Prof. Ellen DeVoe Named Associate Dean for Academic Affairs
Professor Ellen DeVoe, a nationally recognized expert in trauma and families, has been appointed associate dean for academic affairs beginning July 1, 2022.
DeVoe has been a faculty member at the BU School of Social Work since 2005, when she joined the clinical practice department as an assistant professor. Since then, she has served as associate dean of research, founding director of the Trauma Certificate Program, director of the PhD in Social Work Program, coordinator for the Trauma & Violence specialization, and co-chair of the BUSSW Equity & Inclusion Committee, a position she continues to hold.
In DeVoe’s time at BUSSW and in her prior academic appointments, she has spearheaded numerous grant-funded research projects aimed at promoting the well-being of children and families who are experiencing trauma. She had developed and disseminated community-driven and culturally responsive prevention and intervention programs to mitigate the impact of violence exposure on families and children and her work has been supported by the National Institute of Mental Health, Centers for Disease Control, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
In recent years, she focused particularly on military-involved families. One of DeVoe’s largest projects to date is the long-running Strong Families Strong Forces Project, a program that supports service members deployed in the post-9/11 wars reintegrate into their family life. The program has secured more than $6 million in funding from the Department of Defense.
DeVoe served as a member of the consensus study team for the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM), Strengthening the Military Family Readiness System for a Changing American Society. She is also a regular grant reviewer for the Centers for Disease Control & Injury Prevention, and has reviewed grants for NIH and, recently, the Kellogg Foundation’s Racial Equity Challenge 2030.
“Prof DeVoe’s excellence in research, teaching, administration, and leadership will help our school continue to grow its programs, while strategically addressing the challenges innovation engenders,” says Jorge Delva, dean of BUSSW.
As the associate dean of academic affairs, Prof DeVoe will work closely with the dean to provide leadership for the overall MSW educational program across all platforms, oversee the MSW curriculum and instruction, and ensure that the academic standards set by the faculty and the accreditor CSWE are upheld.