BUSSW is home to three nationally-recognized centers/institutes that serve as hubs for groundbreaking research and innovation in the field of social work.
Center for Innovation in Social Work & Health
Inspired by our unique position in one of the nation’s leading cities for health care, the Center for Innovation in Social Work & Health (CISWH) draws on the social work profession’s fundamental cross-disciplinary emphasis and our rich experience in the area of public health. CISWH aims to improve community health locally and globally by engaging social work, public health, medicine, and other disciplines in cost-effective prevention and intervention strategies that transform urban health care. Endowed at $12.5 million, the center opened in 2015 and is located on the Boston University Medical Campus.
CISWH is led by Director Tami Gouveia, DrPH, MSW, MPH, a veteran public health social worker and former Massachusetts state representative who serves as the School’s Paul Farmer Professor.
The Center for Aging & Disability Education & Research
The Center for Aging & Disability Education & Research (CADER), housed within The Network for Professional Education, is dedicated to strengthening the workforce that provides health and long-term supports and services to older adults and people with disabilities. The rapid aging of our population and a changing landscape for health and social services demand that organizations in the aging and disability field provide integrated, interprofessional, and person-centered care. CADER is a national leader in helping organizations and the workforce meet this challenge by leveraging the latest in online learning technology and the extensive resources of one of the nation’s leading research universities.
Leadership for CADER and The Network for Professional Education is provided by Bronwyn Keefe (PhD’14), assistant dean of Workforce and Professional Development.
The Institute for Equity in Child Opportunity & Healthy Development
The Institute for Equity in Child Opportunity & Healthy Development (IECOHD) conducts research on the conditions children need to grow and thrive – with their families, in their neighborhoods, and through local, state, and federal policies. Recognizing that systemic inequities related to where children live and their background lead to unequal healthy development, the Institute monitors the state of equity and well-being in health, housing, early childhood care and education, and more.
Focused on policy and data for healthy children, families, and communities, we proudly build partnerships with practitioners, policymakers, advocates, and researchers who use our work to promote healthy childhoods and advance equity for all children. Research at the Institute is funded by the W. K. Kellogg Foundation and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
The Institute is led by Dolores Acevedo-Garcia, PhD, MPA-URP, a professor of social work and researcher of the social determinants of racial/ethnic inequities in health and the role of social policies in reducing those inequities.