Dean of Social Work and Family Studies; Professor
Kathleen Kirk Bishop, MSW, Ph.D.
(617)879-2331kbishop@wheelock.edu
B.A., Holy Family College; MSW and Ph.D., Catholic University
Kathleen Kirk Bishop is the Dean of the School of Social Work and Family Studies. Previously, she was appointed Dean and Professor of Social Work at Wheelock College on July 1, 1999. Prior to coming to Wheelock, Dean Bishop was at the University of Vermont where she was involved in the establishment of a new MSW program and was the project director for $2 million in grants from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB), and the State of Vermont Department of Health and the American Academy of Pediatrics Healthy Tomorrows program. Prior to her Vermont appointments, she served as a senior federal social work consultant for the MCHB and a special assistant to the Director of the Health Resources and Services Administration.
Dean Bishop spearheaded the development of a new MSW program at Wheelock College, which received accreditation in February, 2003. Her research and publications focus on all aspects of supporting children and families, with a particular emphasis on forming partnerships with families and using family-centered approaches to practice and policy. Dean Bishop's publications include Family/Professional Collaboration for Children with Special Health Needs and Their Families, a monograph supported by the DHHS and distributed nationally and internationally; “Family-centered Services for Infants and Toddlers with/at risk for Disabilities and Their Families: IDEA, Part C”, published in School Social Work: Practice, Policy and Research Perspectives; and “A Family-Centered Continuing Education Curriculum for Social Workers,” in the Journal of Teaching in Social Work. She has also published in such journals as Journal of Social Work Education, Families in Society, and Journal of Special Education.
She is the recipient of several awards including two Administrator's Awards for Excellence, U.S. DHHS-MCHB, National Coalition of Family Leadership, and the Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award from Catholic University. Dean Bishop is a site chair/visitor for the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) and chaired the Health Symposium at CSWE for several years. She has recently been appointed to a three-year term on the Commission on Accreditation, CSWE.
