University of Pittsburgh School of Public & International Affairs

🚀 The new Pitt Online website is live!

If you're looking for a flexible path to advance your career, be sure to explore SPIA's fully online Master of Public Policy and Management (MPPM) program—designed for working professionals ready to lead, serve, and make an impact.

https://www.online.pitt.edu/

Start exploring today.

Congratulations to Libby Hilf, Director of Communications and Marketing, on 20 years of service to the University of Pittsburgh!

Libby has helped share the stories, milestones, and accomplishments that define our community. We're grateful for her creativity, dedication, and commitment to SPIA's mission. Congratulations to Libby and all of this year's Pitt years-of-service honorees.

The full list can be found here: https://www.utimes.pitt.edu/news/10-honored-40-years-pitt.

The best capstone projects challenge students to engage with real-world issues, real data, and real partners.

That's exactly what students experienced in SPIA's Global Social Impact Capstone, where they partnered with an international NGO to analyze data from informal recyclers and waste pickers around the world.

Led by Associate Professor Nuno Themudo, the project gave students the opportunity to apply their research skills to a complex global challenge while producing work that could inform future programs and decision-making. It's a powerful example of how faculty create learning experiences that extend far beyond the classroom.

Read more: https://www.spia.pitt.edu/news/global-social-impact-capstone-puts-student-research-work-informal-recyclers-around-world.

Faculty Feature: In a recent The Conversation US piece, SPIA Assistant Professor Kimberly Turner and her coauthor share research on the relationship between health insurance payments, hospital births, and sterilization rates.

Read more: https://theconversation.com/reduced-health-insurance-payments-for-hospital-births-had-a-bigger-impact-on-sterilization-rates-than-correcting-an-injustice-281063.

These experts are helping shape the future of public management. 💙💛 Proud to see SPIA faculty and PhD students sharing their work and leading conversations at the 2026 Public Management Research Conference in Washington, D.C. this week.

After nearly six years at the University of Pittsburgh School of Public and International Affairs, Dean Carissa Slotterback is preparing for her next chapter.

She is stepping down from her role at Pitt to become dean of the Watts College of Public Service and Community Solutions at Arizona State University. During her tenure, she helped guide our school through a period of growth and transformation, including academic innovation, expanded opportunities for students, and the evolution from GSPIA to SPIA.

We are grateful for her commitment to public service education, and we wish her all the best in what's next.

Read more: https://www.pittwire.pitt.edu/features-articles/2026/06/04/dean-slotterback-steps-down.

Big ideas. Important questions. Research that shapes practice.

Later this week, SPIA faculty and PhD researchers are headed to Washington, D.C., for the 2026 Public Management Research Conference (PMRC), to share research and contribute to conversations that help shape the future of public service and public institutions.

Whether examining how organizations perform, how policies are implemented, or how governments can better serve communities, these scholars are helping move the field forward.

What happens when a yearlong conversation about democracy crosses an ocean?

For four SPIA master’s students, it led to Windsor and London, where they connected with scholars, policymakers, and peers through a transatlantic working group focused on democracy, authoritarianism, and institutional resilience.

It’s the kind of globally connected learning that stays with you long after graduation.

Read the full story: https://www.spia.pitt.edu/news/yearlong-democracy-exchange-lands-spia-students-uk.

Last year, prospective student Wyatt Ruzanic visited SPIA to explore our Bachelor of Arts in Public Policy program.

Now, he’s officially committed to Pitt as a pre-public policy student in the Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences, with plans to graduate from SPIA in 2030.

In this Q&A, he reflects on what first sparked his interest in public policy, the issues he hopes to help address someday, and why Pitt felt like the right fit.

As Pitt’s application opens again on August 1, his story feels like a reminder that sometimes a college search becomes something bigger: finding the place where your interests, values, and future start connecting in a real way.

Read the story here: https://www.spia.pitt.edu/news/future-public-policy-student-reflects-why-he-chose-spia.

A big congratulations to Alison Bonebrake Esquea (MPA '99) on being named to the Board of Directors for National Council on Aging.

Her work across federal policy, government accountability, and health care advocacy continues to shape conversations that matter nationally. We’re especially proud to know her not only as a distinguished alumna, but also as a longtime member of SPIA’s Board of Visitors. Excited to see her leadership continue in this new role.