The Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs (or LBJ School of Public Affairs) is a graduate school at the University of Texas at Austin that was founded in 1970 to offer training in public policy analysis and administration for students that are very interested in pursuing careers in government and public affairs-related areas of the private and nonprofit sectors. Degree programs include a Master of Public Affairs (MPAff), a mid-career MPAff sequence, 16 MPAff dual degree programs,[7] a Master of Global Policy Studies (MGPS), eight MGPS dual degree programs,[8] an Executive Master of Public Leadership,[9] and a Ph.D. in public policy.[10] The LBJ School is currently ranked 7th among public affairs programs in 2022[11] by U.S. News & World Report, up from 8th in 2021.[12][13][14]
Overview
LBJ School exterior shot
The LBJ School offers a Master of Public Affairs program in public policy analysis and administration that prepares graduates to assume leadership positions in government, business, and non-profit organizations. In addition, 16 master's-level dual degree programs blend public affairs study with specialized professions or area studies and are structured so that students can earn the Master of Public Affairs degree and a second degree in less time than it would take to earn them separately."[15] Program offerings include a traditional Master of Public Affairs program, a mid-career master's program, seventeen master's-level programs leading to dual degrees including: Advertising; Asian Studies; Business Administration; Communication Studies; Energy and Earth Resources; Engineering; Information Studies; Journalism; Latin American Studies; Law; Middle Eastern Studies; Public Health; Radio, Television, Film; Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies; Social Work; and Women's and Gender Studies. The school also offers a Ph.D. in public policy. Master's students have the option to specialize in one of seven areas: international affairs; natural resources and the environment; nonprofit and philanthropic studies; public leadership and management; social and economic policy; technology, innovation, and information policy; or urban and state affairs. As of 2011-2012, the LBJ School has graduated 3,508 master's degree students since its first inaugural class of 1972, as well as 56 Ph.D. students from 1992 to August 2013.[16][17]
In 2008, the LBJ School also introduced a Master of Global Policy Studies that offers a multidisciplinary approach to the complex economic, political, technological, and social issues of the 21st century. Program offerings include specializations in the areas of security, law and diplomacy; international trade and finance; development; global governance and international law; energy, environment, and technology; regional international policy, and customized specializations. Program offerings include ten dual degree programs with the following programs: Asian Studies; Business; Energy and Earth Resources; Information Studies; Journalism; Latin American Studies; Law; Middle Eastern Studies; Public Health; and Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies.
The school also offers a Portfolio Program in Arts and Cultural Management and Entrepreneurship and a Portfolio Program in Nonprofit Studies.[18]
The school also sponsors a variety of non-degree programs for public affairs professionals.[19]
In 2013, the LBJ School launched a new Executive Master in Public Leadership for mid-career professionals, the first of its kind in Texas.
Mission
The school's goals are stated as to: Prepare students and professionals, from a variety of backgrounds, for leadership positions in public service by providing educational opportunities grounded in theory, ethics, analytical skills, and practice; Produce interdisciplinary research to advance our understanding of complex problems facing society and to seek creative solutions for addressing them; Promote effective public policy and management practice by maintaining a presence in scholarly and policy communities and in the popular media; and Foster civic engagement by providing a forum for reasoned discussion and debate on issues of public concern.[20]
Centers
The LBJ School of Public Affairs also features five research centers. Many of the School's centers also sponsor a range of other activities, including conferences, workshops, and publications.[21]
Center for Politics and Governance
The Center for Politics and Governance is dedicated to producing leaders and ideas to improve the political process and governance through innovative teaching, research and programming combining academics and the real world.[22]
Ray Marshall Center for the Study of Human Resources
The Ray Marshall Center is a university-based research center. The Center's activities and services include: Program evaluation, including process and implementation, impact and benefit/cost analysis; Survey research;Labor market analysis; Program design and development; Training and technical assistance.[23]
Center for Health and Social Policy (CHASP)
CHASP studies how health and social policy can be improved and designs and conducts research in policymaking and health, economic and social program outcomes.[24]
The Center's research addresses pressing issues in philanthropy, nonprofit management, social entrepreneurship, and global civil society. The Center trains students through a university-wide graduate program in nonprofit studies.[25]
The Robert S. Strauss Center for International Security and Law
Student initiatives
The Great Society Fund was created by the class of 2005 to finance innovative social entrepreneurship projects started by LBJ students and alumni.[26]
The Baines Report is the officially-sponsored student publication of the LBJ School of Public Affairs. Led by students, the Baines Report publishes student opinion pieces and event coverage for the LBJ School.
