Image of Dr. Jay Miller

Award: Distinguished Recent Contributions to Social Work Education Award

Dean and Dorothy A. Miller Research Professor in Social Work Education, University of Kentucky College of Social Work

CSWE will give the 2023 Distinguished Recent Contributions to Social Work Education Award to Justin "Jay" Miller, PhD, Dean and Dorothy A. Miller Research Professor in Social Work Education at the University of Kentucky's College of Social Work.

At the time of his appointment in July 2019, Dean Miller was the youngest dean in the country. He earned his PhD from the University of Louisville.

Dr. Miller is dedicated to a host of social issues and community outreach, a passion which he brings to his work as an educator and scholar. His research and academic interests focus on child welfare and youth involvement in juvenile systems. His work has shaped practice with foster youth and has informed a myriad of policies and practices related to participatory engagement with youth and families. He has practiced in a variety of different contexts at local, state, and federal levels.

In addition to child welfare, Miller is actively leading research related to self-care and wellness. In 2017, he founded The Self-Care Lab (SCL). SCL is the first known lab specifically dedicated to empirically investigating self-care among helping professionals. He has conducted groundbreaking research on broad ranging self-care and wellness research with social workers, educators, nurses, law enforcement, teachers, and attorneys, among others. Through this work, Dr. Miller demonstrates his commitment to address potentially toxic employment conditions and improve life balance. 

Dr. Miller is actively involved in a variety of community service endeavors and has served as the co-founder/past president of the Louisville Association of Social Workers, founder of the Foster Care Peer Support Initiative, and the Kentucky Chapter of the Foster Care Alumni of America. Dr. Miller has also led Kentucky’s Children Justice Act Taskforce, Citizen’s Review Panel, Juvenile Justice Advisory Board, and Board of Social Work. In 2016, Dr. Miller was appointed to the Federal Advisory Committee on Juvenile Justice by OJJDP. 

The impact of Dr. Miller’s work has been recognized regionally, nationally, and internationally. He is a past recipient of the Paul Grannis Award, Sunny Andrews Award, and the Supporting the Workforce Award from the Children’s Bureau, among other awards and recognitions.

Last, but certainly not least, Dean Miller is a loud, proud foster and kinship alum!