Hugo's Highlights
HWS to welcome two new faculty members
Two new faculty members, Kenneth Kriz and Arwiphawee Srithongrung, will join Hugo Wall School in the Fall.
Professor Kenneth Kriz has accepted the Regents Distinguished Professor Public Finance position and comes to Wichita State from the School of Public Administration at the University of Nebraska Omaha. earned a degree from the University of Indiana with concentrations in public finance and policy analysis. His primary research areas include research on public pensions, municipal debt economics and administration, government financial risk management techniques, economic development policy, and transportation finance, along with the use of simulation techniques in public finance.
Professor Kriz is a frequent presenter at budgeting conferences and has published papers in the areas of local government reserve funds, municipal bond economics and underwriting strategies, the effects revenue limitation initiatives on state government borrowing costs, and increment financing. currently serves as vice chairman of the City of Omaha Civilian Employees Pension Board. Professor Kriz' most recent work has taken him to transition economies of Central and Eastern Europe, where he lectured and done research on public financial administration.
Throughout his career, Professor Kriz served on a variety of committees and workgroups including the Association for Budgeting and Financial Management, thereby lending his expertise to create positive change throughout academia. He has served on the editorial board for Public Finance and Management in addition to serving as reviewer for multiple academic journals such as the Public Administration Review. Professor Kriz also was the recipient of a Fulbright Lecturing Grant, teaching public finance in Estonia, 2004-05.
Dr. Arwiphawee Srithongrung will also join the faculty as an associate professor. She earned a doctoral degree in public administration from the University of Illinois at Springfield. Professor Srithongrung's research focuses on capital budgeting, infrastructure investment, and economic growth. She has presented her research at the International Atlantic Economic Society and the Association for Budgeting and Financial Management conferences. Her applied studies include knowledge-based regional development planning and economic impacts of economic development planning.
Professor Srithongrung has published journal articles, book chapters and a textbook in public budgeting and financial management. She also has received multiple grants and awards for research and distinguished service in the field of public administration.
Kickoff Feb. 1 for Sustainable Communities regional plan project
The Regional Economic Area Partnership of South Central Kansas is developing a regional plan for Sustainable Communities. More than 100 people the project's kickoff event Feb. 1 at the National Center for Aviation Training (NCAT), Wichita.
The Sustainable Communities initiative will create a toolbox of options, policies, and resources that local communities can utilize to address housing, transportation, water resources, economic and workforce development issues that impact our regional economy. This planning process will facilitate discussions communities to maximize the benefits gained from infrastructure investments with the least amount of financial burden on taxpayers. Public engagement will be critical to the success of this initiative.
Work teams for the regional plan are forming to address built environment (housing), transportation, water, natural resources, workforce and business development, healthy community teams are comprised partners, stakeholders, and citizens who will generate and recommendations, identify practices; vet and review work products; and assist with outreach and promotion of the plan and its objectives.
Consultants are assisting in plan development and communications. Shockey Consulting has developed a brand/logo, messaging strategy, project information materials, and media information. AECOM, a consortium is coming on board, and will initially develop a community engagement plan and provide guidance on needed data and research related to the project topics.
For more information, contact Paula Downs, project director, (316) 978-6678 or Paula Downs.
KACM Winter seminar set Feb. 8
The 2013 Kansas Association of City and County Managers (KACM) Winter Seminar, hosted by the Hugo Wall School of Urban and Public Affairs, is scheduled Feb. 8 at the WSU Hughes Metropolitan Complex. Seminar include: "Tough Times Call for Courageous Conversation" with President Liz Hendricks and Special Projects Advisor Terry Woodbury of Public Square Communities; "Communicating with Citizens on Their Terms" with Distinguished Senior Fellow and Interim Director of the Elliott School of Communications at Wichita State University (WSU), Lou Heldman; and "Creating Relevance through Innovation and Collaboration" with the Chief Information Officer at WSU, Dr. Ravi Pendse. For more information and to register, go to KACM Winter Seminar.
New HWS professor featured speaker at Public Finance Conference
Dr. Kenneth Kriz, professor of Public Finance and Economics with the University of Nebraska-Omaha will present the keynote: "Public Finance in the 201O's: an Environmental Scan", at the 2013 Midwest Regional Public Finance Conference, Feb. 14 and 15 at the Marriott Hotel, Wichita. Dr. Kriz will soon be joining the Hugo Wall School team as the Regents Professor of Public Finance.
Additional conference speakers include Steve Winn, Communications Director, The Concord Coalition; Kelly Edmiston, Senior Economist, Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City; Chris Courtwright, Principal Economist, Kansas Legislative Research Department; Randall Allen, Executive Director, Kansas Association of Counties; Jeff White, Managing Director, Columbia Capital Management; Tony Schertler, Bryan Kidney and Tom Kaleko, Springsted Inc.; Alan Shorthouse, Assistant Director of Resource Management, City of Olathe, KS; David Miller, Budget Director, and Lindsay Poe Rousseau, Principal Analyst, Sedgwick County, KS. visit Public Finance Conference for additional conference and registration information.