Commencement speakers 1972–2014
1972 Allen E. Pritchard, Jr., incoming Vice President, National League of Cities
1973 J. J. "Jake" Pickle, U.S. Congressman from Texas; member of the House Ways and Means Committee
1974 Richard W. Bolling, U.S. Congressman from Missouri; Chairman of the House Rules Committee
1975 Renell Parkins, Professor of Architecture and Planning, UT Austin
1976 Alice M. Rivlin, Director, Congressional Budget Office
1977 Kenneth E. Boulding, Distinguished Professor of Economics, University of Colorado at Boulder; 1976-77 Distinguished Visiting Tom Slick Professor of World Peace, LBJ School
1978 James C. Wright, Jr., U.S. Congressman from Texas (Majority Leader)
1979 Barbara Jordan, former U.S. Congresswoman from Texas; holder of the Lyndon B. Johnson Public Service Professorship, LBJ School
1980 Joseph Califano, Jr., former U.S. Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare, Carter Administration; former Special Assistant to President Lyndon Johnson
1981 Walter E. Mondale, former Vice President of the United States
1982 Robert S. Strauss, former Special U.S. Representative for Trade Negotiations; former Chairman, Democratic National Committee
1983 Henry Cisneros, Mayor of San Antonio
1984 Alexander Heard, Chancellor Emeritus and Professor of Political Science, Vanderbilt University; Chairman of the Board, Ford Foundation
1985 Bill Moyers, editor, correspondent, and news analyst, CBS News; former Special Assistant to the President and Press Secretary to President Lyndon Johnson
1986 Gary Hart, U.S. Senator from Colorado
1987 James C. Wright, Jr., Speaker, U.S. House of Representatives
1988 Maxine Waters, U.S. Congresswoman, 43rd District, California
1989 Chase Untermeyer, White House Presidential Personnel Director, Bush Administration
1990 Corrado Pirzio-Biroli, Deputy Head of the European Community Delegation, Washington, D.C.
1991 Ann W. Richards, Governor of Texas
1992 William F. Winter, former Governor of Mississippi
1993 Richard D. Lamm, former Governor of Colorado
1994 William Greider, author and journalist
1995 Ellen Malcolm, founder and president, EMILY's List (resource for pro-choice Democratic women candidates)
1996 Ann W. Richards, former Governor of Texas
1997 Jack Rosenthal, Editor, New York Times Magazine
1998 Paul Begala, Staff Adviser to President Bill Clinton
1999 Kenneth S. Apfel, U.S. Commissioner of Social Security; LBJ School Class of 1978
2000 Judith A. Winston, Under Secretary and General Counsel, U.S. Department of Education; former Director, President Clinton's initiative on race
2001 James Carville, political strategist and consultant
2002 George H.W. Bush, 41st President of the United States
2003 Gwen Ifill, Moderator and Managing Editor, PBS Washington Week
2004 Liz Carpenter, Former Press Secretary for Lady Bird Johnson
2005 Don Evans, 34th Secretary of the U.S. Department of Commerce
2006 William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton, 42nd President of the United States
This article's list of alumni may not follow Wikipedia's verifiability policy. Please improve this article by removing names that do not have independent reliable sources showing they merit inclusion in this article AND are alumni, or by incorporating the relevant publications into the body of the article through appropriate citations. (September 2018)
