Zenia Kotval, Ph.D., FAICP

Zenia Kotval

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Co-Director, Urban Collaborators Program
MSU Extension

Phone:
517-353-9362

Email:

Degrees:
Bachelors: Bachelor in architecture with a concentration in design and structural engineering from Academy of Architecture.
Masters: Masters in regional planning from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.
PhD: PhD in regional planning from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.

CV:
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Affiliated Programs/Initiatives/Projects:

Zenia Kotval is a Fellow of the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP). She is also a Fulbright Scholar and a former Lilly Teaching Fellow. Kotval served as a member of the Planning Accreditation Board (PAB) and an ex-officio member of the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning (ACSP) Governing Board from 2016-2021. As a professor and program director of the Urban & Regional Planning Program in the School of Planning, Design and Construction, she regularly teaches courses in economic development and planning practicum. Kotval’s scholarship interests are in community-based development, economic policy and planning, the changing structure and characteristics of local economies, and the impacts of community development strategies. With a strong, structured research, teaching and engagement agenda, she focuses on linking theory and practice with a special emphasis on local economic development, industrial restructuring and urban revitalization. As director of MSU Extension’s Urban Collaborators, Kotval’s service continues to be dedicated to making academic and professional expertise available to meet the needs of Michigan’s core cities. Throughout her years at MSU, she has integrated the world scale and the land grant mission into her scholarship. Kotval is an internationally recognized expert on economic development and community engagement, speaking frequently at national and international venues.