Ruth McRoy (Photo by Susan Callaghan)
GSSW Names McRoy to New Endowed Professorship
groundbreaking researcher in child welfare, adoption and diversity named the inaugural holder of the Donahue/DiFelice Endowed Professorship in the Graduate School of Social Work
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Ruth McRoy, a groundbreaking researcher in child welfare, adoption and diversity, has been named the inaugural holder of the Donahue/DiFelice Endowed Professorship in the Graduate School of Social Work.McRoy, a research professor and the Ruby Lee Piester Centennial Professor Emerita at the University of Texas at Austin School of Social Work, has been a visiting research professor and consultant at GSSW since 2005. She will begin her appointment as Donahue/DiFelice Professor in September.
An academician, researcher, practitioner, trainer and lecturer in the field for more than 30 years, McRoy’s work has focused on topics such as open adoptions, adoptive family recruitment, transracial adoptions, post-adoption services, minority recruitment, racial identity development, family preservation, adolescent pregnancy, African American families, kinship care, and disproportionality in child welfare. She has received major research funding from public and private agencies such as the US Department of Health and Human Services, the Texas Department of Protective and Regulatory Services and the Hogg Foundation.
McRoy has authored or co-authored eight books and more than 100 articles and book chapters on child welfare issues. Her recent honors include the 2004 Flynn Prize for Social Work Research from the University of Southern California, the 2005 George Silcott Lifetime Achievement Award from the Black Administrators in Child Welfare, and the 2006 Distinguished Achievement Award from the Society for Social Work and Research (SSWR).
“I am delighted to come to the Graduate School of Social Work as the first holder of the Donahue/DiFelice Endowed Professorship,” said McRoy, a member of the North American Council on Adoptable Children Board and a senior research fellow and member of the Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute Board.
“To have the opportunity to work with such an outstanding faculty, staff and students is truly an honor. I look forward to future collaborations to enhance child welfare policy, research and practice to improve outcomes for children, youth and families locally, nationally, and internationally.”
GSSW Dean Alberto Godenzi said, “I want to thank Boston College and the Donahue and DiFelice families for making this historic appointment possible. To be able to recruit Ruth McRoy is a dream come true. Ruth’s work encompasses groundbreaking and innovative research in the areas of child welfare, adoption, and diversity.
“In addition to her academic distinctions, Ruth is an extraordinarily warm and caring human being. She will be the perfect role model for our students and a unique mentor for our junior faculty. I cannot think of a more visionary, open-minded, and accomplished child welfare expert than Ruth McRoy. She will undoubtedly take our school to new heights.”