UNC MPA

10/20/2026

What a week for the UNC MPA community at the ICMA - International City/County Management Association Annual Conference!

From the Opening General Session and Reception, NCCCMA dinner, and our annual Happy Hour Hub, our faculty, staff, and students are spending time with people who make local government stronger.

We're glad to be in Long Beach, meeting new colleagues and reconnecting with alumni and friends of the program.

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A special shoutout to Shenanigans Irish Pub & Grille for hosting our Happy Hour Hub!

10/16/2026

Fall at Carolina is hard to beat. Happy Fall Break to our MPA students: rest, recharge, and enjoy the season! 🍂

10/15/2026

Congratulations to Drs. Rick Morse and John Stephens on their new publication in State and Local Government Review!

"Citizen Advisory Bodies in U.S. Local Government" looks at how residents advise their local governments through CABs. Morse and Stephens review the existing research and draw on eight workshops with practitioners to ask why communities create these bodies, who serves on them, how elected officials view their value, and how communities measure their effectiveness.

Check out the full publication here: https://lnkd.in/eaNpRYev

10/15/2026

We are grateful to the Bill and Peggy Britt Foundation for its $5 million gift to the UNC School of Government. This generous gift will support the UNC MPA program and open new paths to public service for our current and future students.

Thank you for investing in the next generation of North Carolina's public service leaders.

Read more about the endowment here:
https://lnkd.in/evbvU-ac

10/12/2026

What role should local governments and nonprofits play in meeting basic needs? And what role do they actually play?

Over 80 students from our online and on-campus cohorts came to campus for the 2026 MPA Immersion Weekend to investigate those questions. Led by Dr. Maureen Berner, the three-day course, Putting Food on the Table: Innovative Government and Nonprofit Approaches to Meeting Basic Needs, brought together School of Government faculty, practitioners, MPA alumni, and students to examine food, housing, and water security through human-centered design.

On Friday evening, we opened the conversation to the broader community at the Deil S. Wright Public Service Forum: Meeting the Need While Changing the System. Our featured speakers included:

- Norbert Wilson, Director of the Duke World Food Policy Center
- Amy Beros, President and CEO of the Food Bank of Central and Eastern NC
- Carlos Morales ‘26, Food Security Program Manager for Wake County

Thank you to our speakers, to Dr. Berner, and to our students who learned, questioned, and built connections with one another this weekend.

10/05/2026

There is one week left to apply for the Spring 2027 online cohort. If you're ready to advance your public service career, submit your application today!

Questions about your statement of purpose, transcripts, or recommendations? Join our application workshop tomorrow, or reach out to the UNC MPA Admissions team.

Apply today: https://applynow.unc.edu/apply/
Register for the application workshop: https://lnkd.in/euCbvmE7

10/02/2026

Great teammates make great public service leaders.

Our students are trading the classroom for the soccer field, and the collaboration, energy, and support carry over in both places. At UNC MPA, your cohort becomes your community.

09/30/2026

Another session of the Career Discovery Series is in the books! This week, we welcomed four UNC MPA alumni to share their journeys in the nonprofit sector. Meet our panelists:

- Traci Thompson ’22, Regional Housing Strategist, Self-Help
- Chandler Briggs ’24, Teen Programs Director, YMCA of the Triangle
- Adrienne Woods ’25, Executive Director, Safe Passage Inc.
- Andrea Ponikvar ’16, VP Philanthropy, Cleveland Zoological Society

Our alumni spoke to the skills, knowledge, and abilities they've built through the MPA program and their careers, and how they show up every day in how they lead and manage within their organizations. But beyond the how, our alumni got personal about the why: the mission-driven purpose that keeps them grounded in this work, and what it means to build a career centered on impact.

Thank you to our panelists for taking the time to connect with our students and share their experiences and passion for this work.

09/29/2026

UNC MPA faculty member, Julie Maloney-Beasley, PhD, and current student, Josh Davis, have collaborated since early 2025 to help older North Carolinians connect with their communities through local volunteer opportunities.

"One of the things that has made my experience in the UNC MPA program so valuable is how our faculty connect both research and theory to practice," Josh says.

Read more about their work and the recent launch of More Than a Helping Hand: https://lnkd.in/eW__WecK

School of Government faculty member Julie Beasley recently launched More Than a Helping Hand, a pilot program connecting adults 55+ with local volunteer opportunities to combat the growing crisis of social isolation and is currently serving Durham, Orange, and Chatham counties. By bridging older adults, nonprofits, and local governments, Beasley hopes to improve health outcomes while building stronger, more connected communities—with ambitions to expand statewide. She works alongside Lisa Herrera with UNC School of Medicine, current UNC MPA student Josh Davis, and Leopolda Santana with NC State University.

Learn more about her mission here:
https://www.sog.unc.edu/about/news/mission-moment-julie-beasley-helps-connect-older-north-carolinians-their-local-governments

09/28/2026

This past weekend, current UNC MPA students and members of Leaders Doing Good volunteered with Special Olympics North Carolina during the annual Over the Edge event, putting leadership into action for a cause that matters.

Leaders Doing Good is a student organization bringing together those interested in developing skills and leading social impact in nonprofit work, both in individual interests and in how it crosses over into local and state governments and other sectors. Monthly guest speakers introduce students to real career paths and grow their professional network and volunteer events give back to the Triangle and create opportunities to build community within the cohort.