UIS names new director of Graduate Public Service Internship program

Rance Carpenter has been selected to become the Director of the Graduate Public Service Internship (GPSI) program in the Center for State Policy and Leadership at the University of Illinois Springfield effective September 1.

“Mr. Carpenter brings the right blend of experience to the leadership of the GPSI program,” said Dr. David Racine, interim executive director of the Center for State Policy and Leadership. “He is familiar with state and local government in Illinois, knows the program first-hand, as both a former intern and a supervisor of interns, and has an extensive management background.”

Carpenter comes to the position from a career in the field of services for the aging. Starting in the local area agency on aging based in Springfield, he subsequently moved to the Illinois Department on Aging and rose through the ranks there to chief of its community operations bureau. The bureau administers federal grants to Illinois’ 13 area agencies, manages the state program that employs seniors in community service work, and the state’s community care program. Carpenter has direct experience with the GPSI program, having been one of its interns and a supervisor of interns during his time with the Illinois Department on Aging. Carpenter holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from Illinois State University and a master’s degree in public administration from the University of Illinois Springfield.

For nearly four decades, GPSI has partnered with state and local government agencies and major nonprofit organizations to provide part-time internships for UIS graduate students. The internships allow students to gain practical, professional experience while earning a master’s degree in their chosen field. GPSI is regarded as one of the premier graduate internship programs in Illinois. In fiscal year 2011, the program placed 152 graduate students in internships with 18 different agencies.

Carpenter succeeds Kim Hayden, who retired in 2010 after serving as director of GPSI since 2001. For more information, contact David Racine at 217/206-8417 or email draci2@uis.edu.