Harrell-Hutchinson Visiting Urban Management Professional Program

About the Program

ASU School of Public Affairs is pleased to bring an urban management professional as a Harrell-Hutchinson Visiting Professional to help educate the next generation of local government leaders. The chosen professional will speak to public administration classes, meet with students in the ASU School of Public Affairs and speak to the ASU chapter of the International City/County Management Association, and with local government practitioners from Arizona cities, towns and counties. In addition, the professional will meet with students in the two-year Marvin Andrews and Jane Morris Fellowship in Urban Management. This program will be conducted in a combination of physical and virtual modality, with the professional needing to be present for at least one week at the School of Public Affairs in Downtown Phoenix, and be available for Zoom lectures, speeches, discussions and consultations throughout the entirety of the program. The grant funding the visiting professional will be administered by the Watts College for Public Service and Community Solutions.

The endowment made by Lloyd and Nancy Harrell is intended to benefit students learning public administration in their classrooms as well as local practitioners in the profession.

How to apply

We are always looking for names, and if people have ideas for who would be a good Visiting Professional, they should send it in. We will consider all of those suggested by the deadline each year, but always welcome additions to the list no matter time of year.

Requirements:

The professional will make at least one in-person visit of approximately one week to the School of Public Affairs in Downtown Phoenix during 2026, and be available for Zoom lectures, speeches, discussions and consultations throughout all of 2026.
The professional will be able to schedule and plan their own visit, travel, and lodging. ASU plans to offer a stipend of $8,000 to the chosen visiting professional.

Do you want to suggest an outstanding professional? Please provide a resume and letter of interest to Kari Kent, Local Government Fellowship Manager, at Karolyn.Kent@asu.edu.

The Selection Process

Professionals suggested to the Harrell-Hutchinson Visiting Urban Management Professional Program will be assessed by a committee. They will recruit and select the visiting professional, according to the terms of the grant.

Meet the 2024 Visiting Fellow

Jan C. Perkins, ICMA CM, brings more than 30 years of local government management and is a founding board member of Women Leading Government.

Headshot of Jan Perkins

Jan’s personal objective is to help local government leaders be their best, encourage young people to enter local government as a career and thrive in it, and to foster good governance at the local level.

Jan served in several California and Michigan jurisdictions, including as City Manager in Fremont and Morgan Hill, California. She also served the cities of Santa Ana, California as Assistant City Manager; Grand Rapids, Michigan in various analyst roles and Deputy City Manager; and Adrian, Michigan as Community Development Director and Assistant City Administrator.

Jan is an expert facilitator and organization development consultant as Vice President of Raftelis. She provides consulting assistance to government leaders in organizational analysis, leadership development, facilitation, strategic planning, teambuilding, executive performance evaluation, and policy board/staff effectiveness.

Jan has held leadership positions in professional associations, is a frequent speaker at professional conferences and has received awards from professional and civic associations. In 2016, Jan was honored by ICMA with its Distinguished Service Award, received the Lifetime Achievement Award from Women Leading Government, and a Lifetime Achievement Award from her MPA alumni association, the KUCIMATs. She has authored a number of articles on leadership, executive performance evaluation, ethics and successful hiring strategies.

Jan holds an undergraduate degree in sociology and a Master’s of Public Administration from the University of Kansas. She completed the Program for Senior Executives in State and Local Government from Harvard University and is an ICMA Credentialed Manager. She is a founding board member of Women Leading Government, assisted in recreating the women in public administration conferences at the University of Kansas, served on and chaired many ICMA committees, was President of the Alameda County City Managers Association, is a Past President and current member of the California City Management Foundation, and is a Fellow with the National Academy for Public Administration.

Jan believes in valuing all individuals, doing our best in all we do, collaborating with others to solve problems, planning for the future, listening more than talking, not taking herself too seriously, walking her dogs, and living a healthy lifestyle.

Meet the Founders

Lloyd Harrell

Lloyd Harrell’s career in urban management spanned 30 years: he led city staffs in Denton, Texas, and the Missouri cities of Liberty and Nevada before coming to Chandler, Arizona, where he served as city manager for six years before retiring. Harrell also was a School of Public Affairs faculty associate for more than a decade. Harrell said the endowment will make an exceptional education even more meaningful for the participating students.

Mike Hutchinson

Mike Hutchinson’s 28-year career with the city of Mesa culminated in 2000 when he began a five-year period as its city manager. Today he is executive vice president of the East Valley Partnership.