Contact: Cara Halstead Cea, Pace University Public Information (914) 906-9680, chalstead@pace.edu

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PACE UNIVERSITY NAMES MICHAEL A. GENITO DIRECTOR OF MICHAELIAN INSTITUTE

Will direct think-tank studies, workshops for municipalities, nonprofit and businesses on topics from intermunicipal agreements to transit and watersheds

Institute is integral part of Westchester’s only MPA program

WHITE PLAINS, NY, March 30, 2009 –Michael A. Genito, an expert in municipal government and finance who was comptroller of the city of Rye, New York for nearly 13 years, has been named head of the Edwin G. Michaelian Institute for Public Policy and Management at Pace University.

He brings his in-the-trenches experience to bear in directing Pace’s 36-year-old municipal “think tank,” which is regularly commissioned to undertake impartial studies of issues affecting governments, taxpayers and institutions. These studies include work by the institute’s research affiliate, the Municipal Law Resource Center, which draws on resources of the nearby Pace Law School and specializes in municipal laws and charters.

Over the years Michaelian research has contributed to the effectiveness of municipal services in dozens of cities and towns, often providing case studies of local issues that arise across the nation.

The Institute also conducts professional workshops and training programs for governmental units, not-for-profit organizations, businesses, and citizens.

In addition, work on Michaelian studies frequently is an important component of Westchester County’s only Master of Public Administration (MPA) program, which is conducted in downtown White Plains in collaboration with the Institute by Pace’s Dyson College of Arts and Sciences. Pace MPA students frequently hold full-time positions with governmental and not-for-profit organizations, and the MPA program provides internship opportunities to students who are not yet employed.

Notable Pace MPA graduates include New York State Senator Andrea Stewart Cousins, Westchester Legislator Jose Alvarado, New Rochelle city manager Charles Strome, III, and Fred Kreizman, Assistant Commissioner of Citywide Outreach in the New York City Mayor’s Office.

Government finance expert. A part-time professor of public administration and finance at Pace since 2002, Genito became comptroller of Rye City in 1996 after serving as treasurer in the Village of Suffern and finance director in the Town of Ramapo. A resident of Montebello, New York with an undergraduate degree in Music from Ramapo College of New Jersey, he holds both an M.P.A. in Government from Pace University and an M.B.A. in Accounting & Finance from Fairleigh Dickinson University. He is a Certified Public Finance Officer, a Certified Government Financial Manager, and a Credentialed Municipal Finance Officer. He is a member of the Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada (GFOA) and the New York State GFOA.

“Pace University takes its commitment to serve its regional community very seriously and Michaelian is the ‘go to’ center for understanding underlying issues facing cities and towns in this area,” said Geoffrey Brackett, Pace’s Provost. “Recent changes in the financial climate are intensifying these challenges, and Michael Genito’s experience is an excellent fit. His knowledge, leadership and experience will keep Michaelian at the forefront of helping our municipalities.”

“I’m honored by the chance to build on the distinguished tradition the Michaelian Institute has established in municipal and nonprofit know-how, and in helping ready leaders and policymakers for their responsibilities in the century ahead,” said Genito.

Water and fire. Past Michaelian studies have taken up such matters as cooperative emergency preparedness for fire and police departments, municipal compensation, energy-efficient mass transit, and intermunicipal agreements to operate government services.

Municipalities that recently have commissioned Michaelian studies include the villages of the Town of Greenburgh, twelve Long Island Sound communities participating in the Long Island Sound Watershed Intermunicipal Council, the towns and villages of Ossining and Mamaroneck, the villages of Bronxville and Rye Brook, and several fire districts in southern Westchester County.

The Institute also sponsors conferences, seminars, and training workshops on major issues concerning public policy, politics, and governmental and not-for-profit operations. It conducts a year-long training program for Japanese officials, and has run seminars for officials from China, Russia and Korea. In addition, it works closely with the Department of Public Administration of Pace’s Dyson College of Arts and Sciences in placing student interns.

The Institute is named for its first director, former Westchester County executive Edwin G. Michaelian. The Municipal Law Resource Center annually responds to several hundred research requests covering all aspects of municipal law, and provides model laws to assist communities in drafting their own local legislation. Law students research and prepare informational memoranda on municipal law issues, and the Center publishes The Municipal Lawyer, co-sponsored by the New York State Bar Association, which highlights and explains recent judicial and legislative enactments affecting local government. The Center’s municipal law library is one of the most comprehensive in New York State and is augmented by the entire collection of the Pace University Law Library.

Professional education at Pace University: For 103 years Pace University has produced thinking professionals by providing high quality professional education resting on a firm base of liberal learning, amid the advantages of the New York metropolitan area. A private university, Pace has campuses in New York City and Westchester County, New York, enrolling nearly 13,000 students in bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral programs in its Lubin School of Business, Dyson College of Arts and Sciences, Lienhard School of Nursing, School of Education, School of Law, and Seidenberg School of Computer Science and Information Systems. www.pace.edu ###