Graduate Dean Representative
Ronald Marks, MSW, MPH, PhD
Tulane University
Ronald Marks is in his 9th year as dean of the school of social work at Tulane University where he has been a faculty member for 25 years. Prior to becoming dean, he served in various capacities at the school including associate dean and director of the MSW program, director of the doctoral program, and director of the gerontology center.
Marks has supervised over 40 master’s theses and chaired and served on over 25 doctoral dissertations. Many of his publications are studies of community based social service programs in the areas of adolescent life, homelessness, and family and aging services addressing the stress associated with providing care to frail aging relatives.
His PhD is in social welfare from the school of social work at the University of Pittsburgh. He also has an MSW and a master's degree in public health.
Over the last 10 years, Marks has been working to establish international field opportunities for the MSW students at the school and has led programs to Central America, Cuba and most recently in north India where for the last 9 years he has been developing a project working with Tibetan refugees. A common denominator of all these projects has been to enable students to understand the challenges of providing social and health programming in resource poor parts of the world. Additionally, and no less important, these programs are designed to provide opportunities for students to grow personally and professionally and see the linkage between the two.
After the devastation of New Orleans caused by Hurricane Katrina, Marks has been actively partnering with many international aid organizations to assist in the recovery of New Orleans and provide field sites for Tulane’s students and research collaborations for Tulane faculty.
Undergraduate Director Representative
Cora Le-Doux, MSSW, PhD
Our Lady of the Lake University
I serve as a professor of social work, and program director for the Worden School’s BSW Program. I teach undergraduate courses across the curriculum including practice, policy, research, and human behavior to a predominantly Hispanic student population. In addition to teaching experience, I have held various administrative positions in academia including: dean, associate dean, MSW program director, and BSW program director. At the national level, I am currently on the CSWE Council on Conferences and Faculty Development. I served as the chair of the 2009 CSWE Annual Program Meeting held in San Antonio, TX; and have also served on CSWE Council on the Role of Women in Social Work Education; as a CSWE accreditation site visitor; and codirected our university’s most recent accreditation. In addition to my 19 years in social work higher education, I bring extensive social work experience with various populations including immigrants and refugees, run-away youths, and elders, as well as mental health and child welfare services. As a social worker, I continue to function in multiple roles including as an external evaluator for a community college service-learning program. If elected, I will bring my long-term commitment to the social work profession, the experience in higher education, administrative and leadership skills, and direct practice work experience necessary to help advance the mission of social work education. It is a privilege to be nominated, and I appreciate your support.
Practice Representative
Jim Akin, MSW
Executive Director, National Association of Social Workers–Florida
I have over 35 years of professional social work experience in direct practice, social planning, university administration, social work education and NASW management. It is an honor to be nominated for a position on the CSWE National Nominating Committee. My desire to serve in this role is to foster the relationships between social work practice and education. This linkage is fundamental to the future of our profession. Social work education houses the knowledge of our profession. It is the beginning of ethical and skill development for social work practitioners. In the day to day lives of practicing social workers the constant demands of societal changes are impacting clients and practitioners. These changes and challenges need to be addressed in social work education and in practice settings. The opportunity to influence CSWE leadership by securing Board members who are aware of both the knowledge and skill needs for the coming decade is essential. The selection also must reflect the rich diversity of all social work educators and practitioners. One the strength of any successful organization is the inclusion of all points of view in decision making and review. I thank you for this opportunity to serve and ask for your vote.