Michael Ford
The University of Wisconsin Oshkosh’s Whitburn Wednesdays Event Series continues next week with a presentation and discussion on preparing the public sector workforce of the future.
The basics: The event, titled Modernizing the Local Government Workforce: A Next Generation Initiative, runs from noon to 1 p.m. March 8 on Zoom. Registration is now open. It’s presented by the Whitburn Center for Governance and Policy Research.
Who’s who: Michael Ford, associate public administration professor, and Renee Christensen, a Whitburn Center graduate assistant studying public administration, will present data and a preliminary roadmap for recruiting, training and managing a modern public sector workforce.
- Ford is director of the public administration master’s program and director of the Whitburn Center. His research focuses on public and private board governance, education policy and finance, and the relationship between the public and nonprofit sectors. He also holds appointments on several community boards, including the Oshkosh Common Council and Plan Commission.
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Renee Christiansen
Christensen earned a bachelor’s degree in public administration from UW-Green Bay and has been a grad assistant with the Whitburn Center—where she helps faculty with research related to emergency management and social vulnerability, economic development and the provision of fire protection services in Wisconsin—since January 2022. She is a firefighter in La Crosse.
Background: Whitburn Wednesdays is a monthly event series covering a wide range of issues with panelists representing a diversity of viewpoints. The virtual events are held the second Wednesday of each month during the academic year. Whitburn Wednesdays are sponsored by the Whitburn Center and the UW Oshkosh public administration department.
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