Welcome from the Dean

Nicholas F. Mazza, Ph.D.
Interim Dean and Patricia V. Vance Professor of Social Work

     Welcome to the Florida State University College of Social Work!  In my 27 years as a faculty member here, I have been proud to be a part of an unfolding story of professional excellence in teaching, scholarship, and service to the profession and larger community.  The collective strengths of our faculty, staff, students, and alumni have served to advance our College of Social Work as a top-notch practice, policy, and research institution. To see why we are considered one of the nation’s leading colleges in social work education take a look through this website to read about our research institutes, online and off-campus programs, international programs, field opportunities, certificate programs, joint degree offerings, student activities, and faculty accomplishments.
     In this time of rapid political, economic, and technological changes, we feel confident that our students in the B.S.W., M.S.W., and Ph.D. programs will acquire the necessary knowledge, experience, and skills to “make a difference” in the lives of individuals, families, and communities.  Built upon the art and science of social work, our commitment is to prepare B.S.W. and M.S.W. students for effective and ethical contemporary social work practice in serving the most vulnerable members of our society.  Our Ph.D. program is based on a commitment to produce outstanding leaders in research and education. In a recent study, our graduate faculty was ranked as the 4th most productive in the country.
     Our graduates have gone on to become outstanding practitioners, clinicians, educators, administrators, policymakers, community organizers, consultants, and scholars across the country. My intention is to build upon the strengths of our alumni to continue to advance our College of Social Work. In addressing social issues such as poverty, violence, and disparities in health care, the late Senator Robert F. Kennedy often quoted George Bernard Shaw: You see things as they are and ask, “Why?” I dream things as they never were and ask “Why not?”  I invite you to join me and the entire College of Social Work to use these words as a springboard in envisioning and writing the next chapters in our story.

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