• Global Education
• University Helps Fight Hunger Through Art
• Wittenberg Partners with Top Management School
• Construction Begins on New Residence Hall
• Advancing Wittenberg
• Professor Creates Artists Colony
• Three Scholars Conclude Their Wittenberg Careers
• Commencement 2005
• Wittenberg Commissions Lutheran Identity Study
• Faculty Trip to China Aids East Asian Studies Program
• Talk of the Town
• New Director of Admission Named
• Collaborative Research Leads to Presentations
• Student Discovers Rare Book at Springfield Auction
• Benjamin Prince House Day 2005

Eleven Wittenberg students headed to Meredith, N.H., in late May, to participate in a unique, nine-week educational opportunity. The students gained real-world experience in a one-of-a-kind Local Government Management Internship (LGMI) program through a university partnership with International City/County Management Association (ICMA), a prestigious worldwide organization dedicated to the professional management of local government.

The program placed Wittenberg students alongside community leaders in Meredith, a community of nearly 6,400 residents in the central part of the state next to Lake Winnipesauke. Students not only observed local government officials at work, but they worked side-by-side with the professionals themselves as they solved problems, analyzed community needs and created budgets. Each intern was given at least one project to complete by the end of the program.

“A problem in many internship situations is that students are plunked down in an organization without much guidance, and without much to do, so they feel irrelevent and unnecessary,” said Rob Baker, professor of political science and a former city administrator who initiated the program.

“I conceived of a program where students would be assigned meaningful projects that would make a difference to local governments. The students would essentially become part of the management staff, and a professor would be present in the workplace to help troubleshoot and guide the independent work required of the students.”

A seminar class is also part of the program. The internship is designed to “help the students meld more effectively their practical internship experiences with the theoretical material assigned in the class,” Baker said.
This is the fourth summer for the LGMI program, which involves oversight by Baker for half of the nine weeks and Professor of Economics Jeff Ankrom for the other half. Nearly 60 Wittenberg students have participated in the program since its founding in 1994.

Primarily coordinated by Baker through contacts he already had, the internships were enhanced when Ankrom came aboard in 2000, bringing his expertise in the area of public finance to the program.
In an effort to expand the opportunities even more, Baker and Ankrom joined Springfield City Manager Matt Kridler in approaching ICMA, which develops initiatives to get more students interested in local government management. Last summer, ICMA agreed to facilitate applications and publicity, and seven local governments showed interest, with Meredith gaining the first opportunity under the new partnership.

Those students participating in the program included Margret Zmrazek of Medina, Ohio, Ryan Deutschendorf of Northville, Mich., Mike Judge of West Bloomfield, Mich., and Michael Blum of New Albany, Ind., all class of 2007; Sarah Morgan of Willoughby, Ohio, Josh Mishkin of Baltimore, Md., Christina Vickers of Cincinnati, Ohio, Jeff Auble of Noblesville, Ind., and Chase Cordial of Columbus, Ohio, all class of 2006; and Aaron Schmalzle of Nairobi, Kenya, and Peter Gillette of Mentor, Ohio, both class of 2005..