Pi Alpha Alpha ( or PAA) is an international

honor society In the United States, an honor society is an organization that recognizes individuals who rank above a set standard in various domains such as academics, leadership, and other personal achievements, not all of which are based on ranking systems. ...

for students of

public administration Public administration, or public policy and administration refers to "the management of public programs", or the "translation of politics into the reality that citizens see every day",Kettl, Donald and James Fessler. 2009. ''The Politics of the ...

. It was founded and is administered by the

National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration The Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs, and Administration (NASPAA) is a Washington, D.C.–based non-profit organization. It is an international association and accreditation body of public affairs schools also known as schools of publ ...

. The organization was formed to promote excellence in the study and practice of

and public affairs. There are 167 Pi Alpha Alpha chapters, with more than 30,000 members.

History

Pi Alpha Alpha was established by

(NASPAA) in 1974. Anson, Jack L. and Marchesani Jr. Robert F., eds. ''Baird's Manual of American College Fraternities, 20th edition.'' Indianapolis: Baird's Manual Foundation, 1991''.'' pp. VI.72-VI.73''.'' It was created as an honor society to encourage excellence and recognize students of public affairs and administration. Its first president was Don L. Bowen. In its first three years, Pi Alpha Alpha established 33 chapters and had initiated 600 members. It held its first national convention in April 1978. It joined the Association of College Honor Societies in 1982 but has since left that organization. In 1991, it had chartered 78 chapters and initiated 7,800 members. By 2012, it had 162 active chapters, an active membership of 2,359, and a total of 43,363 initiates. As of 2022, there are more than 160 Pi Alpha Alpha chapters. The society has initiated more than 30,000 members. The society is governed by a national council and executive committee. It annually presents an award for the Best Student Manuscript in Public Administration to a graduate and a doctoral student. It holds biennial meetings in conjunction with NASPAA. Its national headquarters are located in 1029 Vermont Avenue in Washington, D.C.

Symbols

Pi Alpha Alpha's colors are light blue and gold. Its publications are the ''PAA Roster'' and the ''PAA Brochure''.

Membership

There are three different membership types: student, faculty or staff, and honorary. Undergraduate students are required to have half of the NASPAA degree program coursework completed and at least a 3.7 GPA. Graduate and doctoral students may also join. Membership is for life. PI Alpha Alpha's national council conveys an honorary membership at its biennial meeting to an individual who has made outstanding contributions to the profession.

Chapters

Following is a list of Pi Alpha Alpha chapters. Inactive institutions are in ''italics''.

Notable members

* Osayi Alile, entrepreneur and human development expert * Carol Bellamy, Executive Director of

UNICEF UNICEF ( ), originally the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund, officially United Nations Children's Fund since 1953, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing Humanitarianism, humanitarian and Development a ...

, Director of the

Peace Corps The Peace Corps is an Independent agency of the U.S. government, independent agency and program of the United States government that trains and deploys volunteers to communities in partner countries around the world. It was established in Marc ...

New York State Senate The New York State Senate is the upper house of the New York State Legislature, while the New York State Assembly is its lower house. Established in 1777 by the Constitution of New York, its members are elected to two-year terms with no term l ...

, and president of the

New York City Council The New York City Council is the lawmaking body of New York City in the United States. It has 51 members from 51 council districts throughout the five boroughs. The council serves as a check against the mayor in a mayor-council government mod ...

* Lynette Boggs, Miss Oregon 1989 and local politician in Nevada * Kahlil Carter, gridiron football player and coach * Linda Melconian,

Massachusetts Senate The Massachusetts Senate is the upper house of the Massachusetts General Court, the bicameral state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The Senate comprises 40 elected members from 40 single-member senatorial districts in the st ...

* John A. Nucci, senior vice president of external affairs at

Suffolk University Suffolk University is a private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. With 7,560 students on all campuses, it is the List of colleges and universities in metropolitan Boston, tenth-largest university ...

