Student Scholarships at the USF School of Social Work

Chris Simmons is the interim director and associate professor of instruction. He received a bachelor's degree in psychology from the University of Louisiana, Lafayette, (’94), a MSW from Louisiana State University, (’97), and a PhD in counselor education from USF, (’08).

Simmons is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) and Qualified Clinical Supervisor, and currently serves as the faculty director of the Social Work Clinic at USF's BRIDGE Healthcare Clinic.

His teaching is primarily centered on generalist and clinical practice, human behavior and multicultural social work practice, making good use of his experience as a clinical social worker and clinical supervisor. In his courses, he strives to incorporate what he has learned from his research on cognitive development and student learning. Specifically, his goals are to help students develop practice skills, as well as cognitive abilities to tolerate ambiguity, to deal with incomplete and sometimes conflicting information, and to develop problem-solving abilities. He uses experiential learning, service learning and interprofessional education to help students develop these cognitive skills, which provide a good framework for effective social work practice.

Julie Serovich assumed leadership as dean of the College of Behavioral and Community Sciences (CBCS) at USF in July 2012. Prior to coming to USF, she was chair of the Department of Human Development and Family Science at The Ohio State University (OSU).

The college was created in 2008 to prepare students, scholars, human service providers, policymakers and others involved in quality-of-life issues for work that affects many diverse populations. CBCS currently enrolls nearly 3,100 students and generates upward of $29 million in research contracts and grants each year.

CBCS is one of 14 colleges at USF. Its collaborative units and academic strength position faculty, students and staff to lead USF's ascension to prominence as a research university with notable state, national and international impact. The college incorporates one of the largest behavioral health research and training institutes in the country, focused on multidisciplinary collaborations and a strong research continuum.

Serovich's work began more than two decades ago at Texas Tech University where, after receiving her doctorate from the University of Georgia, she was named an assistant professor of marriage and family therapy in 1991. Also a graduate of Loyola College, Baltimore, she joined the OSU faculty in 1995 and was named the inaugural director of the Couples and Family Therapy program. Since 1997, she has received grant funding for over 15 straight years in excess of $9 million, mostly from the National Institutes of Mental Health.