ASU college names new associate dean of academic affairs

Joanna Lucio has been named associate dean of academic affairs for the Arizona State University College of Public Service and Community Solutions. Lucio is an associate professor in the School of Public Affairs and affiliated faculty with the Southwest Interdisciplinary Research Center.

“Through both her teaching and research, Joanna exemplifies the goals of our college. Her commitment to student success and deep community engagement will be a strong addition to our leadership team,” said Jonathan Koppell, dean of the College of Public Service and Community Solutions.

During her tenure at ASU, Lucio has been integrally involved in hands-on learning opportunities and promoting student success through undergraduate research, curriculum development and her work as an Honors faculty member.

“Over the past 11 years I have found working with students to be extremely rewarding, and I am excited to work with our amazing college staff on issues related to retention, recruitment, curriculum and supporting our students,” Lucio said. “I hope to help advance our college's mission and develop opportunities to help our students be successful in their learning and engage in their communities.”

“Joanna has been a consistent advocate for our students,” said Cynthia Lietz, senior associate dean. “She connects course content, research and partnership with the community to show students how they make a difference.”

Lucio joined ASU in 2006. Her research explores how urban governance, planning and policy impacts diverse groups in society. She works to advance the rights of disenfranchised residents through the evaluation and analysis of housing and neighborhood policies and programs, particularly for low-income residents.

The work has had an impact on the local community. In a recent project with one of her doctoral students, city of Phoenix housing officials made program changes based on the findings by encouraging housing managers to seek resources they did not know existed and to collaborate with resident service coordinators to deliver more resident-focused services. In one of her service-learning classes, her students developed a policy white paper for redeveloping brownfields in downtown Phoenix into spaces for the arts.

In 2016, she was recognized as the college’s Emerging Community Solutions Scholar.

Lucio holds a doctorate in urban and public administration from the University of Texas at Arlington.