An alumnus of Metropolitan State University of Denver will be leading the University’s effort to “strengthen the backbone of democracy. The MSU Denver Institute for Public Service has announced that Shaun LaBarre will serve as its first director. The institute, established this past fall, focuses on inspiring, preparing and enabling Roadrunners to serve, with an emphasis on careers in government and the nonprofit sector.
Building on the foundation of the former Hart Center for Public Service, the University has established a successful internship program. The institute also refocused public debate through the innovative Solution Studio series, challenging Colorado’s congressional and gubernatorial candidates to “audition” one at a time on the strength of their solutions to issues most important to students and young Coloradans, not on the cleverness of their sound bites.
LaBarre to take the lead
LaBarre is a public-service professional with over 20 years of leadership experience directing strategic programs, model initiatives and organizational operations at the intersection of public policy, community development and education.
Most recently, he served as acting executive director of the Getches-Wilkinson Center for Natural Resources, Energy and the Environment at the University of Colorado School of Law, managing research, education and advocacy programs focused on Western water policy, public-lands management, tribal/Indigenous communities, energy transitions and climate justice.
LaBarre received a Bachelor of Science in Psychology with a minor in Environmental Studies from MSU Denver before earning a master’s certificate in Leadership and Management from the University of Colorado at Boulder. He also completed the Harvard University Kennedy School of Government Public Leadership Program and received a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in the Workplace certificate from the University of South Florida’s Muma College of Business.
“I care deeply and commit fully, and I believe we can do something great here,” LaBarre said. “With the interdisciplinary nature of public service, there is the opportunity for all of campus to engage and build this initiative together.”
LaBarre recalls his time at MSU Denver as a time of hope for a better future, instilling in him the belief that he could indeed build a successful career that reflected his values.
“I believe that remains as true a value proposition for MSU Denver today,” he said. “My hope is for the Institute for Public Service to provide the opportunity for this generation of students to live their values and understand the tools and models needed to address the tradeoffs.”
“I am thrilled Shaun has agreed to join us as director and serve as a key member in launching the Institute for Public Service here at MSU Denver,” said John Masserini, DMA, dean of the College of Letters, Arts and Sciences. “The applicant pool was made up of some of the best thought leaders in public service from all across the country. Shaun was identified by the search committee early on due to his wealth of experience in public-service initiatives within academic institutions. The institute’s future is very bright with Shaun at the helm.”
What’s next for the institute
LaBarre will spend his first few months back on campus engaging stakeholders and gleaning input, ideas, guidance, encouragement and feedback to better understand the values inherent to a new generation of students and stakeholders.
“It will take your ideas, our community partners and the engagement of the students of MSU Denver to make this initiative successful,” he said. “I hope in the early days to build a welcoming framework for that engagement. Maybe I can even share with you a few ideas of my own, many of which probably have some genesis in a (Bruce) Springsteen song.”
Roadrunners are invited to visit LaBarre in Central Classroom Building Room 314 to discuss his goals for the institute or to chat about running, skiing and his dream to retrofit a 1959 Chevy Apache Fleetside as an electric vehicle.