Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Current Project:

Review of CDC awards and senior-level compensation policies, procedures and practice.

Client/Funder:

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Purpose and Scope:

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has as its primary mission the protection of the public’s health and safety and the dissemination of important health-related information.  The CDC workforce and their partners have achieved global recognition for research and action-oriented investigative methodologies.  CDC leadership takes pride in the extraordinary men and women and their accomplishments and uses various incentive programs, including monetary awards, to reward and recognize its workforce.   The agency has emphasized the need for pay and awards programs that are equitable, transparent, and demonstrate the highest degree of integrity.

In the fall of 2006, the agency’s Executive Leadership Board voted to create a new standing committee to analyze the current criteria for performance awards and to make recommendations about strengthening the awards process and addressing any shortcomings.  To further inform this effort, the agency asked the National Academy of Public Administration (the Academy) to study its award and senior-level compensation programs, including its use of recruitment, relocation, and retention incentives.

CDC’s goal for this study is to obtain an independent and objective analysis of data and administration of these programs. The study will be guided by an expert Panel whose membership is shown on the reverse side of this paper.  Representatives of the Academy will also work closely with CDC’s Executive Leadership Board and meet monthly with its Compensation and Performance Review Subcommittee.  The study will include an assessment of information gained in extensive focus groups and individual interviews at six key CDC locations as well as analysis of a sampling of award and compensation documentation.  The Academy will then benchmark compensation and cash awards programs with similar science-based and other organizations to identify effective practices not currently used by the CDC.  The Panel will provide a comprehensive set of recommendations for improving these programs

Project Director: 

Laurie J. May

Panel: 

The Academy has appointed the following individuals to a Panel to oversee and direct the study. The public may send comments on the composition of the panel for a period of seven (7) days after the posted date to mditmeyer@napawash.org.

Panel Chair:

John J. Callahan*—Former Assistant Secretary for Management and Budget, and Chief Financial Officer, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; Acting Commissioner, U.S. Social Security Administration. Former positions with the U.S. Senate: Chief of Staff to Senator Jim Sasser; Deputy Staff Director, Senate Budget Committee; Staff Director, Senate Governmental Affairs Subcommittee on Government Efficiency, Federalism, and the District of Columbia; Staff Director, Governmental Affairs Subcommittee on Intergovernmental Relations; Director of Federal-State Relations; Executive Director, Legislators' Education Action Project.

Panel Members:

Diane M. Disney*—Dean and Professor of Management, Commonwealth College, Pennsylvania State University. Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense (Civilian Personnel Policy), U.S. Department of Defense. Former positions with the University of Rhode Island: Management Faculty to Associate Professor; Director, Research Center in Business Economics; Principal Investigator, Rhode Island 2000 Labor Market Research Projects. Former Adjunct Faculty and Manager, Ford Foundation Project on Employer Benefits and the Future of the Social Protection Program, Heller School, Brandeis University; Rhode Island Research Associate, The Urban Institute.

Curtis Smith*—Malcolm R. Meyers Distinguished Chair in Public Service, Wilson Center for Leadership, Hampden-Sydney College; Adjunct Faculty, School of Public and Environmental Affairs, Indiana University. Former Malcolm R. Meyers Distinguished Chair in Public Service, Wilson Center for Leadership, Hampden-Sydney College;  Director, Federal Executive Institute. Former positions with the U.S. Office of Personnel Management: Associate Director for Retirement and Insurance; Associate Director for Career Entry; Policy Advisor to the Director; Deputy Assistant Director for Pay and Benefits Policy, Compensation Group; Special Assistant to the Associate Director; Legislative Assistant.

Robert L. Trachtenberg*—Consultant. Former Chief Operating Officer, American Psychiatric Association; Executive Director, National Association of Private Psychiatric Hospitals; Deputy Administrator, Alcohol, Drug Abuse, and Mental Health Administration, Public Health Service, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; Associate Commissioner for Hearings and Appeals, Social Security Administration; Deputy Assistant Secretary for Grants and Procurement, U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare.

Charles W. Washington*—Former Dean, School of Arts and Sciences, Clark Atlanta University; Professor of Public Administration, Florida Atlantic University; Chair and Director, John C. Stennis Institute of Government, Mississippi State University; Associate Dean and Professor, School of Government and Business Administration, George Washington University.

Victor Zafra*—Former Resident Budget Advisor to the Ministry of Finance of Sri Lanka, U.S. Department of the Treasury; Resident Budget Advisor to the Romanian Ministry of Public Finance, U.S. Department of the Treasury; Resident Budget Advisor to the Ministry of Finance, Banja Luka, Serb Republic; Vice President for Business Affairs, Arizona State university; Associate Chancellor for Special Programs and Vice Chancellor for Administration and Human Resources, University of Illinois at Chicago. Former positions with the U.S. Office of Management and Budget: Branch Chief, Financing Branch, Health Division; Branch Chief, Health Programs Branch, Human Resources Division. 

CDC Identified Candidate:

George E. Hardy, Jr., MD, MPH—Public health practice consultant and Professorial Lecturer at the George Washington University School of Public Health. Formerly: Executive Director, Association of State and Territorial Health Offi cials; Executive Director, International Life Sciences Institute; Assistant Surgeon General, United States Public Health Service; Assistant Director, CDC; Professional staff of the Subcommittee on Health and the Environment, U.S. House of Representatives; Director, Jefferson County Department of Health in Birmingham, Alabama. Dr. Hardy is boardcertified in general preventive medicine and public health.

* Academy Fellow

Meetings:

Meeting 1: June 5, 2007
Meeting 2: August 14, 2007 (posted 6/22/2007)
Meeting 3: September 25, 2007 (posted 8/10/2007)

Project Staff:

FAQ's

If you have any questions or comments regarding this project, please send them to cdcawards@napawash.org.