{"id":72235,"date":"2025-06-23T15:59:54","date_gmt":"2025-06-23T19:59:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/ssw\/?p=72235"},"modified":"2025-06-23T16:03:12","modified_gmt":"2025-06-23T20:03:12","slug":"dr-jennifer-m-gomez-promoted-associate-professor-tenure","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/ssw\/dr-jennifer-m-gomez-promoted-associate-professor-tenure\/","title":{"rendered":"Dr. Jennifer M. G\u00f3mez Promoted to Associate Professor with Tenure"},"content":{"rendered":"

BU School of Social Work (BUSSW) is proud to announce the promotion of Prof. Jennifer M. G\u00f3mez to associate professor with tenure, recognizing her significant contributions to trauma research, social justice scholarship, and higher education leadership. Her promotion reflects BUSSW\u2019s ongoing commitment to supporting equity-driven scholarship that addresses some of society\u2019s most urgent challenges.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

A former Ford Fellow, Dr. G\u00f3mez is a Black feminist trauma researcher and critical race scholar whose work centers the lived experiences of individuals and communities impacted by violence and systemic oppression. She is the creator of <\/span>Cultural Betrayal Trauma Theory<\/span><\/a>, which explores how societal inequalities magnify the impact of trauma within marginalized communities, particularly sexual abuse. Her theory has led to research that has shaped contemporary understandings of trauma, race, and healing.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Her book, <\/span>The Cultural Betrayal of Black Women & Girls: A Black Feminist Approach to Healing from Sexual Abuse<\/span><\/i><\/a>, earned the <\/span>2024 Frank W. Putnam Outstanding Book Award<\/span> from the International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation (ISSTD). By offering both theoretical insights and paths toward individual and collective healing, it speaks to a broad audience from race scholars and trauma clinicians to Black feminists and advocates, to survivors.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Dr. G\u00f3mez was recently named a Top Scholar by ScholarGPS which recognizes researchers for their outstanding performance in various fields, disciplines, and specialties. Her strong publication record, the impact of her work, and the notable quality of her scholarly contributions placed her in the top 0.5% of all scholars worldwide, according to the most recent rankings.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In addition to her research on trauma and cultural betrayal, Dr. G\u00f3mez continues to illuminate the lived realities of systemic discrimination within academia. Her chapter, <\/span>“I Am Not Just a Body, But Also a Soul: The Power of Erasure Amidst Hypervisibility on a Faculty Search Committee,”<\/span><\/i> appears in the 2024 volume <\/span>Betrayal U: The Politics of Belonging in Higher Education<\/span><\/i><\/a>, edited by Rebecca G. Mart\u00ednez and Monica Casper. In the chapter, she recounts her experience on a tenure-track faculty search committee at her former institution, illustrating how institutional standards were inconsistently applied by being bent or lowered for white candidates and raised or distorted for candidates of color. G\u00f3mez shares how she, as a Black woman, was negatively treated throughout the process, and concludes with a reflection on solidarity with another Black colleague and her continued commitment to fighting for equity in higher education despite the systemic and interpersonal barriers she faced.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Since joining BUSSW in 2022 as an assistant professor and faculty affiliate with the school\u2019s <\/span>Center for Innovation in Social Work & Health (CISWH)<\/span><\/a>, G\u00f3mez has brought intellectual rigor and visionary leadership to her scholarship and teaching. Her national leadership roles further underscore her impact. Dr. G\u00f3mez serves as:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n