Dr. Cheryl Parks Named New Seidel School Dean

SALISBURY, MD---A leader from one of the nation’s top-ranked schools of social work has been appointed dean of the Seidel School of Education and Professional Studies at Salisbury University.

Dr. Cheryl Parks assumed her new role July 1.

“With a wide-range of experiences in areas including strategic planning, curriculum development and doctoral program implementation, as well as teaching and demonstrated success securing research funding, Dr. Parks is well-prepared to lead the Seidel School into the future,” said Dr. Diane Allen, SU’s provost and senior vice president of academic affairs.

Parks said the SU role intrigued her because of the natural connections between the disciplines of social work, education and health.

“I see an opportunity to better integrate Seidel’s four departments and to talk across boundaries,” she said.  “That’s what social workers do,” she added,” We create linkages within and throughout.”

Parks comes to SU from the University of Connecticut’s School of Social Work, where she served as associate dean for research and established an office for research and scholarship. Personally, she has led or collaborated on externally funded projects totaling over $3 million, many for state and federal agencies on issues related to children, families and sexual minorities, as well as substance abuse and mental health issues.

She has published 20 articles and book chapters, and presented her research regionally, nationally and internationally.

A believer in volunteer service to one’s profession and community, Parks served on or chaired several UConn committees, including a public engagement initiative. As a member of the National Association of Social Workers and the Council on Social Work Education, she assumed national leadership roles on identity issues. She was a founding board member of BerksTALKLINE, an over two-decade old hotline for Pennsylvania youth, and was three-time president of the Connecticut family service agency True Colors, Inc.

Prior to joining UConn’s faculty in 1999, Parks taught at Florida State University and Bryn Mawr College. She earned her Ph.D. in Social Work from Bryn Mawr and M.S.W. from the University of Washington in Seattle. For nearly two decades, she was a private social work practitioner.

At SU, Parks oversees the departments of social work, teacher education, education specialties, and health and sport sciences. The Seidel School is comprised of over 2,400 graduate and undergraduate students, 69 full-time faculty and 12 staff. 

For more information call 410-543-6030 or visit the SU Web site at www.salisbury.edu.