* Suzanne Rivera, bioethicist and science policy researcher * Sunny Sanwar, artist, environmental activist, and entrepreneur * Lewis Sorley, author, intelligence analyst, and military historian * Nicolas Valcik, author

Honorary members

Following are some of Pi Alpha Alpha's honorary members. * Richard W. Bolling (1986, honorary),

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

* Luther F. Carter (2008, honorary), president of Francis Marion University *

Henry Cisneros Henry Gabriel Cisneros (born June 11, 1947) is an American politician and businessman. He served as the mayor of San Antonio, Texas, from 1981 to 1989, the second Latino mayor of a major American city and the city's first since 1842 (when Jua ...

(1982, honorary),

United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development The United States secretary of housing and urban development is the head of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, a member of the Cabinet of the United States, and thirteenth in the presidential line of succession. T ...

and Mayor of San Antonio, Texas *

H. Brent Coles H. Brent Coles (born ) is an American politician who served as List of mayors of Boise, mayor of Boise, Idaho, Boise, Idaho from 1993 to 2003. Coles resigned from office after accepting an illegal trip to the 2002 Winter Olympics from an insurance ...

(1998, honorary), Mayor of Boise, Idaho * Linda W. Cropp (2005, honorary),

Council of the District of Columbia The Council of the District of Columbia (or simply D.C. Council) is the legislative branch of the government of the District of Columbia. As permitted in the United States Constitution, the district is not part of any U.S. state and is overseen ...

* Donald M. Fraser (1983, honorary),

and Mayor of Minneapolis, Minnesota *

Bob Graham Daniel Robert Graham (November 9, 1936 – April 16, 2024) was an American lawyer, author, and politician who served as the 38th List of governors of Florida, governor of Florida from 1979 to 1987 and a United States Senate, United States senat ...

(1985, honorary),

Governor of Florida The governor of Florida is the head of government of the U.S. state of Florida. The Governor (United States), governor is the head of the Government of Florida#Executive branch, executive branch of the government of Florida and is the comman ...

and

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

* Eric Greitens (2011, honorary),

Governor of Missouri A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

* Jayne Harkins (2010, honorary), first woman to have served as the U.S. Commissioner of the

International Boundary and Water Commission The International Boundary and Water Commission (IBWC, , CILA) is an international body created by the United States and Mexico in 1889 to apply the rules for determining the location of their international boundary when meandering rivers trans ...

Glenda Hood Glenda Evans Hood (born March 10, 1950) is an American politician, who was Secretary of State of Florida, from 2003 to 2005, and the first woman to serve as Mayor of Orlando (1992–2003). She is a member of the Republican Party (United States), ...

(1993, honorary),

Secretary of State of Florida The secretary of state of Florida is an executive officer of the state government of the U.S. state of Florida, established since the original 1838 Constitution of Florida, state constitution. Like the corresponding officials in other states, th ...

and Mayor of Orlando *

Kay Bailey Hutchison Kay Bailey Hutchison (born Kathryn Ann Bailey; July 22, 1943) is an American attorney, television correspondent, politician, diplomat, and was the 22nd United States Permanent Representative to NATO from 2017 until 2021. A member of the Republic ...

(1995, honorary), United States Ambassador to NATO,

, Treasurer of Texas, and

Texas House of Representatives The Texas House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Texas Legislature. It consists of 150 members who are elected from single-member districts for two-year terms. There are no Term limits in the United States, term limits. The ...

Mike Lowry Michael Edward Lowry (March 8, 1939 – May 1, 2017) was an American politician who served as the 20th governor of Washington from 1993 to 1997. His political career ended when his deputy press secretary, Susanne Albright, made accusations of ...

(1987, honorary), Governor of Washington *

Edwin Meese Edwin Meese III (born December 2, 1931) is an American attorney, law professor, author and member of the Republican Party who served in Ronald Reagan's gubernatorial administration (1967–1974), the Reagan presidential transition team (1980� ...

