Photo Gallery

Mayor Brown asked to have Public Administration students to be his audience for the first of his lecture series. The Willie Brown Leadership Center places and mentoring 40 upper-division students in public sector positions. The Brown Internship Program will introduce America's future leaders to how local governments function, expose them to meaningful careers in public service and bring their talent and energy to bear addressing the challenges faced by local governments. In addition to creating opportunities for students to work closely with politicians and policymakers, the center will bring political leaders, media analysts and other commentators to campus to discuss and debate the issues of the day. 

The San Francisco Bay Area chapter of the American Society for Public Administration hosts an annual MPA tournament, allowing PA students to put into practice what they have learned in classes, all while being judged by a panel of jurists who work in the public administration field. Awards are given to the top three individuals/teams and universities.

The Department of Public Administration hosts its own Hooding Ceremony for Commencement. A “hooding” is a traditional ceremony in academia where a Master’s candidate has their achievements recognized by having the Master’s hood of the academic regalia placed over their head by a member of the faculty during a special ceremony. This act signifies their admission into the ranks of their profession at an advanced level, the Master’s level.

San Francisco State University celebrates commencement once-a-year for all its graduates at the end of the spring semester.

At the end of each academic year, the Department of Public Administration hosts its own End-of-the-Year reception to celebrate its graduates and award exceptional students and alumni. Program faculty, students, alumni, family, and friends are all invited. Past recipients of the Community Service Award include Roberta Achtenberg, Senior Vice President for Public Policy, San Francisco Chamber of Commerce; Reverend Cecil Williams of the Glide Foundation; Ed Harrington, Controller, City/County of San Francisco; and Margaret Brodkin, Director of the City/County of San Francisco Mayor’s Office of Children, Youth and their Families.

Bridget McCracken, Academic Support for the Department of Public Administration and Department of Criminal Justice Studies, was awarded the distinction of December 2005 Star of the Month. McCracken also serves as a member of the Smoke-Free Campus Task Force and is a member of the Academic Senate and Chair of the Student Affairs Committee.

The San Francisco Food Banks collects donated food from growers, manufacturers and grocers, then distribute it to people in need through food pantries, soup kitchens, child care centers, homeless shelters, senior centers and other human service agencies with meal programs. All in all, they will distribute 25 million pounds of food this year to hungry people in San Francisco. Pi Alpha Alpha has chosen to volunteer with the SF Food Bank because the Department of Public Administration worked on the Hunger Survey. For more info on the Hunger Survey go to here.

Pi Alpha Alpha hosts the Start the Semester off Right party at the beginning of each semester to welcome new students and introduce them to faculty, staff, current students and alumni.