It has been said there is no such thing as a free lunch or a free ride. NIU students interested in public administration will shatter that myth Friday in Chicago.

NIU’s Division of Public Administration will provide free transportation to the “Public Service Career Forum Recruitment Fair” at the McCormick Center Hotel in Chicago 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Lunch will be provided during the free seminar.

Throughout the day, public leaders, managers and adminstrators will discuss the public service job market. In the morning and early afternoon, students will have the opportunity to attend panel discussions. Roland Burris, state of Illinois Comptroller, will be the keynote speaker during the morning session.

At 1:30 p.m. NIU and colleges such as George Washington University and Rutgers University will present information on their public administration graduate programs at the recruitment fair.

The seminar is geared toward minorities but is open to all, said Barbara DuRocher, Public Administration (M.A.P.A.) Program Coordinator. The division will provide transportation to the seminar for as many students as wish to go.

The seminar will be sponsored in part by the National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration, which oversees NIU’s graduate program in public adminstration.

DuRocher said NIU’s graduate program gives students the opportunity “to be trained as professional administrators to work within public organizations such as governmental agencies, human service agencies, higher educational institutions such as NIU.”

She said business students who want to serve the public should look into getting an M.A.P.A. (Master of Arts and Public Administration) degree. However, many business and humanity undergraduate students do not consider pursuing a masters degree in public adminstration because they are not aware of the option, DuRocher said.

These students are not alone. “Not many minorities think of (the program) as an option,” she said. As an incentive, NIU offers financial assistance to minority students for the graduate program, DuRocher said.

NIU’s program includes two-year internships which help graduates of the program get jobs, she said. In addition, NIU’s graduate program is “especially strong in the area of city management,” she said.

To work at a local, state or federal agency often requires a public administration degree, DuRocher said. There are many governmental agencies in the Chicago area which offer opportunities for those with masters degrees in public adminstration, she said.

Public adminstration differs from private adminstration, she said, because while profit margins are often the concern of private administators, balanced budgets are usually the concern for public adminstrators.

However, graduates of NIU’s program now work in both the public and private sectors. Graduates include: a vice-president of administration of Goodwill Industries, a director of a child abuse prevention agency, a budget analyst for the city of Chicago, a director of parks and recreation, an EPA specialist, and many professors and city managers, DuRocher said.