New business manager at HWS
Deanna Carrithers has joined the Hugo Wall as business manager. She is responsible for financial management, marketing coordination and operations. Carrithers most recently worked in the Sedgwick County Division Resources. received a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from University of Kansas and a Masters of Public Administration from Wichita University. Carrithers has experience in both public and non-profit management, including grant and contract development, performance measurement, and facilitation. She successfully completed ICMA Emerging Leaders Development recently completed the Advanced Kansas Leadership Institute. Carrithers also serves as chair of the Sedgwick County Community Corrections Advisory and volunteers for various nonprofits in the community. Contact information: deanna.carrithers@wichita.edu; phone (316) 978-5932.
Emerging Leaders Academy
This Spring, the Hugo Wall School of Urban and WSU is partnering with the University
of Public Management Center (PMC) to offer the Emerging Leaders Academy. The Emerging
Leaders Academy (ELA) is a succession planning program targeted to promising, non-managerial
to
them prepare for leadership roles in their departments agencies. Participants meet
together 10 times over five months, with classes designed to help them hone their
skills for positions of increasing responsibility while also growing their effectiveness
in their current roles.
ELA participants gain knowledge and skills in leadership, organizational dynamics, communication, and career planning to help them identify and achieve their professional goals while increasing their effectiveness as public servants. Agencies gain a more prepared and engaged talent pool to draw from as they plan for the future.
The Wichita session of the Emerging Leaders Academy begins Feb. 28. For more information, visit KU Emerging Leaders or contact Corinne Bannon, corinne.bannon@wichita.edu, (316) 978-6538.
Environmental Finance Center to assist with water system board training
Under contract with Kansas Municipal Utilities, the Environmental Finance Center at HWS will be cooperating to provide Public Water Supply System Board training using the Kansas Department of Health and Environment's KanCap training materials. Other cooperating agencies are Ranson Financial, the League of Kansas Municipalities and the Kansas Section of the American Water Works Association.
The KanCap program is designed to help water systems improve their technical, managerial, and financial capacity to meet the public health objectives of the Safe Drinking Water Act. The EFC's role is to provide training to help systems improve their managerial capacity. Details on registration will be available on the KMU Web site later in the year. For additional information, contact Katie Miller, katie.miller@wichita.edu, (316) 978-6332.
KDHE awards EFC contract for energy efficiency reviews of wastewater systems
KDHE recently awarded the EFC a contract to perform energy efficiency reviews of wastewater treatment systems in Kansas. The reviews are intended to identify possible energy efficiency improvements while maintaining permit compliance at the treatment facilities. The EFC will assist wastewater treatment facilities cost saving opportunities and improve current plant operations or planned projects. Contact Angela Buzard at (316) 978-3401 for more details.
EFC to offer utility rate setting/financial planning trainings
Under contract with the Kansas Department of Health Environment (KDHE) Capacity Development Program, the EFC will lead efforts to provide rate setting and financial planning trainings in Kansas in partnership with Kansas Municipal (KMU) and Ranson Financial. The sessions provide participants with an understanding on major considerations when setting rates; rate structure and pricing objectives; financial planning considerations; and for communicating rate information to your board and community.
The training will provide classroom instruction as well as interactive participant exercises and discussion. The first session is Feb. 27 in St. Mary's. Additional sessions will be held in Park City, Garden City, McPherson, lola, and Colby. Sessions are from 8:30a.m. to 3:30p.m., lunch included. more information and to register, visit KMU's webpage at or contact Katie Miller, (316) 978-6332.
Municipal Clerk Conference to focus on ethics, records management
Managing the volumes of electronic records and avoiding employee misconduct are among topics at the 63rd annual Spring Conference of the City Clerks and Municipal Finance Officers Association of Kansas, March 12-15 at the Marriott Hotel, Wichita. Karen Shaw, CRM, senior records analyst, National Archives and Records Administration, will be the keynote speaker on electronic records management March 13.
Two sessions on ethics and employee misconduct presented by Scott Bird, City of Ottawa Finance Director, and Ottawa Police Chief Dennis Butler are scheduled March 14. Lyndy Phillips, a motivational speaker from Dallas, Tex., will be the final speaker on March 15. The 2013 City Clerk of the Year Award also will be presented.
A six-hour Athenian Leadership Dialogue led by Paul Craig, Senior Fellow (Retired University of Illinois at Urbana/Champaign), will take place March 12.
To register, go to www.ccmfoa.org. For more information on International Institute for Municipal Clerks (IIMC) education points, contact Gayle Martin, gayle.martin@wichita.edu
REAP receives Sedgwick County Chairman's Award
The Regional Economic Area Partnership (REAP) received the Board of Sedgwick County Commission 2012 Chairman's Award in January. Commission ChairmanTim Norton presented the award which recognizes REAP's efforts to enhance regional economic opportunities through governmental cooperation in South Kansas. Sedgwick County Commissioner Unruh, Chairman, the
Attending were former chairs Bob Knight, Jeffrey Roberts, Willis Winters, and John Waltner. Commissioner Norton noted that much of the regional collaboration success to the partnership among city, county Hugo Wall School and Wichita State University.
