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UMD to present world-changing weekend classes
(click here for .pdf newspaper article)
HIGHER EDUCATION: Wy Spano directs new UMD master's program designed for those interested in political advocacy and leadership.
BY STEVE KUCHERA
July 24, 2004
NEWS TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
People who want to change the world now have a place in Duluth where they can learn how.
The University of Minnesota Duluth is creating the Center for Advocacy and Political Leadership, directed by longtime political pundit Wy Spano.
The center's first program is a master's degree tailored for those interested in changing public policy. Weekend courses for the two-year program begin Sept. 10.
Spano, UMD faculty members and guest lecturers will teach the program's courses.
"What we are trying to put together is a place where people can learn how you analyze public policy, how you change it, what are some success stories," Spano said. "It's about getting things done through the political system."
Linda Krug, dean of UMD's College of Liberal Arts, which will house the center, is pleased that Spano is directing the center.
"He brings such great knowledge of the Minnesota and Wisconsin political scene," she said. "He has an understanding of the entire political spectrum."
Spano is co-founder, publisher and co-editor of the Politics in Minnesota newsletter. He's frequently quoted on Minnesota politics in regional and national media, and he has been a lobbyist at the Minnesota Capitol since 1980, specializing in representing nonprofit and governmental organizations.
Spano has been interested in creating the center for about 10 years. He credits UMD Chancellor Kathryn A. Martin's support for making it possible.
Seven UMD faculty members representing six departments spent the past year helping shape the center's master's program.
"It's timely," Krug said. "We're in an age where people working in nonprofits or the political system or in labor have to advocate for themselves. This is a program that will give them both the theory and the practice of ethically advocating for their cause."
Spano anticipates that most of the center's students will be driven by a desire to accomplish good things effectively, ethically and respectfully.
About 20 people have signed up for the program, which will limit enrollment to 30 in each cohort of students.
"We don't expect them to necessarily agree with each other on what good things are," Spano said, noting that to some people, good might mean more governmental intervention, while to others, it may mean less.
The center's efforts will focus on its master's program, but not exclusively. The directors are considering offering community lectures and weeklong, one- or two-credit summer courses examining current topics in public policy.
"There probably isn't a better place in America to do this than Duluth because it is such an active city," Spano said. "The incidence of people who think the political system should respond to them is probably higher in Duluth than it is any place else in the country."
STEVE KUCHERA can be reached at (218) 279-5503, toll free at (800) 456-8282, or by e-mail at skuchera@duluthnews.com.