Photo (above) 2015 graduates of the Master of Public Policy and Administration program at UT Knoxville are, from left, Brian Moran, John David Clark, Urisa Rêvé Smith, Madeline Shelly, Helena Stocking and Troy Williamson
Seventeen students from colleges across Tennessee completed internships with cities and counties in the state as part of the Public Service Internship Program. Since the program was established in 2011, 102 students from 10 different universities have interned with local governments as well as Institute for Public Service agencies. For more information, visit the Public Service Internship website at http://www.ips.tennessee.edu/public-service-internships.
International Training
Several international trainees have attended UT Law Enforcement Innovation Center (LEIC) courses in Oak Ridge in recent years, but now LEIC is taking its training to the worldwide audience. LEIC Executive Director Don Green and Training Coordinator Chris Jones are leading a chemical weapons awareness course for international law enforcement personnel in Abuja, Nigeria; Jakarta, Indonesia; and Manila, Philippines from August through September. The Howard H. Baker Center for Public Policy at UT Knoxville secured a grant from the U.S. State Department to provide instruction for international entities and contracted with LEIC to deliver the law-enforcement portion. The concept of the course is to teach the ability to identify a chemical weapons lab, to collect evidence that does not impact communities and to deal with crime scenes related to weapons-of-mass-destruction incidents.
Task Force Improvement
With the assistance of the County Technical Assistance Service (CTAS) and the Municipal Technical Advisory Service (MTAS), judicial district drug task forces across the state are receiving praise from the District Attorney Generals Conference, a group of district attorneys general from the state’s 31 judicial districts. These task forces have come under fire for everything from poor management of funds to inadequate property and evidence procedures. MTAS Police Management Consultant Rex Barton and CTAS Criminal Justice Consultant Terry Hazard, at the request of the District Attorney Generals Conference, provided training and technical assistance for the state’s district drug task forces. A recent report by the Tennessee Comptroller’s office found continued improvement in the management of funds across the state.
$600 Million Plus
The amount the Center for Industrial Services’ Procurement Technical Advisory Center (PTAC) has helped Tennessee businesses identify in new federal contracts so far this year. PTAC consultants assist businesses in competing successfully in federal, state and local government contracting. CIS began working as the Tennessee PTAC provider in 1986.
Government Fellow
Gary Peevely, who recently retired from IPS’s Naifeh Center for Effective Leadership, was recognized as a John Stennis Fellow by the Stennis Institute of Government at Mississippi State University. Peevely continues to lead the Naifeh Center’s newly launched Certified Public Manager program.
