SPAA Alumi Spotlight: Joseph Buga (MPA'77)

Full Name: Joseph Buga
SPAA MPA Graduation Year: 1977

Please briefly describe your career path:
Local government; to a national nonprofit organization; to a Newark based public-private partnership; to a for-profit housing developer; established a consulting business focused on urban redevelopment

What is the most rewarding aspect of your journey?
All of the positions I held were rewarding. The public-private partnership, the Newark Collaboration Group, and the for-profit housing developer, DKM Building Enterprises, were perhaps the most impactful.

Why are you excited about public service?
In all of my work, while it has been with larger institutions, their impact was on the individual.

What motivated you to pursue an MPA?
I originally thought I would pursue a career in journalism. The more I saw and interacted with decision makers during my undergraduate years at Rutgers College, I thought that I should be "doing" and not "reporting." Early in my career I was engaged in politics and working with organizations that supported the economically disadvantaged.

When you think back on your time at SPAA, what stands out most to you?
There was an excitement about creating a new academic department. Great camaraderie among our first cohort. Very accessible program leadership. My connection with my advisor, Tom Davy, and the relationship we developed both at Rutgers and related to state government.

What choices did you make at SPAA that contributed to your career success / journey?
My choice of an internship stands out. I was considering two options. One was the relocation of the Newark Board of Education to a new headquarters at 2 Cedar Street. I previously was involved in the relocation of Passaic City Hall offices to new quarters.

The second choice was working for the NJ Department of Labor in Trenton. I chose Trenton and relocated there for six months, learning about state government. When I was in Passaic, I attended city council meetings as a routine pastime. Once in Trenton, I was attending legislative sessions. At the same time I was helping to manage a get out the vote effort in Passaic for the Jimmy Carter presidential bid. The Route 1 corridor was not a developed as it is today. And I was routinely traveling between Passaic and Trenton usually driving in the early morning or late evening hours.

From your experience, what has been the value of having an MPA degree in public administration?
In 1977 the MPA degree was not that well known or widely held. It branded me as a “professional” allowing me compete for higher level positions, as the degree was substituted for “years of experience.” The MPA was also was key in me obtaining several adjunct teaching positions at the college and university level teaching public administration.

Can you share a moment when you realized the impact of your SPAA education in the real world?
I held a position early in my career with a national nonprofit that provided management training to nonprofit organizations across the country that received federal grants. Before going into the field, we were required to complete an extensive training program managed by the US Department of Justice and the US Department of Housing and Urban Development. Nearly all of the coursework in those sessions, areas like budgeting, organizational development, financial management, etc. mirrored the work I had done in my MPA courses. I was prepared!

What do you think makes SPAA graduates stand out?
The stellar reputation of the program.

What advice would you give to a SPAA student or graduate in your field?
Take risks. Do not be afraid to go outside your comfort zone. Be bold. Do not shy away from taking a big swing. Try to obtain work experience in different sectors of the economy (profit, nonprofit, public). That range of experiences will serve you well throughout your career.

Once you are responsible for managing a program, be creative. Spend more time focusing on how to obtain results and less on the processes you need in place to achieve those results. My experience is that as time goes on, program administrators create layers of rules and regulations that impede the operation of programs by those directly implementing programs.

Once you are managing those managers allow for their creativity and out of the box thinking.