(Radio Iowa) – The University of Northern Iowa is marking the launch of its new School of Public Affairs and Service with a conference at the Cedar Falls campus this (Friday) afternoon. School director Scott Peters says the event will bring together leaders working across local, state and federal agencies to highlight how criminology and political science connect to real-world public service. The new school, Peters says, represents a merger of two U-N-I programs.
“Essentially, the political science programs and the criminology programs joined forces,” Peters says, “and very quickly settled on this common mission of educating students for public service and active civic lives.” The event will feature a host of accomplished U-N-I alumni and public service professionals. Peters says they will represent careers in municipal law enforcement, state and federal criminal investigations, intelligence analysis, public safety, homeland security and national defense. He says the new school offers students a broad view of how criminology and political science degrees translate into meaningful roles across public service sectors.
“We have undergraduate programs in political science, public administration, political communication, and criminology and criminal justice,” Peters says. “Then we’ve got graduate programs in master of public policy and a master of arts in philanthropy and nonprofit development, and what all those programs have in common is a focus on public service.” The new merged school has between 350 and 400 students, Peters says, focused on being public servants and active citizens.
“Most of our graduates work in the public sector, in state, local, and national government, but also in the nonprofit sector, delivering vital public services, enriching their communities,” he says. “We have graduates all over doing all kinds of things, but a lot of them work in those sectors.” The conference will include small-group conversations and a reception featuring student research displays, internships and program spotlights, and networking opportunities to help students explore career pathways. It will also include a tour of U-N-I’s new Crime Scene House.
