Deb Privott

Committed to public engagement, Dr. Privott currently serves as the Assistant Dean for Public Engagement with the College of Arts & Sciences and as the Director of UAlbany in the High School at the University at Albany. She also serves as a lecturer with the Rockefeller College’s School of Criminal Justice, where she earned her MA and PhD.

Privott graduated from Spelman College with her BA in Psychology. Passionate about action research, she was previously employed at the Southern Center for Studies in Public Policy at Clark Atlanta University, where she also worked with the Army Environmental Policy Institute. Privott has completed research related to youth justice with the Continual Improvement Project, now known as Service Outcomes Action Research, at the University at Albany. She has worked with several community initiatives; and she currently leads the Girls Inc. Eureka! Program partnership with UAlbany's College of Arts & Sciences, encouraging girls to be "strong, smart, and bold!"

Privott is a member of the first class of the Leadership Academy of the State University of New York Research Foundation, a recipient of the 10 Under 10 Award (from the Rockefeller College of Public Affairs & Policy at the University at Albany), the Girls Inc. Lifetime of Inspiration Award, University at Albany’s Initiatives For Women President’s Award, Faculty Advisor of the Year (UAlbany Fraternity & Sorority Life) Award, and the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. (Nu Tau Chapter) Women of Color Award. She is pleased to currently serve as a Board Member of Girls Inc., AVillage, Inc., UAlbany's Center for Women in Government & Civil Society, and as Vice Chair of the Girl Scouts of Northeastern New York Board as well as the Chair of the GSNENY Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Task Force. Privott is a member of the Executive Committee of the Center for the Elimination of Minority Health Disparities and a Community Advisory Board Member of WMHT.

Privott's most rewarding positions are as mom to three children and as wife of 17 years to Dr. Jermaine T. Privott, also a graduate of UAlbany's Rockefeller College (MPA), Massry School of Business (MBA), College of Arts and Sciences (BA), and Russell Sage College (EdD). The family shares a love of education, travel, and fulfilling the purpose for which they were created collectively and individually, understanding that everything for which they were designed is possible.