Editor’s Note: This is one of a series of profiles of the Wisconsin Idea in action. See past profiles we have published.

“Public employees get far more criticism than praise, and that’s very unfair. I would estimate that 99.9 percent of them are highly ethical, devoted public servants.”

Few people are as qualified to make such a judgment as UW–Madison’s Susan Paddock, who founded Wisconsin’s Certified Public Manager (CPM) Program in 1990 and has been directing it ever since. Paddock, a professor with the Department of Professional Development and Applied Studies in the Division of Continuing Studies, also founded Arizona’s CPM program and directed it for eight years before returning to Madison, where she was born and raised.

“At the time we started CPM in Wisconsin, perhaps a dozen states already had one,” says Paddock. “Nearly all of them followed the Georgia model, where the program is strictly for state government employees. We created our own model, bringing state and local government people together.”

Susan Paddock (center), director of UW–Madison’s Certified Public Manager Program, meets with members of an advisory group — all program alumni — to review the curriculum and recommend improvements.

Photo: Jeff Miller

“It’s harder to manage a program like this, but I believe it’s much more useful for the students. They get to see how other branches of government operate and how the decisions they make at their own level affect people who work at other levels and in other settings.”

Paddock’s connection with various branches of government goes back a long way: Her father was a highway engineer for the federal government in the 1950s and ’60s and at one time supervised federal funding for all the highways in Wisconsin, including the then-new interstate highway system. Her mother, one of the first women to graduate with an economics degree from UW–Madison, worked for the federal government and even now, at 95, remains active in community affairs. Paddock graduated from Madison West High School, majored in international relations at UW–Madison and then attended the University of Massachusetts for a master’s in teaching.

Several years of teaching high-school social studies in Atlantic City revealed a truth that has remained important ever since: “In the schools, as in any other organization, you can have great people in the front lines, but if the administrators are weak, they can take down the whole system.”

When Paddock was invited to design and administer Arizona’s CPM program, she says, “At first I didn’t think it was any big deal. I knew little about public administration. But as soon as I started teaching the classes I could see how helpful the program was and what an incredibly talented, dedicated, hard-working group of people public managers are. I’ve kept at it for 25 years, and I continue to be fascinated by state and especially local government.”

Wisconsin’s nationally accredited CPM Program works to improve government by presenting high-quality in-service education to managers in federal, state, county and municipal governments, as well as in tribal and nonprofit agencies.

“In terms of networking and followup, CPM is by far the most beneficial educational program I’ve ever experienced,” says Tammy Olson, a manager in the Wisconsin Department of Administration.

“One of Susan’s many strengths as CPM director is how she facilitates these connections — among different branches of government and between the public and private sectors,” Olson says. “And the networking is continuing and becoming even more helpful since we graduated. Several of us from different agencies meet every month now to help one another find solutions to our specific problems.”

For Michelle Baxter, a manager for the state’s Department of Employee Trust Funds, the program has been extremely helpful during a time when her job responsibilities have grown remarkably quickly. “In the last three years I’ve gone from staff member to supervisor to director, which made for unique challenges,” Baxter says. “I attribute my increased responsibilities and my success in navigating these challenges to CPM.”

Susan Paddock, professor of professional development and applied studies, says the Certified Public Manager Program she directs at UW–Madison is rare in its commitment to train both local and state government employees. “It’s harder to manage a program like this,” she says, “but I believe it’s much more useful for the students.”

Photo: Jeff Miller

Like many other CPM participants, Baxter found that the networking and collaboration aspects of the program made the most difference in her work. “All of us benefited from the diversity of our fellow students too,” she says. “I’ve been able to study and problem solve with near-newcomers and with people who have decades of experience. Everyone brings their own perspective to a problem, and each one can be helpful.”

Adam Malchow, a sergeant with the Portage Police Department and president of Main Street Portage, stresses the practical focus of CPM workshops as a major benefit. “You can spend years of class time on theory and abstractions, but we concentrate on solving practical, day-to-day problems in ways that make life better for the taxpayer,” says Malchow.

Malchow has found it especially interesting that his on-the-job challenges are very similar to those of people working in a variety of other settings. “Often the solution that someone else has found to one of their problems can be applied very effectively to my own, even though the conditions of our work are very different,” he adds.

Olson, Baxter and Malchow are among a group of recent CPM graduates who meet regularly with Paddock to evaluate the CPM curriculum and report to the national CPM Consortium. “In the past, the evaluation committee was always made up of trainers, but this time we decided that the students themselves could provide the most relevant insights,” Paddock says.

Another member of the evaluation group is Kathleen Morris, treasurer of Green Lake County. Her final CPM project, a PowerPoint presentation called “Understanding Your Tax Bill,” is now available online at Green Lake County Treasurur — one more way that Wisconsin citizens are benefiting from the program.

CPM classes are open to anyone, regardless of whether they are seeking certification, but most students do complete the certificate. Completion involves general supervisory training and managerial training, including an assessment of managerial skills; specialized classes in personnel, organizational and resource management and related areas; and case study and team-based classes. Candidates also complete a comprehensive applied project to improve the efficiency and responsiveness of their governmental agencies.

“Our first CPM class entered in the fall of ’90 and graduated in the spring of ’93,” Paddock says. “Since then, thousands of people throughout the state have prepared for the challenges of public-sector management through CPM.”