April 26, 2023

LSU is proud of its world-class faculty, and we are pleased to announce the faculty honored as this year’s recipients of university-wide distinguished faculty awards. Congratulations to Jennifer Scott, PhD, recipient of the LSU Alumni Association Rising Faculty Research Award.

LSU Alumni Association Rising Faculty Research Award
Jennifer Scott, PhD is an Assistant Professor
in the School of Social Work.

Her research focuses on understanding how economic and political marginalization (or exclusion) affect community and individual wellbeing and health. Specifically, how the social determinants of economic access (i.e. work, non-cash economic support, residence) and immigration status (particularly legal status) affect individual, family and community wellbeing and health outcomes. Dr. Scott is a mixed methods researcher, combining quantitative and qualitative approaches as well as conducting investigations that employ a single approach.

Dr. Scott currently teaches social policy and diversity related courses in the School of Social Work. She received a grant from CSWE to help expand policy field opportunities for social work students. She also developed and led a graduate level study abroad program to Concepcion, Chile, and is actively exploring other international education possibilities.

She joined the LSU faculty after completing her PhD in Social Work at the University of Texas at Austin where she was a Graduate Student Fellow in the Urban Ethnography Lab and the Population Research Center, and where she also spent a quarter as a Graduate Student Fellow in the Center for Poverty Research at the University of California, Davis. She holds a Master of International Affairs from Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs, a Master of Science in Social Work from Columbia University School of Social Work and a Bachelor of Science in Biology and Philosophy from Trinity University. Jen has had the great privilege of expanding her understanding globally by working with and learning from people in China, Peru, Mexico, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and many other places in between. She speaks Spanish (and makes a poor attempt at other languages) and has been working with the immigrant, and particularly the Latino immigrant, community in the United States for more than a decade.

About SSW

The LSU School of Social Work (SSW) aspires to be a leading school of social work, a vibrant center of intellectual development, a leader in promoting and supporting diverse communities, and an advocate for an integrated and inclusive model of social work, all within a learning environment that supports best educational practices. The SSW offers Child and Family Studies (CFS) and Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) undergraduate degrees, MSW, online MSW, and PhD. SSW is part of the College of Human Sciences & Education.

Visit the School of Social Work at lsu.edu/socialwork. 

About CHSE

The College of Human Sciences & Education (CHSE) is a nationally accredited division of Louisiana State University. The College is comprised of the School of Education, the School of Leadership and Human Resource Development, the School of Kinesiology, the School of Library and Information Science, the School of Social Work, and the University Laboratory School. These combined schools offer 8 undergraduate degree programs and 18 graduate programs, enrolling more than 1,900 undergraduate and 977 graduate students. The College is committed to achieving the highest standards in teaching, research, and service and is continually working to improve its programs.

Visit the College of Human Sciences & Education at chse.lsu.edu.