Texas public policy schools convened in Houston last month for a summit aimed at shaping the future of public policy education.
The gathering was attended by leaders, students, and alumni from major Texas policy schools, who shared a vision for investing in the next generation of public leaders and tackling tomorrow's most pressing challenges.
Jim Granato, the dean of the University of Houston's Hobby School, expressed his excitement about the unique opportunity to bring together public policy leadership, students, and alumni from across Texas to discuss working together towards good governance and policy. JR DeShazo, dean of the LBJ School at The University of Texas at Austin, emphasized the need to support government at all levels and train the next generation of public leaders.
“This is the first of many opportunities to collaborate and amplify our positive impact on public services, education, research, civic engagement, and leadership development," said Granato.
“This is a moment of tremendous need when it comes to supporting government at all levels and training the next generation of public leaders.” JR DeShazo, dean of the LBJ School
Michael Adams, director of the Executive Master of Public Administration Program at Texas Southern University, and Ambassador David M. Satterfield, director of the Baker Institute for Public Policy at Rice University, also participated in the summit, with all identifying education and healthcare as the most important public policy issues for the state of Texas. Organizers would also like to thank General Mark Welsh III, dean of the Bush School at Texas A&M University, for his leadership and collaboration.
Moderated by Jodi Sandfort, Dean of the Evans School of Public Policy and Governance at the University of Washington, the summit provided a forum for collaboration. Organizers hope that this is the first of many such opportunities to advance public policy education in Texas.