Division of Social Work

Health Sciences Building, (307) 766‑6112
FAX: (307) 766-6839
Web site: www.uwyo.edu/socialwork
Director: Eleanor Pepi Downey, M.S.W., Ph.D

Associate Professors:

ELEANOR PEPI DOWNEY, B.A. Queens College (NC) 1962; M.S.W. Rutgers University 1971; Ph.D. University of Denver 1998; Associate Professor of Social Work 2019.

DIANE A. KEMPSON, B.A. Columbia College 1968; M.S.W. Florida State University 1970; Ph.D. University of South Carolina 1998; Associate Professor of Social Work 2010.

NEELY MAHAPATRA, B.Sc. Utka l University, India 1991; M.Sc. 1993; M.S.S.W. University of Texas-Austin 2003; Ph.D. 2008; Associate Professor of Social Work 2016.

VALERIE THOMPSON-EBANKS, B.Sc. University of the West Indies 2002; M.S.W. 2007; Ph.D. Colorado State University 2012; Associate Professor of Social Work 2018.

Assistant Professors:

KIRSTEN HAVIG, B.A. University of Missouri 1994; M.S.W. University of South Carolina 1998; Ph.D. University of Missouri 2010; Assistant Professor of Social Work 2016.

SANDY LEOTTI, B.A. Prescott College 2002; M.S.W. University of Montana 2006; Ph.D. Portland State University 2019; Assistant Professor of Social Work 2019.

SUKYUNG YOON, B.A. Chung-Ang University 2002; M.S.W. Yonsei University 2008; Ph.D. University of Tennessee 2019; Assistant Professor of Social Work 2019.

Assistant Lecturers:

BILLIE CHAPMAN, B.A. University of Wyoming 2005; M.S.W. 2008; Assistant Lecturer of Social Work 2018.

KYM CODALLOS, B.A. California State University, Sacramento 1999; M.S.W. California State University, Stanislaus 2006; M.A. 2011; Assistant Lecturer of Social Work 2018.

GRETA MAXFIELD, B.S University of Wyoming 1994; M.S.W. Washington University 1999; Assistant Lecturer of Social Work 2019.

Social workers are uniquely qualified to help people in their own environments by looking at different aspects of their lives and cultures. We work to ensure the client’s personal well-being, prevent crises, counsel individuals, support families, and strengthen communities. We make sure people get the help they need, with the best resources available.

For more than 100 years, social workers have cared for people in every stage of life. Social workers help others overcome life’s most difficult challenges and manage the troubles of everyday living, including the troubles that exist due to poverty, stress, addiction, abuse, unemployment, mental illness, family change, and social violence. Social workers advocate for social justice.

Undergraduate Study

The Division of Social Work prepares students for entry-level generalist social work practice. Two locations offer the social work program: the Laramie campus and the University of Wyoming-Casper campus. Graduates receive a Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) and are prepared to work as generalist social work practitioners with individuals, groups, families, organizations, communities, and institutions to achieve more effective and efficient social functioning.

Our program is accredited by the Council on Social Work Education. The curriculum is designed to help students acquire important knowledge and skills in the areas of values and ethics, diversity, social and economic justice, human behavior and the social environment, social welfare policy and services, social work practice, and research. A competency-based curriculum prepares students to meet an “initial level” of competence in nine core areas (CSWE, 2015). Students also select elective courses in areas such as aging, child and adolescent services, health and mental health, and disability services. The program culminates in a 450-hour supervised field practicum, which allows students to work as social workers in one of Wyoming’s many human service agencies.

Graduate Study

The Master of Social Work (MSW) prepares professional social workers for advanced level social work practice and leadership positions in rural human service environments. The Advanced Generalist MSW program is accredited by the Council on Social Work Education. The MSW program raduates advanced integrated practitioners who work within and negotiate complex multi-dimensional problem settings for both clients and practitioners while enbracing the profession’s values of service, social justice, dignity and worth of the person, importance of human relationships, integrity, competence, human rights, and scientific inquiry. The MSW is a full time, campus-based program that utilizes different course delivery methods to accommodate its widespread student population.

Certificate Program

School Social Work

See website for details and course requirements.

Graduate Admissions Requirements

The Division of Social Work’s Graduate Admissions Committee bases recommendations on review of all application materials (applicant’s grades, personal statement, academic essay, professional references, and any related social service experience) as they reflect the applicant’s commitment to social work, social and economic justice, values and ethics of the social work profession, and applicant’s potential as a graduate student, social work practitioner, colleague and leader in the social work field. The Committee also looks for the intangible qualities that an applicant brings to the classroom and campus environment and to professional social work.

Once the committee recommends admission of an applicant, the Office of Admissions in Academic Affairs makes the final decision of admission.