The University of Alabama School of Social Work has launched a search for its next dean.
The UA School of Social Work is keen to hire an innovative, future-oriented and facilitative leader with a high scholarly profile who will lead the School on community-engaged research initiatives and social justice solutions for Alabama and beyond.
The recruitment period will run through August, with a “best consideration deadline” for applications submitted by Aug. 20. Faculty across campus are encouraged to nominate colleagues. More information, including an opportunity profile and instructions for submitting applications, can be found on the Social Work Dean Search page.
The UA School of Social Work values community engagement skills and the ability to build and sustain positive relationships with students and alumni, the business community, state and federal government officials, and additional stakeholder groups to support the goals of the School and University.
The School’s faculty and staff actively engage with the community, with over $18 million of externally funded research grant and contract dollars used to drive initiatives supportive of social justice across Alabama and beyond.
The UA School of Social Work, established in 1965, is the only school of social work in the state of Alabama. The UA School of Social Work’s master’s program, referred to as MSW, ranks among the top accredited social work graduate programs in the country and features three different tracks and two concentrations that can be combined with a juris doctor or public health degree. Additionally, the UA School of Social Work offers both doctor of philosophy and doctor of social work degrees.
The UA School of Social Work also values experiential learning opportunities, particularly its long-standing Washington, D.C. Internship Program. Of the over 600 social work programs in the nation, the UA School of Social Work is the only one outside of the Washington, D.C. metro area that offers BSW and MSW students the unique opportunity to complete their semester-long field experience in Washington, D.C. Students’ exposure to the policymaking process during their Beltway internships led to the creation of the School’s Washington, D.C. Policy and Advocacy Fly-In, designed to give additional UA social work students a two-day crash course in policy research, strategy and advocacy, including opportunities to advocate for House and Senate bills with legislators and their staff. Since 2017, roughly 60 UA students, as well as students from other universities, have participated in the fly-In.
The search committee plans to identify finalists in September and begin interviews in October. The committee expects to announce the School’s new dean in November.