Nancy Brown, PhD, MSW

South Carolina has a high number of reservists and National Guardsmen who return to rural communities. Professionals in these communities often lack critical understanding of military values and culture, and the signature injuries of Iraq and Afghanistan. Dr. Brown believes that social workers trained in these issues can be at the forefront of helping other community partners engage successfully with military members and their families. To that end, she has connected with different organizations throughout the state that provide help and services to this critical population.  

With her experience as Director of the Graduate Certificate Program in Drug and Addiction Studies, Dr. Brown was the leader in developing military social work courses and has undertaken the design of a Graduate Certificate in Military Social Work, which is currently under development. Dr. Brown’s work encourages the training of practitioners around South Carolina—from local healthcare to community volunteers—so that communities can effectively support military members, veterans, and their families.

Research Background

Always grounded in practice, Dr. Brown’s research has focused primarily on women and addictions. Using grounded theory, Dr. Brown’s work on high risk behavior in recovery for women addicted to crack cocaine resulted in a model of high risk behavior for women struggling to remain free of addiction. Dr. Brown’s other focus has been on educational technology and improving the quality of online education at the College of Social Work.