TAMIU Professor to Present Paper on Public Administration

Dr. Peter Haruna, assistant professor of public administration and political science at Texas A&M International University, will present his paper titled, "Rethinking Administrative Globalization," at the 65th National Conference of the American Society of Public Administration in Portland, Oregon March 27-30.

The theme of the conference is "Transforming Governance in a World Without Boundaries."

Dr. Haruna will join a panel of international scholars drawn from the United States, The Netherlands, Australia, and Africa to discuss the relevance and prospects of global public administration theory.

His paper focuses on Ghana and uses a critical- pragmatist perspective to analyze international experiences, dilemmas, and lessons posed by a global administrative model that espouses a universal, instrumental, and scientific mode of rationality. He argues that the global model is inevitably constrained by unique historical experiences, socio-cultural preconditions, organizational limitations, and political regime restrictions.

Haruna suggests that to be legitimate and effective, a more critical, pragmatic, and dialogical mode of rationality is required for grounding public administration within the larger society in which public service practitioners and their development partners grapple with complex problems in a developing nation such as Ghana.

Haruna's paper has already been accepted for publication in the June 2004 issue of the "Journal of Administrative Theory and Praxis," one of the top journals in American and international public administration.

For further information, please contact the Office of Public Affairs and Information Services at 326-2180, e-mail prmis@tamiu.edu or visit offices located in the Sue and Radcliffe Killam Library, room 268.

University office hours are 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.