William D. Coplin received his BA in Social Science from Johns Hopkins University in 1960, and his M.A (1962) and Ph.D. (1964) in International Relations from American University. He has published more than seventy books and articles in the fields of international relations, public policy, political risk analysis, social science education, citizenship and "doing good." He has been the Director and Professor of the Public Affairs Program of the Maxwell School of Syracuse University and College of Arts and Sciences since 1976. He co-founded and 1976. He co-founded and served as a senior consultant to the PRS Group LLC from 1979 to 2001, which forecasts political and economic conditions in 100 countries.
Reforming College and High School Education
Throughout his career, he has written extensively on the need to reform both high school and college to better meet the needs for the majority of students who see education as a path to better employment opportunities. He has consulted with more than forty high schools throughout the state on curriculum and worked with the Syracuse City School District on project-based learning. With his publication of Ten Things Employers Want You to Learn in College (see below) in August 2003, he has received numerous interviews and written extensively on how to bring about those reforms. He has written articles on the topic in USA-Today, the Albany Times Union and for Knight-Ridder syndication, newsletters of several different professional organizations including the National Parents Teachers Association, the NCAA News, the National Association of School Boards and educational websites of Newsweek Magazine and the Wall St. Journal. In 2004, he was appointed as Advisor for Professional Skills to College Parents of America.
Teaching and Advising Awards
In 1993 he received the Chancellor's Citation for Distinguished Service by Syracuse University. He was appointed one of the first three Laura J. and L. Douglas Meredith Professor for Teaching Excellence at Syracuse University in 1995. He has received several other awards for excellence in teaching and advising from faculty, students and alumni, including the 2000-2001 College of Arts and Sciences Award for Outstanding Faculty Advisor
High School Curriculum and Training Activities in Citizenship Education
He has designed and implemented curriculum to develop citizenship skills among college and high school students. His Public Affairs 101: Introduction to the Analysis of Public Policy served as the base for his contribution to guidelines for the Regents twelfth grade course "participation in government" required of all graduating high school students in New York State. The course has been taken by more than 3,000 students at Syracuse University over the past 23 years. More than 10,000 high school seniors at 35 high schools have taken the course over the past 15 years through Syracuse University's Project Advance Program. He, with two colleagues, received an award from the Public Employees Roundtable for the best one-year curriculum for increasing the public awareness of the range and quality of services provided by public servants. He serves as the curriculum consultant to the High School for Leadership and Public Service in New York City, which was founded by the NYC Board of Education in 1993 in partnership with the Maxwell School of Syracuse University.
Policy Studies Program at Syracuse University
He has been an advocate and practitioner of building public service into the college curriculum through internships and projects. The Policy Studies Major, which he has designed and managed since 1978 requires at least six credit hour of coursework working on community projects. Each year, his students provide more than $100,000 (according to client estimates) of research services and more than $60,000 in direct services to the clients of nonprofit agencies. Policy Studies majors win a disproportionate number of scholarship awards within and outside the University.
Public Service Activities to Agencies Serving Youth
As a direct by-product of the use of public service in the curriculum, he created the University Reach Program in 1988. The program has received more than $275,000 in grants from the Mott Foundation, Nationwide Insurance, UPS and the Kellogg Foundation to support which undergraduates working with inner-city youth in a variety of projects. Since 1999, he has offered a course where undergraduates offer a range of programs to youth at a housing project located near the University and other locations throughout the city. He became a Board Member of the Syracuse Boys and Girls Clubs to better connect the work of SU undergraduates to the largest provider of youth programs in Syracuse. He received the 2001 President's Award, the highest award offered by the Boys and Girls Club, for his efforts in the Continuous Improvement System for evaluating programs. He received the Civic Leadership Award at the Onondaga Citizens League 25 Years Award Ceremony.
Improving Local Governments
In 1996, he and the then Chair of the Public Administration Department, Astrid Merget, received a $579,000 three-year grant from the Sloan Foundation to develop benchmarks for government service performance in Onondaga County and establish the Maxwell Community Benchmarks Program. He co-authored a book in 2000, with Carol Dwyer, Does your Government Measure Up: Basic Tools for Local Officials and Citizens. The book has been endorsed by professional associations such as the American Chamber of Commerce and the International City Managers Association. With two colleagues, he published an article in Public Administration Review in 2202 entitled "The Professional Researcher as Change Agent in the Government-Performance Movement." He also served as vice-chair and chair of the Town of Manlius Coalition in the late 1990's.
Trade Book Publications
His latest book, Ten Things Employers Want You to Learn in College, was published by Ten Speed Press in August, 2003. It informs undergraduates how they can use their college academic and non academic experiences to prepare for a rewarding career.
In 2000, he published a book How You Can Help: An Easy Guide to Doing Good Deeds in Your Everyday Life published by Routledge. The book aims to encourage people to do good. Larry King, Ralph Nader and the presidents of both the Points of Light Foundation and Independent Sector have endorsed the book. All profits from the book are contributed to local programs for disadvantaged youth. A web site, genuinedogooder.com was launched to support the book and provide help to those who want to make a difference through careers, volunteering, donating money and public service.
He has co-authored Power Persuasion: A Surefire System to Get Ahead in Business (Addison-Wesley, 1985) which was selected by Fortune Book of the Month Club and has been translated into Danish, German, Japanese, and Spanish.
