Director​/Department Chair and Full Professor

Overview

Director/Department Chair and Full Professor
The UCLA Department of Social Welfare in the UCLA Meyer and Renee Luskin School of Public Affairs seeks to recruit a senior scholar with leadership experience to join the rank of its tenured Full Professors, and to serve as Director and Department Chair for a period up to six years contingent on a successful three-year review by the dean. Extensions beyond the six years are possible.

Successful candidates will be Full or advanced Associate Professors with an MSW degree required and a PhD in Social Work/Social Welfare or a related discipline. Senior scholars applying to the directorship will be considered for our Marjorie Crump endowed chair.

We seek a collaborative and visionary leader to champion our efforts and lead in the pursuit of social and economic justice, the improvement of health and mental health across the lifespan, and the advancement of child and family well-being. An ideal candidate will have demonstrated leadership through their own trajectory of social welfare scholarship, clear ability to promote a range of transdisciplinary scholarship, and prior administrative experience is highly desired.

The Director and Department Chair is responsible for overseeing all aspects of the social welfare department, including our MSW and PhD degrees, field education, and supervision of the department's manager, who oversees all staff. The Director and Department Chair reports to the Dean of the Luskin School of Public Affairs.

• Oversee all aspects of the Social Welfare department, including MSW and PhD programs, field education, and supervision of the department’s manager and staff.
• Provide leadership as Director and Department Chair, with a term up to six years contingent on a three-year review, with possible extensions.
• Represent the school to national organizations (e.g., National Association of Deans and Directors, Council for Social Work Education, Society for Social Work Research) and within the California Deans and Directors group.
• Advance fundraising opportunities with the State of California, including multi-million-dollar grants, endowments, and student scholarships from public and private sources; build on recent success in securing major grants.
• Build and advance the school’s anti-racism plan, diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, and strategic plans.

• Full or advanced Associate Professor with an MSW degree and a PhD in Social Work/Social Welfare or a related discipline.
• Senior scholar with demonstrated leadership in social welfare scholarship and the ability to promote transdisciplinary work; prior administrative experience is highly desired.
• Commitment to anti-racism, diversity, equity, and inclusion; outward-facing leadership and representation of the school to external organizations.

UCLA is consistently ranked among the top research universities. The Department of Social Welfare is ranked within the top nine schools of social work nationally and is the only social work program in Southern California housed in a major public research university. The department is situated in an interdisciplinary School of Public Affairs with strong collaborations with Urban Planning and Public Policy.

The department has experienced dynamic growth in the past five years, including launching a strategic plan with concentrations in the MSW program and joining a school-wide undergraduate major in public affairs. Current faculty includes 17 tenured/tenure-track professors (with room to add), 9 field education faculty, 3 adjunct faculty, 8 full-time staff, and numerous lecturers. The department serves approximately 200 MSW students (growing to 250 by Fall 2025) and 40 PhD students.

Programs include a post-MSW school social work credential, public child welfare and public behavioral health training programs, and a summer leadership institute, with joint degree programs in Asian American Studies, Law, Public Health, and Public Policy.

Over the past decade the department has expanded with new tenure-track and field education faculty and currently has two endowed chairs. Faculty and students…