PhD Faculty Research Interests

Interested in learning more about a particular PhD faculty member listed below?
Click the name to view their individual profile page.

Stephanie Boddie 
Fuller Family Endowed Chair for Social Justice
Associate Professor

• Faith, social innovation and entrepreneurship
• Faith-based social services and policies
• Asset-based development
• Race and psychology of difference
• Community-based participatory research

Brianna Lemmons 
Associate Professor

• Predictors Non-Resident Father Involvement
• The Role of Spirituality in Fathering
• Evaluation of Fatherhood Programs
• Effective Delivery of Research Related Curriculum Content in Social Work Programs
• Assessment, Outcomes, and Accreditation Processes in Social Work Education Programs

Jinyu Liu
Dorothy Barfield Kronzer Endowed Professor in Family Studies
Associate Professor

• Aging and health
• Mental health of older adults
• Stress of family caregivers
• Intergenerational relationships
• End-of-life care
• Gerontological social work practice

Elissa Madden
Professor

• Foster Care
• Adoption (Public and Domestic Private)
• Trauma and Child Maltreatment
• Permanency for Children in Foster Care
• Post-Secondary Education for Youth Who Have Aged Out of Care

Jocelyn Shealy McGee 
Associate Professor

• Contemplative Science
• Culture and Diversity
• Positive Aging
• Human Flourishing
• Spiritual Diversity

Sung Seek Moon
Carl and Martha Lindner Endowed Chair for Global Studies
Professor

• Mental Health Among Racial Minority Groups
• Influence of Social Contexts and Environments
• Addictive Disorders
• Substance Abuse Prevention in Adolescents

Holly Oxhandler
Associate Dean for Research & Faculty Development
Professor

• Religion and Spirituality in Clinical Practice
• Mental Health
• Evidence-Based Practice Process
• Scale Development
• Mentoring and Professional Development

Edward C. Polson
Professor

• Civil Society
• Organizations
• Religion
• Diversity
• Civic Engagement

David Pooler
Professor

• Clergy Perpetrated Sexual Abuse of Adults
• Joy in Social Work
• Professional Ethics and Professional Development of Social Workers
• Professional Functioning and Impairment of Social Workers
• Organizational Development, Leadership, and Change
• Organizational Justice

Rob Rogers
Associate Professor & PhD Program Co-Director

• Career Resilience of Leadership in Senior Living Communities
• Social Work and Long-Term Care
• Congregational Community Engagement
• Family Literacy
• Workforce Development

Laine Scales
Professor & PhD Program Co-Director

• Social Welfare History
• Settlement Houses (Historical and Contemporary)
• Baptists and Social Work (Historical)
• Doctoral Education as a Process for Formation

Jon Singletary
Professor & Diana R. Garland Endowed Chair of Child & Family Studies

• Strengthening Congregational Community Ministries
• Community Development
• Advocacy and Social Justice

Please Note: Dr. Singletary is currently on research leave.

Gaynor Yancey
Lake Family Endowed Chair in Congregational & Community Health
Director of the Center for Church & Community Impact (C3i)
Professor

• Congregational and Community Health
• Congregational-based Community Organizing & Community Development
• Religiously Affiliated Organizations
• Advocacy and Social Justice
• Social Welfare
• Policy

Qianwei Zhao
Associate Professor

• Criminal Justice
• Women and Children
• Health and Wellness
• Mental Health and Trauma
• Addictions and Substance Use
• Prisoner Reentry
• Causal Inferences

Want to meet our current PhD students? Follow this link to learn more about them and their research interests.