Cheryl Waites will become the seventh dean of the Wayne State University School of Social Work effective June 1, 2012. The appointment was announced by Ronald Brown, Wayne State provost and senior vice president for academic affairs.

Waites was named interim dean in October 2011. She joined the School of Social Work in 2007 as an associate professor and associate dean for academic affairs.

"Cheryl is an experienced and respected scholar who seeks always to balance excellent research with effective practice," Brown said. "Her commitment to students and to the advancement of her profession makes her an outstanding choice to lead our School of Social Work."

In addition to her work with WSU, Waites is chair of the Michigan Department of Human Services' Child Welfare Certificate Endorsement Committee and a member of the Executive Committee of the Council on Social Work Education Commission on Accreditation.

She was a member of the Michigan State Advisory Council on Aging from 2008 to 2010.

"I am honored to have been selected as Wayne State University's next dean of the School of Social Work," said Waites. "The talented faculty and staff are dedicated to curricular innovation, inspired teaching, student success, engaged research and scholarship and active community partnerships. I could not be more excited about serving an institution that is at the forefront of the profession. This position allows me the opportunity to affirm our legacy and to lead the school as we move forward as a premier school of social work."

A Hartford Geriatric Social Work Faculty Scholar (Cohort VII), Waites conducts research into healthy aging, health promotion, intergenerational relationships and culturally appropriate and responsive practice, among other topics. She also has studied promising practices for enhancing gerontological social work education and training.

Prior to joining Wayne State, Waites was associate head of the Department of Social Work at North Carolina State University.

She received an Ed.D. in counselor education and psychology theory and research from North Carolina State University and an M.S.W. from Fordham University.

For more information about the Wayne State University School of Social Work, visit www.socialwork.wayne.edu.

Wayne State University is a premier urban research institution offering more than 400 academic programs through 13 schools and colleges to nearly 32,000 students.