Introduction to the issue

On behalf of the editorial team, our editorial board, and the Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs, and Administration, we would like to thank you for reading the latest issue of the Journal of Public Affairs Education. The themes throughout this issue focus on advancing the future of public affairs education as a field and in the classroom.

The issue is packed with two editorials, three research articles, and three book reviews. We are incredibly proud to include the new NASPAA president’s address in this issue. At the Fall 2022 meeting of NASPAA, Dean Trevor Brown of the John Glenn College of Public Affairs at The Ohio State University assumed the role of NASPAA President. In his remarks, Dr. Brown (2023) called the field’s attention to the need to build the public sector in an environment of decreasing trust in government. To accomplish this, Dr. Brown called for the field to focus more on inclusivity, promote collaboration, grow our academic programs, and advance theoretical and applied research.

The issue’s second editorial is a research commentary by Rinfret et al. (2023) on expanding their findings from their student published in JPAE, “Emotional labor & COVID-19: MPA program director perspectives.” The researchers built on their previous quantitative work by presenting qualitative data from MPA directors showing their appreciation for emotional labor and its importance in their work.

The issues five research articles continue this theme of improving public affairs education. Dantzler and Yang-Clayton (2023) argue for a “more critical approach within public affairs education through participatory models of engagement” to address the systematic White supremacy in our institutions (p. 20). Next, Woodring and Feeney (2023) argue for expanding public affairs programs, especially undergraduate ones, outside their home departments and schools and throughout their broader universities and communities by focusing on public service for students.

After these macro-focused articles, Taggart (2023) brings the foci back to specific guidance for improving assignments in experiential philanthropy. Having students apply to be successful in philanthropy is crucial to the future of our nonprofit organizations. With the increase in online learning for-profit companies in the field, there is a need for public affairs educators to ensure that students are not being cheated. Wukich (2023) promotes consideration of principal-agent problems in such relationships among MPA programs and for-profit online companies. The last research article by Rinfret and Forster (2023) brings us back to specific tools for public affairs classrooms. The authors detail the efficacy of using FlipGrid in asynchronous online courses to promote student communication and engagement.

The issue concludes with three reviews of books that help us advance our knowledge of teaching and learning in the public affairs classroom. In the first book review, Stokan (2023) provides an overview of Marc Bellemare’s recent book, Doing Economics: What You Should Have Learned in Grad School – But Didn’t. The second review is Evans’s (2023) exploration of Bowman and West’s book, Public Service Ethics: Individual and Institutional Responsibilities. Lastly, Fullerton (2023) reviews Bertelli’s Democracy Administered: How Public Administration Shapes Representative Government. These are three great reviews of books relevant to our work in the classroom and our academic programs.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).