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College of Arts and Sciences

MPA Student Presents at National Conference  

Antonella Fegan 320 picThe Association for Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Action (ARNOVA) held their 47th annual conference in Austin, Texas on November 15 through November 17. The conference brings together scholars and practitioners of the nonprofit sector and offers them the opportunity to attend a variety of sessions with diverse topics and formats including plenaries, panels, and colloquiums.

At this year's conference, Antonella Fegan, an M.P.A. student in her last semester of the program had the opportunity to be a presenter at one of the sessions. She presented on research she has been working on as part of her capstone project. Throughout the semester, under the guidance of Dr. Roseanne Mirabella, professor of Political Science and Public Affairs, Antonella studied the current state of undergraduate nonprofit education in the United States. Antonella updated Dr. Mirabella's existing database on nonprofit management education with the most current data on undergraduate nonprofit programs throughout the country. She further analyzed similar data from previous years in order to find trends and changes in programs.

Antonella presented her findings alongside Dr. Mirabella in a colloquium titled "Undergraduate Nonprofit Education: Between Institutionalization and Recruitment." She discussed her findings as a way to introduce the colloquium, which focused on comparing the development and challenges of undergraduate programs around the country. Besides presenting at the conference, Antonella got the opportunity to experience the rest of the sessions and networking opportunities offered. "The conference was such an amazing experience because it allowed me to attend a variety of sessions and learn from some of the best researchers in the field. I also got the opportunity to meet all different types of people from other students working on research to experts in research to people working in all types of nonprofit organizations."