Governor proclaims Certified Public Manager Recognition Week

The Arkansas Public Administration Consortium at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock recently awarded graduate certificates in public and volunteer management to 46 students.

A cooperative program of UALR, Arkansas State University, and the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, APAC has successfully trained and educated managers and leaders from the public and nonprofit sectors since 1984.

The graduates were recognized during a May 17 ceremony at the Arkansas Governor’s Mansion.

They had another reason to celebrate as Gov. Asa Hutchinson signed a proclamation declaring May 16-20 to be Certified Public Manager Recognition Week in the state of Arkansas.

“We are extremely proud of our graduates,” APAC Executive Director Jolie Busby said. “Our mission is to professionalize public management and improve the efficiency and effectiveness in the public sector. APAC is recognized as a premier provider of training and management development.”

Busby, CPM Program Manager Anna Swaim, and members of the Arkansas Society of Certified Public Managers and the Certified Public Managers Advisory Council represented UALR during the proclamation signing.

The consortium’s certificate programs include Certified Public Manager, Arkansas Governmental Manager, Certified Volunteer Manager, and Certified Arkansas Planning Official.

The ceremony recognized Maj. Robert Parker, assistant chief of the Enforcement Division at the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, as the Certified Public Manager Best Project Plan Award winner and Carol Short, who works for the city of Bull Shoals, as the first graduate of the Certified Arkansas Planning Official certificate program.

Arkansas Game and Fish Commission Chief of Staff and Deputy Director Jeff Crow served as the graduation’s keynote speaker. He praised the graduates for recognizing the value of investing in management training.

Applications for the 2016-2017 Certified Public Manager and Certified Volunteer Manager programs are being accepted. For more information, visit the website.

In the upper right photo, Gov. Asa Hutchinson signs a proclamation declaring May 16-20 as Certified Public Manager Recognition Week in the state of Arkansas. Pictured in the front row, from left to right, are: Don Childers, Barbara Mahoney, Nan Harrell, Rick Ward-Harder, Becky Bryant, Gov. Asa Hutchinson, Jolie Busby, Cynthia Nixon, Sharon Hacker, and Gaye Jones-Washington. Pictured in the back row, from left to right, are: Cleta Hardy, Lori Morrison, Chris Colclasure, Rebecca Edwards, Nikki Heck, and Anna Swaim. Contributed photo.