WASHINGTON – Today, Howard University announced that Sheara Jennings, Ph.D., MSW, has been named dean of the School of Social Work. Jennings, who will report to Provost Anthony K. Wutoh, will succeed Sandra Crewe, who announced her retirement last August.

Jennings joins Howard University after 13 years at the University of Houston, where she served in various roles, including associate dean of doctoral education in the Graduate College of Social Work, the Humana Endowed Chair in Social Determinants of Health, and special assistant to the provost.

Prior to the University of Houston, Jennings served as executive director of the Durham Scholars Program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Kenan Institute for Private Enterprise and the director of field education for the Department of Social Work at North Carolina Central University. She has also served as a diversity trainer and consultant for the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services.

A respected academician, Jennings earned a B.S. in Rehabilitation Psychology from Southern University and A & M College in Baton Rouge, La. She also earned an MSW from Louisiana State University and a Ph.D. in Social Intervention Research from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She has held academic appointments in the Department of African American Studies at the University of Houston and the Center for Justice Research at Texas Southern University.

Through partnerships with community-based organizations, Jennings has secured more than $22 million for projects and programs. Her research portfolio has incorporated support from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Family and Youth Services Bureau. Additionally, Jennings has been published in respected journals including Family Process, Child Abuse and Neglect, and the Journal of Applied Gerontology.

Howard University President Ben Vinson III, Ph.D. looks forward to the wealth of experience and expertise Jennings will bring to the University.

“I am pleased to announce the appointment of Sheara Jennings as dean of the School of Social Work. As the inaugural associate dean for Doctoral Education at the University of Houston Graduate College of Social Work, Dr. Jennings was responsible for providing leadership, coordination, guidance and assessment for the doctoral degree program. We are excited to welcome her to the Howard University community,” President Vinson said.

“I also want to take this opportunity to thank Dean Sandra Crewe for her decades of excellent service to the University and sterling leadership of the School of Social Work,” President Vinson added. “I wish her all the best during her sabbatical year, and we eagerly anticipate her return to the School of Social Work faculty.”