NEWS AND EVENTS - October, 2022 - present
Summer 2023
Institute offices established at the Palm Desert Campus of CSUSB. New offices located in the beautiful iHub, directly across the street from the PDC campus.
Two week planning session held at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia. Plans developed to complete 3 research projects, publish articles in national opinion journals, apply for two federal grants, and conduct a series of live events during AY 2023 -2024.
May 2023
Op Ed published in The Desert Sun, “Coachella Valley schools should work to prevent shootings with safety 'self-assessments'”
Workshop held at the iHub to allow interested persons to review the program and engage in a mock assessment of their own school.
May 2023
Request for $750,000 grant submitted to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The grant proposed the use of AI to conduct training in a national basis.
April 2023
Agreement signed by the Provosts and respective Deans of CSUSB and GMU committing each school to a 5-year collaboration in support of the school shooting initiative.
March 2023
Major public event held at the PDC’s Indian Wells Theater. The event featured project partners Thomas McWeeney (CSUSB) and Stephanie Dailey (GMU) and special guests Dale Watson, former Executive Director of Counterterrorism for the FBI and Angela Pholen, Executive Director for the Catholic Academy of Bridgeport Connecticut. Event was well publicized on local news.
Op Ed published in The Desert Sun, “Message to CVUSD: Preventing shootings requires ‘self- assessments’“
February 2023
Re-assessment completed and vulnerability assessment report submitted to the Catholic Academy of Bridgeport, CT. Report indicated a substantial reduction in vulnerabilities since the original assessment in November.
November 2022
Dr. McWeeney and Dr. Dailey traveled to Bridgeport, Connecticut at the invitation of the Catholic Academy of Bridgeport to facilitate a comprehensive vulnerability assessment of the 4-campus school.
October 2022
Dr. Thomas McWeeney appointed Director of the Research Institute of Public Management and Governance. Consistent with the CSUSB and the JHBC, “community engagement” became the priority focus of the Institute.
PREVIOUS RIPMG EVENTS CONDUCTED BY ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR DR. MCWEENEY - November, 2015 - 2021
Public Leadership Forum- April 21, 2021: NCIS, STRATEGIC PLANNING, AND TRANSFORMATION: OVERCOMING RESISTANCE TO CHANGE
Part 1 of the symposium provided students and community attendees with a very intimate look at the actions taken by the senior leadership of NCIS, as it accepted and worked within the framework of a proven strategic planning process. The emphasis is not only on the daunting leadership issues that each of the leaders had do face while addressing 9/11 era challenges, but also on the agency’s internal dynamics, its highly successful proactive initiatives, and how NCIS captured the nation with the TV show NCIS, which has remained a top rated show for two decades.
In Part 2, the symposium featured an exclusive discussion with Art Acevedo, Executive Director of the US Major City Police Chiefs. Chief Acvedo engaged the guests and the audience with his thoughts on leadership, specifically as it pertained to contemporary policing in the United States. At the end of the event, both Brant and Acevedo were awarded with the Pi Alpha Alpha Award for Ethical Leadership.
Public Leadership Forum - May 22, 2019: A CONVERSATION WITH LOWELL BERGMAN
Building upon previous efforts, Dr. McWeeney, in conjunction with PI Alpha Alpha, the Public Administration honor society, and the Research Institute of Policy, Management, and Governance continued the series in 2019 by conducting a Forum on May 22 on a topic of great concern and potentially profound ramifications: the ethical responsibility and practical necessity of public leaders to be truthful in all matters of public governance.
The event was be centered around the work and career of the highly respected investigative reporter, news producer, and university professor, Mr. Lowell Bergman. Professor Thomas McWeeney and a panel of MPA honor students engaged Mr. Bergman in a two-part conversation reflecting on his work and his career and soliciting his thought on whether public officials ever be permitted to lie? In Part 2 of the event Professor McWeeney will solicited Mr. Bergman’s views on the ethical considerations in the recently completed Mueller Report and the effect it may have on the continuing erosion of public trust in government leaders and institutions.
Public Leadership Forum - February 22, 2018: ADAPTVE LEADERSHIP, BIG DATA, AND INFORMED DECISION-MAKING
Dr. McWeeney brought a second Public Policy Leadership Forum to CSUSB last year – one that focused on the role public leadership must play in the transformation of public agencies. The issue focused on the daunting leadership void in contemporary public agencies and in American society generally. The Adaptive Leadership Forum, which was held in Palm Desert, urged the consideration of a different approach – one that demonstrated how organizational transformation required effective leaders who are able to engender an environment of mutual trust. The approach suggests that the most reliable signs of effective leadership can only come from one source – the followers.
The day-long program included a presentation of an “adaptive leadership” model explored a case studies of leadership-driven transformation, engaged attendees in a candid self-assessment of their personal leadership situation, and examined the contemporary leadership required to improve big data and knowledge management capabilities in our individual environments. Presentations were built around the experiences of nationally known guests and also featured a series of panel discussions on the issue of knowledge management, big data, and the role of local leaders in defining it, understanding it, and effectively implementing it.
