The Changing Public Service: Looking Back...Moving Forward

Had I been more prescient, I might have been an elder statesman of the American Society for Public Administration (ASPA) myself, because I was at the meetings in 1939 of the American Political Science Association at which the organization meetings took place. I also attended the meeting the second day. This I did to hear one of the distinguished seniors at that time, Charles Beard, who made a memorable address beginning with a booming "Fellow travelers." This was much like having started an address in November 1988 with "Fellow liberals." The speech was a rewarding professional experience for me. But it took me two more years to get connected with public administration.