Dr. Jocelyn Taliaferro: Appointed BSW Director

Jocelyn DeVance Taliaferro, MSW, PhD has been appointed the new Director of the BSW program in the School of Social Work.

The School of Social Work is happy to announce that Dr. Jocelyn DeVance Taliaferro MSW, will become our next BSW Program Director on January 1, 2022. While Dr. Taliaferro will be new to this administrative position, she has longevity in the School of Social Work as a tenured faculty member.

Dr. Taliaferro joined the NC State faculty as an Assistant professor in the social work program 2003 – before it was established as a Department of Social Work. She was tenured and promoted to Associate Professor in 2009. She has taught across academic programs in the school and served on myriad committees over the past 18 years. In the School of Social Work, Dr. Taliaferro has served as Director of the Graduate Program, Director of Field Education, Interim Associate Department Head, and now Director of the Undergraduate (BSW) Program.

Dr. Taliaferro’s current research interests include teaching with the use of contemporary television and Black women’s mental health. She recently completed a co-edited book on teaching social policy using the HBO special The Wire. Dr. Taliaferro currently serves as Principal Investigator for the NC State Opioid Workforce Expansion Program. In addition to her work in academia, she spent more than 25 years in the field of social work and nonprofit administration, which included middle and senior management positions.  

She is quoted as saying, “I am delighted to be able to serve the School of Social Work in this capacity and looking forward to working with my BSW colleagues to continue uphold the phenomenal reputation and continue the legacy of the NC State BSW program’s faculty, staff, students and alumni.”

As Head of the School of Social Work, “I am thrilled to appoint Dr. Taliaferro to this leadership position during such unprecedented times. Considering the challenges of the COVID19 pandemic, budget constraints and shifts in our conventional ways of teaching and learning, having Dr. Taliaferro’s leadership will provide a steady state for establishing our new normal in BSW education moving forward.”   — Karen Bullock, PhD, MSW