School of Social Work names interim director

Chris Simmons, PhD, LCSW, has agreed to serve in the position of interim director of the USF School of Social Work and will begin in this role on Aug. 12. Simmons is an associate professor of instruction in the School of Social Work and currently serves as associate director, a position he’s held since 2021. 
 
Simmons joined the School of Social Work in 2003 as an instructor. From 2010-2014, he was a clinical assistant professor and assistant professor of social work at the University of Mississippi before returning to USF in 2014 as a clinical instructor. He earned the role of associate professor of instruction in August 2020. Simmons is also faculty director of the Social Work Clinic at the Building Relationships and Initiatives Dedicated to Gaining Equality (BRIDGE) Healthcare Clinic, an interdisciplinary student-run free clinic located at USF that serves uninsured adults from underserved communities. 
  
As School of Social Work interim director, Simmons succeeds Riaan van Zyl, PhD, who is retiring after leading the School of Social Work as director since August 2017. 
 
"Under the leadership of Dr. van Zyl, the School of Social Work has flourished, rising in the rankings of best graduate schools in the U.S. and preparing promising students who will serve our communities as practitioners, administrators, and scholars,” said Julie Serovich, PhD, dean of the College of Behavioral and Community Sciences. “I am confident that the School of Social Work, under Dr. Simmons’ leadership, will continue this level of excellence as it pursues exciting new opportunities.”