MOU brings large Panamanian cohort to CIPA

An unusually large cohort of 13 Master of Public Administration (MPA) students from Panama is studying at Cornell as the result of a partnership forged between the government of Panama and the Cornell Institute for Public Affairs (CIPA) in spring 2013.

The exchange program is based on a memorandum of understanding (MOU) that brings together civil servants from Panama and general Panamanian applicants. Civil servants accepted by CIPA spend three semesters in the MPA program at Cornell and return to Panama for a fourth semester, where they complete a policy project for their government agency. Nongovernmental Panamanian students complete the two-year MPA program at Cornell. In return for financial support from the Panamanian government, fellows commit to work in the government after graduation.

Thomas O’Toole, CIPA executive director, and Alvaro Salas-Castro, MPA ’14, detailed the rationale for the program in a case study, “Creating New Models: Innovative Public-Private Partnerships for Inclusive Development in Latin America.” Panama, they wrote, is motivated by its desire to “overcome the gap in professional education that is jeopardizing economic prosperity and sustainable development in Panama.”

“This MOU is the first of its kind for CIPA, and this experiment is already showing great benefits,” said CIPA director Sharon Tennyson, professor of policy analysis and management. “The students from Panama are very diverse, but they have a distinct presence as a group. I think this helps to raise everyone’s awareness of the country, its culture and its public policy environment, and inspires a stronger sense of connection for the Panamanian fellows.”

Tennyson added that the success of the partnership has CIPA exploring long-term, multifaceted relationships. “We are already looking into replicating this model through agreements with other countries,” Tennyson added.

Welcoming the students Dec. 1., Alan Mathios, the Rebecca Q. and James C. Morgan Dean of the College of Human Ecology, said: “As Cornell strives to extend the global reach of academic programs it is especially satisfying to celebrate a successful MOU with Panama and welcome the first cohort of students to the CIPA program this year. I am impressed by their level of engagement across campus and am certain their time at Cornell will further enrich the program and pay lasting benefits to Panama’s public sector.”

CIPA core faculty member Richard Geddes, an associate professor in the Department of Policy Analysis and Management, has been working closely with several of the students and is enthusiastic about the interests and experience they bring to the program. “A number of them have chosen to follow our new concentration in science, technology and infrastructure policy,” he said. “This is particularly exciting given Panama’s deep history and experience with large infrastructure, including the Panama Canal, the Tocumen International Airport and the development of a major transit network in Panama City. The completion of the new canal expansion project next year makes the presence of these students particularly timely for infrastructure policy.”

Lisa Jervey Lennox is assistant director for external relations at CIPA. 

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