Spring 2017
Feature

Whitfield Brings Another Dimension to School

Darren WhitfieldDarren Whitfield wasted no time making good impressions when he joined the University of Pittsburgh School of Social Work faculty last fall.

The assistant professor not only plunged into teaching, he also began applying for research grants and initiating interdisciplinary collaborations while filling a gap as an expert on how sexual orientation and gender and racial/ethnic identity intersect with social work issues.

“He hit the ground running,” says Dean Larry E. Davis. “He’s really a welcome addition. There’s nobody else on the School of Social Work faculty with his level of LGBT [lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender] background. He brings a dimension to the school that the school didn’t have before he came.”

Already, Whitfield has partnered with research faculty at Pitt’s Graduate School of Public Health (GSPH) on a current study of how violence affects the health outcomes of Black LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer) youths and young adults. He’s also collaborating with the GSPH Center for LGBT Health Research on a study of how microaggressions affect the use of HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis among Black men who are gay or bisexual and at high risk for HIV transmission. Meanwhile, he’s awaiting word on a grant from the National Institutes of Health that supports the work of early career academics.

“It’s been great to work with him as a new partner, and we hope that his involvement with the center will foster even stronger collaborations between the School of Social Work and the Graduate School of Public Health,” says Ron Stall, director of the Center for LGBT Health Research. “I look forward to seeing how his contributions to the health and welfare of sexual minority populations evolve and continue to grow here at Pitt.”

School of Social Work Associate Professor Jeffrey Shook, who chaired the search committee for Whitfield’s position, was delighted to find that Whitfield was as impressive in person as he was on paper.

“He definitely had created a foundation where he has sought out opportunities to get training beyond what was in his program, and he had set up a network and continues to do that,” says Shook. “He really understands what he needs to do to get his work done and is a really good teacher, bridging theory and a solid practice background in the classroom. He’s a personable colleague, and I appreciate his insights and willingness mentor students.”

Whitfield’s interest in social work burgeoned when he was a youngster growing up in Saint Louis, Mo., where, as the child of a single mother with health problems, he had positive inter- actions with school social workers and other human services professionals.

“I got into social work because I’ve always wanted to help individuals from marginalized groups,” he says. “This career is an opportunity for me to give back.”

All of Whitfield’s degrees are in social work: a bachelor’s from Buena Vista University and a master’s and PhD from the University of Denver Graduate School of Social Work. He previously taught at Des Moines Area Community College, Metropolitan State University of Denver, and the University of Denver.

Over the last decade, Whitfield has established himself as an expert on HIV/ AIDS and other health, behavioral, and social issues affecting LGBT communities, particularly men of color. His involvement spans micropractice and macropractice, and he has served HIV and AIDS patients as a caseworker in Virginia through a state program funded by the federal Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency Act. White was only 13 years old when he was diagnosed with full-blown AIDS in 1984. A hemophiliac, White had contracted the disease through a blood transfusion; he died of AIDS complications in April 1990.

Whitfield also served as director of prevention and supervisor for care services at the AIDS Project of Central Iowa and on community advisory boards of several local groups, including the Iowa Gay Men’s Health Workgroup and Iowa HIV Community Planning Group.

Effective social workers, Whitfield says, understand that “everything is intertwined,” that thinking across micro and macro levels and shifting political landscapes and diverse cultural milieus are essential to helping those they serve overcome structural barriers and gain access to what they need.

“A good social worker,” he adds, “is one who understands that disenfranchised communities have everything they need to be successful and that it is our job to help leverage those innate skills and talents [of those community residents] to better serve them and better serve their communities. My personal philosophy is that I don’t have the answers—the communities have the answers.”

It’s a perspective Whitfield brings to the classroom and the research lab as he helps to educate the next generation of social workers and adds to the body of literature on pressing social problems.

“We want to be culturally responsive to the community and better prepare students to leave school and go into the social work profession,” he says. “What’s unique about Pitt is its pride in community engagement. I’m looking forward to working on mutually beneficial projects for the community and Pitt research.”