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SAN BERNARDINO, CA – Audrey Mathews, professor emerita at California State University, San Bernardino, received the Elmer B. Staats Lifetime Achievement Award for Distinguished Public Service by the American Society for Public Administration (ASPA) during their annual conference in New Orleans in March.  The organization honored Mathews for dedicating more than 35 years to public service in local and state governments as a professor, budget director, planning commissioner and consultant.

“Professor Mathews is a role model for all of us for her outstanding commitment to public service through higher education and government,” said CSUSB President Tomás Morales. “The university community is proud of her accomplishments and remarkable dedication.”

“I am grateful and humbled that I would even be considered in the same category of those who have been recognized for this award before me,” Mathews said.

“I have dedicated my life to helping those in need in the communities where I live, work and play, never thinking my life’s dedication to the public service as something remarkable,” she said. “I’m just doing what I was born to do: mentor and provide a helping hand to those in need of my services.”

Mathews taught full time in CSUSB’s College of Business and Public Administration from 1996 to 2006, developing curriculum on diversity management, economic development, and budget and finance. She currently teaches courses on diversity in public organizations and organizational roles in multicultural societies as the CEO of Mathews and Associates, her consulting firm based in Los Angeles.

A 2007 National Academy of Public Administration Fellow, Matthews has also written numerous chapters in textbooks, journal articles and technical reports on topics of diversity, mentoring and urban governance. Professor Mathews received her doctor of public administration from the University of Southern California and a master of public administration from California State University, Northridge.

“I am so impressed with the ongoing dedication and commitment of Dr. Mathews to public service,” said Jonathan Anderson, chair of CSUSB’s public administration department.  “From her years of service as CSUSB faculty, including chair of the department of public administration, to her ongoing positions as a member of the San Bernardino County’s Planning Commission and Workforce Investment Board, Audrey is an outstanding public manager who continues to contribute to the San Bernardino community,” he added.