Faculty Profiles at a Glance
Andrea Aderton, MSW, MSA, Assistant Clinical Professor, Online Education and NW MO Field Support Specialist
Research Interests: Social services and mental health services to children and families; rural social work; enhancing access and outcomes for mental health services and the young adult population.
Rachel Bailey, MSW, LCSW, Assistant Clinical Professor
Teaching Interests: Trauma and crisis intervention; social work and psychopathology; direct practice; clinical strategies; theory and practice of social work groups; family therapy.
Kelli Canada PhD, MSW, Associate Professor & Associate Director for Research
Research Interests: Serious mental illness; clinical social work; older adults; mental health courts; criminal justice system and mental illness.
Suzanne Cary MSW, Associate Clinical Professor, Director of Field
Teaching Interests: Field education; bereavement.
Anne M. Dannerbeck Janku PhD, Research Associate
Research Interests: Equity and inclusion in the justice system; problem-solving courts; special populations in the justice system; immigration and its impacts on families.
Danielle Easter MSW, LCSW, Assistant Clinical Professor and Co-Director of the Integrated Behavioral Health Clinic
Teaching Interests: Criminal justice; treatment courts; veterans; mental illness.
Dale Fitch PhD, Director & Associate Professor
Research Interests: Child welfare; information systems in human service organizations; systems theory; systemic research methodologies; organizational decision making.
Tammy L. W. Freelin MSW, LCSW, Assistant Teaching Professor & Student Services Coordinator
Research Interests: Parenting education; adolescent development; at-risk youth & prevention; family support services/student support services.
Ashley Givens, PhD, MSW, LCSW, Assistant Professor
Research Interests: Criminal justice; early adult justice involvement; traumatic experiences of justice involved individuals; mental health and criminal justice.
Linda Hillemann, MSW, LCSW, Assistant Clinical Professor, Online Education and NW MO Field Support Specialist
Research Interests: Rural practice; distance education; community health assessment.
Hsun-Ta Hsu, PhD, MSW, Assistant Professor
Research Interests: Health; homelessness; housing; social network; intervention with homeless adults and youth.
Alexandria Lewis, Ed.S., MSW, LCSW, Assistant Teaching Professor
Teaching Interests: Death, grief, and loss; gerontology; military & veterans; generalist social work practice; policy.
Precious Mseba, PhD, MSW, Assistant Professional Practice Professor
Research Interests: Social work practice, social work education, human development, wellbeing, social justice, social policy, HIV/AIDS.
Kristin McCowan, PhD, MSW, Assistant Research Professor
Research Interests: Racial equity in schools, adolescent development, identity formation, sociopolitical development, justice-oriented youth programs, substance use, and mental well-being.
Clark M. Peters, PhD, JD, AM, Associate Professor
Research Interests: Child welfare services and organization; adolescent transition to adulthood; engagement of youth in civil society; juvenile justice; juvenile courts, and probation; history of social work; role of theory in social work; advocacy and collaboration with other professionals; restorative justice.
Jane Piester, MSW, LCSW, MEd Assistant Clinical Professor and BSW Field Education Coordinator
Teaching Interests: Field education; school social work, supervision.
Kathleen Preble, PhD, MSW Assistant Professor
Research Interests: Human trafficking (labor & sex; adult & juvenile); international and domestic exploitation; sex work; gender-based violence.
Virginia Ramseyer Winter, PhD, MSW, Assistant Professor and Director of Center for Body Image Research & PolicyResearch Interests: Body image; women’s physical, mental, sexual, and reproductive health across the lifespan; social work education.
Erin Robinson, PhD, MPH, MSW Assistant Professor
Research Interests: Gerontology; HIV/AIDS; health disparities; healthy aging; older adult sexuality.
Carol A. Snively, PhD, MSW, MA, MSW Program Director and Associate Teaching Professor
Research Interests: Youth development and community betterment; strengths based community organization; effective helping strategies for sexual minority youth; graduate level social work student engagement in educational culture, sense of belonging, and wellness.
Aaron M. Thompson PhD, MSW, Associate Professor, Associate Director of Missouri Prevention Science Institute and Director of the Doctoral Program
Research Interests: School and community service agency collaborations; school-based interventions for children with social, emotional, and behavioral health concerns; building self-determination for students with educational disabilities; site-based information systems to inform tiered response models.
Sarah Tlapek, PhD, MSW, MID, Assistant Teaching Professor
Research Interests: Intimate partner violence; trauma and mental health in post-conflict settings; interventions for economic and social development.
Christine Woods MSW, LCSW, Assistant Teaching Professor & BSW Program Director
Teaching Interests: Family & children practice; crisis intervention; human development; child development; community services coordination; family dynamics & interaction; field instruction.
Dong Pil Yoon, PhD, MSW, Associate Professor
Research Interests: Religiousness/spirituality; human diversity; gerontology; rural social work; welfare reform.
Mansoo Yu, PhD, MSW, MA, Professor, School of Social Work, Department of Public Health, Faculty Advisor for the MSW/MPH Dual Program, Director of Center for Children and Families Across Cultures
Research Interests: Health-risk behaviors; interactions between mental health and physical health; epidemiologic research; health promotion; adolescent health; health disparities; research with racial/ethnic minority groups, and vulnerable/underserved populations; cross-national research.
Adjunct Faculty Profiles
Emeriti Faculty
- Richard Boettcher, Professor Emeritus
- Judith Burke, Professor Emerita
- Lee Cary, Professor Emeritus
- Charles D. Cowger, Professor Emeritus
- Judith A. Davenport, Professor Emerita
- Michael J. Kelly, Professor Emeritus
- Duane Kroeker, Professor Emeritus
- Joanne Mermelstein, Professor Emerita
- Dianne Orton, Emerita Teaching Professor
- Marjorie Sable, Professor Emerita and Director Emerita
- Paul Sundet, Associate Professor Emeritus
- Leigh Tenkku Lepper, Associate Research Professor Emerita
- Wilson Watt, Associate Professor Emeritus
Retired Faculty
- Erma M. Ballenger, Retired
- Larry Kreuger, Retired
- Martha Markward, Retired