Feb 19
On March 21, I will participate in a presidential panel at the annual conference of the American Society for Public Administration: “Promoting Human Rights and Academic Freedom Internationally: What Should ASPA Do?” Details here. Powerpoint for our presentation here.
Human Rights Day is December 10, 2022. It marks the day the United Nations General Assembly adopted, in 1948, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). This year, thirty-four scholarly organizations and sections in the field of public administration have endorsed a statement about Human Rights Day.
The statement says: “As scholars and practitioners working in the field of public administration, we mark this day by reaffirming our commitment to human rights and fundamental democratic freedoms. We believe in the inherent dignity of all people and that all people have equal, inalienable rights. These beliefs guide our research, teaching, and engagement in public affairs.”
Download the statement with list of endorsing organizations.
List of endorsing organizations and scholars
Read more
The American Society for Public Administration has established a Presidential Committee on International Scholarly Engagement (PCISE). Its aim is to consider how we can think more deliberately about aims and forms of engagement in a world where a shared commitment to democracy, human rights and academic freedom cannot be taken for granted.
Read ASPA’s March 8 announcement about the committee.
Here are the terms of reference for the committee.
PCISE Co-Chairs are Alasdair Roberts of the University of Massachusetts Amherst and Mary-Lee Rhodes of Trinity College Dublin. Other committee members are:
Mohamad Alkadry, University of Connecticut
Maria Aristigueta, Biden School of Public Policy, University of Delaware
Nisha Botchwey, Humphrey School of Public Affairs, University of Minnesota
Michael Brintnall, Montgomery College
György Hajnal, Corvinus University and ELKH Centre for Social Sciences
Leslie Pal, College of Public Policy, Hamad Bin Khalifa University
Meghna Sabharwal, University of Texas Dallas
Here are the full biographical notes for the committee members.
The work of the committee will be discussed in a Presidential Panel session at the ASPA conference in Jacksonville FL on March 19. Details about the panel here. Here are some scenarios that we’ll discuss at the session. Here are the Powerpoint slides for the March 19 session.
With Professor Bill Resh, I’m c-editing a special issue of Perspectives on Public Management and Governance on the connections between public administration, human rights and democracy. See the call for paper abstracts. Deadline for submissions is January 7, 2022.
Alasdair S. Roberts 
