The College of Social Work’s Interim Dean Teri Browne has been awarded the rank of Professor. Browne was awarded the title at the Dec. 14, 2021 University of South Carolina Board of Trustees meeting.

Successful candidates have demonstrated outstanding leadership in research, teaching and service to the university and within their communities, along with additional contributions that have had a significant impact in their research field.

Within the field of kidney disease, Browne is currently principal or co-investigator on multiple externally-funded research awards. One current project, funded by the Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute and the NIH, investigates testing interventions to improve kidney transplant disparities. In a second series of studies, she is also examining the role of racism and discrimination in kidney transplant disparities for African Americans who live in South Carolina and are on dialysis.

Browne joined the faculty in 2008, where she was also co-director of the Interprofessional Education for the Health Sciences until 2021. In 2017, Browne was inducted as a Society for Social Work and Research Fellow for her work as serving with distinction to advance the mission of the society. Since 2019, she was chosen to be a Distinguished Scholar Fellow in the Social Work Academy of the National Academies of Practice.

Browne is currently a Competency Chair for the Council on Social Work Education Specialized Practice Curricular Guide for Health Social Work and a national task force Invited Member on the American Society of Nephrology Health Care Justice Committee Member. She was recently an Invited Member on the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ Practitioner Level Measurement of Effective Access to Kidney Transplantation Technical Expert Panel. She is also editor-in-chief of the Journal of Nephrology Social Work since 2015. She became Interim Dean in August.