作者：辛西娅·休伯特

2021年6月18日

As the new Hazel Cramer Endowed Chair in 萨克拉门托 State’s Department of Public Policy and 政府, Sara McClellan will engage in her longtime passion for collaborating with public and private entities to support student learning and improve the lives of Californians.

麦克莱伦是助理教授，也是该系的副主任，他接受了为期三年的新职位任命。 她取代了克里斯托弗·卡巴尔登，前西萨克拉门托市长和第一位黑兹尔·克莱默捐赠主席，他于2019年秋季被任命，最近离开去追求其他兴趣。

“We searched for candidates, and realized we already had the perfect one within our department,” said PPA Chair Robert Wassmer. “Sara is a very good fit to shape the position and build upon what Christopher started.”

在三年前加入Sac州立大学之前，麦克莱伦是几个地方政府和非营利组织的经理、培训师、顾问和博彩平台研究员。 她专注于沟通策略和组织实践，旨在改善快速变化的社区的健康、安全和教育成果。 She has a master’s in Public 政府 from the University of Southern California and a doctorate in Organizational Communication from the University of Colorado at Boulder.

在Sac州立大学，她的教学和研究重点是组织沟通、规划、领导力和利益相关者参与。

In her new role, McClellan will help strengthen the University’s community ties and cement its status as an “anchor institution” in the region. 她说，正在进行的COVID-19大流行为探索这项工作提供了新的途径。

“I think we have a unique opportunity to rethink some important aspects of public service as we emerge from the pandemic and engage in critical conversations about racial justice and social and economic equity,” said McClellan.

“I look forward to working with students and community and University partners to document and learn from pandemic experiences and experiment with new ways of designing public services, engaging our workforce, and partnering across organizations and sectors. I’m particularly interested in understanding the type of leadership that inspires young professionals to pursue and persist in public service roles as they face the challenges ahead.”

In a message to the campus June 15, President Robert S. Nelsen said McClellan’s experience “as a practitioner, consultant, and scholar allows her to help forge stronger connections between theory and practice.

“She aims to give PPA students direct exposure to the messy and complex organizational contexts that shape public policy outcomes,” strengthening their skills to help them solve vexing problems, he said.

Her students’ applied research has helped them hone skills such as building coalitions, interpreting data, and solving interpersonal conflicts while aiding nonprofit organizations and community groups.

“If one did a Google image search for ‘engaged scholar,’ I would halfway expect Sara’s picture to appear at the top,” said PPA Professor Edward Lascher, who has served as interim Dean of the College of Social Sciences and Interdisciplinary Studies. “She seems equally comfortable interacting with students in the classroom and working with a group of stakeholders on some pressing community issue.”McClellan also is a valued colleague and “a wonderful instructor,” Lascher said.

“It's actually fun reading her syllabi because they are laid out in an interesting manner and include provocative questions to get students to think about the material. She manages to develop creative assignments that prompt students to apply what they have learned to issues facing public managers.” 

Wassmer cited McClellan’s teaching background and community engagement as key reasons why she is a perfect fit for the endowed position

“Her passion is getting out and doing things that truly make a difference,” he said. “So we think this will work out great for her, for students, for the University” and for its partners throughout the region.