Regina Praetorius, PhD, LMSW-AP

Dr. Regina T. Praetorius, LMSW-AP-S, is a first-generation college graduate and Latina raised by an immigrant mother who completed trade school and a father who built his career as an ironworker and carpenter. Her own experiences navigating higher education without an inherited roadmap inform her commitment to reducing barriers, cultivating belonging, and expanding opportunities for students from historically underserved backgrounds. 

Dr. Praetorius is a professor in the School of Social Work at The University of Texas at Arlington (UTA), where she most recently served as associate dean for student and academic affairs and held the Jillian Michelle Smith Professorship in Family Violence Research. Since joining UTA in 2006, she has held several academic leadership roles, including director of undergraduate programs and director of graduate programs. 

She earned her PhD in adult education from Louisiana State University and her MSSW, BSW, and BA in Spanish literature with special honors from The University of Texas at Austin. Her professional background includes crisis counseling, disaster mental health, public health education, career development, and program evaluation. 

Dr. Praetorius’s scholarship focuses on suicide prevention and bereavement, trauma, maternal well-being, social work education, and qualitative research. She has authored or coauthored more than 65 refereed journal articles addressing behavioral-health concerns among veterans, immigrants, refugees, and other underserved communities. She has also secured funding for suicide-prevention initiatives, online mental-health services, refugee mental-health programs, and community-based interventions. 

A central commitment throughout her career has been mentoring and supporting students, particularly those navigating barriers to belonging and academic success. Her leadership has expanded social work student-assistance initiatives at UTA. She was inducted into UTA’s Academy of Distinguished Teachers in 2023 and has received awards for teaching, leadership, and mentorship, including recognition from the Council on Social Work Education. 

Drawing on her lived experience, scholarship, and academic leadership, Dr. Praetorius is committed to ensuring that students—particularly those who are first-generation or from historically underserved communities—have the mentorship, resources, and sense of belonging needed to flourish.