School of Social Work

Susan J. Roll, PhD

Professor, Director of the School of Social Work 
Butte Hall, Room 511B
530-898-4275
sroll@csuchico.edu

Susan's teaching and research interests focus on poverty and income inequality. She studies how social welfare policies either support or create barriers for families to be financially stable. She also works on how we teach and learn about poverty through innovative pedagogy and experiential learning.

 In July 2019, Susan became the Director of the School of Social Work after having served as the director of Civic Engagement for the Campus for three years.

 Recent Publications:

  • Kornbluh, M., Wilking, J., Roll, S. & Donatello, R. (2022). Exploring Housing Insecurity in Relation to Student Success. Journal of American College HealthAdvance online publication. doi: 10.1080/07448481.2022.2068016.
  • Roll, S. (2021). Women & Social Policy.  In Reisch, M. (Ed.), Social Policy and Social Justice, fourth edition. Sage, New York, NY.
  • Kornbluh, M., Wilking, J., Roll, S., Banks, L., Stone, H., & Candela, J. (2020) Learning and Doing Together: Student Outcomes from an Interdisciplinary, Community-Based Research Course on Homelessness in a Local Community. Journal of Community Engagement and Scholarship: Vol. 13(1).
  • Roll, S. (2018). Examining the Child Care Cliff Effect in a Rural Setting. Social Work & Society, special issue on Early Education and Childcare. 16(1) 1-13.
  • Wilking, J., Roll, S., Philhour, D., Hansen, P. & Nevarez, H. (2018). Understanding the Implications of a Punitive Approach to Homelessness: A Local Case Study. Poverty & Public Policy, 10: 159-176.
  • Roll, S. & Browne, L. (2017). Students as co-researchers to inform student learning: Findings from a poverty simulation.  Action Research.  Advance online publication. doi: 10.1177/1476750317723966.

Prior to pursuing her PhD, Susan was a social work administrator in domestic violence and women's health for ten years.  Susan teaches graduate and undergraduate courses on policy, community, diversity and social justice.

Education

BA in Political Science, University of Rochester, 1991
Masters in Social Work, Arizona State University, 1998
PhD in Social Work, University of Denver, 2010

Susan Roll