Dede Sparks is an adjunct professor of social work at The University of Texas at Austin.
Before retiring in 2022, Sparks formerly served as the associate director of the Institute for Collaborative Health Research and Practice. She taught Foundations of Interprofessional Collaborative Practice, Patient and Practitioner Healing: Topics on Death, Dying and Resilience, and serves as the program director for the UT HEALS scholarship program. She was was integral to creating and piloting the Interprofessional Simulation Program for the Steve Hicks School of Social Work, the School of Nursing and the College of Pharmacy, and serves on the leadership committee for the Grief and Loss Consortium of Central Texas.
Professor Sparks received her BSW and MSW from Texas State University. Prior to joining the faculty at UT Austin in 2011, she practiced at Hospice Austin’s Christopher House, a non-profit inpatient hospice unit, and was on the team initiating a pilot program to create an inpatient Palliative Care Program for the Scott & White Healthcare System.