 Texas Society of Certified Public Managers®
US Congressman Ruben Hinojosa Delivers The William P. Hobby Distinguished Lecture At Texas CPM& ASPA Conference Held On The Texas State University Campus
On Friday October 15, the Annual Texas Certified Public Manager® (CPM) and American Society for Public Administration (ASPA) Conference was held at the LBJ Student & Conference Center on the campus of Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas. The Conference was sponsored by the Texas Certified Public Manager® Program, Centex Chapter of ASPA, Texas State University's William P. Hobby Center for Public Service, UT's LBJ School of Public Affairs and the Austin Chapter of the Institute of Internal Auditors.
The conference coordinators were Dr. Ken Matwiczak, of the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin and Dr. Howard Balanoff, Professor & Director of the Texas CPM Program and Texas State University's William P. Hobby Center for Public Service.
United States Congressman Ruben Hinojosa (right) receives a plaque from former Texas Lt Governor, William P. Hobby for delivering the 2004 William P. Hobby Distinguished Lecture.
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The Texas Conference featured 10 breakout sessions and three plenary speakers. Delivering the William P. Hobby Distinguished Lecture was current US Congressman, Ruben Hinojosa. The title of Congressman Hinojosa's Lecture was Accountability & Ethics in the Public Service.
Congressman Hinojosa told the audience of about 200 participants that US Congressmen of both parties need to conduct their activities and actions in accordance with the United States Congress Code of Conduct. Congressman Hinojosa stressed that the divided and partisan nature of Congress in the last 4 years has led to serious deviations from the Congressional Code of Conduct and this has made it extremely difficult for legislators to get their work done in an ethical and timely manner.
The text of Congressman Hinojosa's Lecture will be available shortly on Texas State University's William P. Hobby Website, which is www.txstate.edu/cpm
Harvey Kronberg, Editor of the Quorum Report conducted the morning plenary session. Mr. Kronberg provided the participants of the Conference with an insight into a variety of important Texas political issues such as redistricting and school finance. He also reviewed and analyzed the activities and actions of the State's top political leaders such as the Governor, the Lt. Governor & the Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives.
About 200 participants at the Texas CPM & ASPA Conference listen to Professor Bill Black discuss the impact of fraud and abuse on the public service.
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LBJ School Professor, Bill Black, gave another plenary session. Professor Black is also the Director of the Center for Fraud Abuse at the University of Texas at Austin. His session was entitled, "Texas' Role in the California Energy Crisis: Why We Need to take Fraud and Collusion Seriously." Professor Black focused on corporate fraud and used examples from Enron and the Charles Keating Savings & Loan scandal to illustrate the negative impact of such scandals on both the public and private sectors.
The Texas ASPA & CPM Conference also featured a series of breakout panels which focused on ethics & fraud. These panels were sponsored by the Austin Chapter of the Institute of Internal Auditors and included the following topics and speakers:
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General Anti-Fraud Initiatives by Cecile Young, Special Assistant for the Texas Governor's Office of Budget & Planning
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Computer Forensics by Richard Cannon, Senior Investigator of the Texas State Auditor's Office
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Contract and Procurement Fraud by John F. Weber, Manager of the Special Investigation Unit of the Texas State Auditor's Office
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Identity Theft by Harold Burns, Senior Investigator, Texas State Auditor's Office
Additional breakout panels composed of faculty, alumni and students from MPA & CPM Programs at Texas universities were conducted during the Conference. Of special interest to students were two breakout sessions that focused on helping individuals prepare for interviews and develop effective resumes.
In addition to the panels Texas ASPA leaders, MPA Coordinators and CPM Alumni held their business meetings at this Conference.
US Congressman Ruben Hinojosa is shown with Texas State University MPA students after delivering the William P. Hobby Distinguished Lecture. Congressman Hinojosa displays the plaque that he received from Governor Hobby for the Lecture and is wearing a Texas State University cap which all of the participants received for attending the Conference.
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The Annual Texas ASPA & CPM Conference is a result of close collaboration between the Texas CPM Program and the various ASPA Chapters throughout the State. It is also a result of the close coordination between the William P. Hobby Center for Public Service at Texas State University, the LBJ School of Public Affairs at UT Austin and the other graduate programs in public administration located throughout the State of Texas.
For additional information about the Centex ASPA Chapter contact Centex ASPA President Ms. Marilyn Balanoff at 512/245-3453 or mb39@txstate.edu. The Centex ASPA Web page is http://www.main.org/aspa/
For additional information about the Texas CPM Program, please go to www.swt.edu/cpm and/or contact Dr . Howard Balanoff, Professor & Director of Texas State University's William P. Hobby Center for Public Service at 512/245-3453 or hb02@txstate.edu. |
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