NEWS

U.S. comptroller general to give first Deil S. Wright lecture

CHAPEL HILL -- Comptroller General of the United States David M. Walker will address "Transitions and Transformations: Challenges Facing the United States Government" at 9 a.m. Sept. 18 – the first lecture in the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Deil S. Wright Speaker Series.

The free event, to be held at the UNC School of Law rotunda, is sponsored by the UNC School of Government’s Public Administration Program, the School of Law and the Office of the Provost. The Master of Public Administration Alumni Association recently established the speaker series to honor the contributions of Dr. Deil Wright, Alumni Distinguished professor of political science and public administration.

Walker is the seventh Comptroller General of the United States, the nation’s chief accountability officer and head of the U.S. General Accounting Office. He also serves as chairman of the U.S. Intergovernmental Audit Forum, the U.S. Joint Financial Management Improvement Program and the Center of Continuous Auditing. He is a National Academy of Public Administration fellow.

As part of the Wright speaker series, leading public administration experts will be invited to campus annually to address important topics and share their insights with students, alumni, faculty and interested members of the community.

A recipient of the Donald C. Stone Award for distinguished academic contributions to the field of intergovernmental relations, Wright also has received the Herbert Kaufman Award, the William E. and Frederick A. Mosher Award and the Dwight Waldo Award for outstanding contributions to the public administration literature. He has been a member of the National Academy of Public Administration since 1975.

"Since his arrival in Chapel Hill in 1967, Deil’s knowledge, humor and personal dedication have benefited students and inspired colleagues at UNC-Chapel Hill," said Jim Donnelly, MPA Alumni Association president, in announcing the speaker series.

"The MPA Alumni Association Board and the MPA Program believe that the speaker series is the best tribute we can give to Deil, reflecting two of his main interests: recognizing academic rigor and substantial contribution to the field of public administration on the one hand, and supporting the development of MPA students on the other."

In the fall of 2001, UNC announced the creation of the School of Government to house the MPA Program and the Institute of Government, which was established in 1931. The mission of the School of Government is to improve the lives of North Carolinians by engaging in practical scholarship of assistance to public officials and citizens.

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MPA Program contact: Jessica Russell, (919) 962-0425 or mpastaff@iogmail.iog.unc.edu