Announcement
June 13, 2011

Dr. Fred Ssewamala Awarded Tenure at Columbia University

The Columbia University School of Social Work (CUSSW) is pleased to announce that Dr. Fred Ssewamala, Associate Professor of Social Work, has been awarded tenure by Columbia University.

Dr. Ssewamala is a pioneering scholar motivated by a passionate commitment to vulnerable children and youth.  He has distinguished himself as a member of the CUSSW faculty with his asset-based social interventions and research in Uganda, sub-Saharan Africa, and the United States.  His innovative research embodies the social work profession’s multi-systems perspective within developing nations where there are many challenging obstacles.  Dr. Ssewamala has accomplished this by designing and conducting research trials that assess hope-bearing program interventions for youth and families within communities where hope has been in short supply.  His work is distinctive in its richness of its dimensions: the utilization of a theory-driven approach to develop interventions for individuals and families and institutions, attention to methodological issues (including assessment instrumentation), insistence upon cultural appropriateness in efforts to empower people of non-Western developing countries and its significant policy potential on top of its pioneering focus on asset development in developing countries.  

Dr. Ssewamala’s expertise in the design, implementation, promotion, and examination of individual development accounts and of microenterprise as a vehicle for poverty prevention and alleviation has been sought after by important, influential organizations.  His research findings are influencing policy makers and thought leaders in health, mental health and education both domestically and internationally.  In particular, Dr. Ssewamala’s research has been of interest to the U.S. Senate Finance Committee and its Subcommittee on Social Security and Family Policy as well as the World Bank. His work has received funding support from the National Institutes of Health, including the National Institute of Mental Health.

In addition to his faculty post at CUSSW, Dr. Ssewemala has a joint appointment at the Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs. He is a Senior Research Fellow with the New America Foundation and a Visiting Professor at the University of California-San Francisco in the Center for AIDS Prevention Studies.  With his receipt of tenure, Dr. Ssewamala will continue to provide our students and the profession a distinct perspective enriched by asset-development initiatives and interventions, adding even greater dimension to the multidisciplinary character of the School and its offerings.

###

About CUSSW (www.socialwork.columbia.edu)
For 112 years, the Columbia University School of Social Work has been a leader in the education of professionals for careers in practice, policy, and administration. Located in New York City, the School offers a master’s and a doctoral program which are nationally and internationally recognized for their excellence. With a signature curriculum that features multidisciplinary courses taught by leading scholars and practitioners and rich field education, CUSSW continues to be at the forefront of clinical and community practice, social policy, and social enterprise administration education, research and innovation in the 21st Century.