THE ROLE DEMANDS AND DILEMMAS OF MINORITY PUBLIC-ADMINISTRATORS - THEHERBERT THESIS REVISITED

How has the situation of the minority public administrator changed ove r the past two decades? In 1974 PAR published a symposium titled, ''Mi norities in Public Administration. '' Adam W Herbert, the symposium's editor, contributed an article that identified the role demands and di lemmas of minority public administrators. Herbert painted a picture of a minority administrator who is confined to ''social service agencies , ''held hostage by several powerful forces beyond his or her control. Has this portrait of minority administrators changed in the last 20 y ears? How do minority public administrators view themselves in relatio n to the demands discussed by Herbert? Do they perceive themselves as innocent victims or legitimate participants in statecraft? To answer t hese questions and more, Sylvester Murray and his colleagues at Clevel and State University surveyed members of the Conference of Minority Pu blic Administrators (a section of the American Society for Public Admi nistration). The authors found that significant changes have occurred since Herbert published his essay. Minorities have made impressive gai ns in securing upper-level management positions in federal administrat ive agencies. Minority administrators are also taking a more proactive position in dealing with the forces and demands discussed by Herbert.