Noelle M. St. Vil

“Although black male-female relationships have a history of resilience, disunity among men and women is the crux of many social ills in the black community. My research aims to strengthen these relationships. By addressing black male-female relationships, we simultaneously address interconnecting social issues such as poverty, sexually transmitted infections, and domestic violence.”

• PhD, Social Work, Howard University (2012)
  
• Graduate Cert., Women's Studies, Howard University (2010)
• MSW, Social Work, Howard University (2007)
• BA, Religious Studies, California State University Northridge (2005)

Interpersonal violence; black male-female relationships; man-sharing

Noelle M. St.Vil, associate professor, joined the UB School of Social Work faculty in 2015. St. Vil's research focuses on Black male-female relationships, including the impact of structural racism on these relationships, intimate partner violence, sexually transmitted infections and relationship typologies (monogamous, consensual nonmonogamy and nonconsensual nonmonogamy).

Currently, she is a co-investigator on two studies aiming to develop culturally specific sexual assault intervention preventions for Black college women. St. Vil is the lead author of the article, "Posttraumatic slave syndrome, the patriarchal nuclear family structure, and African American male-female relationships," which expands on her research contextualizing and understanding the unique relationship experiences of Blacks and giving voice to their realities. Her long-term goal is to create prevention interventions that strengthen Black male-female relationships.

In her teaching, she is committed to helping students pursue lifelong consciousness and intellectual and spiritual growth. She has designed a course titled, "Introduction to Black male-female relationships: a historical and contemporary analysis." Through a trauma-informed perspective, the course integrates research, policy and practice to develop an understanding of the historical and contemporary context of black male-female relationships, assess intervention strategies and propose solutions.