S. Nicole Diggs

Dr. S. Nicole Diggs is an assistant professor of Public Administration at North Carolina Central University and teaches courses in the MPA core curriculum and select electives in the Urban and Regional Planning and Law and Society specialization areas. She completed her Ph.D. in Public Administration in 2015 from Florida Atlantic University, where she examined factors influencing the level of cultural competence in emergency medical services. She also holds an MPA with a specialization in Urban and Research and Planning from Old Dominion University and is a proud alumna of NCCU, having earned a BBA in Finance and Marketing.

Dr. Diggs’ research is informed by salient issues of inequities in interrelated policy areas: housing, planning, health, and environment. She is an advocate for social justice for marginalized communities and enthusiastically works with academic and community groups in crafting effective policies to reduce generational inequities. She has a strong commitment to educating and encouraging future public administrators who are furthering their education in graduate studies. She currently serves as the Pi Alpha Alpha (PAA) advisor, and in 2021, PAA-NCCU was awarded a National Voter Registration Day Mini-Grant Award.

Dr. Diggs was recently nominated to represent public administration professionals from the state of North Carolina in the upcoming edition of Marquis Who’s Who in America: Top Public Administration Professionals. She currently serves on the College of Arts, Social Science, and Humanities (CASH) Research Council. As a longstanding member of the American Society of Public Administration (ASPA), Dr. Diggs is a general member of NC-Research Triangle ASPA chapter and the following ASPA sections: Democracy and Social Justice (DSJ), Conference of Minority Public Administrators (COMPA), Section on Public Administration Education (SPAE), Section on Health and Human Services (SHHS), and the Section for Women in Public Administration (SWPA).

She currently serves on the Board of Directors for DSJ (recently awarded the Oveta Culp Hobby Training Award in 2021) and is a member of the Executive Board for COMPA-Electoral District III Representative. Dr. Diggs’ service extends beyond the University and professional affiliations: she also works with the City of Durham’s Affordable Housing Implementation Committee and the Coalition for Affordable Housing and Transit.