MEETING THE CHALLENGE OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION

Government is a rapidly growing enterprise in the United States. The effective achievement of the goals of this enterprise requires the recruitment and retention of the most able men and women in government service.

Those entering the public service for the foreseeable future will be called upon to deal with such problems as a shrinking tax base, a decaying infrastructure, environmental hazards and a public that demands more and more services and services that are provided efficiently and effectively. Such an environment leaves little margin for error. Thus, public administrators must be highly competent and possess analytic skills, managerial acumen, ethical sensitivity and organizational sense.

The National Commission on the Public Service (Chaired by Paul Volker, former head of the Federal Reserve Board) has emphasized the necessity for appropriate training for those entrusted with carrying out the peoples' business. The Commission has called upon the member schools of the National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration (NASPAA) to play the central role in providing such training. San Jose State offers a NASPAA accredited program leading to the Masters in Public Administration (MPA). Its faculty invite interested persons to accept the challenge of a career in the public service.