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Wilder School presence at PPIA Expo signals commitment to recruiting diverse candidates
VCU Wilder School faculty, staff and alumni were on hand to showcase the strength of the school’s graduate and professional programs at the PPIA Public Service Expo held in Washington, D.C. on July 14. Various representatives from the school’s senior administrative team, Office of Student Success, top ranked master’s in public administration and doctoral program in public policy and administration attended the event which was held on the campus of George Washington University.
The PPIA Public Service Expo is an annual event for prospective applicants to public policy and international affairs schools to learn more about programs, degree and employers in their areas of interest. Nearly 400 students and more than 100 exhibitors from a range of institutions participated.
In addition to exhibiting at the expo, Wilder faculty and staff sponsored a reception for some 80 students on Thursday evening which included remarks from the school’s interim dean Susan Gooden, Ph.D.
"Our relationship with PPIA and attending the Public Service Expo allows the Wilder School to recruit top-tier graduate students nationally. It provides an unparalleled opportunity to meet hundreds of outstanding students and demonstrate our strong commitment to recruiting underrepresented minority students. For the past 39 years, PPIA has been nationally respected for being a strong pipeline for diversity in public service careers. We are very proud to join this consortium of schools and actively participate in the expo," said Gooden.
Kasey Martin, Ph.D., an alumna of the school’s doctoral program in public policy and administration, also met with prospective students on Thursday evening to share her experience. Martin is currently a senior social science research analyst at USDA Rural Development.
"Our relationship with PPIA and attending the Public Service Expo allows the Wilder School to recruit top-tier graduate students nationally. It provides an unparalleled opportunity to meet hundreds of outstanding students and demonstrate our strong commitment to recruiting underrepresented minority students. For the past 39 years, PPIA has been nationally respected for being a strong pipeline for diversity in public service careers. We are very proud to join this consortium of schools and actively participate in the expo." - Susan T. Gooden, Ph.D., interim dean
The Wilder School’s robust presence at the expo marks the early stages of a burgeoning relationship with PPIA, a non-profit which facilitates a wide variety of programs to promote the inclusion of underrepresented groups in public service. These activities include, but are not limited to, a fellowship program for students pursuing a master’s or joint degree in public policy, international affairs or a related field as well as Public Service Weekends, a brief but immersive experience that exposes talented college students and recent graduates to careers in public service.
The Wilder School was one of just five institutions selected through a competitive bid process to host the school’s first-ever Public Service Weekend in 2019. The program attracted 24 students from 17 states and 21 universities for an intensive, three-day conference which focused on the theme “Social Equity in Public Policy Analysis.”
Earlier this month, the School became the 56th member of the PPIA Graduate Consortium, an alliance of top universities in the nation who are committed to providing academic and professional training to diverse leaders in public service.
Institutional members of the PPIA Graduate Consortium receive special access to a diverse and highly-competitive pool of undergraduate students from universities across the country who are Fellows of the PPI Junior Summer Institute, an intensive seven-week program designed to recruit underrepresented candidates for graduate study in public policy or a related field.
In exchange, PPIA network schools like the VCU Wilder School, are able to waive application fees for Fellows, and if accepted, provide a guaranteed a minimum, one-time financial award of $5,000.