Some of the country’s most talented students aspiring to lead local government are honing their skills through the Marvin Andrews Fellowship in Urban Managment. 

The 2016 cohort marks the 11th class to join the competitive program which continues to attract students interested in urban management from across the nation. 

Since its inception in 2006, 29 students have graduated from the program. It is supported with an endowment from the Arizona City/County Managment Association (ACMA), the School of Public Affairs, and private sector contributors. 

“I chose the Marvin Andrews Fellowship at Arizona State University because it's the future of governance,” said Blaise Caudill, a member of the 2015 cohort studying public administration. “It's the future of service to our neighborhoods and communities,” said Caudill. 

In the first year of their fellowship, the ‘Marvins’ work as paid interns in the Center for Urban Innovation, conducting research for the Alliance for Innovation, a premier networking association for cities and counties commited to innovation. A past cohort of first-year Marvins led a management analysis for the town of Cave Creek, Arizona, examining personnel activities and work allocation. The Marvins gained a close-up view inside an organization, ultimately producing a report that was integrated into actual decisions confronting the community. 

In the second year, the Marvins participate in an internship in one of the many fast-growing cities in the Phoenix Metropolitan area. 

“Having the chance to work alongside the Alliance for Innovation and Center for Urban Innovation on real challenges that governments face in the 21st century is the best opportunity any student could have in the field of public administration,” said Dominic DeCono, a Marvin Andrews Fellow who graduated from ASU with his undergraduate degree. 

The Marvin Andrews Fellowship in Urban Management is named in honor of Marvin A. Andrews, who served for 13 years as city manager of Phoenix. Phoenix is the largest council-manager government in the United States and a city many consider the “best run” in the United States. 

Andrews was named the best city manager in the United States in 1986 by City and State Magazine, twice received the National Civic League’s “All-America City” award, recieved the 1994 International City Management Association’s Mark Keane Award for Excellence and the National Academy of Public Administration’s National Public Service Award in 1990.

In 1983, Andrews helped usher in a new era in city government when he introduced the council district system and emphasized a heightened focus on neighborhoods. He was also praised for efficiently managing and providing cost-effective city services during the explosive growth years of the early 1980s. Even after he retired in 1990, Andrews remained highly active in city affairs, serving for more than 10 years on the Phoenix Aviation Advisory Board and as chairman of the Sky Harbor Master Plan Steering Committee. 

Andrews passed away in July of 2004. Phoenix recognized his contribution with the naming of Marvin Andrews Way, an intersection at the Phoenix City Hall Complex.