To achieve national and international recognition for applied, engagement-focused learning, research and external engaged public service in all programs, curricula and centers.
The College of Public Affairs at The University of Baltimore is a vibrant, urban college engaged in personalized teaching and innovative research that promotes excellence in the public and nonprofit sectors. The college is an intellectual catalyst for local, regional, national and global leadership in the fields of public administration, international affairs, conflict management and negotiation, health and human services and criminal justice. It influences the broader community through traditional degree programs, continuing education, research and engaged practice.
The College of Public Affairs inspires and educates a diverse student body whose education grounds them in theory and practice and readies them to contribute to their organizations and communities. Our engaged faculty and practitioners are committed to improving the practice in their fields through excellence in instruction, research and applied practice.
In alignment with the University's Strategic Goals, the College of Public Affairs Strategic Plan (2025-2030) focuses on increasing engagement, expanding positive public awareness, ensuring excellent retention and graduation by offering the best possible student experience, strengthening the college’s commitment to inclusiveness and growing revenue through greater enrollment numbers, increased grant and gift income, federal, state and local appropriations and other revenue streams.
The College of Public Affairs launched its strategic planning process in 2023 under Dean Roger Hartley, working with higher education consulting firm Stephens Strategy. A strategic planning committee, joined later by an executive committee, guided the work through 2023 and 2024: gathering and synthesizing data, identifying key strategic issues, developing strategic questions and shaping those questions into strategic initiatives. The college retained its existing mission statement through the process while developing a new vision statement.
The plan builds on the college's 2015–2018 strategic plan, which focused on teaching, research, service and critical success factors across the college and its schools. That plan set a goal of ranking among the top 25 public affairs schools nationally; the college didn't reach that mark but rose to the top 25 percent, ranking 70th out of 280 programs. The 2025–2030 strategic plan also aligns with the University of Baltimore's strategic plan, which centers on building UBalt's reputation, strengthening financial stability, delivering strong student outcomes, deepening community engagement and fostering an inclusive campus.
True to the college's mission of engagement, the planning process was intentionally inclusive of faculty, staff, students and alumni, with input shared and sought throughout every phase.
Two retreats anchored the process. A strategic planning committee retreat in June 2023 produced an initial list of strategic issues, later consolidated into seven priority areas: enrollment stabilization and growth, professional education, mission-driven engagement, effective use of the college's research centers, diversified revenue, faculty and staff recruitment and retention and global engagement. A second retreat in April 2024 brought together more than 50 faculty, staff, students and community members to translate the resulting strategic questions into concrete tactics.
The strategic planning committee reviewed and approved the plan in summer 2024. The college's executive committee then reviewed and endorsed it for implementation that fall, following a final round of community feedback. The plan was formally adopted in early fall 2024 and will guide the college's direction over a five-year term, with implementation led by the dean and executive committee in collaboration with faculty, staff, university leadership and the broader college community.
Titles reflect roles held during the strategic planning process (2023–2024).
As of fall 2024, when this plan was adopted, the College of Public Affairs comprised three schools—Criminal Justice, Health and Human Services and Public and International Affairs—offering six undergraduate programs, two minors, one undergraduate certificate, nine graduate programs and eight post-baccalaureate certificates.
The college's work included three research centers: the William Donald Schaefer Center for Public Policy, home to the Maryland Certified Public Manager® Program and the NextGen Leaders in Public Service Program; the Center for Public Safety Innovation; and the Center for Advancing Prevention Excellence. A fourth center, home to the Second Chance College Program serving incarcerated students through re-entry-focused education, was in development at the time of the plan's adoption and launched in fall 2025 as the Center for Justice-Impacted Students.