More than 40 faculty, staff and doctoral students from the University of Texas at Austin School of Social Work shared their expertise and findings in social work science at the Society for Social Work and Research 2026 annual conference in Washington, D.C. last week.
Attendees included 18 doctoral students and postdoctoral fellows who led discussions and presented key findings on research on topics from behavioral health interventions and mental health care access to substance misuse, solution-focused brief therapy, and health trajectories among cancer survivors.
In addition, Danielle Parrish (Ph.D. ’08) was named to the American Academy of Social Work and Social Welfare, marking the eighth active faculty member at Texas Social Work who is a member of the academy. The organization, a national leader in social work education, recognizes distinguished accomplishments by scholars, practice, and/or policy leaders dedicated to achieving excellence in high-impact work to advance social good.
Parrish was not the only faculty member of Texas Social Work to be recognized by the Academy. On Wednesday, January 14, Diana DiNitto was honored by AASWSW as a founder and key contributor for Grand Challenges in Social Work, launched 10 years ago to promote innovation, collaboration, and expansion of proven, evidence-based programs to create meaningful, measurable progress on urgent social problems.
She was one of three UT Austin social work faculty members, including emerita professor Rowena Fong and Professor Yolanda Padilla, who joined the executive committee in 2016 during SSWR’s 20th Anniversary Annual Conference.
Texas Social Work also hosted a reception at Parlour Victoria to welcome alumni as well as colleagues, researchers and deans from several schools of social work.
As a gold-level sponsor of SSWR, Texas Social Work is proud to support the premier conference for social work research in fostering discussion among scholars, educators, organizers, and practitioners on current topics.