Nonprofit Resources

Center for Public and Nonprofit Management
at the University of Central Florida

History

The Center for Public and Nonprofit Management (Center) represents the formalization and expansion of public and nonprofit management services and research already being conducted through various faculty members within the Department of Public Administration at the University of Central Florida. In September 2008 the university administration formally approved the creation of the Center as a division of the Department of Public Administration within the College of Health and Public Affairs. The Center incorporated the existing Capacity Building Institute and the Public Service and Leadership Development Program, and the service learning initiative within the department. These programs are now coordinated and operated under the umbrella of the Center.

Mission Statement

The mission of the Center for Public and Nonprofit Management at the University of Central Florida is to strengthen the management and leadership of public and nonprofit organizations through relevant research by faculty and students and through capacity building service provided by faculty and students to public and nonprofit organizations.

Goals

The first goal of the Center is to promote, conduct, and disseminate relevant research in the areas of public and nonprofit management. Relevant research is considered research that is useful for both the practitioner and the academician to advance public and nonprofit management.

The second goal of the Center is to build the capacity of public and nonprofit organizations. This goal is achieved using a model of capacity building and service learning projects. The capacity building model provides direct technical assistance to public and nonprofit organizations through the use of faculty and graduate assistant teams that develop organizational abilities in management, development, board functioning, financial management, and other areas as needed. Service learning projects provide a specific project to an organization, and they are conducted by students with faculty member supervision in specific areas of study, such as grant writing, strategic planning, program evaluation, and volunteer management.

The director of the Center for Public and Nonprofit Management is Dr. Naim Kapucu, Associate Professor in Public Administration, who has previously coordinated the Capacity Building Institute. The Program Coordinator is Maria-Elena Augustin.

Contact:

Director CPNM

Maria-Elena Augustin Coordinator