Biography

Nisha Botchwey, PhD, MCRP, MPH, has been Dean of the Hubert H. Humphrey School of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota since January 2022, leading a top-ten school of public policy, planning, and administration as it approaches its 50th anniversary in 2027. The School enrolls 463 students from 37 countries, employs 60 faculty and 66 staff, and operates on a $27 million budget with a $107 million endowment. She is a Fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration and president-elect of the Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs, and Administration (NASPAA).

Under her leadership the Humphrey School rose from #13 to #9 in national rankings of 269 schools, placing it in the top 5 percent of public affairs programs nationally, and grew its research portfolio by 40 percent. She has expanded student success initiatives, broadened global partnerships, and deepened community engagement, all in support of the School's mission to advance the common good through research, education, and public engagement. She has strengthened the School's financial, building reserves that expanded scholarship support to $2.3 million annually, now reaching 58 percent of master's students and every doctoral student. Annual philanthropic giving has grown from $1 million in her first year to a projected $2.5 million in 2026, exceeding its goal each year with a development staff of one. She launched the NextGen Summer Policy Academy and new undergraduate-to-graduate degree pathways, made constructive dialogue a signature commitment of the School.

Previously, as Associate Dean for Academic Programs at Georgia Tech Professional Education, she managed a $50 million budget, 600 faculty, and programs serving 42,000 students, with responsibility for curriculum, all academic offerings, outreach, and student affairs. In 2020 she led the Georgia Tech campus's shift to remote and hybrid instruction in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, ensuring learning continuity and academic excellence. She was a tenured associate professor in Georgia Tech's School of City and Regional Planning and director of its Healthy Places Lab, an adjunct professor at Emory University's Rollins School of Public Health, and a member of the University of Virginia's urban and environmental planning faculty..

Dr. Botchwey's research explores the intersection of public health and planning, with a focus on youth engagement. She has secured over $16 million in extramural funding for more than 30 grant-funded projects. Her published works include 71 articles in peer-reviewed journals and two books, Making Healthy Places, Second Edition (2022) and Health Impact Assessment in the United States (2014). She also convened the national expert panel for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on interdisciplinary workforce training bridging public health and community design. She holds an AB in environmental science and public policy from Harvard University, an MPH from the University of Virginia, and an MCRP and PhD in city and regional planning from the University of Pennsylvania.

Dr. Botchwey's honors include the Dale Prize for Excellence in Urban and Regional Planning (2021), the ACSP Margarita McCoy Award (2024), and selection as a Changemaker by the White House Council on Women and Girls (2016).

Beyond the Humphrey School, she chaired NASPAA's Undergraduate Education Task Force, sits on the Executive Committee of the Public Affairs Schools Deans' Summit, and co-directs Future Leaders of Schools of Public Service. She serves on the boards of Books for Africa and the Greater Twin Cities United Way and is vice chair of the African American Leadership Forum.

Education

Master of Public Health (University of Virginia, 2011)

PhD in City and Regional Planning (University of Pennsylvania, 2003)

Master of City and Regional Planning (University of Pennsylvania, 1999)

AB in Environmental Science and Public Policy (Harvard University, 1997)