How has life been at Walter Webb Hall been?
Life is good at Walter Webb Hall! In only our first full semester in this building, we’ve hosted several key public events, including guest speakers, career fairs, and even our annual tailgate. Our community sees each other more often in this new space, and I have thoroughly enjoyed being able to visit and collaborate with colleagues and students in our building. I firmly believe the UT Social Work community is stronger than ever. Having a better building plays a significant role in our strength.
Of course, we are still slated to move to our permanent location on Speedway in less than five years. We will be located in what is currently the home of the McCombs School of Business. Then, we will finally be able to have all of our classes, faculty, staff, research institutes — our entire community — together under one roof. We have pursued this goal for more than a decade at UT Social Work, and we achieved it. I’m looking forward to being in a larger, customized space which will place our facilities among the top in social work education nationally. The best is yet to come!
What is your new role at Dell Medical School and how does it benefit Texas Social Work?
I was named as Dell Medical School’s deputy for health and technology on July 1, 2024. In this newly created position, I lead efforts within Dell Med, and through collaborations with colleagues across the University, to integrate various efforts pertaining to health affairs, the humanities, and health-related technologies. This work also utilizes social work values and knowledge to identify, develop, and support meaningful opportunities for making greater impact and spurring innovation through partnerships and collaborative pursuits.
I work closely with Dell Med’s leadership, as well as with other campus leaders, on strategic initiatives related to technology broadly conceived. Currently, I focus on work related to artificial intelligence and digital health, implementation science, ethics and bioethics, and patient- and community-centered models of care. I am also working with Dell Med’s faculty and academic leaders to hone and strengthen patient-centered approaches to education and care, especially as these relate what and how we teach. This new role strengthens a well-established strategic partnership between UT Social Work and Dell Med — a mutually beneficial relationship that enhances our respective and collective work.
Social work belongs at the leadership table when it comes to health and behavioral health, and with a new and nearly $3 billion investment in medical research, including adding facilities on the Forty Acres, UT Social Work is leading and collaborating with distinction.
Beyond the Forty Acres, what kind of collaborations are you taking on with other top social work schools?
One of my highest priorities as dean is for our school to lead collaboratively. Whether in partnerships with other schools of social work, medical and allied health schools (e.g. pharmacy, nursing, and public health), or community partners (e.g. agencies and organizations), our school is well positioned to lead efforts to solve critical social problems and promote human flourishing.
We are stronger when we work together, learn from each other, and especially as we model for other learning institutions and a wide range of organizations whose missions focus on the public good.
This semester, our faculty and staff have traveled to several top social work schools across the country to teach and learn. We have also hosted faculty and leaders from these schools here in Austin. Our mutual efforts to resource a world and people in need should never be approached with a zero-sum mentality. Schools and other partners working together makes us all stronger and better at what we do.
Additionally, on a newly created podcast “Discourse,” I have engaged in conversations with national social work leaders, including Halaevalu Vakalahi, the president of CSWE; Michael Spencer (MSSW ’92), the dean of the University of Washington School of Social Work; and Melanie Sage, one of the leading experts on AI and technology in social work. Check us out on Spotify and Apple Podcasts — we have many more episodes to come.
Lastly, we’ve initiated collaborative opportunities with other schools at national events and conferences, including Boston College, University of Chicago, and the University of Washington. All of these collaborations are in service to strengthening our efforts to meet our mission and setting a standard in social work education and leadership.
What is the current state for fundraising at SHS?
Fundraising and development are mission critical for our school. I’m proud of the robust program of development we have created, and I celebrate us having a third straight year of record-level fundraising. These resources support our students, faculty, staff, and programs and are essential for a top social work school.
Newly endowed scholarships provide for more student support. Examples include the Simran Sethi Memorial Scholarship in Social Work, awarded to students who want to study substance misuse; and scholarships created through the generosity of a former professor, Dr. David Johnson, which add support for our doctoral students in unprecedented ways.
As I like to say though, we are just getting started. Continuing to grow our resources so that we may strengthen support for students, faculty, and staff, as well as for programs and research, remains one of my foremost priorities and goals.
We understand there have been new developments at the Moritz Center for Societal Impact. What are some of the things happening there?
In September, we entered a next phase for the Moritz Center for Societal Impact, which serves to support interdisciplinary efforts in research and scholarship, curriculum and instruction, and partnerships with community stakeholders to solve critical social problems.
Dr. Elisa Borah serves as the Moritz Center’s director, having been a member of the UT School of Social Work faculty since 2015. She also serves as the director of the Institute for Military and Veteran Family Wellness (IMVFW), which she created in 2016. Under her guidance, MCSI will not only continue to award grants to help pilot or evaluate promising research, but its faculty affiliates will engage in original research related to health, behavioral health, disability, aging, children and families, housing, ethics, and more.
The Moritz Center is the newest of our 10 research centers and institutes. All are valuable resources as they accelerate our school’s research and community partnership efforts.
Bonus Question: What are you listening to these days?
I’ve been listening to a lot of 90s rock these days, often switching between alternative, grunge, and pop rock styles of that decade. I’ve enjoyed revisiting songs on my bass guitar like “Would?” by Alice in Chains, “Don’t Speak” by No Doubt, “Everlong” by the Foo Fighters, “Zombie” by the Cranberries, and a few others.
Playing music with friends, neighbors, colleagues, and family continues to be my JAM (pun intended)!