For all of those who have dreamed of traveling across the world and positively impacting humanity, one Houston academician, is making dreams come true.
Dr. Michael Adams is the founding director of Texas Southern University’s Executive Master’s of Public Administration (EMPA) program, a program that provides its students with an opportunity one could only dream of, to study abroad on an all-inclusive trip.
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The online EMPA program is dedicated to educating mid-career professionals. The program teaches students how to guide, manage, lead, and succeed within public and private sectors. Those who plan to be managers, directors, or CEO’s would benefit from the program.
The EMPA program goes the extra mile and provides its students with the chance to make international relationships that will broaden their horizons. EMPA students have traveled to some of the most intriguing countries since the program’s inception: Ghana, Togo, Benin, Panama, Brazil, China, and just recently South Africa (Johannesburg and Cape Town). In February of 2020, EMPA students traveled to South Africa to learn of the country’s culture and public policies.
As policy students, they simply could not miss South Africa’s treasured memorials of the apartheid revolutionary, and late President, Nelson Mandela. In Cape Town, students visited Robben Island, located off the Capitol’s coast. It is where Nelson Mandela was held for 18 of the 27 years he was imprisoned during his fight to end apartheid. In Johannesburg, students visited a museum in Mandela’s honor, documenting the historical timeline of South Africa’s apartheid. There were many more adventures and experiences shared while on the trip, all of them leaving a lasting impact on the students.
Dr. Adams wears many hats when it comes to contributing to the welfare of the community. His credentials within public policy are boundless. While serving as the founding director of the EMPA Program, he is also the interim chair of the political science department in the Barbara Jordan Mickey Leland School of Public Affairs. He is a highly sought after political scientist who specializes in electoral politics, redistricting and voting rights. You can always find him in the media helping to provide politological analysis on current and historical issues.
Additionally, he serves on the Houston Community College Public Administration Advisory Board and as a reviewer for The American Review of Politics.
Along with the six books he has co-authored, Dr. Adams has also been published in the Journal of Service Science; the Encyclopedia of African American History; International Journal of Education Research and the European Journal of Social Sciences (TSU.edu). Because of his devotion to public policy and public service, he has received accolades and awards such as the Texas Southern University Research Scholar Award, School of Public Affairs Research Scholar Award and the Quiester Craig Teaching Award.
Dr. Adams continues to advance in the world of public affairs, shifting the atmosphere within politics and policy, and changing the lives for so many TSU students.
You can follow up with Dr. Adams and the EMPA Program through instagram @tsu_empa.
KPRC 2 is partnering with Texas Southern University throughout the month of February for a celebration of Houston Black history. Students from TSU’s School of Communication and members of @KTSU_2 “The Voice” online team are providing 28 days of content for the @kprc2 Instagram account and the station’s other digital platforms. Posts and articles have been researched and produced exclusively by TSU students under the supervision of their School of Communication professors and the KPRC 2 digital team. An article will be published daily throughout February 2021 on click2houston.com/blackhistory.
About the author
Breyia Walker is a multimedia specialist, aspiring to brighten the community with her storytelling and creativity. She is a public administration graduate student at Texas Southern University.