SPA AWARDS $16,100 IN SCHOLARSHIPS!

On April 22, 2022, the School of Public Administration hosted an event to honor SPA undergraduate and graduate students who received scholarships for this academic year. The School’s Scholarship committee was composed of Dr. Ali Farazmand (Chair), Dr. Peter Cruise, and Dr. Tomás Olivier. Based on the criteria of fit to the award, academic merit, equity, and fairness, the committee awarded    $16,100 in scholarships to 15 SPA students. In total, 13 awards were given. The awards given and recipients are listed below:

The John Canada Scholarship    was established by the former Broward County administrator, John Canada. It was designed to provide tuition, fees or books for full-time graduate students enrolled in the Master of Public Administration program (MPA) only. This year’s recipient received a one-time $300 scholarship. The recipient of this year’s John Canada Scholarship was Laderne Jeudy, MPA student.

The Colonel & Mrs. Robert B. Johnson Memorial Scholarship    was designed to provide tuition, fees or books for an undergraduate or graduate students enrolled in the School of Public Administration. The R.B. Johnson Scholarship Endowment is reserved for an excellent and fully matriculated FAU SPA student in good standing, with at least a 3.2 overall GPA and 15 credit hours completed. The recipient was awarded a $300 scholarship. The recipient of the 2022 R.B. Johnson scholarship was Jean-Claude Ndongo, a student in the PhD Program.

The John Miklos scholarship    was established in 1977 by FAU professor and lawyer, John Miklos, and was further endowed by contributions from his friends and associates among Florida city managers. It was designed to provide tuition, fees or books for full-time graduate students enrolled in the Master of Public Administration program (MPA). The John Miklos Scholarship is reserved for an excellent and fully matriculated FAU SPA Master of Public Administration student in good standing, with at least a 3.2 overall grade point average. The scholarship awards $1500 to two full-time MPA students. This year’s recipients of the John Miklos Scholarship were Kara Haggerty, MPA Student, and Yolanda Hernandez, MPA Student.

The Jane Thompson award    was established jointly by the Board of Commissioners of Palm Beach County and the FAU Foundation in memory of Jane Thompson. The award is given to a FAU School of Public Administration graduate student who exemplifies the outstanding personal and academic qualities of Jane Thompson, such as intellectual honesty, courage of convictions, maturity of judgment, sense of humor, excellent communications skills. The Jane Thompson Scholarship is awarded to two current graduate students, and each student receives $450. The 2022 recipients of the Jane Thompson Scholarship were Jean-Claude Ndongo, a student in the PhD Program and Komal Sharma, student in the MNM Program.

The Rosalyn Carter Endowed Book Scholarship Fund    was established in 2001 to provide funding for books for graduate students in the field of study of Public Administration. Dr. Carter served as the Dean of the College for Design and Social Inquiry for more than twenty years. The Carter Book Scholarship is awarded to two PA graduate students, and each student receives $700. The 2022 recipients of the Rosalyn Carter Endowed Book Scholarship were Cassie Kris, student in the MNM Program and Pedro Macedo de Lima Quinto, student in the PhD Program.

The Khi and Xuan Thai Family Scholarship Fund    was established in 2014, to provide scholarship funding for graduate students in the field of study of Public Administration. The Thai Scholarship is awarded to two PA graduate students, and each student receives $700. This year’s recipients were Gorgin Mansourian, PhD student and Julia Soondar, PhD student.

The Natasha Yacinthe Scholarship    was established by Dr. Natasha Yacinthe, a graduate of the doctoral program in the School of Public Administration. This year’s recipient was LaDerne Jeudy, an MPA student.

The John Scott Dailey Florida Institute of Government at Florida Atlantic University and the Florida Association of Business Tax Officials provide    the Adriana Castellano Memorial Scholarship    in the amount of $1000 to a student within the School of Public Administration. An applicant must be a junior level undergraduate or graduate student with a minimum of 24 completed FAU credit hours within the School of Public Administration.  Students must have a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or higher for all college courses. This year’s recipient was Ryan Lofaro, PhD student.

The LeRoy Collins Public Ethics Academy Endowed Scholarship Fund    was established to award students who are interested in ethical and informed public sector leadership.  Applicants submit an original paper (1000 words or more) about a key element (or elements) of Governor Collins's career that demonstrate his promotion of good ethics in government. The paper connects the key career element(s) to the current LeRoy Collins Public Ethics Academy's role in the State of Florida.

The recipients of the 2022 LeRoy Collins Public Ethics Academy Endowed Scholarship Fund ($2,000 each) were:

  (1) Maria Lungu, Ph.D. student

  (2) Albena Dzhurova, Ph.D. student

  (3) Dominick Spano, Ph.D. student

  (4) Andrea Ramos, Ph.D. student

  (5) Elizabeth Renteria-Gomez, Master’s student