Announcing the next Dean of the Humphrey School

Dear Colleagues:

I am pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Nisha D. Botchwey as the next dean of the University of Minnesota Humphrey School of Public Affairs, effective January 10, 2022 and pending approval by the University’s Board of Regents at its October 2021 meeting.

Dr. Botchwey comes to the University from the Georgia Institute of Technology, where she currently is associate dean of academic programs for Georgia Tech Professional Education and a tenured faculty member in the School of City and Regional Planning. As Humphrey School dean, she will be the school’s chief executive officer and chief academic officer and will provide collaborative leadership to maintain and enhance its stature as one of country’s most preeminent and dynamic schools of public affairs, policy, and planning.

Dr. Botchwey brings to the University extensive experience as a collaborative academic leader and an accomplished researcher and educator working at the intersection of public policy and health. As associate dean for Georgia Tech Professional Education, she has had administrative and curricular oversight for a large academic portfolio including online professional master’s degrees, courses and certificates, the Georgia Tech Language Institute, and many other programs. In this role, to which she was appointed in 2020 following a national search, she collaborates widely with faculty across the University, the Georgia Tech community, and professionals to develop world-class academic programs and support outreach and student affairs. Overseeing coordination and delivery of programs in multiple modalities, she also has played a key leadership role in Georgia Tech’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Dr. Botchwey’s research and teaching have been at the nexus of environmental and health policy with a special focus on youth. She has led and contributed to varied multidisciplinary collaborations bringing together stakeholders and decision makers to explore how policies are applied across systems and communities to support healthy, equitable, and resilient communities. She has been a co-director of the National Physical Activity Research Center, an initiative involving internationally recognized faculty from six leading universities with backgrounds in public health, city planning, behavioral science, and parks and recreation. She also has been the director of the Built Environment and Public Health Clearinghouse, and has led regional dashboards that support decision making such as the Atlanta Neighborhood Quality of Life and Health Project, as well as the Youth Engagement for Action and Health project engaging youth in creating healthier neighborhoods. As well, she has developed and led diversity, equity and inclusion training for Georgia Tech and other academic institutions.

Dr. Botchwey has published and presented widely, and is the convener of a national expert panel on interdisciplinary workforce training between the public health and community design fields. Over her career she has been awarded more than $16 million from leading agencies and foundations as principal investigator or co-PI on more than 30 grant-funded projects. She has earned many awards, including, most recently, the nationally prestigious William R. and June Dale Prize for Excellence in Urban and Regional Planning. In addition to her tenured faculty appointment in the School of City and Regional Planning, Dr. Botchwey holds an adjunct faculty appointment in Emory University’s School of Public Health. She has a Ph.D. and Master of City and Regional Planning degree from the University of Pennsylvania and a Master of Public Health degree from the University of Virginia. Before joining Georgia Tech, she was a faculty member in Urban and Environmental Planning and Public Health Sciences at the University of Virginia.

In her new role as dean of the Humphrey School of Public Affairs, Dr. Botchwey will provide executive, administrative, and strategic leadership to further advance the excellence of its research, teaching, and public engagement—in fulfillment of the school’s mission to inspire and educate innovative leaders, to find evidence-based transpartisan solutions to important public issues, and to enhance the school’s role as a prominent connector and thought leader for the Twin Cities and Minnesota’s rural and urban communities, as well as regionally, nationally, and globally. She will engage the Humphrey School community in deepening the school’s commitment to racial justice and diversity, equity, and inclusion; advance fundraising; and lead collaborative strategic planning aligned with MPact 2025, UMN systemwide strategic plan. As a senior academic leader reporting to the provost and a member of the Twin Cities Deans Council, she will also play a collaborative leadership role in University academic affairs.

Please join me in welcoming Dr. Nisha Botchwey to the University of Minnesota. I am confident that her experience and collaborative leadership will position the School well for the future, building on its legacy and collective strengths. I know that interim dean Dr. Catherine Squires will work with the Humphrey School community to ensure a strong transition, and I again thank emerita dean Dr. Laura Bloomberg for her service and leadership. I also extend my appreciation to the search committee for its excellent work, with a special thanks to CLA Dean John Coleman for serving as chair, and I thank the faculty, staff, students, and external partners and stakeholders who took time to provide invaluable feedback on our outstanding finalist candidates.

Sincerely yours, Rachel T.A. Croson
Executive Vice President and Provost

email sent to the systemwide administrative email list (AEL) on September 16, 2021