of substantive policy areas--education, environment, health, race relations, international trade, urban management, state and county governance. The Ph.D. track, executive education programs, conferences and speaker series are important complements to our MPAff program.
Many schools do these things, although I think we do them better than most. Let me mention a few things that we're especially good at--the things that make us stand out.
The first distinctive feature of the LBJ School is our ability to provide students a rich mix of academic rigor and practical experience. The LBJ School faculty reflects that mix--some are prominent scholars, some have been policy makers and managers, and some have been both. Our graduates are highly marketable because employers know that they can hit the ground running; they don't have to spend months learning to adjust to "real life."
Our second strength is the joint degree programs--eight of them, all with partner colleges that are as strong in their areas as we are in ours. It's tough to beat a professional degree that combines the strengths of the LBJ School with those of, say, the UT Graduate School of Business, the Law School, or the Institute of Latin American Studies.
The mention of ILAS leads me to a third strength: Latin America. UT has more experts on Latin America than any other US university. About a quarter of the LBJ School's faculty have expertise in that region. Of course, we also know about the rest of the world. At least one member of our faculty has expertise in each of the major regions--Africa, Asia, the Middle East, Western Europe and the FSU.
Finally, diversity has always been a source of strength and quality at the LBJ School. Those who are involved in public service should look like the public they serve, and we were on the right course. Our diversity has been challenged in recent years by the Hopwood decision and by its related bad publicity. We responded by recruiting more vigorously, and I believe we are starting to get back on course. This struggle is not over, however; the forces that oppose diversity are well-funded and determined. But we at the LBJ School are deeply committed to continue the march toward true equality of opportunity. That's one of the legacies that Lyndon Johnson left the nation, and that Barbara Jordan left this School.
Our New Ideas
So, that's where we are. Now, where do we want to be, and how can we get there? Clearly, we need to maintain our strengths. In addition, we need some new ideas, new program thrusts. I outlined several initiatives during last year's State of the School meeting. Let me tell you how those new ideas have begun to take shape in the ensuing months:
- Advisory Council. Our new advisory council met
for the first time last fall, and will meet again on
April 22-23. Members include LBJ School graduates,
several people who are prominent in Texas politics and
business, and some nationally prominent scholars and
public policy experts. The chair is Tom Luce, a prominent
Dallas attorney who has been a strong, effective advocate
for children and education.
- Nonprofit Management. Curtis Meadows, one of
the nation's most respected foundation executives, is
teaching a seminar on nonprofit management and is helping
us develop the program. David Eaton has produced a
proposal that we are circulating to key potential funding
sources. Mrs. Johnson is very interested in this
initiative, and recently made a major contribution to
support our planning efforts.
- Leadership. Schools of public policy education
emphasize analytic skills and substantive policy issues,
but they do not pay enough attention to leadership.
Retired Army Lieutenant General Howard Graves, a former
superintendent of West Point, came to the LBJ School last
year to help us figure out how to inject leadership
training into our already demanding curriculum. By the
way, our students are not the only people who are
interested in leadership training. Our long-term plan is
to develop offerings that will be attractive to working
professionals. We have similar ambitions for our
nonprofit management program.
- Center for the Study of Human Resources.
Distinguished UT graduate Bernard Rapoport, a member of
our advisory council, has agreed to chair a steering
committee to raise an endowment for the Center and to
name it after its founder, Ray Marshall. On June 5, we're
hosting a big party for Ray, at which many of his former
students and friends and colleagues will celebrate his
contributions to scholarship and to public service.
- National and International Affairs. Look at
our recent hires, and you'll see some impressive
changes:
- Ken Flamm, who now occupies the Rusk Chair, focuses on international trade and "high tech."
- Bob Auerbach teaches economic policy and continues to serve as a constructive critic of the nation's banking system.
- General Howard Graves, our Tom Slick Professor, teaches the second semester of the Bob Inman/Charls Walker course on national policy making. Howard also has launched our series of courses on leadership.
- In recent months we went through an extensive search for junior faculty, and have identified two impressive young scholars--both women--I will try to recruit to the LBJ School.
Several other good ideas have emerged in the past year. Let me mention two that came from members of our advisory committee. One is that we establish some kind of Washington Campus. The other is that we find more ways to capitalize on our faculty's strengths in information technology and telecommunications policy. With help from the advisory council, our faculty and our alumni, I hope to flesh out these suggestions in the coming months.
Conclusion
The LBJ School is a very strong institution, but it can be stronger. Right now, we're comfortably in the top ten; our goal is to be in the top three. I talked above about how we can get there: by capitalizing on our strengths, and by pursuing the new ideas and new talent.
Obviously, getting where we want to be will be a major fund-raising challenge. We must raise $30 million over the next five year. Raising that much money will require, among other things, mobilizing more of our graduates. I have met hundreds of LBJ School alumni. They are enthusiastic about the School, some of them have been very generous toward it, and many others are looking for ways to help. We need to do a better job of engaging them.
Thanks to all of you for your dedication to the LBJ School, and for your support. This is a great place because you care about it, and about one another.
