A member of the social work faculty for more than two decades, Dr. McGowan is currently serving as chair of the social work practice area and served as chair of the doctoral program.  She was named an associate professor in 1978 and a full professor in 1985.  She was a visiting professor at the Pontificia Universidade Catolica de Rio de Janeiro in 1984 and 1985, and the recipient of a Fulbright travel award to Brazil in 1985.

Professor McGowan has won national recognition as a leading educator in family and child welfare services and has lectured throughout the United States.  She has participated in numerous committees, professional and community conferences and task forces, including: the 1980 White House Conference of Families, New York City Youth Board, NASW National Committee on Inquiry, NYC Chapter-NASW Board of Directors, and the Fahs-Beck Fund for Research and Demonstration.  Among her former editorial board affiliations are Social Casework, Urban and Social Change Review, and Children and Youth Services Review.

A prolific author of a wide range of professional publications, Dr. McGowan is well known for her contributions to research and advocacy in family and children's services.  She recently co-directed a four-year study of the Center for Family Life in Sunset Park funded by the Annie E. Casey Foundation and is currently co-authoring a book on this research for Columbia University Press. 

An alumna of Wellesley College, Dr. McGowan received her M.S.W. degree from the Boston College Graduate School of Social Work and her D.S.W. degree from Columbia University.