Prof. Augsberger Promoted to Associate Professor with Tenure
Astraea Augsberger, a faculty member at Boston University School of Social Work (BUSSW) and a faculty affiliate at BUSSW’s Center for Innovation in Social Work and Health, has been promoted from assistant professor to associate professor with tenure in recognition of her exemplary scholarship, teaching, and service.
Augsberger has dedicated her social work career to promoting the rights of children, youth, and families to have a voice in the organizational and institutional practices, programs, and policies that impact their lives. Her research, which is supported by federal, state, and foundation grants, examines multi-level factors that inhibit or facilitate a person’s ability to participate in decision-making within multiple institutions including child welfare, municipal government, education, and health care. It has been shaped by more than fifteen years of clinical social work practice with children and families involved in multiple systems.
A leading scholar in the field of youth civic engagement – in particular, the development, implementation, and evaluation of youth advisory boards – Augsberger’s research impact is also evident in child welfare policy and practice and youth engagement in health care decision-making. Among her numerous projects, she recently received new funding from the National Institutes of Health to fund the expansion of Project IMPACT, a preventative service program for parents with intellectual disabilities which she leads alongside Wendy Zeitlin of Montclair State University and community partners from the Westchester Institution for Human Development.
Augsberger has published her work widely in scholarly journals including Health Affairs, Children and Youth Services Review, American Journal of Community Psychology, and Journal of Adolescent Research. Her recent article, “Family Engagement in Child Welfare System Level Change: A Review of Current Models,” was awarded the 2022 Best Quantitative Article in Families in Society.
She has served as an expert advisor on youth engagement strategies and best practices to multiple federal, state, and local advisory boards, including the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, and was recently appointed to the board of directors for Youth MOVE National, an organization whose mission is to connect, support, and develop youth leadership in advocacy to create positive change.