Luis Zayas, Ph.D., the Shanti K. Khinduka Distinguished Professor of Social Work, and Wendy Auslander, Ph.D., professor of social work, have accepted new appointments in the George Warren Brown School of Social Work, announced Edward F. Lawlor, Ph.D., dean and the William E. Gordon Professor.
Zayas became associate dean of faculty July 1; Auslander will become director of the Ph.D. program Sept. 1.
Zayas’ primary academic interests are in clinical practice with adolescents and families and in training clinical practitioners.
His clinical experience spans 25 years of working with children, adolescents, adults and families in community mental health; psychiatric clinics; pediatric rehabilitation; and community-based primary care medicine.
Zayas also is a professor of psychiatry in School of Medicine.
His research has examined child and adolescent mental health, maternal mental health in pregnancy, parent-child relations, cross-cultural factors in child-rearing behavior, family functioning, psychiatric diagnosis, alcohol use among Latino men and psychosocial interventions in community-based primary care health centers.
Zayas received the 2005 Outstanding Faculty Mentor Award at the School of Social Work.
“Professor Zayas is a model of faculty leadership at the school,” Lawlor said. “He is a distinguished scholar, an outstanding teacher and a tireless contributor to the community inside and outside the School of Social Work. We are so fortunate to now have him in this formal faculty leadership role.”
Auslander replaces Nancy Morrow-Howell, Ph.D., the Ralph and Muriel Pumphrey Professor of Social Work.
Auslander’s work focuses on health care and health behaviors, evaluation of interventions, diabetes prevention and research, AIDS prevention among teenagers, minority health and health promotion, family functioning and chronic illness.
The National Institutes of Health has funded several of her research projects on lifestyle change and health promotion for African-American women, coping for juveniles with diabetes and their families, AIDS prevention among teens and smoking cessation among African-Americans.
She is a recipient of the Social Service Project Award sponsored by Eli Lilly & Co. and the American Association of Diabetes Educators.
Auslander has served on the editorial boards of the Journal of Early Adolescence, Health and Social Work and The Diabetes Educator.
“Professor Auslander brings exceptional commitment, scholarly values and vision to the role of chair of this program,” Lawlor said.
“We owe a great debt to Nancy Morrow-Howell for her leadership and accomplishments during her term as chair of the doctoral program. Nancy brought high standards, thoughtfulness and compassion for students to this program — exactly what we want in our academic leadership of doctoral education.”