City & County Governance Program
ProgramsAbout the City & County Governance Program
The Bush School’s City & County Governance Program prepares students in the Master of Public Service and Administration degree program for professional careers in local government at the city and county level. Faculty members in the Department of Public Service and Administration offer a range of courses that explore the institutional structure of city and county government and how it varies among jurisdictions. Topics include politics and management at the state and local level, the prerogatives and limitations of governments in different policy areas, the role of state and local governments in implementing federal programs, and critical issues facing said governments. What sets the Bush School’s program apart is its practitioner-based teaching blended with the academic foundations of critical thinking at a graduate course level from Bush School professors. Bush School Professors of the Practice Paul Hofmann and Dr. Brian Nakamura bring a career’s worth of experience in city management to the Bush School. Dr. Ann Bowman holds the Hazel Davis and Robert Kennedy Endowed Chair in Government and Public Service at the Bush School and specializes in state and local politics and management, intergovernmental relations, and public policy, especially the substantive areas of environment, economic development, and land use. Dr. Robert Greer, Association Professor at the Bush School, specializes in state and local government financial management, specifically in the areas of debt management, municipal securities, and infrastructure finance. Topics discussed in the program include politics and management at the state and local level, the prerogatives and limitations of governments in different policy areas, the role of state and local governments in implementing federal programs, and critical issues facing said governments. Bush School graduates who concentrated on City and County Governance during their studies have gone on to successful careers in local government service.
Curriculum | City & County Governance Program
All students in the Master of Public Service & Administration degree program are required to complete a concentration as part of their degree requirements. The State and Local Government Policy and Management (SLGPM) concentration consists of the following courses:
Curriculum
SLGPM Core (REQUIRED):
PSAA 617: State and Local Government: Institutions and Policy
SLGPM Electives (TWO REQUIRED):
PSAA 613: Immigration and Education Policy
PSAA 616: Managing Workplace Diversity in Public and Nonprofit Organizations
PSAA 618: Education Policy
PSAA 619: Urban Policy and Management
PSAA 625: Urban Sustainability Policies and Management
PSAA 626: Contract Management
PSAA 630: Program Evaluation in Public and Nonprofit Organizations (if not used as PM or NPM track Quant. II requirement)
PSAA 635: Social Welfare and Health Policy
PSAA 636: Grant and Project Management in the Public and Nonprofit Sectors
PSAA 641: Organization Theory for the Public Sector
PSAA 642: Ethics and Public Policy
PSAA 648: Performance Management in the Public and Nonprofit Sectors
PSAA 656: Fundamentals of Homeland Security
PSAA 661: Human Resources Management in Government and Public Service
EDAD 620: Educational Program Evaluation
EDAD 652: Politics of Education
GEOG 660: Applications in GIS
LDEV 671: Sustainable Development
MGMT 658: Managing Projects
PLAN 610: Structure and Function of Urban Settlements
PLAN 612: Transportation in City Planning
PLAN 633: Planning for Healthy Communities
PLAN 656: Housing and Community
RPTS 604: Principles of Community and Community Development
The City & County Governance Program is part of this concentration.
Faculty | City & County Governance Program
Paul Hofmann
Associate Professor of the Practice, Director of the City and County Governance Program Paul Hofmann joined the Bush School Department of Public Service and Administration as an Associate Professor of the Practice for the fall semester of 2022. Hofmann earned a BA in Political Science in 1981, and an MPA in 1983, both from Texas A&M. An internship with the City of Austin City Manager’s Office in 1983 became a fifteen-year career with the City of Austin, including twelve years with the Austin Public Works Department where Paul led a team responsible for planning and implementing the city-wide capital program. Upon leaving the City of Austin in 1998, Paul enjoyed serving as the city manager or city administrator for the Texas cities of Alvin, Kerrville, Castroville, Bellaire, and Bastrop, and as Assistant City Manager for the City of Sugar Land.
Brian Nakamura
Assistant Professor of Practice Brian S. Nakamura joined Department of Public Service and Administration as Assistant Professor of the Practice in September 2019. He earned his B.A. in Economics from California State University in 1992, and a Master of Public Administration and Doctorate in Public Administration from the University of Southern California in 1995 and 2002, respectively. Nakamura previously taught for the Departments of Political Science, Fay Jones School of Architecture, and Walton College of Business at the University of Arkansas. He held other academic appointments at the University of California-Riverside School of Public Policy, and was an adjunct professor in the Master of Public Administration Program at California Baptist University. He also served as a mentor and adjunct faculty member at the University of Southern California’s School of Public Policy.
Ann O’M. Bowman
Professor and Hazel Davis and Robert Kennedy Endowed Chair in Government and Public Service Dr. Ann Bowman holds the Hazel Davis and Robert Kennedy Endowed Chair in Government and Public Service. Dr. Bowman joined the Bush School faculty in 2008, coming from the University of South Carolina, where she was the James F. and Maude B. Byrnes Professor of Government. She received her Doctorate in Political Science from the University of Florida. She specializes in state and local politics and management, intergovernmental relations, and public policy, especially the substantive areas of environment, economic development, and land use. She is a Fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration and is a Past President of the Southern Political Science Association.
Robert Greer
Associate Professor and Director of the Graduate Certificate in Public Management Dr. Robert Greer is an associate professor in the PSAA department and is Director of the Certificate in Public Management. Dr. Greer’s research interests are in state and local government financial management, specifically in the areas of debt management, municipal securities, and infrastructure finance. His recent publications focus on issues of governance structure and their relationship to infrastructure finance and debt management. Current projects continue this work by considering complex networks of special districts and the connection between their fiscal capacity and performance. Greer earned both his MPP and PhD from the Martin School of Public Policy and Administration, University of Kentucky, and has a BA in economics and business administration from Trinity University and an MPA from University of North Texas.Contact & Support | City & County Governance Program
To learn more about how you can support city and county governance at the Bush School as we seek to become the premier local government program in the country, producing the finest quality of public servants in the local government community, please contact Paul Hofmann. If interested in learning more about admission to the Master of Public Service and Administration to study state and local government policy and management, please review our MPSA Admissions website or contact our Admissions Office.
Learn More About the Master of Public Service & Administration