(1981, honorary), 75th

United States Attorney General The United States attorney general is the head of the United States Department of Justice and serves as the chief law enforcement officer of the Federal government of the United States, federal government. The attorney general acts as the princi ...

* Steven H. Miles (2006, honorary), physician and professor of medicine at the

University of Minnesota Medical School The University of Minnesota Medical School is a medical school at the University of Minnesota. It is a combination of three campuses located in Minneapolis, Duluth, and St. Cloud, Minnesota. The medical school has more than 17,000 alumni as of 2 ...

* Bart Peterson (2004, honorary), Mayor of Indianapolis * Michelle Rhee (2009, honorary), Chancellor of District of Columbia Public Schools * Norm Rice (2007, honorary),

Mayor of Seattle The Mayor of Seattle is the Head of government, head of the executive branch of the Government of Seattle, city government of Seattle, Washington. The mayor is authorized by the city charter to enforce laws enacted by the Seattle City Council, a ...

William Ruckelshaus William Doyle Ruckelshaus (July 24, 1932 – November 27, 2019) was an American attorney and government official. Ruckelshaus served in the Indiana House of Representatives from 1966 to 1968, and was the United States Assistant Attorney General ...

(1984, honorary), 1st and 5th

Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency The administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency is the head of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and is thus responsible for enforcing the nation's Clean Air and Clean Water Acts, as well as numerous other envir ...

and 13th

United States Deputy Attorney General The United States deputy attorney general is the second-highest-ranking official in the United States Department of Justice and oversees the day-to-day operation of the department. The deputy attorney general acts as attorney general during the ...

* Terry Sanford (1997, honorary),

Governor of North Carolina The governor of North Carolina is the head of government of the United States, U.S. state of North Carolina. Seventy-five people have held the office since the first state governor, Richard Caswell, took office in 1777. The governor serves a ...

* Hilda Solis (2002, honorary), United States Secretary of Labor and

* Elmer B. Staats (1991, honorary),

Comptroller General of the United States The comptroller general of the United States is the director of the Government Accountability Office (GAO, formerly known as the General Accounting Office), a legislative-branch agency established by Congress in 1921 to ensure the fiscal and man ...

* Merrett R. Stierheim (1999, honorary), public administrator in

Miami-Dade County, Florida Miami-Dade County () is a County (United States), county located in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Florida. The county had a population of 2,701,767 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the most populous coun ...

* George Voinovich (2001, honorary),

* Michael R. White (1992, honorary),

Mayor of Cleveland The mayor of Cleveland is the head of the executive branch of Local government in the United States, government of the Cleveland, City of Cleveland, Ohio. As the chief executive in Cleveland's Mayor–council government#Strong-mayor government fo ...

and

Ohio Senate The Ohio Senate is the upper house of the Ohio General Assembly. The State Senate, which meets in the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus, first convened in 1803. Senators are elected for four year terms, staggered every two years such that half of t ...

* Douglas Wilder (2000, honorary),

Governor of Virginia The governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia is the head of government of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia. The Governor (United States), governor is head of the Government_of_Virginia#Executive_branch, executive branch ...

* Anthony A. Williams (2001, honorary),

Mayor of the District of Columbia The mayor of the District of Columbia is the head of the executive branch of the government of the District of Columbia. The mayor has the duty to enforce district laws, and the power to either approve or veto bills passed by the D.C. Council. ...

Andrew Young Andrew Jackson Young Jr. (born March 12, 1932) is an American politician, diplomat, and activist. Beginning his career as a pastor, Young was an early leader in the civil rights movement, serving as executive director of the Southern Christia ...

(1987, honorary), Mayor of Atlanta,

United States Ambassador to the United Nations The United States ambassador to the United Nations is the leader of the U.S. delegation, the United States Mission to the United Nations, U.S. Mission to the United Nations. The position is formally known as the Permanent representative to the U ...

, and

References

External links

* {{authority control Public administration Honor societies Educational organizations based in the United States Student organizations established in 1974 Former members of Association of College Honor Societies 1974 establishments in Washington, D.C.