Anderson welcomed as new School of Social Work director

The College of Public Programs is pleased to welcome Steven Anderson as the new director of the School of Social Work.

Anderson comes to ASU from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he was a faculty member for 13 years in the School of Social Work and was Doctoral Program Director for three years. He was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to China in 2010, where he taught social development courses at the Zhou Enlai School of Government at Nankai University and studied social work and nonprofit agency development.

Anderson previously worked as a staff member with the Michigan House of Representatives and served as the associate director for Human Services in the House Fiscal Agency. He was responsible for developing, analyzing, negotiating and monitoring budget and fiscal issues. He also worked as a consultant for the Mayor of Lansing, Michigan and engaged in political campaign work where he wrote speeches and helped candidates prepare for debates.

“Steve Anderson is a broad thinker with a strong commitment to social work with experience in the public sector and has a global perspective. His scholarly expertise in gerontology is also most welcome. In addition to providing strategic leadership for the School of Social Work, Dr. Anderson will ensure that there is broad collaboration with other units in the College and at ASU around issues of common concern including gerontology, social justice, child welfare and health disparities,” said Debra Friedman, university vice President and dean of the College of Public Programs.  

Anderson’s research focuses on access to benefits for low-income families. He also has led research projects evaluating the impact of welfare reforms, childcare, health care, financial training and other support services designed to assist low-income working families.

Anderson said he is thrilled to be in this new role at one of the largest social work programs in the country. 

“I was attracted by the unique cultural and environmental issues of Arizona and the Southwest. The School of Social Work is strong and has a lot of potential. We have a good presence across the state, creating a lot of possibilities,” he said.

Anderson has taught social policy, program planning, leadership and social change, social entrepreneurship and research methods courses for undergraduate and graduate students. He earned his bachelor's degree and master's degree in social work from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He holds a master's degree and a doctorate degree in  political science from the University of Michigan.