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Newsletter Home  News from the Watson School of Public Service

Meet a Mentor: Matt Hugg

"For the School, being able to enroll the newest professionals in the field and provide them with the latest tools will help nonprofits serve more people more efficiently and at a higher quality."

~Matt Hugg, John S. Watson School of Public Service Mentor








Watson School Curriculum Committee

Hugg (far right) gathered with the Watson School's Curriculum Committee in May to make recommendations for adding, expanding or modifying programs and courses. Committee members include Watson School staff, mentors (a number of whom joined the meeting remotely) and academic advisors for the School's programs.





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Interested in earning credit for what you already know? Our brief PLA Self-Assessment is designed to help you understand your options for earning credit through prior learning assessment (PLA), which is a process that enables you to earn credit for college-level knowledge you have acquired outside of a traditional classroom that is equivalent to what would have been learned in a college course on the same subject.





 

Meet a Mentor: Matt Hugg

According to Matt Hugg, the ability for students to establish connections between academics and their everyday lives is at the heart of the TESU experience.

Hugg discovered the University's John S. Watson School of Public Service when he was contacted to fill in for another mentor during a Practical Grant Writing For Nonprofits (MSP-662) course term.

"I was teaching in the nonprofit management program at Eastern University in St. Davids, Pa., when my program director got a call asking whether he knew anyone who could fill in. I was happy to volunteer."

After his later suggestions were adapted to the MSP-662 course, he was given permission to restructure the entire course and stayed on as a mentor.

"With the assistance of the University's great instructional design specialists, we updated the course to include video lectures, interviews with subject matter experts and additional components that appealed to a wide variety of learning styles," he said. "We've used the same techniques to develop the new Fundraising in Nonprofits: Challenges and Opportunities (MSP-661) course."

The courses Hugg mentors are among the graduate area of study requirements for the School's Master of Public Service Leadership (MPSL) and Master of Science in Management (MSM) in Public Services Career degree programs. According to him, the courses' most significant takeaways are applicable across a number of nonprofit endeavors.

"In fundraising, we have a saying, 'no mission no money; no money no mission.' You cannot separate your ability to carry out your nonprofit's mission with your ability to fund that mission," he said. "Knowing the basics of generating revenue from charitable giving makes you a much more valuable employee, volunteer or board member and allows the organization's mission to reach more people."

Hugg said adult learners bring a range of experience and maturity into their courses.

"I love teaching adults and I find that they are very supportive of each other with the course subject matter and life issues in general," he noted. "For example, my most recent class had two students who posted that they were not familiar with a specific online writing tool. Before I had a chance to reply, a fellow student laid out the process for them step-by-step. It's that kind of mutual support that's invaluable to the TESU experience. What's even more gratifying is to see what adult students do with the results of their course work. In our MSP-662 course, many of the students submit the grant proposal they developed for their course to real funders later. Experiences like that make the direct connection between academic education and their professional lives."

In addition to mentoring, Hugg serves on the School's Curriculum Committee, Admissions Committee and Academic Integrity Committee. He said each brings together broad groups of mentors and administrators around important goals and issues in an expanding academic landscape.

That expansion should connect well with the anticipated job market.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Outlook Handbook, job growth in the fields of fundraising and public relations/fundraising management, is anticipated to be much faster – a 15 percent increase for fundraisers and a 10 percent increase through 2026 for fundraising managers – than the average employment growth across other fields.

Hugg said he senses the optimism.

"As one of the first among my contemporaries to receive a graduate degree in the nonprofit fundraising field, it's heartening to see the growth. It's also a great opportunity to bring in new ideas and methodologies. Concurrent with this growth is a far greater understanding of the motivations behind giving. For the School, being able to enroll the newest professionals in the field and provide them with the latest tools, will help nonprofits serve more people more efficiently and at a higher quality."

In 2005, Hugg started his own consulting business to work with nonprofits and their fundraising programs. "I came to a realization that many of my colleagues who did similar work were deficient in their business processes and marketing abilities. That observation gave rise to NonprofitConsultantZone.com. The website and my book, The Guide to Nonprofit Consulting, provide resources and coaching for anyone who consults to the nonprofit sector, whether it's fundraising, endeavors or marketing."

Over the course of his career, Hugg has served as a copywriter, adjunct faculty member and lecturer and in development leadership roles in higher education. He earned his Master of Arts degree in philanthropy and development from Saint Mary's University of Minnesota and his Bachelor of Science in natural history from Juniata College in Huntingdon, Pa.

Learn more about the academic programs available at the Watson School of Public Service.


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