New Director Ron Zimmer is Right at Home in UK’s Martin School

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Oct. 12, 2016) – “I’m at the point in my career where I really want to make a difference in an institution, and I think I can make a difference here at the Martin School. It’s a place I’m really passionate for.”

Those words are from University of Kentucky Professor Ron Zimmer, who on July 1, came back ‘home’ to become director of UK’s Martin School of Public Policy and Administration. You see, Zimmer earned his Ph.D. in public policy at the Martin School, working with the likes of Genia Toma, Merl Hackbart and Ed Jennings, who remain stalwarts among the school’s faculty.

“From my experience here being a student, it’s just a special place where the faculty really cares about the students, not only while they’re here but after they leave and take an interest in helping you beyond the classrooms, so I wanted to give back in that way,” Zimmer said.

Consistently ranked in the top 25 nationally among public policy programs, UK’s Martin School is in the top 5 for its public finance, financial management and budgeting program. With about 65 to 70 students in its master's degree offerings and 15 to 20 doctoral students at any given time, the Martin School can provide its students the personal touch.

The school is also providing new academic offerings. This semester, the Martin School began offering an online, 12-credit-hour, four-course graduate level Certificate of Public Financial Management. The first two classes are being taught this fall and two more will be offered in the spring. Each class in the certificate program is being offered in an eight-week module. 

Two of the courses have been developed in partnership with the Von Allmen School of Accountancy, part of UK's Gatton College of Business and Economics, including a course taught by Urton Anderson, the director of the Von Allmen School.

Martin School Professor Merl Hackbart, who spearheaded the action to establish the new program, said, "The effective partnership forged by the Martin School and the Von Allmen School of Accountancy has made possible a unique program, which establishes a niche serving an important national need -- the enhancement of financial management processes and procedures of public and nonprofit organizations. The Certificate of Public Financial Management will help individuals enhance their knowledge and career advancement."

The Martin School will also soon launch a 36-hour Master of Public Financial Management (MPFM) program as a result of the Council on Postsecondary Education's recent unanimous vote to approve the degree. Also offered completely online, the MPFM will be the school's fourth degree program and will be distinct nationally because of its focus.

Another plus for the Certificate of Public Financial Management is that students who complete the 12 hours will be able to transfer that credit to the master's program.

"The programs leverage the nationally recognized strength in financial management of the Martin and Von Allmen Schools to train students here in the U.S. and internationally,” Zimmer said.

The existing Martin School degree programs are the Master of Public Administration, the Master of Public Policy, and the Ph.D. in Public Policy and Administration.

Among Zimmer’s future goals is to develop undergraduate course offerings.

“I think there’s a real need or demand for that type of major and developing those types of skills for undergraduates," he said. "There aren’t many universities across the country, actually, that have undergraduate majors in public policy, so there’s a real opportunity to provide a skill set not many other schools could provide.”

Zimmer, who is nationally regarded for his educational policy research, previously served on the faculties of both Michigan State University and Vanderbilt University.

Prior to that, he worked at the Rand Corporation, a highly respected research ‘think tank’ for nine years.

The Martin School’s new director wholeheartedly endorses the school’s growing reputation for bringing prominent public figures to the UK campus to engage in dialogue on vital issues of the day.

For instance, former U.S. Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle will deliver the 2nd Annual Wendell Ford Public Policy Lecture at UK Tuesday, Oct. 18.

In an address titled ‘The 2016 Federal Elections: Crisis Point in a Dysfunctional Political System,’ Daschle will comment on anticipated effects of the current federal elections on partisan gridlock, the lost art of compromise and his proposals for improving the political climate. The presentation will begin at 4 p.m. in the new Kincaid Auditorium of the Gatton College of Business and Economics.

Daschle currently serves as chair of the board of directors of the Center for American Progress and remains actively engaged in major public policy debates.

Following the presentation, Al Cross, former political reporter for the Louisville Courier-Journal and director of UK’s Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues, will moderate a conversation with Daschle, joined by Steve Voss, associate professor in UK’s Department of Political Science, and Mike Duncan, former chair of the Republican National Committee.

The event is sponsored by the Martin School,  UK, and co-sponsors include the UK Libraries’ Wendell H. Ford Public Policy Research Center, the Henry Clay Center for Statesmanship, the Council of State Governments, the UK College of Communication and Information, and the Gatton College.

Admission to this event is free and open to the public. The Kincaid Auditorium in the Gatton College has seating for 500, and people planning to attend are encouraged to arrive at least 15 minutes early.

The lecture is named in honor of the late Wendell Ford, who served as governor of Kentucky before being elected to four consecutive terms in the U.S. Senate. After his retirement from public office, Ford served as a Distinguished Fellow at the Martin School.

Last year’s initial Ford Lecture featured Pulitzer Prize-winning author and former editor of Newsweek magazine Jon Meacham as he helped to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

“The Ford Lecture is fast becoming a signature event for the Martin School and for the University of Kentucky,” Zimmer said. “To hear some of the stories from these individuals who have lived the experience I think is instrumental and really important for students. I am confident that this will be an important, informative, and stimulating program not only for our students, but also for our faculty, staff and members of the greater Kentucky community.”

To hear a recent "UK at the Half" interview with Zimmer, click on the play button below.

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MEDIA CONTACT: Carl Nathe, 859-257-3200; carl.nathe@uky.edu