Dr. Thomas Walkington Visited China in October 2007

2007 ICPA was co-sponsored by Chinese Public Administration Society, UESTC, American Society for Public Administration (ASPA), School of Public Administration at Moscow State University and Chinese Public Administration Review (CPAR), and hosted by School of Political Science and Public Administration of UESTC.

In the conference, nearly 200 participants, among which 150 participants are from China (Mainland, Hong Kong, Macaw and Taiwan), and nearly 50 attendants are from aboard, including USA, UK, Canada, Russia, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Bangladesh, India, Japan, Korea, etc.  had fruitful discussions on "Theory, Practice and Methods for Public Administration in 21st Century". In the picture: Tim Houle, Hamline University DPA student, in a conference session.

Dr. Walkington was session moderator for papers presented on Theory, Practice and Methods in Public Administration.  He also presented the paper titled "From Theory to Practice – Transforming the Way We Work," a case-study of change management in Hennepin County. In the picture: Dr. Walkington during his presentation.

In the Closing ceremony, In-Country Host Cooperative Agreement was signed by Mrs. Antoinette Samuel, Executive Director; Professor Zhu Xiaoning, Dean of School of Political Science and Public Administration, UESTC; Dr. Tom Walkington, Hamline University Graduate School of Management, respectively on behalf of ASPA, UESTC and the University of Minnesota (UMN), aiming at establishing a working agreement for the planning and development of local logics for the 2008 ICPA Conference, to be held in the UMN. In the picture: Professor Zhu Xiaoning, Mrs. Antoinette Samuel, and Dr. Tom Walkington in the signing of the In-Country Host Cooperative Agreement.

 

(*) Dr. Walkington is Chair of the Local Organizing Committee for the 4th Annual (2008) International Public Administration Conference hosted by the University of Minnesota Humphrey Institute of Public Policy, September 25-26, 2008.  The theme of the conference is: Building Bridges to the Future: Leadership and Collaboration in Public Administration.
 

Visit to Zhoa JiaLing Village in Wan Quan County
Following the conference, Dr. Walkington and Mr. Houle traveled to Zhoa JiaLing Village in Wan Quan County, HeBei Province, three hours travel by car from Beijing. This area of rural China is experiencing abject poverty with the average annual income of only $200.00 U.S.  Dr. Walkington was the first western visitor to this village in October 2005 when he agreed to help rebuild the local elementary school.   The purpose of this visit was to meet with local officials about collaboration between Morrison County MN, where Mr. Houle is County Administrator, and Wan Quan County, to discuss options for rural economic development.  Mr. Houle is developing a proposal for rural economic development for an independent study as part of the requirements for his DPA.

The highlight of this trip was a visit to the village to view progress on the reconstruction of the elementary school that Dr. Walkington is helping to rebuild.  A dedication ceremony was held in which Dr. Walkington was the guest of honor.   He was very surprised to learn that the school was dedicated to him!  He has pledged to continue to work with the school to help fund additional construction and provide much needed school supplies.

In the picture: Dr. Walkington and Mr. Houle during the school dedication ceremony.

Dr. Walkington and Mr, Houle will be presenting a campus wide seminar on their trip in the near future.