Community leaders welcome new leadership, faculty
The College of Public Programs celebrated new leadership and faculty members at a reception attended by community members representing all sectors of public service. Among the notable attendees was Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton who spoke on behalf of all the community partners who distinguish the College with their support and partnership. Stanton commended the solid partnership between ASU and Phoenix. In particular, he had high praise for the College and its embeddedness in the surrounding community, citing the mutual benefits and unique opportunities that the College’s areas of expertise bring to bear on the urban core. He said it is his desire to “make the relationship between the City of Phoenix and the College of Public Programs stronger and better.” Stanton also said that the ASU Downtown Phoenix campus is “singly the most important development in the downtown area and is driving economic development.”
Many other community leaders came to welcome new College leaders and faculty including Phoenix City Manager Ed Zuercher, Deputy City Manager Rick Naimark, Phoenix Vice Mayor Jim Waring, Maricopa Association of Governments CEO Dennis Smith, Maricopa County Assistant County Administrator MaryEllen Sheppard, Arizona State Representative Chad Campbell, Downtown Phoenix Inc. CEO David Krietor, St. Vincent de Paul CEO Steve Zibilski, Friendly House president and CEO Mark Mazone, attorney and senior research fellow with the Morrison Institute Grady Gammage, Phoenix Community Alliance CEO Don Keuth, Vice President of CopperPoint Rick DeGraw, Executive Director of the Cactus and Pines Girl Scouts of America Nereyda Lopez and Flo Eckstein and Marty Shultz, both ASU Board of Trustees members and part of the College’s Dean’s Leadership Council.
In his opening remarks, Dean Jonathan Koppell commented on the growth of the college—new programs, opportunities for students, research and field work with community partners—and its manifestation of ASU President Michael Crow’s vision for an engaged university that takes responsibility for the welfare of its community. Koppell emphasized that the future of our state depends on our ability to prepare strong public service leaders that represent the full diversity of Arizona.
New leadership and faculty introduced at the event included:
Cynthia Lietz, associate dean for academic affairs, College of Public Programs. Lietz holds a Ph.D. in social work from Arizona State University. She also serves as an associate professor in the School of Social Work. Lietz’s research seeks to inform strengths-based practice with children and their families, particularly research that informs implementation of family-centered practice in the child welfare system.
Michelle Mohr Carney, director and professor, School of Social Work. Carney earned her Ph.D. from The Ohio State University. She joins ASU from the University of Georgia where she was a professor in the School of Social Work and director of The Institute for Nonprofit Organizations. Carney brings substantial experience in working with nonprofit agencies and is well known for her work in treating domestic violence offenders. Her publications address the need to develop researcher-agency partnerships.
Thom Reilly, director, Morrison Institute for Public Policy, and professor, School of Public Affairs. Reilly earned his Ph.D. from University of Southern California. Reilly joined ASU from San Diego State University where he served as professor and director of the School of Social Work. Reilly is a Fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration. Reilly publishes extensively on public pay and benefits as well as on HIV and child welfare.
Cassia Spohn, director, School of Criminology and Criminal Justice. Spohn earned her Ph.D. in political science from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. A Foundation Professor, Spohn is one of the most cited female scholars in American criminology and criminal justice journals and one of the nation’s foremost experts on criminal sentencing.
Eric Welch, director, Center for Science Technology and Environmental Policy Studies, and professor, School of Public Affairs. Welch earned his Ph.D. from Syracuse University. He joins ASU from the University of Illinois at Chicago. He has been awarded several federal grants on topics from climate change to STEM research and has evaluated large multi-year science and technology programs for the NSF, NIH, United Nations and AAAS.
Henry Fradella, associate director and professor, School of Criminology and Criminal Justice. Fradella earned his Ph.D. from Arizona State University. Fradella previously served as professor and director of the School of Criminology, Criminal Justice and Emergency Management at Long Beach State University. Fradella is a nationally-recognized expert on the insanity and diminished capacity defenses and on the evolution of constitutional criminal procedure.
Mary Feeney, associate professor, School of Public Affairs. Feeney earned her Ph.D. from the University of Georgia. Feeney’s research interests include public and nonprofit management, science and technology policy. Fenney is currently working on research investigating e-government and technology in local governments.
Behrang Foroughi, assistant professor, School of Community Resource and Development. Foroughi earned his Ph.D. from the University of Toronto. Foroughi’s research focuses on promoting sustainable community and cultural-based development.
Christopher Hayter, assistant professor, School of Public Affairs. Hayter earned his Ph.D. from George Washington University. Hayter previously served as executive director of the Policy Evaluation and Transformation Group at the New York Academy of Sciences. His research areas are entrepreneurship, technology policy, and the organization of higher education and science.
Lily Hsueh, assistant professor, School of Public Affairs. Hsueh earned her Ph.D. from the University of Washington. Hsueh’s research centers on how economics and politics intersect and how various stakeholders play a role in affecting policy outcomes. Prior to joining ASU, Hsueh served as a National Research Council Postdoctoral Fellow at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Cindy Sangalang, assistant professor, School of Social Work. Sangalang earned her Ph.D. from the University of California, Los Angeles. Sangalang’s research focuses on culturally competent practice with immigrant and refugee populations, adolescent development and mental health.
Justin Stritch, assistant professor, School of Public Affairs. Stritch earned his Ph.D. from the University of Georgia. Stritch research areas include organizational performance, employee motivation, personnel instability and managerial succession. His most recent projects have examined how formal policies interact with managerial biases to affect decision outcomes.
Charles Wise, Distinguished Visiting Professor, School of Public Affairs, and Distinguished Fellow, Center for Emergency Management and Homeland Security. Wise earned his Ph.D. from Indiana University. Wise is the founding director of the John Glenn School of Public Affairs at The Ohio State University. Wise previously served as president of the National Association of Schools of Public Affairs, and in positions for the United States Department of Justice. He is a Fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration.