Change the future with Watts
College of Public Service and Community Solutions
Through hands-on learning opportunities such as the Community Collaborative at the Westward Ho, Watts students put principles into practice.
Bold leaders for a changing world
In Arizona and around the world, tomorrow will be shaped by the public service leaders we are training today.
From our local governments to our legal system to our ability to care for those most vulnerable, sustaining and improving our society has become increasingly difficult as we face shortages in critical positions and systemic inequities. Those entering public service will need to be ready to take on a changing world, so we need to start teaching and preparing them today.
The Watts College of Public Service and Community Solutions is inspiring the advocates, changemakers and leaders our world will need in the future — and serving communities in the here and now.
Proudly inclusive for the public good
As one of the largest comprehensive public service colleges in the nation, the Watts College is leading the charge to develop solutions to complex problems at the local, state, national and international levels. With degree programs in the School of Community Resources and Development, the School of Social Work, the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice and the School of Public Affairs, the Watts College offers students opportunities to positively impact the future of communities even as they pursue futures for themselves. Watts is proud to enroll one of ASU’s highest percentages of college transfers, military veterans and first-generation college students. The majority of our students qualify for federal student aid, and many come from the communities that they will return to serve in their careers. Public service is far from theoretical in our degree programs, where our student body delivers more than half a million hours of community service each year.
The Watts College is an authentic expression of all aspects of ASU’s charter: proudly inclusive, dedicated to work and research for the good of the public and devoted to the holistic health of the many communities it serves. Through Changing Futures®, we will bring the power of the New American University even more boldly to life in service of the public good.
We will invest in the people who will shape the future.
Watts College demonstrates an undeniable commitment to student success.
The
Public Service Academy and Next Generation Service Corps are central to ASU’s efforts to inspire tomorrow’s game changers.
Character-driven leadership
The Public Service Academy is the nation’s first civilian leadership corps designed to cultivate leaders across the public, private, nonprofit and military sectors. We are committed to creating visionary leaders with the character and transdisciplinary skills required to solve tomorrow’s challenges. Since 2015, the Public Service Academy’s anchor program, Next Generation Service Corps, has been creating the passionate, adaptable self-starters our world needs.
The Corps is rooted in the belief that the greatest challenges of our time — whether climate change, homelessness or inequality — can only be solved collaboratively by the kind of character-driven leaders the program endeavors to produce. Students learn and work across sectors, gain practical experience through three summer internships and collaborate in Mission Teams on a social mission of their choosing. Support will help remove financial barriers to the program by awarding every Corps member a scholarship to cover base tuition, ensuring they can get the most out of their experience. Investing in the Corps is ultimately an investment in the people who will devise and drive meaningful solutions.
Ambitious programs like Next Generation Service Corps are a testament to the intersection where the Watts College thrives: creating accessible student pathways and supporting communities now and in the future. “Every single student has the potential for impact,” says Watts College Dean Cynthia Lietz. “If we better prepare the next generation of public servants, that’s how we transform local communities, our state, our nation and our world.”
Reimagining criminal justice from the inside out
The School of Criminology and Criminal Justice is shaping the future of the criminal legal system by training the next generation, supporting system-impacted families and reimagining justice. This work has made the School a nationally recognized leader in the field.
With support from the President’s Office, the School is partnering with the University Design Institute to drive long-overdue reform across the criminal justice system. Over the next five years, we will lead a multidimensional initiative to advance system-level change — scaling programs, influencing policy, strengthening the public safety workforce and expanding education for incarcerated individuals.
Another key priority is the Center for Correctional Solutions, which integrates research, training and programs to develop evidence-based, just approaches to corrections. This work aims to repair harm, empower people and promote public safety, with the ultimate goal of reimagining the criminal justice system in Arizona and beyond.
One critical element for the success of this initiative — and for the future success of our students — is providing meaningful, first-hand learning experiences for the students in our programs. ASU students across disciplines become better prepared for their future careers by gaining practical experience, whether learning how to provide traumainformed care or even learning alongside people experiencing incarceration in the Inside Out Prison Exchange Program.
“We had students entering law enforcement, legal careers and corrections who had never interacted with correctional staff or people who are incarcerated,” said Kevin Wright, Director of the Center for Correctional Solutions. “At ASU, we break down the walls of the classroom — our charter and mission make it possible.”
Our service to society’s most chronically excluded members is a testament of our commitment to inclusive excellence.
Making democracy work
As our country reckons with the meaning and future of democracy, The Center for an Independent and Sustainable Democracy, the Mechanics of Democracy Laboratory and the Congressman Ed Pastor Center for Politics and Public Service are working on the frontlines. By training people who will run elections in Maricopa County, program leaders hope to build trust in the electoral process.
“We have to be realistic in making sure that as we rebuild trust we’re doing it in a collaborative way,” says Shannon Portillo, Director of the School of Public Affairs, “really thinking through partisan inclusivity and how Independents, Republicans and Democrats can work together to have a functioning democracy.”
Given the complexities of elections in Arizona, ASU is uniquely positioned to reexamine and strengthen election integrity, starting in our own backyard.
Supporting and sustaining a healthy democracy is one of ASU’s central priorities for Changing Futures.
a better future Support Watts College and shape
Through the powerful combination of top-ranked academics, experiential learning, and a commitment to serve, students in the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice are learning to be the leaders an evolving criminal legal system will demand.
The Watts College of Public Service and Community Solutions is shaping and inspiring learners to serve their communities compassionately, step into public service roles confidently, and catalyze vibrant, sustainable communities.
Join us as we support our students and create solutions that will change the future.
Change futures by supporting
Transform global education
Despite its notable achievements, the School of Public Affairs remains one of only two top-ranked schools in this field without an official name. A Naming Gift for the School of Public Affairs is crucial for its growth, supporting the education of future public servants and advancing research that strengthens communities at all levels.
Inclusive First-Generation Student Pathways and Support are urgent to ensure that the Watts College remains accessible and reflective of the communities we serve. We will expand support through affordable housing solutions, emergency financial aid and our Watts Resources and Essential Needs office. We will also increase scholarships for unpaid internships and expand our successful first-generation mentoring program, helping to ensure first-generation students not only access higher education but thrive and lead in transforming their communities.
Empower community resilience
Through Future Phoenix: Envisioning the Sustainable and Livable Greater Phoenix of the 21st Century, the Morrison Institute for Public Policy will partner with the Kyl Center for Water Policy and the College of Global Futures to tackle the region’s pressing issues like water, energy, heat, air quality and land use. We will engage local stakeholders to analyze the challenges and propose and implement policy and technology solutions.
Over the next five years, we will Reimagine the Criminal Legal System in Arizona and Beyond by completing a multidimensional five-year initiative to advance system-level change. This will include scaling programs and interventions; advancing policy solutions; supporting and diversifying the corrections workforce; and increasing access to education for those who are incarcerated. Importantly, these efforts will provide meaningful, first-hand learning experiences for ASU students from across disciplines.
Watts College
of Public Service and Community Solutions
Reshape our relationship with the planet
Support for Student Innovations for Housing and Homelessness Solutions Center will sustain and enhance the work of the ASU Action Nexus on Housing and Homelessness. Scholarships for student interns will increase the much needed capacity of agencies serving those experiencing homelessness. Support will also bolster faculty research and community health education and outreach efforts. With additional resources, we can augment our efforts to better community health through housing.
The ASU Community Collaborative at the Westward Ho is a remarkable asset for its senior residents, the ASU students who serve them and the Phoenix community. The Collaborative provides essential services that cater to the physical, mental, emotional and social well-being of older adults living in subsidized housing and offers students hands-on training in fields such as social work, nursing and nutrition—enhancing the quality of life for residents and equipping future professionals to serve an aging population.
Inspire tomorrow’s game changers
The Ed Pastor Congressional Papers Project and Directorship will honor the legacy of Congressman Ed Pastor, whose inclusive and community-building approach to leadership enabled him to work across the political spectrum and have long-lasting community impact over his 40 years of public service. By telling his story and those of other leaders from underrepresented communities, we aim to inspire a more inclusive generation of political and civic leaders.
Expanding the Marvin Andrews and Jane Morris Fellowship in Urban Management will prepare more future leaders in local government. These fellowships provide two years of tuition and employment support, helping passionate students gain the skills needed to become successful city or county managers. By increasing funding, the School of Public Affairs will add more fellows each year to meet growing demand and expand the program to rural communities.
The Next Generation Service Corps is growing to enhance leadership development and prepare a new generation to address the complex social needs of local communities around the world. Additional support will fund the implementation of students’ innovative solutions designed in collaboration with communities during their capstone courses. To further support our mission, we seek to raise scholarship funds to help cover tuition gaps for ASU students in the Corps.
About us
Watts College of Public Service and Community Solutions is a comprehensive public service college dedicated to fully integrating teaching, research and service to address social problems.
It is without peer in the number and breadth of degree programs, the level of externally-funded research activity, and student enrollment.
ASU Charter
ASU is a comprehensive public research university, measured not by whom it excludes, but by whom it includes and how they succeed; advancing research and discovery of public value; and assuming fundamental responsibility for the economic, social, cultural and overall health of the communities it serves.
asuchangingfutures.org