I hope my students learn that maybe the problem is that “I” am in the way of my client or communities empowerment/liberation.
Donald L. Hollowell Distinguished Professor of Social Justice and Civil Rights Studies
As a professor, I enjoy the stories my students share as well as their honest attempt to grow and work through the material we present. I am most thrilled though by that random “aha!” students convey when they finally understand something! I am fascinated by our willingness to be mavericks and champions even when other disciplines have no interest understanding advocacy, empowerment, discrimination, equity and liberation. That is the power of social work.
I have more than 20 years of experience in community-based participatory research and more than 35 years of experience in psychosocial research, as well as survey and evaluation research. I have worked in tandem with researchers, administrators and consumers in the design, implementation and evaluation of interventions that focused on improving the health and well-being of under-resourced communities.
I have trained several professionals in designing and conducting outcomes research, coached 36 mid-career social workers in leadership development, mentored 30 doctoral students, trained 10 post MD/PhD early career minority researchers as part of the Association of American Medical Colleges Minority Health Services Research Program and taught more than 2,200 MSW students in the second largest MSW program in the United States.
In addition to teaching survey research, I have been involved in the design and implementation of a multitude of studies, including the fielding of a statewide survey which examined the cultural competency of mental health providers; the evaluation of global community based HIV prevention and treatment efforts and the development and implementation of surveys which assessed the use of technology in social work. I have always been interested in health insurance for all Americans; in HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment and in community empowerment.