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Call to Service
By Jeremy Diener
In the gravest act of terror ever on American
soil, two commercial airliners slam into the twin towers of
the World Trade Center. Belief systems clash daily with deadly
results reported around the globe. Key members of the United
Nations Security Council strongly disagree on whether to pursue
a war in Iraq. The clouded future created by today’s tumultuous
world affairs is helping fuel a substantial increase in enrollment
in public affairs programs at universities around the country.
From the fall of 2001, shortly before the September 11th terrorist
attacks, to the fall of 2002, matriculation at the Truman
School of Public Affairs at the University of Missouri-Columbia
nearly doubled. Many factors contribute to this dramatic spike
in enrollment. Traditionally, graduate level enrollment increases
during tough economic times. However Guy Adams, professor and
associate director of the Truman School, notes a correlation
between global unrest created by the attacks and enrollment
in the school’s program.
“Some of the enrollment jump is due to the economy, but
that would be expected,” Adams said. “But what we’ve
also seen with the increase is a real passion and commitment
to public service. A lot of that is due to September 11th, and
post-September 11th events — we’re seeing that referenced
in application essays. Students come here because they want
to be part of public service, and why wouldn’t they? When
you saw what public servants did in the aftermath of September
11th, who wouldn’t be affected by that?”
While the Truman School’s enrollment increase of 100 percent
isn’t typical of its contemporaries, many other schools
of public affairs have seen a notable increase in applications
for enrollment, according to Kenneth Tolo, executive director
of the National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and
Administration (NASPAA),
of which the Truman School is a member.
Last fall, NASPAA conducted an enrollment survey of its 250
member schools. Of those that responded, two-thirds showed an
increase in enrollment applications from fall 2001 to fall 2002.
Of those that showed an increase, one-third increased more than
30 percent, with half of those rising above 60 percent, demonstrating
a significantly heightened interest in public affairs curricula.
“One of the important developments in the past year or
two has been the interest in public affairs graduate education
shown by young people,” Tolo said. “There’s
a desire to become engaged in serving the community —
a desire to give something back and explore opportunities in
the public sector.
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March 12, 2007
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