The American Academy of Social Work and Social Welfare has inducted Steve Hicks School professors Catherine Cubbin and Barbara Jones as 2021 Fellows on January 22 at the for Society for Social Work and Research (SSWR) Conference.
The Academy inducted 12 new Fellows in the Class of 2021. These 12 individuals represent elite group of social work teachers, researchers and leaders who have dedicated their professional careers to the advancement of the profession.
Election into the AASWSW is through a confidential nomination by current Fellows and election by a supermajority of Fellows. This represents an effort by the leading national social work organizations to strengthen the capacity for analysis to guide effective human services policies, programs and practices. The election of Fellows encourages and recognizes scholarship and national practice and policy leadership, contributing to a sustainable, equitable and just future.
“Continuing to induct individuals who can help the Academy achieve excellence in their fields through high-impact work that advances social good will keep the organization vital and strengthen its mission,” said AASWSW President Sarah Gehlert, Dean of the USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work. “It’s a matter of ensuring the infusion of new ideas.”
Cubbin and Jones join ten other Steve Hicks School of Social Work faculty members who are Academy Fellows.
Catherine Cubbin, Ph.D., is associate dean for research and professor in the Steve Hicks School of Social Work, and a faculty research associate at the Population Research Center, The University of Texas at Austin. Her research focuses on using epidemiological methods to better understand socioeconomic and racial/ethnic inequalities in health for the purpose of informing policy. Specific areas of her research include using contextual analysis to investigate how neighborhood environments may explain social inequalities in health, and the measurement of socioeconomic status/position in studies of racial/ethnic disparities in health. Using national and statewide representative data sets, she has studied social inequalities in injuries, cardiovascular disease, health behaviors, mortality, and maternal, infant, and adolescent health. She has published widely in public health and medical journals, including the American Journal of Public Health, the Journal of the American Medical Association, and the American Journal of Epidemiology.
Barbara Jones, Ph.D., is associate dean for health affairs, University Distinguished Professor, the Josleen and Frances Lockhart Memorial Professor for Direct Practice in Social Work, and the co-director of the Institute for Collaborative Health Research and Practice in the Steve Hicks School of Social Work. At Dell Medical School, Jones is associate director of social sciences and community based research in the LIVESTRONG Cancer Institutes, chair of the Department of Health Social Work, and professor in the Departments of Oncology, Population Health, and Psychiatry. She is also a founding steering committee member of the UT Austin Center for Health Interprofessional Practice and Education (IPE) with colleagues at Dell Medical School, School of Nursing and College of Pharmacy. Her research focuses on improving care for children, adolescents and young adults with cancer and their families. Her work has been funded by National Institutes of Health, Palliative Care Research Network, Seton Healthcare System, Texas State Department of Health and various foundations resulting in publications in top tier journals, including Pediatrics, Cancer, Pediatric Blood and Cancer, and Journal of Cancer Survivorship.