Carissa Schively Slotterback

Dr. Carissa Slotterback is Dean and Professor in the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs at the University of Pittsburgh.  Since arriving at the University of Pittsburgh in October 2020, she has led major efforts in the school around strategic planning; curriculum updates; faculty hiring; development and alumni engagement; research capacity building; and enhancing student experience.  Dr. Slotterback has also co-led the University of Pittsburgh's Year of Discourse and Dialogue initiative since 2023.  The initiative has engaged partners across the university to build capacity for discourse and dialogue.  She is a widely published scholar in the areas of stakeholder engagement and decision-making related to environmental and land use policy and planning.  She has a particular interest in how stakeholders perceive impacts and use information in making decisions, focusing on impact assessment policy and collaborative decision-making approaches.  

Prior to joining the University of Pittsburgh, she served as a faculty member and program director in urban and regional planning, as well as Associate Dean, in the University of Minnesota’s Humphrey School of Public Affairs. She led a number of initiatives focused on interdisciplinary and engaged research and education, including in her prior roles as director of research engagement in the Office of the Vice President for Research and as co-founder and director of the Resilient Communities Project.  She currently serves as treasurer of the Association of Professional Schools in International Affairs and as a member of the Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs, and Administration Executive Committee.  She serves on the Steering Committee of the Dean’s Summit and co-chair of its Future Leaders of Schools of Public Service initiative.  She has held multiple leadership positions with the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning, including as Vice President.  She was inducted as a Member of the National Academy of Public Administration in 2024 and as a Fellow of the American Institute of Certified Planners in 2018.