Miller, Wall receive certified public manager distinction

Miller, Wall receive certified public manager distinction
-- DAS Human Resources Division, March 2006

Jim Miller, GSD Office of Properties and Facilities, and Crawford Wall, GSD Asset Management Services, recently earned their Certified Public Manager designation. They joined 41 other government leaders at the Ohio Certified Public Manager program (OCPM) graduation ceremony on March 24 in Columbus.

The program requires individuals to participate in 300 hours of classroom study and structured field instruction in the following areas:

General administration and organizational skills

Analytical and conceptual skills

Technical, quantitative and qualitative skills

Human relations skills

Miller believes the training he received in the program helped him to learn real-world skills he can use in his position as a project manager.

“I found the OPCM program very helpful in learning about state government operating procedures, in addition to my master’s in public administration,” Miller said. “The OCPM program was more detailed and gave me more of a picture of how state government and the legislature works.”

During his time in the program, Miller worked on a group project for Properties and Facilities. The project helped provide facility management services for the Attorney General’s Office, who gave positive feedback.

Wall, assistant project manager, enjoyed his courses in strategic thinking and planning. He said that the classroom dialogue helped him better understand the course material.

“It [the OCPM program] seemed long, but actually I would do it again,” Wall said. “The instructors were cool, and they had the out-of-the-box thinking that it really could be done.”

The OCPM program was established in 1997 through the efforts of DAS and several university partners. Graduates receive the Certified Public Manager designation, a professional certification recognized by 26 other states and the federal government.

During the two-year program, participants learn about real world topics from university faculty and professionals from the public sector. Classes meet three or four times a month.

Classes are held at four regional sites throughout the state with the assistance of state universities and colleges. For a list of participating agencies, please visit das.ohio.gov/hrd/ocpm/agencies.htm.

Participants also may receive undergraduate and/or graduate credit hours at several area colleges and universities through this program.

This program is for local and state government employees exempt from a bargaining unit. However, the HRD Office of Training and Development has training programs available for local and state government employees at all levels.