Smyth Elected President of National Social Work Group

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Nancy J. Smyth, dean of the University at Buffalo School of Social Work, has been elected to a two-year term as president of the St. Louis Group, an association of the country's outstanding graduate schools of social work.

Dean of the UB School of Social Work since 2004, Smyth is a professor whose research focuses on addiction and trauma. She also holds a joint appointment with UB's Research Institute on Addictions as an associate research scientist.

The St. Louis Group for Excellence in Social Work Research and Education has a membership of more than 50 accredited graduate or combined graduate social work programs.

All of the programs in the St. Louis Group are in institutions that belong to the Association of American Universities, hold Carnegie-Research Extensive status and/or spend at least $3 million annually in direct costs for research, excluding training grants.

The group was founded 10 years ago at Washington University in St. Louis, Mo. Smyth will be the St. Louis Group's third president.

The St. Louis Group assists deans at research universities in addressing the unique needs of research-focused social work schools. It has worked successfully with other national social work research organizations to significantly increase social work's contribution to major research initiatives, such as those sponsored by the National Institutes of Health.