Vicky Wilkins, a nationally recognized scholar in public management, joined SPA on July 1 as Associate Dean for Academic Affairs.

"Vicky is an experienced administrator, accomplished teacher, and an innovator in curriculum, student services and fundraising," said SPA Dean Barbara Romzek.

In her new position, she will be responsible for graduate education and all matters pertaining to the faculty. Before joining SPA, she was an administrative leader and faculty member at the University of Georgia for 11 years, four of them as director of graduate studies. As director of the Master of Public Administration program, she replaced an outdated essay exam with a case-based one, allowing students to fully demonstrate their skills. She also developed a three-day socialization event to welcome incoming students that culminated with a day of service and interaction with local officials and leaders. Working with the Seoul Metropolitan Government, she led the development of a course that enabled students to study Seoul's response to urban problems.

"I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Jan Leighley for her invaluable contributions over the past two years as interim associate dean," Romzek wrote, "especially her work revising graduate methods curriculum and strengthening and clarifying procedures for faculty governance and faculty actions across the school. SPA could not have made nearly as much progress as we have without her help these past two years."