Patricia Saleeby, PhD

Dr. Patricia Welch Saleeby is a Full Professor and MSW Program Director in the Department of Sociology, Criminology, and Social Work at Bradley University. She earned a PhD in Social Work from Washington University in St. Louis, a Master of Science in Social Administration from Case Western Reserve University, and a Bachelor of Arts in Biology from Oberlin College.

She has dedicated over two decades to leadership roles within social work national and international organizations. Her extensive service to the Council on Social Work Education includes serving two times on the Board of Directors, recently as Treasurer, and as a member of the BOD Executive Committee – Chairing Governance, Budget, and Audit Committees. She has served on the CSWE Strategic Planning Committee, and she has been a speaker for the Minority Fellowship Program as well as an accreditation site visitor for several years. 

Dr. Saleeby has contributed actively to promoting diversity within social work. She served as the Chair of the Commission for Diversity and Social and Economic Justice contributing to various work tasks that led to the establishment of the Diversity Center. She chaired the Council on Disability and Persons with Disabilities and served on the Commission on Global Social Work Education along with the Environmental Justice and Service User Competency Task Forces. 

Beyond CSWE, Dr. Saleeby serves as the Editor-in-Chief of Health & Social Work journal for the National Association of Social Workers and maintains global leadership roles, including representing the International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW) at the United Nations in New York and co-chairing the World Health Organization (WHO) Functioning and Disability Reference Group. She is also an active member of the NASW-IL Deans and Directors. 

Dr. Saleeby brings decades of rich teaching experience across undergraduate and graduate social work education, navigating diverse rural, urban, and suburban institutional settings. A dedicated mentor and academic leader, she has been instrumental in shaping the next generation of social workers by driving curriculum development and programmatic excellence. Reflecting her specialized non-profit management background, she has passionately championed student readiness, advocating for systemic integration of macro skills, including grant writing and fundraising, directly into social work curricula.

Not surprisingly, Dr. Saleeby’s research and scholarship emphasize enhancing and promoting the social work profession. One area focuses on disability studies and global health policy, where she is internationally recognized for bridging the gap between social work interventions and international standard frameworks. She was a pioneering professional – and the only social worker – involved in the World Health Organization's revision process that developed the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF), actively working to shift the medical model of disability toward a holistic, functional perspective that recognizes the impact of the environment. Dr. Saleeby’s second area of focus explores the "capability approach" to well-being and health equity where she utilizes this framework to dismantle systemic barriers, assess social determinants of health, and enhance patient care for underserved populations. Overall, her tireless advocacy aims to construct more equitable and inclusive social systems worldwide.