Associate Professor or Professor and Chair Department of Social Work - University of Texas at El Paso

The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) is a Carnegie R1, Opportunity, and Community-Engaged university at the heart of the U.S.

-Mexico border region that is increasing access to excellent higher education. We advance discovery of public value and positively impact the health, culture, education, and economy of the community we serve. UTEP enrolls more than 26,000 students, 84% of whom are Hispanic and half of whom are the first in their families to attend college. UTEP offers 169 bachelor's, master's and doctoral degree programs at the only open-access, top-tier research university in America.

The city's location on the Rio Grande in the Southwest where two countries and three states meet makes it an ideal venue for academic programs and research studies on topics of national interest, including bilingual education/language acquisition, health and health disparities, international relations, international trade, migration, and environmental sustainability and infrastructure. The University enjoys strategic partnerships with two Department of Energy national laboratories in the region, multiple national laboratories beyond the region, and sits on the edge of White Sands Missile Range, making engineering and scientific research both a priority and an opportunity.

Along with its designation among the top 5% of universities in America for research, UTEP is also nationally recognized as an Opportunity University by the Carnegie Classification for its positive impact on economic mobility for students after graduation. In 2024, Forbes found that UTEP students graduate with the lowest average debt of any college or university in Texas.

Located at the westernmost tip of Texas, El Paso is set against the backdrop of the Franklin Mountains and the Chihuahuan Desert in one of the largest binational communities in the world. The city's active arts and culture community features the state's longest-running symphony orchestra, a nationally recognized chamber music festival, a vibrant street art and mural scene, art galleries, museums, and a full schedule of seasonal events and festivals.

In 2024, El Paso opened La Nube, a unique hybrid institution that merges the educational aspects of a science center with the interactive experiences of a children's museum. UTEP adds to the arts and entertainment scene with concerts and live events at the city's largest indoor and outdoor venues; theater, music and dance productions; contemporary and student art galleries; and a natural history museum and desert gardens.

El Paso residents can also easily travel to the sister city of Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, to enjoy great food, markets and cultural events.

El Paso/Juárez is the fifth largest manufacturing region in North America and the center of commerce, education and health services for the region. A family-oriented community, the cost of living in El Paso is very reasonable for a large metropolitan area with the average home value of $224,000 in 2025. In 2026, U.S. News and World report named El Paso the best big city to live in the nation.

Texas has no state income tax and, when it comes to public safety, El Paso is consistently ranked among the safest large cities in the United States.

El Paso is also an ideal location for people who love the outdoors. It is home to one of the nation's largest urban parks - Franklin Mountains State Park - and many options for year-round hiking, mountain biking and rock climbing at Hueco Tanks State Park and nearby White Sands, Guadalupe Mountains and Carlsbad Caverns national parks.

For sports fans, the UTEP Miners offer exciting Division I college athletics at several campus venues including Sun Bowl Stadium - where one of the oldest football bowl games takes place annually - and the Don Haskins Center arena. Southwest University Park, located a mile away in lively downtown El Paso, is home to the El Paso Chihuahuas, the Triple-A baseball affiliate of the San Diego Padres, and the El Paso Locomotive FC, a professional soccer team founded in 2019.

The Department of Social Work has educated social workers for more than four decades. The BSW and MSW programs are accredited by the Council on Social Work Education. The MSW concentration in Social Work in the Border Region grounds advanced practice in the social, cultural, and structural conditions of border communities, while the online MSW extends…