Annual High Table event celebrates tradition, policy innovation

23 Mar 2015

A bagpiper leads a procession of faculty in full academic regalia. — One of the most recognizable events during the annual High Table event is the procession in academic regalia from the Thomas Conner House to the High Table Luncheon.

The Center for Public Administration and Policy in the College of Architecture and Urban Studies’ School of Public and International Affairs will host its annual High Table this Friday and Saturday, March 27-28. The event brings together faculty, students, alumni, and invited guests to celebrate the life of the mind.

The center adopted the celebration, steeped in tradition, in 1986. It is based on similar events held for centuries at Oxford and Cambridge universities, where faculty and students would come together in ceremonious fashion to share a meal and listen to an honored faculty member speak on a topic of importance for their field.

The High Table, organized in large part by the student organization Public Administrators of Virginia Tech, also is an opportunity to bring faculty, students, and graduates from the Center for Public Administration and Policy’s locations in Richmond and Alexandria, Virginia, to the Blacksburg campus.

“This is a wonderful opportunity to explore and contemplate ideas, values, and evidence about governing with a broad community dedicated to the pursuit and sharing of knowledge,” said Karen Hult, professor and chair of the Center for Public Administration and Policy.

The 2015 High Table will feature guest of honor Frances Stokes Berry, the Frank Sherwood Professor of Public Administration at Florida State University's Reubin O’D. Askew School of Public Administration and Policy. Berry’s research and teaching interests include policy innovation, diffusion, and change; strategic management in state and local agencies; implementation and utilization of policy and administrative reform; and the utilization of computer technologies in public and nonprofit agencies.

Berry will speak during Saturday's High Table Luncheon on "Understanding Stakeholders' Social Construction of Mad Cow Policy." The luncheon is from noon to 2 p.m. in the Hillcrest Hall Dining Room.

The luncheon is the culmination of the High Table activities, and in many ways it is the most recognizable portion of the annual event. Preceding the luncheon, a procession in full regalia will begin at 11:30 a.m. at the Thomas Conner House. Other events include capstone presentations, panel discussions, and best paper awards.

All of the High Table events, including the luncheon and Berry’s talk, are open to the public. Registration and payment are required for some events. Additional information, the full schedule of events, and registration are available on the High Table website.