New Faculty Appointments
Author(s)
GSSW
Communication Team
Marquisha L. Scott and Miriam G. Valdovinos join the GSSW faculty
The University of Denver Graduate School of Social Work (GSSW) welcomes two new tenure-track assistant professors this fall: Marquisha L. Scott and Miriam G. Valdovinos.
Scott holds a PhD in social welfare from the University of Pennsylvania School of Social Policy and Practice, as well as MSW and Master of Divinity degrees from Washington University in St. Louis and Eden Theological Seminary, respectively. With a background in macro social work, community organizing and understanding religious congregations as organizations of faith and service, Scott’s work centers non-governmental institutions (NGOs) as solvers of social problems. Her research explores how NGOs impact youth economic and social outcomes in a globalizing society, including an ongoing study of digital banking access and its social and economic impact in rural India. “I will bring my research into the classroom to show social work students the impact that research has on the lives of their clients—for example, individuals, communities, organizations and religious congregations,” Scott says. “GSSW’s commitment to the local and global community and actionable, outward-facing social justice made me feel right at home.”
Valdovinos holds a PhD in social welfare from the University of Washington–Seattle School of Social Work and previously served as an assistant professor in the University of Connecticut School of Social Work. Her education in social welfare, psychology, public health and gender studies informs her research on intimate partner violence (IPV) experiences in Latinx families and the exclusion of Latinx undocumented immigrants from social services. Valdovinos says her practice experience in domestic violence agencies and the juvenile probation system inspire her dedication to investigating interpersonal violence issues affecting Latinx immigrant women, children and families. The next stage in this research is to interview social workers who work with IPV immigrant survivors in Colorado. “As a professor,” Valdovinos says, “I hope my students’ learning shifts from a confined notion of memorization to a space of promise and possibility to learn something new about self and society, as well as actively addressing ongoing social justice commitments and anti-racist objectives in their social work practice.”