REAP hosts South Central Kansas Policy Summit
REAP served as the host of the 2012 South Central Kansas Legislative Policy Summit, Dec. 13 in Wichita. More than 90 people attended the half-day even"t, including several state legislators. Sixteen sponsors joined in providing an educational forum for various partners to come together to discuss key issues that cross traditional political boundaries or ideologies. Summit presentations are available at the REAP Web site.
HWS faculty member honored by REAP
Dr. Ed Flentje, HWS professor and longtime consultant, was recognized at the December legislative policy summit for outstanding service in fostering regional cooperation for South Central Kansas. Presenters were Sedgwick County Commissioner Dave Unruh, REAP chairman, and Augusta Mayor Kristey Williams, REAP immediate past chair. Other former REAP chairs participating were Jeffrey Roberts; Carl Koster, Willis Heck, and John Waltner.
Nonprofit policy summit set for late March
The next HWS Nonprofit Policy Summit is scheduled from 3 to 5 p.m., Wednesday, March 27 at the WSU Metroplex. Mark your calendars and watch for additional details.
HWS assists with Community Investments Plan
As part of a multi-step process to guide a comprehensive plan update for the Wichita/Sedgwick County Metropolitan Area Planning Department, the HWS developed and carried out a citizen engagement effort that sought to engage citizens in a new way, by both informing citizens on critical issues facing the community, and providing multiple avenues for citizen input.
The engagement effort began with a process to randomly select 500 registered voters
within Wichita and Sedgwick County; these 500 randomly selected individuals received
a personal invitation from Wichita's Mayor and Sedgwick County's Chair of Commissioners
to participate study groups scheduled to discuss critical community issues. These
study groups were designed to both inform participants on complexity of the issues
and provide an opportunity for feedback would help
guide the development of a larger community survey pertaining to key for the community's
future.
The second phase of the engagement effort will be a community survey developed by Dr. Mark Glaser and the joint city-county project team. Responding to the feedback from the study groups, City and County staff are leading a major campaign to educate the broader public about critical issues facing community up to the release of the survey. The final survey will be distributed to 25,000 randomly sampled Wichita and Sedgwick County registered voters in late 1 in 9 registered voters in Sedgwick County will receive the survey.
After surveys are returned and the data is analyzed, results will public forums. These forums will provide the community an opportunity to the feedback from the community study groups and survey; will aid the City and County in charting a plan for the community's next 25 years.
Additional Center for Urban Studies (CUS) projects
The Center for Urban Studies facilitated a planning for the for Effective Learning (KANSEL). CUS provided background research on the financial health of the organization and facilitated discussion of the KANSEL of Directors and staff. The retreat focused on succession planning, program development and financial planning for the organization.
Center staff also facilitated a retreat for the Kechi City Council and New City Administrator and HWS Alum, Robert Conger, 2012, worked with CUS in planning the retreat to provide and update on activities, discuss roles and responsibilities, and to define critical issues for the future. The retreat was the first step in a long-term planning process for the organization and community.
Misty Bruckner, Associate Director, chaired the redistricting process for the City of Wichita. The redistricting process is required to ensure equal representation of citizens in each Council district. The Wichita City Council adopted the redistricting plan in December.
Graduate assistant receives Big Brother of the year award
Derron Gamble, HWS graduate assistant, received the 2012 Site-Based Big Brother of the Year Award from the Wichita Big Brothers-Big Sisters program. Gamble has been a volunteer for Big Brothers Big Sisters for more than two years. His experiences were featured in local media and he served as a United Way representative on behalf of the program.
Faculty updates
During last Fall's political season, Professor Ed Flentje was busy fielding calls on Kansas politics from national reporters with the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and Reuters, in addition to Kansas newspaper reporters. He also made a number of presentations on Kansas politics and elections, including:
- the Docking Symposium on Kansas Politics with University of Kansas Professor Burdette Loomis, Southwestern College, Winfield
- Downtown Lions Club, Wichita
- Post-election Roundtable, with Professors Joe Aistrup (KSU), Bob Beatty (Washburn), Burdette Loomis (KU), and Michael Smith (ESU), Washburn University,Topeka, and
- Lions Club, Clay Center.
Alum updates
Nicole Bailey, MPA '11, was recently appointed Budget Analyst for the City of Derby.
Tania Cole, MPA '05, has been appointed Program Manager for Project Services for Sedgwick County.
Jill Tinsley, MPA '05, was recently named Director of Community Relations for Sedgwick County.
Lorien Showalter, MPA '12, has been appointed Special Projects Coordinator at the Sedgwick County Developmental Disability Organization.
*Send alum updates to Deanna Carrithers, newsletter editor.