Sent on behalf of Provost Mun Choi and Vice Provost for Academic Affairs Sally Reis:
We write to inform you that Dr. Salome Raheim, after serving with distinction for seven years, has decided to step down from her position as Dean of the School of Social Work and return to the faculty, effective June 30, 2015. As a scholar and educator, Dr. Raheim has dedicated her career to advancing diversity and cultural competence in higher education, human services, and health care. She is a nationally-recognized leader in social work education and has served on the boards of directors of the Council on Social Work Education and the National Association of Deans and Directors of Schools of Social Work. This year, she was selected as a NASW Social Work Pioneer, a prestigious recognition given by the National Association of Social Workers Foundation.
During Dr. Raheim’s tenure as dean, the School of Social Work has made important progress by establishing:
a nationally-recognized faculty with expertise in human rights, working with survivors of trauma and torture, and effective practice with individuals, families, and communities of color;
federally funded, multi-year traineeships for graduate students in child welfare and behavioral health, in collaboration with the CT Department of Children and Families and the CT Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services;
an international partnership with a university in Germany and fostering continued partnerships with universities in Armenia, Jamaica, and Puerto Rico; and
a school-wide Just Community initiative to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Dr. Nina Heller, the Henry M. and Judith M. Zachs Chair of Social Work (as of fall 2015), has agreed to serve as interim Dean. Dr. Heller’s work focuses on the integration of psychological theories and their nexus with social work mental health practice and has been published by leading clinical social work journals and publishers in the U.S. and internationally. She has assumed leadership roles in the profession’s two major organizations: the Council on Social Work Education and the National Association of Social Workers and serves on the editorial board or as a reviewer for leading clinical journals. Dr. Heller is a recipient of both the UConn AAUP Teaching Excellence Award and the UConn Institute for Teaching and Learning Teaching Fellow Award. We are grateful that she has agreed to assume this leadership role.
Please join us in extending our sincere appreciation to Dean Raheim for her many and varied contributions to the University of Connecticut and the School of Social Work.
For more information, contact: Office of the Provost at 860-486-4037