Announcing the retirement of the Jane Addams College of Social Work dean

Dear UIC community,

After more than 35 years of distinguished leadership and service to the University of Illinois Chicago, Creasie Finney Hairston, PhD, has announced her intention to retire Dec. 15 from her role as dean of the Jane Addams College of Social Work. The Office of the Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs will soon announce a search committee and launch a national search for the next dean of the Jane Addams College of Social Work.

Dean Hairston's tenure has been defined by extraordinary leadership, scholarly excellence and an unwavering commitment to advancing social, economic and racial justice through education, research and community engagement. Throughout her decades of service, she has elevated the national reputation of the Jane Addams College of Social Work while steadfastly maintaining the college's mission-focused approach to serving vulnerable and marginalized individuals, families and communities.

A nationally respected scholar, educator and administrator, Dean Hairston is widely recognized as a pioneer in the development of family-oriented programs within prisons and jails and as a leading voice on the effects of incarceration on children and families. Her groundbreaking scholarship shifted the national conversation around criminal justice reform, prisoner re-entry and family preservation. Through influential publications, she advanced understanding of how correctional policies affect family bonds and successful community reintegration.

During her tenure as dean, the Jane Addams College of Social Work maintained a status of academic distinction, receiving consistently excellent reviews from the Council on Social Work Education Reaccreditation Commission and the Illinois Board of Higher Education. Under her leadership, the college also sustained national rankings, competitive enrollment and strong retention and graduation rates among a talented and racially diverse student body. Dean Hairston also strengthened the college through the recruitment and support of faculty whose teaching, research, scholarship and service advanced the college's longstanding commitment to social and economic justice.

A foundation of Dean Hairston's leadership has been her willingness to embrace and support innovative programs proposed by faculty and community leaders. Under her direction, the college launched initiatives that expanded professional development opportunities and cultivated future leaders in social work and social reform. Among these are We Are Men Scholars, a program focused on developing men of color for leadership roles within social service organizations; the Urban Scholars Program, which equips leaders in social reform organizations with advocacy and policy skills; the Mental Health Certificate Program; the School Social Work Training Institute; and Free to Excel. Indeed, these initiatives have become important pathways for student success, leadership development and community engagement.

Under her leadership, the College of Social Work expanded and strengthened its research and sponsored projects portfolio, building a robust research agenda centered on community well-being and social impact. The college developed strong partnerships with Illinois state agencies and community-based organizations while advancing initiatives in behavioral health workforce development, implementation of the state's 988 crisis hotline and mobile crisis response systems, community-based living for former nursing home residents and evaluation of the Illinois Cannabis Regulation Act.

The college also emerged as a national thought leader in addressing social problems affecting disadvantaged groups. Programs developed at the college - including centers focused on Latino diabetes prevention and intervention, HIV/AIDS education and training, addiction technology transfer and elderly case management - became national models emulated across the country.

Dean Hairston's many accomplishments have been recognized through numerous honors and awards, including the Distinguished Social Work Manager Award from the National Association of Social Work Managers; the Women Making History Award from the National Council of Negro Women; the International Community Corrections Association Presidential Award; and the West Virginia All Black Schools Lifetime Achievement Award, just to name a few.

Prior to joining UIC, Dean Hairston held faculty appointments at Indiana University, West Virginia University, the State University of New York and the University of Tennessee. She also served as editor of the Journal of Offender Rehabilitation, now known as Justice, Opportunities, and Rehabilitation. She earned her bachelor's summa cum laude from Bluefield State College and both her Master of Science in Social Administration and PhD from Case Western Reserve University.

Please join me in expressing our deepest gratitude to Dean Hairston for her distinguished service to UIC and wishing her continued success in the next chapter of her life.

Sincerely,

Robert A. Barish, MD, MBA
Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs

For more information, please contact:
Margaret Moser
[email protected]