UT Social Work Dean Allan Cole was named as the recipient of the prestigious Joe and Bettie Branson Ward Award for the academic year 2025 –26.
Granted once every three years by the Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost at The University of Texas at Austin, this award recognizes individuals whose teaching and research models and develops student’s abilities, attitudes and behaviors to participate in and bring about societal change.
Dean Cole’s nomination included highlights such as his interdisciplinary work as Dell Medical School’s first-ever deputy for health humanities and technology. In this newly created position, which strengthens the relationship between social work and Dell Med, he serves on the executive operational team and works on strategic initiatives related especially to teaching and research in artificial intelligence and digital health, implementation science, ethics and bioethics, and patient- and community-centered models of care.
His nomination also included his role as the founding director of the Moritz Center for Societal Impact, which facilitates new research and collaboration to help solve critical social problems and advance health and wellness in communities.