American Society For Public Administration - History

History

ASPA was founded in 1939 by Louis Brownlow, William E. Mosher, Donald C. Stone, Charles A. Beard, Harold D. Smith, Luther Gulick, and others. During its early years ASPA was housed in the Public Administration Clearing House (PACH) in Chicago. Significant events in ASPA's history include:

  • Sponsorship of Public Administration Review since 1939.
  • After a developmental grant from the Ford Foundation in 1956, independence from PACH.
  • A move of the headquarters to Washington, DC, in 1964.
  • Establishment of the National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA) as part of ASPA in 1967, and formal separation of NAPA from ASPA in 1970.
  • Reformulation of ASPA's Council on Graduate Education for Public Administration to the National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration (NASPAA) within ASPA in 1970, and formal separation of NASPAA from ASPA in 1975.
  • In 1981, creation with NAPA of National Public Service Awards.
  • A 50th Anniversary Conference in 1990.
  • Approval of the ASPA Code of Ethics in 1994.

ASPA's membership declined from about 14,000 members in 1990 to 8,383 members in 2007. However, during that period the Society took "steps to address its most serious issues: attracting and retaining members, dealing with structure and funding, developing a coherent mission, strengthening chapters and sections, sponsoring successful conferences, enhancing its publication offerings, and working effectively with other organizations concerned with public administration and public service."

Read more about this topic:  American Society For Public Administration

Famous quotes containing the word history:

    “It is true that this man was nothing but an elemental force in motion, directed and rendered more effective by extreme cunning and by a relentless tactical clairvoyance .... Hitler was history in its purest form.”
    —Albert Camus (1913–1960)

    “In front of these sinister facts, the first lesson of history is the good of evil. Good is a good doctor, but Bad is sometimes a better.”
    —Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)

    “If man is reduced to being nothing but a character in history, he has no other choice but to subside into the sound and fury of a completely irrational history or to endow history with the form of human reason.”
    —Albert Camus (1913–1960)