For Advising please contact Dr. Sara Rinfret, MPA Director
For Accreditation and program coordination please contact Dr. Sara Rinfret, MPA Director
Master of Public Administration News and Information
Hear from our NAU faculty, student, and alumni
We are excited to share insights from our faculty, students, and alumni on what it means to be a public administrator. Also, check back periodically as we provide news and updates on their accomplishments here at Northern Arizona University and beyond.
Faculty news and insights
Our Preparation and Calling as Public Administrators
It might be argued that the public sector is so different that generic or private sector models of administration and management are irrelevant to its operations. Let us not dismiss the public sector. Not so fast. In Arizona, for example, our training focus has to be cognizant of our state needs. Hopefully we have to confront the idol of the market, especially the false narrative that the public sector is irrelevant or that government is a problem. This argument is…
MPA Accreditation
The Master of Public Administration program in NAU’s Department of Politics and International Affairs recently received accreditation for the first time in program history. The MPA program is accredited by the NASPAA Commission on Peer Review and Accreditation and listed on the Annual Roster of Accredited Programs in conformity with NASPAA standards. Sara Rinfret, the new director of the program, said the accreditation allows NAU to elevate its commitment of excellence in public administration, policy and public service. “We are…
President Biden appoints Navajo Nation First Lady Phefelia Nez to the Board of Trustees of the John F. Kennedy Center of Performing Arts
WINDOW ROCK, Ariz. – On Wednesday, the White House announced that U.S. President Joe Biden appointed Navajo Nation First Lady Phefelia Nez to serve as a member of the Board of Trustees of the John F. Kennedy Center of Performing Arts in recognition of her advocacy for tribal communities. For more information see the release.