After 15 years, Jannah Mather, dean of the College of Social Work, will be leaving the U.
Since 2000, Mather has brought important changes to the program, including raising money for an addition to the Wilford W. and Dorothy P. Goodwill Humanitarian Building completed in 2008. She also restarted the bachelors of social work after it was discontinued in the 1970s.
Mary Jane Taylor, associate dean of the college, has worked with Mather for over 10 years and said what sets Mather apart is her “ability to find the best in all of her staff and faculty and help them achieve to their best capacity.”
Mather’s accomplishments include international outreach, Taylor said. She helped facilitate the social work programs at the U’s campus in Songdo, South Korea and has encouraged students and faculty to expand research field in countries such as Mongolia and Mexico. The college has seen a major shift toward research in the past few years, and currently, social work professors are conducting studies in all continents except Antarctica.
“There are more publications and more grants. It’s changed its curriculum, so it has more clinical classes, which is what the students wanted,” Mather said.
The program has also expanded its commitment to community service, a change Mather helped implement. Even as dean, Mather emphasized staying involved with social work and teaching by example.
“I consider myself a social worker first and an academic second,” she said. “I think that has made life a lot easier on me in my leadership roles.”
Although Mather has seen ups and downs in the program, she noted that many students choose to study social work. Even though Mather has worked all over the country at different universities, she believes Utah is unique.
“It has a culture of social services and giving and doing for the poor and those in need,” she said.
In the future, Mather hopes to see the U’s College of Social Work improve its rankings nationwide. She said the school is currently ranked 16 out of 400 schools in the country.
After a long career in social work, Mather will continue to teach an online class at the U as she spends the next years in Wisconsin and Florida to be with family.
The new dean will not be chosen for a couple of years, but Hank Liese, associate professor of the college of social work, will serve as dean until that time.
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