Looking Forward 

Dean Lynn A. Warner of the University at Albany's School of Social Welfare.

ALBANY, N.Y. (Aug. 22, 2018) – Lynn A. Warner assumed the position of dean of the University at Albany’s School of Social Welfare on July 1.

“Social workers have a unique role to play in the world, and our perspectives and talents are needed more than ever,” Warner said. “I am thrilled to be leading the extraordinary faculty and staff at the School of Social Welfare right now. There is a shared sense of urgency to prepare students to be positive change agents, whether they work directly with people, manage organizations, or advocate for more equitable policies and programs.”

Warner, who earned a bachelor’s degree from Smith College, a master’s degree in public policy from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government, and MSW and dual Ph.D. degrees in sociology and social work from the University of Michigan, has been on the faculty at the School of Social Welfare since 2005. She was promoted to professor in 2014.

With an extensive record of service and leadership at the school and the University, including as acting dean from 2016-2017 while former dean Darrell Wheeler was interim provost, Warner has a deep appreciation for the multifaceted mission of the University.

“I feel very lucky to be part of the campus leadership at this time of tremendous momentum,” Warner said. “With President Rodríguez at the helm and the implementation of the Strategic Plan underway, there are so many opportunities to address society’s most pressing challenges with cross-disciplinary, community-engaged scholarship and curricular innovations.”

One of Warner’s immediate priorities is to forge even stronger ties between the school, alumni, and the network of field instructors who provide invaluable education to students in real-world settings. According to Warner, “With our diverse and collective knowledge and experiences, we can ensure the best-prepared graduates enter the social work profession, and we can be more immediately responsive to the rapidly changing demands of all the arenas in which social workers practice.”

An active scholar, Warner’s research is motivated by the concern that policies and programs intended to help people with mental health or addictions problems perpetuate, and often amplify, race- and gender-based disparities. Her research projects have resulted in an extensive publication record, with articles in leading journals in social work and psychiatry, as well as interdisciplinary fields of mental health services, and addictions.

She was recently selected to be part of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Interdisciplinary Research Leaders program. With other members of her team, Warner is embarking on a new project to study the impact of health care reforms on behavioral health and social services in rural upstate New York.

For more news, subscribe to UAlbany's RSS headline feeds