The Leadership in Public Service (LPS) Certificate is a joint venture with the MLK Freedom Center in Oakland, California, and presents an opportunity for those interested or involved in mid-level public administration to become a “transformational leader,” or a leader who wants to make a difference.
This certificate can be completed in one year and is delivered fully online, allowing students to complete the coursework quickly and effectively. As one of the few schools that provides an online certificate program in public service, Union is uniquely positioned to help students gain valuable leadership skills while emphasizing social justice within the program.
 This program acts as a stand-alone certificate and credits from the CLPS are transferable to the MA program.
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What makes the Certificate in Leadership in Public Service [CLPS] unique and distinctive?
Building upon one’s professional expertise and experience, the Certificate in Leadership in Public Service is an interdisciplinary program providing professionals with an ethical framework to apply the principles of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s nonviolence to public service within one’s career, job site, and in representing one’s agency in interaction with the public. Students benefit from a basic understanding of key intellectual and historical developments through which Public Administration became a formalized, structural government vehicle for administering governmental responsibilities and commitments. CLPS graduates develop a framework for cultural proficiency and for applying cultural power within Public Administration, as well as an analysis of public service based on an understanding of the role of tension and points of unity between differences of race, class, culture, age, national origin and geographic location.
How was the CLPS developed?
The program is a joint venture with the Martin Luther King, J.R. Freedom Center in Oakland, CA. As such, it will combine the academic excellence of Union with the educational training experience, social justice advocacy, and social and political knowledge and skills of the Freedom Center. The Freedom Center, founded in 1987, is a community action agency “dedicated to Dr. King’s ideals of non-violence, social change, racial and economic justice, and a peaceful world.” While specifically focused on working with children, youth and families in the Greater San Francisco Bay Area, it also works in collaboration with existing organizations to educate and provide resources to surrounding communities.
What topics are embedded in the program curriculum?
The following topics/foundational areas are embedded throughout the program curriculum: foundations/fundamentals of public administration/service, public policy (analysis), human resources/personnel management/human relations, ethics, and strategic management/planning. There will be a specific emphasis in the program on the teachings and work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Cesar Chavez.
Who would benefit from the Certificate in Leadership in Public Service?
The CLPS is geared toward leaders who aspire to or currently serve in administrative roles within their organization. The certificate is designed for the “transformational leader” not for those who are just seeking advanced training; it is for those who want to make a difference, not just be knowledgeable leaders.
How is the CLPS program of study structured?
The curriculum consists of six (6), 3-credit courses. One course is offered every eight weeks in a 16-week term, with the program completed in three consecutive terms (one calendar year). The program will include all of the usual components of a graduate level online course, including coaching sessions for all students with specified faculty to enhance their personal and professional development. These coaching sessions will be 30-60 minutes phone or in-person meetings between the student and each of her/his faculty members in each course, to be arranged by the student. All courses are delivered fully online.
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