Certified public management program at UW Tacoma gains accreditation, graduates first class

TACOMA, WASH. — A national consortium has accredited UW Tacoma’s Certified Public Manager® (CPM) certificate program as the only such authorized program in the state of Washington.

The CPM certificate is offered by the KeyBank Professional Development Center, the continuing education arm of UW Tacoma. The certificate is aimed at federal, state and local government managers and supervisors who want a comprehensive leadership development program. Upon completion of the certificate, these professionals will be equipped to lead their agencies toward continuous improvement and greater efficiency.

The first cohort to graduate with the CPM certificate graduated in December 2014, and the next cohort is scheduled to start in January 2015.

“Based on my experience with the program, I am making successful completion a requirement for our senior management team,” said Micah Matthews, a recent CPM graduate and deputy executive director of the Washington State Medical Commission. “The CPM program serves as an excellent refining process with a Washington focus, whether you’re a long-standing manager or a freshly-minted MPA [Master of Public Administration],” said Matthews.

“One of the strengths of this CPM certificate program is how closely it is tailored to the real-world situations of public sector agencies. We have a great team of local and national faculty, who offer plenty of practical experience to the students,” said Lisa Reeves, director of the KeyBank Professional Development Center.

Those students are coming from a wide range of agencies: higher education, an Indian tribe, a port and a state commission were represented in the first cohort. Students complete a year-long, 300-hour program culminating in a capstone project that allows them to apply what they’re learning in their own agencies immediately.

“The best part of the program was the group of industry-leading instructors. The amount of practical information they were able to convey within this intensive yearlong course was truly amazing,” said Jason Van Gilder, another recent CPM graduate and utility engineer with the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe.

UW Tacoma’s certificate program was accredited by the National Certified Public Manager Consortium in September 2014. The Consortium is a non-profit organization based in San Diego, Calif., representing all the CPM credentialing programs in the U.S. The consortium ensures member programs uphold high standards, establishes the curricular framework for the programs, and polices the use of the trademarked Certified Public Manager designation. The consortium accredits only one CPM program for each state, so UW Tacoma holds the distinction of being the only source for this nationally-recognized credential in Washington.

“The CPM program is a great example of UW Tacoma’s responsiveness to the South Sound community. Our late chancellor, Debra Friedman, was a big fan of the CPM program and new the importance of bringing this opportunity to the region. Debra supported the development of the program and anticipated that we would earn full accreditation,” said KeyBank Center director Reeves.

The KeyBank Center itself is a product of the community, having been founded with a 2001 gift from KeyBank and the Tacoma-based Dimmer Family Foundation (John C. Dimmer was on the KeyCorp board of directors). The Center offers advanced, non-degree education in the form of certificates, seminars, workshops and courses. Besides the CPM program, certificates are offered in subjects including contract management, Lean Six Sigma, nonprofit management, paralegal studies and project management.

For more information on the KeyBank Professional Development Center and the Certified Public Manager program, see http://www.tacoma.uw.edu/keybank-professional-development-center/certified-public-manager-2015.