Change is a constant for career professionals in public administration and nonprofit agencies. Budgets get cut, leaders move on, and policies evolve. However, the pace of change is accelerating, and the complexities are growing.

“Technology is one of the reasons, but there are also societal changes that are happening at an accelerated rate,”

says Mary Piecewicz, Director of the Master of Public Administration Senior Leadership (MPA-SL) at Clark University.

The Clark MPA for Senior Leaders is designed to help municipal and nonprofit professionals keep pace. Its flexible, low-residency design combines online learning with regular in-person sessions, making it a manageable fit for working professionals looking to expand their skills and advance their careers.

Students attend from across New England. “Their most immediate concern is staying relevant, including keeping up with new technologies, best practices, and emerging management trends,” Piecewicz says. “They also see the opportunities that retirements and defections to higher-paying private sector jobs are creating.”

Addressing workforce, media, and housing challenges

At the heart of the degree requirements in the MPA-SL program is the capstone project each student completes with the guidance of a faculty member. According to Piecewicz, students choose challenges they are passionate about for their capstone. “Most have a common theme – improving the public good,” she says.

Recent submissions underscore the growing complexity of the challenges facing municipal and nonprofit leaders.

In their capstone, program graduates Jessica Feldman and Drew Russo investigate how Gateway Cities in Massachusetts – midsize urban centers that anchor regional economies around the state – can build a representative workforce. Their research identified “unnecessary barriers to employment, such as inflexible degree requirements, which pose an obstacle to building municipal workforces reflective of the populations they serve.” Feldman and Russo propose a critical re-thinking of recruitment and retention strategies, including “revised hiring criteria and offering opportunities for continuous education in order to recruit and retain employees that represent the cultural and generational diversity of these communities.”

Clare Robbins’ capstone examines Worcester’s changing media landscape and its effect on political participation, zeroing in on how the demise of local newspapers and journalism in Worcester may contribute to a declining interest in local politics and elections. Her recommendations include “engaging with residents through social media, and residents promoting transparent journalism.”

In her capstone, graduate Sen. Robyn Kennedy makes the case for adopting a Housing First approach in Massachusetts to serve families who are experiencing homelessness. Otherwise, “the state will continue to only serve families once they have exhausted all their resources and assets.” Kennedy proposes “a new model in which the state addresses barriers to sustainable housing and implements a model whereby families are able to fully access resources that prevent housing instability and thereby forego the need to access emergency shelter.”

Learning that aligns with national trends

Topics explored through MPA-SL capstones represent issues that are a priority across the United States and around the globe. The International City Management Association says new technology, a global pandemic, a warming planet, and political and social instability have “dramatically and forever altered the conditions in which local governments operate.”¹ Martha Fedorowicz of the Urban Institute and Sarah Weller Pegna of the National League of Cities recently wrote that “every day, cities across the country confront complex, interconnected issues spanning health, housing, workforce development, and climate change.”²

The MPA-SL program at Clark has a graduation rate of 98%, and 62% of alums secure higher-level jobs within a year of receiving their degree. To learn more about the program, visit clarku.edu/mpasl.

1. https://icma.org/local-government-reimagined

2. https://www.nlc.org/article/2023/11/03/how-municipalities-can-pursue-strategic-policy-solutions-to-complex-problems/