NASPAA and Professionalism: Public Service or Guild Protectionism?

Abstract

It is my view that NASPAA is best understood as one of the institutional articulations of the strategy of the public administration community to cloak themselves with the legitimacy of professionalism. Normatively, this strategy has both admirable other-regarding aspects and understandable but less admirable self serving ones. On the one hand, National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration (NASPAA) founders and activists do really and with integrity believe, not without good reason, that their institution serves the public interest. On the other hand, like the American Medical Association, American Bar Association or the Business Roundtable (although with less effect) do for their membership, NASPAA protects and advances the particularistic aspirations of university-based professional trainers. Both aspects of professionalism lead to oppressively limiting groupthink and/or unethical gaming. Let me first sketch the urge to professionalism. Second, I will explore the dilemmas attendant thereto. Finally, the recent stampeding of programs to Total Quality Management (TQM) mission based accreditation will be assessed.