AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION DIRECTOR 
JOHN THOMAS TO HEAD U.VA.S COOPER CENTER FOR PUBLIC SERVICE

	CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va., Aug. 26 -- John P. Thomas, executive
director of the American Society for Public Administration and a
widely respected leader in the field of governmental and public
management, has been named director of the University of Virginia's
Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service, U.Va. Vice President and
Provost Peter W. Low announced today.
	Thomas, a former executive director of the National
Association of Counties, was chosen after a national search and will
assume his new position Sept. 1.  The Cooper Center provides a broad
range of services to Virginia's state and local governments and the
public and conducts research on numerous key state issues.
	John W. Garland, who has served as acting director of the
Cooper Center since last October, has been appointed associate vice
provost for intellectual property with the University's Office of
Vice Provost for Research, Low also announced.  Garland, a former
U.Va. associate general counsel, stepped in to manage the Cooper
Center after Carl W. Stenberg resigned last year to take a deanship
at the University of Baltimore.
	"John Thomas's wide experience in public service and in
working to improve the effectiveness of government at all levels
makes him an ideal person to head the Cooper Center," Low said.
"Under his leadership the center will continue to fulfill its
mission to bring University expertise to meet the needs of all parts
of Virginia.  We are also extremely grateful to John Garland for his
able direction during the past year."
	Thomas has served as executive director of the 12,000-member
American Society for Public Administration since 1991.  The non-
profit professional organization is the only one of its kind in the
country designed to improve public administration in all government
fields.
	From 1986 to 1991 Thomas served as director the National
Association of Counties, which assists county government officials
throughout the country.  There he helped establish a program to
provide recognition for innovative solutions to governmental
problems and established a resource center for creating successful
programs.  Among other projects he helped create a national
consortium of government and industry leaders to focus on critical
infrastructure needs of state and local governments.
	Prior to that Thomas served as executive director of the
Florida Association of Counties, providing an extensive program of
education and training for Florida's county governments.
	Thomas holds a B.A. from the College of Wooster, Ohio, an
M.A. in political science from the University of Toledo, and a
master's and doctorate in public administration from the University
of Southern California. 
	He has taught graduate-level courses in public finance,
government and politics at the University of Southern California and
Florida State Universities and has lectured widely at other
universities.  Among numerous professional activities and honors he
is a fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration.
	The Cooper Center for Public Service is a research and
training organization that serves the state. The center provides
objective information, research and technical assistance, and
practical training to state and local officials, community leaders
and the public.  The center's 35-member staff includes experts in
public management, demography, economics, government, organizational
development, workforce issues and minority  affairs.
###    
August 26, 1996                     
	For interviews John Thomas may be reached at (804)
982-5541.  For additional information or assistance inÊarranging
interviews please contact Bob Brickhouse at U.Va. News Services at
(804) 924-6856.  Television reporters should call our TV News Office
at (804) 924 7550.