June 27, 2019
Chris Woodley • cwoodley@mailbox.sc.edu
College of Social Work Dean Sarah Gehlert announced that the University of South Carolina Board of Trustees has approved the tenure and promotion of Christina Andrews, Ben Roth and Nikki Wooten from assistant to associate professors. Decisions require a record of accomplishments and continuing development of faculty members in research, teaching, service, and development of national or international reputation in a field.
Andrews joined the College of Social Work in 2012. Her research interests include the impact of the organization and financing of substance use disorder treatment on service access; gender, racial and ethnic disparities in treatment service access; and adoption of medications to treat opioid use disorder. She currently serves as principal investigator of a five-year (2016-2021) Mentored Research Scientist Development-award from the National Institute on Drug Abuse to determine if health homes for Medicaid beneficiaries with chronic health conditions are successful in identifying and treating addiction, ultimately reducing the need for and costs of acute care addiction-related conditions. Last year, Andrews testified before a joint subcommittee of the U.S. House of Representatives on the effects of the opioid epidemic on the nationwide workforce. Her work has been published in scientific journals, including the New England Journal of Medicine, Health Affairs and the American Journal of Public Health. In 2016, she received the Breakthrough Star Award, presented annually to early-career faculty for research excellence by the UofSC Office of the Vice President for Research.
Roth has taught and conducted research at the College of Social Work since 2013. Roth’s research is at the intersection of immigration and social stratification, with a focus on youth and barriers to social mobility. His on-going scholarship examines the impact of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) on the educational and career trajectories of undocumented youth. Roth is also engaged in a Spencer Foundation-awarded research on promoting education equity for immigrant students through school social work. Last year, Roth and Assistant Professor Breanne Grace co-authored an article, “The Violence of Uncertainty – Undermining Immigrant and Refugee Health”, which was published in the New England Journal of Medicine. Other journal articles have included topics such as youth migration from El Salvador, barriers to educational attainment for undocumented youth, and access to Latino immigrant-serving organizations in Chicago, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. His publications have been featured in journals, such as the Journal of the Society for Social Work Research, Forced Migration Review, and Ethnic and Racial Studies.
Since joining the College of Work faculty in 2013, Wooten has taught courses including, Intervention Strategies in Military Behavioral Health and Advanced Social Work Interventions. In addition to teaching, she is also the coordinator of the Social and Behavioral Health with Military Members, Veterans and Military Families Certificate program. Wooten’s research interests include substance use and psychological problems in active military and veterans, and gender differences in military behavioral health. She served as principal investigator on a recently completed five-year National Institute on Drug Abuse-funded research on behavioral health care in Army Warrior Transition Units. She has also recently co-authored journal articles on topics such as community stakeholders calling for action to curtail the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the South, purchased behavioral health care received by military health system beneficiaries in civilian medical facilities, and comparing behavioral health models for reducing risky drinking among older male veterans.