During this unprecedented time, UConn professors, staff and students have stepped up to limit the negative effects on the students’ matriculation and futures.  The Department of Public Policy’s (DPP) biggest scare affected our internship program, both for 2019-2020 interns and for students planning to intern in 2020-2021. Dr. Dave Garvey is the Director of the DPP’s Nonprofit Leadership Program and Internship program, as well as an Adjunct Professor. He has played a critical role in ensuring that interns were well protected during the crisis, and prospective interns were placed in good internships for the coming year.

Dave manages DPP’s effort to place all second-year students in a professional internship so they gain valuable experience which they can use after graduation.  Immediately after the COVID-19 closures, Dave contacted all our students and employers to ensure that everyone had a plan to finish their internship. COVID-19 closures also happened at the time when employers were supposed to interview future interns. We were positioned to have an excellent internship season with 80 internship opportunities already secured for the 50 prospective interns. We are proud to announce that 100% of our second-year participating students have been placed in internships for Fall 2020 and Spring 2021.

“Dave’s work on Encore!Connecticut, our Internship and Professional Practice Program, and the Public Service Executive Leadership Collaborative is central to the Department’s mission and outreach to the public service community,” adds Mohamad Alkadry, professor and head of the Department of Public Policy. “Dave skillfully navigated the challenges these programs faced due to the pandemic. His efforts to ensure that all our placed interns completed their internships and that rising second-year students were placed in internships were awe-inspiring. It is refreshing to work with a colleague like Dave who combines professionalism with a passion for helping students. We all appreciate what Dave did to get our students placed and to ensure that they developed plans with their employers to work remotely during the COVID-19 shutdown.”

Dave founded Connecticut’s first Encore Program over 10 years ago. Encore!Connecticut assists corporate professionals in their transition to nonprofit managerial positions.  This March marked the largest class yet to embark on a “4 month” journey of learning and networking taught by successful nonprofit leaders.  Even though the group can no longer meet in person, Dave retooled the Encore!Connecticut program so that educational programs could be presented in an online format. The usual on-site 8-week Fellowships were set up so that the Fellows could consult from home.  Post-COVID, Encore!Connecticut will be offered once-a-year online and once-a-year in-person.

Dave also oversees the Public Service Executive Leadership Collaborative (PSELC) which had its inaugural workshop two years ago.  He is focused on offering workshops related to relevant topics, securing speakers and creating marketing materials.