Dr. Tyreasa Washington is the recipient of the 2020 Thomas Undergraduate Research Mentor Award for tenured faculty.
Dr. Washington joined the Department of Social Work at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro as an Assistant Professor in 2011. She was promoted to Associate Professor and appointed Faculty Affiliate to the UNCG Gerontology Program in 2017. Dr. Washington is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) who has worked in child welfare and mental health settings. She is a distinguished scholar who examines the impact of familylevel factors on African American children’s social, academic, and behavioral outcomes, especially those who reside in kinship care (e.g., grandparents raising grandchildren).
An extension of Dr. Washington’s work on African American kinship care families in the United States is the exploration of the historic and contemporary use of kinship care among African American and Black families in the USA, Ghana, and South Africa. She has presented her research and led discussions at the Aya Centre for Intercultural Awareness and Development and the University of Ghana in Accra, Ghana and at the University of Kwazulu-Natal in Durban, South Africa. Her research agenda also includes the examination of fathers’ roles on children’s positive outcomes.
Dr. Washington has received various research and teaching awards for her scholarship including a Council on Social Work Education Minority Fellowship Alumna, a National Institute of Health (NIH) Loan Repayment Program recipient, as well as, a Teaching Excellence and Research Mentor Awards recipient. Currently, Dr. Washington is the Principal Investigator of an Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) funded study, entitled: “Development of African American Children in Kinship Care.”
Former undergraduate student researcher, Christian Zik Nsonwu, said of his relationship with Dr. Washington, “During all of my successes and failures, she has always been there to support me. I can say for an absolute fact that I would not be where I am today without her support and mentorship.”
Dr. Washington served as a McNair Faculty Research Mentor to Kenya Downing and Tamika Smith. Kenya stated, “It was not until I met this influential individual that I realized how much exposure, representation, teaching, research, and mentoring matter.” Tamika recalled that, “Dr. Washington has supported me in all aspects, both domestically and internationally. She exemplifies the traits of a compassionate and determined mentor who believes in her mentees and will go above and beyond to support them. Dr. Washington is one of the few professors that I encountered who made a conscious effort to individually connect with students beyond academics.”
Shelton Young explained, “Dr. Washington is not only a colleague in the Social Work profession, but she once served as my professor and undergraduate research mentor during my undergraduate experience. She provided me and countless others with an understanding of the importance of using research to inform social work practice and practice to inform research.”
The Undergraduate Research, Scholarship and Creativity Office at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro established this award to recognize faculty who engage students in projects that contribute to the expansion of knowledge and understanding in their discipline, while demonstrating excellence and innovation. Dr. Tyreasa Washington demonstrates role modeling as a professional, with personal integrity, high ethical standards, and achievable standards for personal excellence. We are privileged to recognize her with the 2020 Thomas Undergraduate Research Mentor Award.
Writeup by Adrienne Middlebrooks