Public Leadership Forum – November 6 - 7, 2015: EHNANCED INTERROGATION OR TORTURE?
Dr. McWeeney invited four of his former colleagues who changed the nation's policy on harsh interrogation techniques to come to CSUSB to engage in a conversation that took the audience through the development of the government’s torture policy, how each guest became aware of it, their decision to act, the difficult experiences they encountered, and the impact that their actions had both on policy and on their careers.
The forum was presented to an audience of students, parents, and special guests in the JB large classroom and addressed the ethical issues associated with this policy and the responsibilities of public sector leaders and managers in a democratic society. The program included interactive discussion, video, and an engaging discussion with the audience. Review and comments were overwhelmingly positive.
TRANSPORTATION SYMPOSIUM – October 2016: SECRETARY OF TRANSPORTATION ANTHONY FOXX
While serving as Associate Director of the Leonard Transportation Center, Dr. McWeeney invited Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx to visit CSUSB and speak to Leadership symposium on new transportation directions. Secretary Foxx outlined his new "Ladders of Opportunities" initiative and explained how the communities in the Inland Empire can make a major contribution to national policy. He encouraged the work of the LTC and indicated that DOT will watch with interest as the LTC program evolves.
Event representatives from the various state and local government's having transportation responsibilities, representatives from the business community, as well as community organizations from Ontario to Indio attended the event. In was the first time that such a wide range of interests has come together under a common agenda.
Shortly after this event, CSUSB was designated as one of 18 Regional University US Transportation Centers, representing Southern California.
PREVIOUS RIPMG EVENTS CONDUCTED BY DR. ALEXANDRU ROMAN - January 2017 - February 2018
February 2018
On February 21, RIPMG held a workshop on ethical decision-making for CAPPO Inland Empire Chapter. Dr. Roman's presentation was titled "The Compleixty of Procurement Ethics."
On February 15, RIPMG held a workshop on ethical decision-making for CAPPO South Gate Chapter. Dr. Roman's presentation was titled "The Complexity of Procurement Ethics."
Together with the Jack H. Brown College of Business and Public Administration and the Public Administration Department, RIPMG and Dr. Marc Fudge, RIPMG senior research fellow, co-sponsored and co-organized the 2018 Conference of Minority Public Administrators (COMPA). The conference took place February 12-14 in Los Angeles.
January 2018
RIPMG participated at the 2018 CAPPO Conference, held in Palm Springs, California. Dr. Roman and Ricardo Salazar (MPA Student) have held three workshops on ethics, leadership and team building.
November 2017
On November 27, RIPMG organized a seminar on the latest developments of public procurement and public procurement platforms. The guest speaker was Dr. Denys Krasnikov, Vice President at Ukrainian League of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs. His presentation was titled "ProZorro – The Award Winning Procurement Platform that Has Transformed the Procurement Process."
October 2017
On October 18, RIPMG held a workshop on ethics for California Association of School Business Officials as part of the CASBO Conference. Dr. Roman's presentation was tilted "School Business Ethics – Far More Complex Than It Might Seem."
August 2017
On August 16th, RIPMG held a workshop on ethical decision-makin for the County of Riverside, Department of Public Social Services (DPSS). Dr. Roman's presentation was titled "The Far-Reach Implications of Unethical Decision-Making."
June 2017
On June 6th, RIPMG participated in the international Summit: Public Procurement: Best Practices & Opportunities of UA-US Cooperation. The Summit was held in Kiev, Ukraine. Dr. Roman attended the Summit at the invitation of National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine.
RIPMB participated at The Institute for Public Procurement Academic Summit held in Miami, Florida from June 11 to June 13. Dr. Roman attended the Summit at NIGP's invitation.
May 2017
On May 16, RIPMG held n workshop on ethics for CASBO Eastern Section Purchasing Professional Council. Dr. Roman's presentation was titled "Procurement Ethics-More Complex than It Might Appear."
March 2017
On March 9th, 2016 RIPMG has provided the professional development training at the 2017 San Bernardino Vendor Show. The training was attended by more than 100 professionals operating in the area.
January 2017
Alexandru V. Roman, associate professor of public administration and coordinator of the Management Certificate of Public Procurement at the Jack H. Brown College of Business and Public Administration, was recently honored by the Institute for Public Procurement with its prestigious Distinguished Service Award.
Dr. Roman, who joined the college in 2013, received the award for both his innovative research in public procurement as well as his efforts in promoting the field of public procurement.
The selection committee wrote, “Dr. Roman is an outstanding scholar who has significantly impacted our profession and has made an important contribution to promoting public procurement and public procurement education.”
In addition to his duties at the college and in the public administration department, Roman currently serves as editor of the Journal of Public Procurement, the leading journal in the field.
Founded in 1944, the Institute for Public Procurement (NIGP) has 75 chapters, more than 3,000 member agencies and more than 15,000 members worldwide.
Its main scope is to develop, support and promote the public procurement profession through premier educational and research programs, professional support, technical services and advocacy initiatives.