State funds to create pipeline of public servants through University of Baltimore's Schaefer Center
BALTIMORE -- The public service industry is facing a crisis. State agencies are struggling to operate with limited staff.
That's why the University of Baltimore's Schaefer Center for Public Policy aims to groom the next generation of leaders with some help from state funds.
"Public servants are the backbone of our system in government," Speaker of the Maryland House of Delegates Adrienne Jones said. "We cannot function effectively when our agencies are severely understaffed."
University of Baltimore President Kurk Schmoke said there are about six thousand vacancies in the public sector across Maryland.
That is because people are retiring, Dr. Ann Cotten with the Schaefer Center for Public Policy said. She added that managers need to be groomed to fill the new empty roles too.
Susan O'Neill participated in one of the center's certified public manager programs.
O'Neill is the executive director of Upper Shore Regional Council. She said learning from other professionals helped sharpen her skills.
"It also helped reinvigorate me, which helps my organization and my community," O'Neill said. "Sometimes when you're seasoned you need that little boost of energy."
The governor and general assembly have agreed to help fund the center's mission, including paid internships and fellowships. Most students can't afford to strive for these careers when they are just trying to make ends meet.
"Most of our students can't afford to work for free," Jones said.
The state funds will help create a pipeline of new public servants who can then tackle the issues that impact Maryland's communities.
"Public service is among the highest of callings you can possibly have as a career," Dean of College of Public Affairs Dr. Roger Hartley said. "But even if it isn't your career but is a part of your life to improve peoples' lives here in the state of Maryland, in the nation and around the globe."
