Interview with Professor Andrew Osorio

Joining the McGeorge faculty for the Fall 22’ semester is Dr. Andrew Osorio. I had the pleasure of sitting down with our new Assistant Professor of Public Administration, Law, and Policy to get to know him better and find out why he chose Pacific. At McGeorge, he will be teaching the J.D, M.P.A, and M.P.P programs.

1) What is your name and role here at University of the Pacific?

“Hello, my name is Andrew Osorio and I am an Assistant Professor of Public Administration, Law, and Policy at McGeorge School of Law. I mainly teach for the M.P.P (Masters in Public Policy), the M.P.A (Masters in Public Administration), and J.D programs (Juris Doctorate).”

2) What is your educational background?

“I received my Bachelors from Pomona college, double majoring in political science and international relations. My J.D is from NYU (New York University) and I received my MPA and PHD from University of Kansas.”

3) What are your personal research interests?

“My personal research interest stems from the intersection of law and public administration. Topics include everything from judicial behavior to federal tax spending on non profit organization. My research engages with wherever we see the administrative state engaged in either rulemaking or adjudication. I have implemented into my courses a doctrinal approach to law and doctrinal methods.”

4) What classes are you teaching this semester?

“Currently I teach Public Manager Analytics (PUB 233). The course aims to introduce students of public administration with tools of decision making. Such things as how we formulate questions, exposure to collection of secondary data, how environmental figures affect data, and applications of basic statistical tools. My other class that I am teaching this semester is Introduction to Legal Analysis (LAW-212), which is tailored to the M.P.A and M.P.P students. The course is a less techno-rational approach to law. Other law schools emphasize a heavy curriculum of reading statutes and case law, but my intention with the course was to introduce the intersection of the administrative state. We come to question the values within the process, and give an overarching view on how the administrative state interacts with the constitutional scheme. Within this course, we are less concerned with training J.D students and giving more of a sense of doing legal research. Concepts such as how to find case law and states, then combining them for legal guidance.”

5) Did you have a job previously before coming here?

“Previously I was a graduate instructor and a graduate T.A (teachers assistant in Kansas (K.U). I was also the co director for the public management research association. I was a Secretariat Co-Director for the Public Management Research Association. I was responsible for running administrative tasks and researching issues affecting nonprofit academic Organizations. I also clerked for a number of courts. One of which is a Federal District Court in the Southern District of Texas, and another at the Supreme Court of Hawaii. For a brief period I was an unpaid investigator. I have also taught in numerous places such as three semesters at a Honolulu high school, teaching social studies at Punahou School , and second chair teaching Master level courses in HR management, Public Policy, and Intro to law and public administration.

6) What appealed to you about teaching at Pacific?

The biggest part that appealed to me about teaching at McGeorge was the M.P.P and M.P.A programs were taught within a law school. [Moreover], McGeorge was the first Law School that offered the intersection of law and public administration. It was the perfect fit for my research interest and the best substantive fit for my area of expertise. McGeorge is also located in Sacramento, the capital of California. It is a vibrant setting in understanding the public sector. California is a leader in meaning issues. Being this close to a hotbed of politics and public policy is extremely appealing. Especially the opportunity for the student body to be closely involved with leading organizations. One thing I am also looking forward to is the opportunity to research with students.

7) Is there a course you really want to teach, or implement into the curriculum?

“Yes, I am currently teaching Law 212 (Intro to Legal Analysis) with a new approach. The goal was to revamp the course to have a larger emphasis on public administration and administrative law to tailor the class to the M.P.P and M.P.A students. Next semester I am also teaching the J.D programs a course on ethics in public administration and best practices. It will be particularly helpful for issues that arise out of ethical dilemmas. Furthermore it debates the unique ethical challenges to civil servants of the United States. Very few schools currently offer a course like this. Much of the class material and content will be compiled from scratch and will need to draw from a curriculum that has not already been established. It is exciting to lead McGeorge in developing this new area, but it is also daunting in the fact that I will be the pilot. I am also trying to implement a presentational skills class. With the M.P.P and M.P.A being an applied degree, there is an expectation that the skills conferred in the program will have a real world impact. In the skills we are imparting to students, we overlook some skills such as designing documents and creating engaging presentations. Things like formatting email signatures, composing emails, and achieving familiarity with Microsoft office are skills often viewed as underrated and often glossed over in undergrad. Familiarity with Microsoft office is extremely important because lots of secure governments run on microsoft. I hope to give students in this course highly applicable ways to improve their visual communication skills.”

8) What are you most looking forward to this semester?

“Settling in for the most part and getting to know the students. I was at KU (Kansas University) for over a decade. While there I was able to get to know the norms and values, along with the student body’s strengths and weaknesses. From this I was able to do the best job possible while also being well rounded and multi faceted. Another thing that excites me is that McGeorge M.P.P’s and M.P.A’s are in an applied program and do real things with their degrees.”

9) If students at the undergraduate level have questions for you, where can they contact you?

“You can contact me at aosorio@pacific.edu. My office is at the McGeorge School of Law Sacramento campus and people are always welcome to knock on my door if you are in the area. I’m here [in my office] a lot, and there are lots of things to do on this campus. If you live in Stockton, emailing is probably the best way to reach me. Here in the MPX program we are interested in creating more of a pipeline from our undergraduate program. We are working with the Political Science department to offer more courses in Public Administration. Perhaps even offering the M.P.P and M.P.A as an undergraduate minor. Even undergraduates in business may benefit from the curriculum taught in these classes. Any attempts to further branch out and talk to undergraduate students will help us work toward domestic and international accreditation. I extremely enjoy working with undergraduate students. They are very optimistic and broad minded about all the possibilities out there. Working in the public sphere is a great way to foster that passion.”

10) Is there anything else you would like to add?

“I am excited to be here. I hope to work with more masters students as well as be given time to work with undergrads as well as the visibility with the MPX programs.”