Teaching Expertise

• Social work field seminar & field education  
• Social work ethics  
• First-year experience / University 101 

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Lana Cook joined the College of Social Work as a clinical faculty member in 2018. Cook is the Director of Assessment & Compliance at the College of Social Work, leading competency-based education and assessment activities and ensuring the college’s compliance with accreditation standards as defined by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE). Cook teaches both undergraduate and graduate courses across the curriculum including most recently Introduction to Social Work, Social Work Practice with Organizations & Communities and Human Behavior and the Social Environment II: Organizations & Communities. Cook is a Wellness Ambassador for the university and created and chaired the Wellness & Social Planning Committee at the College of Social Work from 2021-2024. 

Previously, Cook served as an instructor, field liaison and coordinator of continuing education within the college’s field education office from 2013-2018. During this time she taught undergraduate and graduate-level field education courses including Field Instruction I and II: Generalist Social Work Practice and Integrative Seminar, Introduction to Field Instruction, and Practicum Seminar. Cook coordinated over 40 professional trainings, successfully promoting greater access to continuing education through the development of online learning opportunities to community partners statewide. Cook has served as a field liaison to more than 400 students in their respective field practicum agencies. As a field education liaison, she monitored the educational progress of students, including scheduling and attending community partner visits, providing technical assistance and mediation when needed.   

Cook earned her Master of Social Work from the University of South Carolina.  She is currently pursuing a Doctor of Education, majoring in Educational Practice and Innovation with a concentration in Curriculum Studies. She volunteers as a Site Visitor for CSWE, is a member of the Program Accreditation and Curriculum Development (PAC-D) committee for the Association of Baccalaureate Social Work Program Directors (BPD) and is an item writer for the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) national licensing exam. She loves being outdoors, exercising, reading, crossword puzzles and spending time with her family and two dogs – Rosie (a Boston Terrier) and Daisy (a Bugg).