Academics

Editor's note: This story is part of a series of profiles of notable spring 2021 graduates.

Stephanie Pham says she never doubted her decision to take six years off from school and work to be a full-time caregiver to her parents, each of whom had been diagnosed with different forms of cancer. When she enrolled at ASU as an undergraduate, at first the student from Temecula, California, felt alone.

James Herbert Williams plans to keep a full schedule that includes editing two books and traveling to Africa once he concludes his four years as director of the Arizona State University School of Social Work this summer.

“Prior to coming to ASU I had several collaborations in eastern and southern Africa, and I would like to reconnect with my African colleagues. I spent the last decade working with tribes in Africa on conflict mediation and sustainable development,” Williams said.

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.

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