Bakk appointed to Group for the Advancement of Doctoral Education board

By Matthew Biddle

Louanne Bakk, PhD, clinical associate professor and director of the Doctor of Social Work (DSW) program in the University at Buffalo School of Social Work, has been appointed to the board of directors for the Group for the Advancement of Doctoral Education in Social Work (GADE).

Bakk will begin her one-year term as board secretary on June 1. 

Founded in 1977, GADE promotes excellence, innovation and equity in social work doctoral education through networking, capacity building and stewardship of the profession. The organization brings together doctoral program directors from more than 100 institutions worldwide to share knowledge and resources and to promote the interests of social work doctoral programs in the larger profession.

Bakk is the inaugural director for the School of Social Work’s DSW program, which will graduate its second cohort this month. The part-time, fully online program helps experienced social workers advance their professional practice and use implementation science to translate research into effective interventions.

One of the program’s signature features is the integration of emerging technologies. In March, Bakk and colleagues from the DSW program were honored by the State University of New York (SUNY) for integrating virtual reality throughout the program.

A member of the UB faculty since 2013, Bakk studies the aging population in her research, with an emphasis on policy initiatives, disparities in later life, and technology with older adults. In addition to her teaching responsibilities, Bakk serves as coordinator of the Excellence in Aging Micro-Credential program.

Matthew Biddle
Director of Communications and Marketing
School of Social Work
Tel: 716-645-1226
mrbiddle@buffalo.edu