What is the LGMI?
The eight-week program combines an unpaid, undergraduate internship with a class/seminar component. Students from Wittenberg University work as interns in a host local government and are given one or more projects to complete by the end of the program. Onsite Wittenberg faculty advise students on their projects and required coursework and students attend class two nights per week and participate in local government meetings.
Local governments interested in hosting a group of LGMI program interns can learn more by visiting Wittenberg University's Web site, or by contacting Rob Carty at ICMA, 202/962-3560; rcarty@icma.org.
To learn more about the program, visit Wittenberg University's LGMI Program Web site.
River Falls, Wisconsin, to Host 2010 LGMI
The city of River Falls, Wisconsin (Scot Simpson, city administrator), will host the 2010 Local Government Management Interns. A group of undergraduate interns from Wittenberg University (Springfield, Ohio), will travel to River Falls this coming summer to work on a variety of hands-on local government projects and complete coursework as well.
ICMA and Wittenberg University continue to seek hosts for future year programs. Visit www.localintern.org or contact Rob Baker at Wittenberg and Rob Carty at ICMA if you are interested in hosting this excellent program. If you'd like to host the Wittenberg interns but are worried about the cost, check out "Wittenberg Local Government Management Internship Program: An Organizational Stimulus Plan for Your Local Government," which appeared in the June 2009 issue of PM magazine.
2008 LGMI Program Closes After Successful Return to Florida
Fernandina Beach, Florida (pop. 10,500, Mike Czymbor, city manager), hosted the 2008 LGMI Program. Fernandina Beach was the host city for the Wittenberg interns in 1997, and they were excited to return 10 years later. Read more about their experience online!
2007 LGMI Program Goes Out With a Blog
In May 2007, the city of Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin (pop. 13,000; Dan Elsass, city administrator), and Eau Claire County, Wisconsin (pop. 93,100; Tom McCarty, county administrator) cohosted the 2007 LGMI Program. Participating students wrote about their experiences in a running blog; you can read a summary at icma.org.
2005 Pilot Year a Great Success
The town of Meredith, New Hampshire (pop. 5900; Carol Granfield, town manager), served as the pilot local jurisdiction and hosted 11 undergraduate students as part of Wittenberg University's 2005 program. Participating students worked in the Meredith town offices on a variety of projects and gained valuable insight into daily local government operations. Read more about the 2005 LGMI program in Meredith. A write-up on the 2005 internship experience from Carol and Wittenberg professor Rob Baker was published in the January/February 2006 issue of ICMA's PM magazine.
Host Interns in Your Community and Get Some Work Done!
For future program years, Wittenberg staff is looking for local governments to host the students for an eight-week period from June to July. The primary responsibilities for the host local government is to locate complimentary housing for the students and identify or create projects that those students can complete or get a significant lead on within their internship. The LGMI program is of significant value to a host local government looking for a low-cost way to complete several worthy projects simultaneously.
The Wittenberg LGMIs are unpaid; however, students will receive six to eight hours of college credit for successful completion of the program. The total cost to the student is around $2,700-$3,000 and includes tuition, transportation to and from the host city, and weekend excursions during the course of the program.
For More Information
Visit www.localintern.org or contact Rob Baker at Wittenberg and Rob Carty at ICMA.