Do you remember your best teachers? The ones with a story to tell? The ones who got you excited? This is a profession rich with stories, and one that can easily captivate the minds of students of public service. ICMA's Advisory Board on Graduate Education urges members to share their experience by serving as adjunct faculty at a local university-and its members have helped ICMA develop resources for managers who want to go back to the classroom.  Please explore the links under the Teaching Resources menu for additional information and assistance.

Also, please visit our discussion group in the Knowledge Network for teachers and those interested in teaching!

How do I get started?

There are a number of ways you can engage with MPA/MPP programs:

1. Approach one of the schools in your area and express an interest in teaching.  The National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration (NASPAA) maintains a list of member schools with accredited graduate public administration programs on its web site.  For other colleges in your area not on this list, you could check with the Political Science Department about their undergraduate offerings in local government or public administration and whether they have a graduate program in public administration.
2. Or, if you’d like to learn a little more before contacting a school, you can turn to several ICMA resources.  You can join ICMA’s forum for Adjunct Faculty.  You can also download ICMA’s publication “Managers as Teachers: A Practitioner’s Guide to Teaching Public Administration.” 
3. Each year at the ICMA Annual Conference, the ABGE hosts a discussion session for managers who teach, or for those who would like to teach.  Watch for it in the conference program.

About ICMA’s Advisory Board on Graduate Education (ABGE)

ICMA has a long history of dialogue with the academic community through various member committees and task forces, each of which has worked cooperatively with a task force of professors appointed by NASPAA (the National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration).  The purpose of this dialogue and liaison is to improve the educational preparation of the next generation of local government managers.

The ABGE is a member group that meets jointly with professors of public administration for the purpose of enhancing the education of future local government management professionals. ABGE members are appointed by ICMA's Executive Director and work hand-in-hand with NASPAA's Local Government Management Education Committee, through the following subcommittees:

The ABGE has created a number of useful tools for improving the education of future managers, including an Internship Toolkit, Internship Guidelines, and Guidelines for Managers Who Teach. You can find these in ICMA's Knowledge Network. The ABGE meets annually at the ICMA conference on Sunday morning.

Advisory Board on Graduate Education, Member Roster
Use the link above to view the committee members.  You must be a member of ICMA and logged-in to use this link as it contains contact information.