Carissa Slotterback is Dean and Professor at ASU’s Watts College of Public Service and Community Solutions where she leads an academic portfolio of over 7,500 students. She brings deep experience in advancing public service education, research, and engagement, including via her prior role as Dean of the University of Pittsburgh’s School of Public and International Affairs (2020-26). At Pitt she led major efforts to deepen curricular connections to practice, enhance student engagement, launch new undergraduate credentials, and grow research capacity, as well as leading the university’s civic discourse initiative. She previously served as a faculty member, Urban Planning Program Director, and Associate Dean in the University of Minnesota’s Humphrey School of Public Affairs (2004-20). She also led several UMN-wide initiatives focused on interdisciplinary and engaged research and education, including as Director of Research Engagement in the VP for Research Office and Director of the Resilient Communities Project, university - community engagement program.
She holds a PhD in urban and regional planning and is a widely published scholar in public engagement and decision making in environmental and land use policy and planning. She has a particular interest in how stakeholders perceive impacts and use information in making decisions, focusing on impact assessment and collaborative decision-making approaches. Slotterback is a Fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration and Fellow of the American Institute of Certified Planners.