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Perkins Recognized at International Workshop

Michael Perkins
Michael Perkins

By Tiffany Murray-Robertson

Michael Perkins, a Wilder School doctoral candidate in public policy and administration, received an honorable mention for Best Presentation Award at the Fifth Annual International Young Scholars Workshop held in Cape Town, South Africa July 20-23.

The workshop provides an academically rigorous platform for the presentation of research, scholarly exchange and social networking among rising faculty. The program is funded in part by the American Society of Public Administration (ASPA).

“The International Young Scholars Workshop has emerged as a premier growth opportunity for new professionals who seek to advance their research in public policy and related fields,” said Susan Gooden, Ph.D., professor of public administration and policy who is also the current president of ASPA.

“To receive an honorable mention among such a talented group is a significant achievement for Michael and our institution," she said.

Perkins was among 27 doctoral students selected from a dozen universities around the world to participate in the intensive three-day workshop .  Fellows engaged with distinguished senior scholars in the development of research papers and examined many of the pressing issues in South Africa and other nations around matters of inequity, public policy, government administration and community building.

Perkins was recognized for a presentation on research related to his dissertation.

The study examined the impact of campus crime alerts on the experiences of African American male students at urban universities. Based on themes extracted from qualitative interviews, Perkins’ findings supported feelings of racial battle fatigue and stigmatization around campus alerts.  Overwhelmingly, respondents experienced alerts as vague descriptors that reinforced black male criminal perception and contributed to a hostile environment.

Perkins was joined at the workshop by fellow Wilder School doctoral candidates Yali Pang, Brittany Keegan and Lindsey Evans.