Kevin Roach, Miami University student attends public official conference

2012 Feb 24

Kevin Roach of Lakewood, OH, 44107 was one of 21 Miami University political science students to attend the Ohio Township Association (OTA) annual conference, Feb. 8-11 in Columbus.

Roach, a public administration major and geography minor, learned first hand what issues local and state officials face in governing in a series of workshops and speeches from state and locally elected officials.

Roach attended the conference as part of a senior capstone seminar in the study of public policy and practice of theory analysis. The course teaches students to understand the nature of public problems, and the process of formulating, implementing and evaluating public policy responses.

The group of students was led by Philip Russo, Miami political science professor and director of Miami's Center for Public Management and Regional Affairs (CPMRA), a group that co-produced a number of sourcebooks with the OTA.

"I always look forward to each year as Dr. Russo brings his best and brightest students to the conference," said Belle Everett, a trustee for Warwick Township in Tuscarawas County and OTA board director. "These enthusiastic students are Ohio's future leaders. Their interest in Ohio local government shows we can end 'Ohio's brain drain', and I hope and pray they stay, and I am lucky enough to still be around to work with them."

Students who attended the conference were recognized during a general session by OTA president Greg Hanahan. They also met in private briefings with a number of public officials including Mike Dittoe, director of communications and policy adviser to Speaker William G. Batchelder of the Ohio House of Representatives; Representative Tim Derickson (Ohio 53rd District); and J. Christopher Woolard, research and evaluation manager at the Ohio Department of Education.