Faculty

The Watts College of Public Service and Community Solutions, the nation’s largest comprehensive public service college, was recognized today with elite rankings for its schools of public affairs and criminology. With highly rated programs in each of its four schools, Watts College presents vivid evidence for the core claim of Arizona State University: excellence and inclusion go hand in hand. Indeed, half of the 14 ASU graduate-degree programs ranked in the top 10 are found in Watts College.

Elizabeth Lightfoot will become the next director of the ASU School of Social Work (SSW) on July 1, Watts College of Public Service and Community Solutions Dean Jonathan Koppell announced today.

Lightfoot, a University of Minnesota Distinguished Global Professor who has directed UMN’s doctoral program in social work since 2006, has been a member of its faculty since 1999.

Arizona State University has 14 graduate degree programs ranked in the top 10 nationwide, according to new rankings released by U.S. News & World Report.

Of the 14 top-ranked degree programs, half are in the Watts College of Public Service and Community Solutions. The list was released March 30 after the magazine assessed more than 2,100 degree programs for 2022.

U.S. News & World Report provides several higher education rankings throughout the year, and last fall rated ASU as the most innovative university in the country for the sixth year in a row.

The COVID-19 pandemic’s limitations on public gatherings didn’t restrict donor enthusiasm this spring for ASU’s Watts College of Public Service and Community Solutions.

Donors came through with their cash and with their presence in two activities held during one week. One, a day of giving, was designed to show financial support for the college. The other, a first-time event, gave supporters the chance to put their muscles and wallets to work in a 5K run-walk that raised money for charity.

The COVID-19 pandemic has been a globally disruptive force to our human systems for over a year. 

Scholars have already begun researching the effects of the catastrophe as it’s unfolding. But what will that inquiry look like in five years, or a few decades from now? How will researchers measure the shock to and resilience of society?

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