Introduction to the issue

On behalf of the editorial team, our editorial board, and the Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs, and Administration, we would like to thank you for reading the latest issue of the Journal of Public Affairs Education. The themes throughout this issue focus on advancing the future of public affairs education as a field and in the classroom. The issue is packed with two editorials, five research articles, one case study, and four book reviews. In the first editorial, B. McDonald et al. (2023) recount the establishment of the North Carolina Public Administration Alliance (NCPAA). The NCPAA was established to provide state-level support and opportunities for MPA programs and their students. The editorial provides a reflection on why state-level organizations are needed, the process and challenges they experienced in creating the organizations, and the lessons they learned along the way. Our second editorial is by the ASPA President’s Committee on International Scholarly Engagement (2023). This editorial reflects on the work of the committee at establishing recommendations for the field on how to improve the engagement of scholars across the globe in the activities and research of the discipline. The issues five research articles continue this theme of improving public affairs education. The first research article of the issue is Campbell et al.’s (2023) article on experiential philanthropy. Experiential philanthropy courses have proliferated in recent years in the context of a reinvigorated debate about the nature of elite philanthropy. Campbell et al.’s (2023) article analyzes the content faculty use to teach philanthropy in 33 courses funded by the Learning by Giving Foundation. The findings of the study show that faculty design their courses more to simulate institutional giving that individual giving, leading the authors to consider an alternative perspective which might better situate experiential philanthropy courses as an opportunity to cultivate habits of giving among students. Next, in line with our aspiration to improve the climate of higher education, and that of public affairs programs in particular (see Terman, 2022; Young & Wiley, 2021), we are excited to present Wareham et al.’s (2023) examination of Title IX training at public universities. Title IX prohibits sex-discrimination in colleges in the United States. While colleges must provide training on Title IX, little is known about its effectiveness. Through their study of 2,393 college students, the authors found that 68% of students report that they understand Title IX, yet only 14% correctly understood Title IX prohibited sexdiscrimination and 16% correctly understood reporting procedures. While the results show that significant attention is needed to improve students understanding of their rights, the findings found that positive perceptions of campus climate increased participation in training, efficacy of training, and confidence in helping sexual assault survivors.