17 City of Arlington Employees Earn Graduate Degrees Through UTA’s Master of Public Administration City Cohort Program
By Susan Schrock, Office of Communication
Posted on August 20, 2021, August 20, 2021

City of Arlington employees who graduated August 19, 2021, from UTA's MPA city cohort program.

Caps off to the newest University of Texas at Arlington graduates! This week, 17 employees earned their Master of Public Administration degrees as part of the first MPA city cohort program between UTA and the City of Arlington.

Over the past two years, these employees completed the 39-hour program, which is tailored to city management and includes an emphasis on economic development and urban management. Employees with the City of Grand Prairie and City of Bedford also participated in the successful MPA city cohort program.

The City of Arlington provided tuition assistance for the program, which aims to provide employees with skills necessary for future leadership opportunities.

“People who are more educated are going to have more opportunities and excel in many ways,” said City Manager Trey Yelverton, who taught economic development as part of the city cohort program. “As an employer, whether it’s through tuition reimbursement or obtaining certain professional credentials, we are going to continue to invest in employee career development so we can attract and keep the best and brightest.”

The mission of UTA’s Master of Public Administration program is to strengthen public decision making and the delivery of public services in a globalized and diverse society by educating students to lead and manage organizations at all levels of government and nonprofit institutions ethically, democratically, and effectively.

Congratulations to Susan Edwards, Erik Ferner, Rick Ripley, Cheri Colbert, Naisha Estrada, Stephanie Dimas, Chris Funches, Traci Peterson, John Morgan, Trent Ballard, Amberley Shelby, Melanie Speakman, Nina Sherer, Sharon Granado, Austin McKeon, Thom Eastridge and Donna King.


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