A Community of Work Leads to Success

Marianna Colvin, Ph.D., an assistant professor at the Phyllis and Harvey Sandler school of social work, was recently appointed as the College of Social Work and Criminal Justice Dean’s Fellow for Research and Academic Effectiveness. Recipients of this achievement have demonstrated  outstanding leadership potential and are selected based on their leadership and a commitment to social work and criminal justice.

Colvin’s research investigates the way human beings in society interact and live together through participant observation, in-depth interviews and focus groups. Colvin’s methods focus on obtaining data through open-ended and conversational communication involved with local, regional, state and federal levels of community environments. “Our interdisciplinary research and collaboration makes our college well-positioned to have a transformative and lasting social impact, and I am grateful to be part of it,” Colvin adds.

As a teacher, Colvin aspires to build a community within the classroom, facilitate community-based learning and integrate a global-community perspective. For instance, community partners visit her classroom to present students with a real-life problem, a relevant question, or a research area related to the course curriculum. Students apply what they are studying in the curriculum to analyze the problem, reflect on what they are learning, and provide potential solutions to the community partner’s needs. To Colvin, some of the most prominent and pressing issues of our time include racial justice, school violence, reentry and reintegration, child welfare, healthy aging, mental health, the opioid epidemic and human trafficking.

In 2018, Colvin was awarded the NASW-FL Social Work Educator of the Year from her approach to social changes in the community and her commitment to make long term change.

Now, Colvin — along with a cross-disciplinary research team — will head the college’s research initiatives to deepen our understanding of how the world works and what human action can make it better.

In this role, Colvin will serve as the liaison to the FAU Division of Research and connect the college to actively achieve the best utilization of resources while including students, professors and the community. Also, Colvin will attend on-campus and off-campus community activities or events and participate in career and leadership development activities.

“My intent is to prepare my students to become agents of social change,” Colvin says, “by teaching them sound, ethical decision-making skills and instilling an unwavering passion for learning and justice.”