Poole is a professor of non-profit management and community building at the School of Social Work at the University of Texas at Austin, where he is a member of numerous committees and a unit coordinator for the RGK Center for Philanthropy and Community Service at the LBJ School of Public Affairs.

Harris Pastides, vice president for Research and Health Sciences, said Poole is among the finest academic social work leaders in the United States.

"He has an exemplary record of fostering research, innovative educational programs and meaningful community outreach activities," Pastides said. "He also has a high energy level and will be very much admired by the college's internal and external constituents."

Poole said the spirit of creativity, innovation, and entrepreneurship fostered by USC President Andrew Sorensen and Pastides was a factor in his interest in the deanship.

"Within the USC College of Social Work, I also was impressed with the willingness of faculty, staff, and students to listen, reflect, and adapt to the changing needs of the University and the state in higher education, without losing sight of social work's historic mission to vulnerable populations," Poole said.

"I look forward to the opportunity to take USC's College of Social Work to its next level of excellence, chiefly through cross-disciplinary education and research, innovative university-community health partnerships and international leadership in social-work education," he said.

Before joining the UT Austin faculty, Poole was a faculty member of the schools of social work at the University of Central Florida, Virginia Commonwealth University, and Arizona State University. He has been a visiting scholar at Oxford University and has taken courses at the University of Essex in England, Cornell University, and the State University of New York.

His academic interests include community planning and development, management of non-profit agencies, Mexican-U.S. policy and research partnerships, the faith community, international social welfare, homelessness, and public health. He is a consultant to numerous local, state, and federal agencies and is the former editor-in-chief of the Journal of Health and Social Work and the author or editor of six books. A Maryland native, Poole earned his bachelor's degree in sociology from St. Anselm College, a master's degree in social work from West Virginia University, and a doctoral degree in social policy from Brandeis University. He and his wife, Kathleen, have three children.

The USC College of Social Work, which admitted its first students in 1969, offers the state's only master's and doctoral degrees in social work and has about 500 students. Since 1992, the college has offered a master's degree program in Seoul, Korea.

The college is home to the Center for Child and Family Studies, the I. DeQuincey Newman Institute for Peace and Social Change, the S.C. Center for Gerontology, and the social work professional journal, Arete. In addition, the college is a partner with the S.C. Area Health Education Consortium to prepare social workers in the Palmetto State to handle psychosocial issues related to bioterrorism and public-health emergencies.

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