Dr. Melissa Lavitt has served as Dean of the College of Social Sciences & Public Affairs at Boise State University since 2008. Dr. Lavitt received her Ph.D. and M.S.W. from Tulane University in New Orleans, and her B.A. was awarded with Honors from the University of Chicago. In addition to her faculty work at Arizona State University and Eastern Washington University. Dr. Lavitt was a practicing family therapist for over 20 years. In 2010 Dr. Lavitt joined the advisory board of Brookings Mountain West, a partnership between the prestigious Brookings Institution think tank and several Western universities. She also serves as an editor for Boise State’s Idaho Metropolitan Research Series, a new literary scholarship series exploring urban-rural concerns that complicate regional planning.
Articles
What is Advanced in Generalist Practice? A Conceptual Discussion, Journal of Teaching in Social Work (2009)
Advanced generalist practice is the fastest growing area of concentration for Master of Social Work...
Supervisor Preferences for the Design and Delivery of Training (with Ann E. MacEachron, Nora Gustavsson, and Eli Bartle), Journal of Public Child Welfare (2009)
Although the consensus is that training for child protective services (CPS) supervisors is essential, there...
“Welfare-to-Work”: An Analysis of the Communication Competencies Taught in a Job Training Program Serving an Urban Poverty Area (with Vincent R. Waldron and Margaret McConnaughy), Communication Education (2001)
Politicians and state-level welfare administrators touting new “welfare-to-work” programs apparently believe that the acquisition of...
“Welfare‐to‐work”: Assessing Communication Competencies and Client Outcomes in a Job Training Program (with Vincent R. Waldron), Southern Communication Journal (2000)
New “welfare‐to‐work” programs increasingly provide clients with short‐term, communication‐intensive job training rather than financial assistance....
The Nature and Prevention of Harm in Technology-Mediated Self-Help Settings: Three Exemplars (with Vincent R. Waldron and Douglas Kelley), Journal of Technology in Human Services (2000)
This paper argues that in addition to the substantial benefits they provide for members, on-line...
Contributions to Books
Responses to Rape: The Contextualization of Violence Against Women (with Sara Alemán), Case Studies in Communication and Disenfranchisement : Applications to Social Health Issues (1996)
"A feminist perspective on rape recognizes the political context in which sexual violence occurs and...
Presentations
Featured Speaker: Enhancing Communication Skills, Go Lead Idaho Seminar (2011)
Go Lead Idaho advocates and supports diversity in volunteer, appointed, and elected leadership in Idaho.
Assessing Professional Competence and Program Outcomes: Use of Student Portfolios (with T. McDowell), Council on Social Work Education Annual Program Meeting (2007)