September 17, 1999
TOPEKA -- Joe Harkins doesn't have to look far to see students.
As director of KU's Public Management Center, 715 W. 10th St. in Topeka, Harkins enjoys a panoramic view of Topeka High School. The school's majestic architecture and bustling young people serve as a picturesque educational backdrop.
But those students are years away from being part of the education program that takes place across the street from them. Instead, the management center's three-person staff looks east two blocks to the Kansas Capitol and the myriad of state office buildings, where hundreds of people in need of management training and a better understanding of what it means to be customer-focused await them.
KU's Public Management Center is a new moniker for the Capitol Center, a program that traces its roots to 1974. The program began as an effort to target state employees for education blending top-rated academics with nontraditional formats. Classes are offered at night and weekends for a master's degree in public administration and for certified public manager and executive development programs. Most classes are taught by faculty from KU's Lawrence-based public administration program with support from the Division of Continuing Education.
"Good managers need to know and apply appropriate skills, practices and values to be effective," Harkins says. "But their work environment must also be supportive of those behaviors. Our programs focus on both individual and organizational development."
The center's blend of high-quality programs and easy access was a formula for success. A list of alumni of the master's of public administration program reads like a who's who of state government: Attorney General Carla Stovall, Insurance Commissioner Kathleen Sebelius and Kansas Turnpike Authority President Mike Johnston. Graduates from a certified public manager program - jointly developed by KU and the state Division of Personnel Services - include hundreds of employees in agencies ranging from the Department of Aging to the Division of Wildlife. The newest program, an executive development training program, counts five governor's cabinet members and the mayor of Topeka among its graduates.
Success often leads to change. The change in name from Capitol Center to Public Management Center reflects the addition of programs and a desire to offer training to city and municipal employees.
"It's an outreach effort," Harkins says. "Yes, we've concentrated on Topeka and state government. We're not backing away from great relationships and a history of success. But we believe municipalities have many of the same needs and challenges. As a part of a statewide university, it makes sense for us to expand our mission."
Harkins is proud of the alliances forged with state government to implement principles of Total Quality Management throughout state agencies. TQM is a management philosophy whose tenets center on communication, customer service, empowering employees to make decisions and effectively using data to guide decision making. Harkins is fond of saying that a "chain of commitment" is far more effective than a "chain of command."
That attitude has led to changes within state government. Rapid-fire, Harkins cites agencies that have made changes after their department managers attended KU sessions. Even if the task is as unpleasant as tax collection, Harkins says it's important to teach managers to be professional, courteous and effective when delivering government services.
Someday, Harkins says, those Topeka High students will be ready for the fine points of management. But, for now, he'll settle for enrolling their parents and knowing that those students will benefit from effective, efficient and courteous state and municipal services.
Contact: Tom Hutton, (785) 864-8866.