Betsy Farmer, dean of the School of Social Work Dean, has announced she will step down from her role and return to faculty in July 2026.
In the coming months, the provost’s office will appoint a search committee and launch a national search
Farmer came to Pitt in 2018 — during the school’s 100th anniversary — from Virginia Commonwealth University’s School of Social Work, where she was professor and associate dean for research.
Her leadership has helped drive an increase in access and future growth for Pitt’s MSW program with the fall 2025 launch of the new part-time, online MSW option.
In 2024, the School of Social Work jumped nine spots to 12th in the 2024 U.S. News and World Report rankings of social work graduate programs. There are 319 programs ranked in the survey, which puts Pitt in the top 4% of programs nationwide.
Facing challenges like the 2020 pandemic, she was able to lead the school by being hands-on with students and addressing their concerns. Through the years, she has reinforced the school’s long history and commitment to social justice through not just her work, but by bringing the school’s community together to tackle difficult times.
She has deepened the school’s community engagement through strong collaborations in Pittsburgh and beyond, expanded its research portfolio by building infrastructure and supporting faculty success in funded research, and recruited senior faculty whose expertise is shaping the school’s future scholarship and impact.
“I am humbled, honored, and grateful beyond words to be dean of this school and to have had the chance to work, collaborate, and exchange ideas with the Pitt Social Work community — from our students, faculty and staff to our tremendous alumni network and invaluable community partners,” Farmer said in a new release. “This is a truly special school — not only because of what we do, but because of how we work together to do it, and how we continually critique and improve what we’re doing. I look forward to all that the school will do in the years to come!”
Provost Joe McCarthy said that under Farmer’s leadership, the school “has advanced in truly significant ways. The school has strengthened student success and sense of belonging through streamlined onboarding and advising for new students, expanded and refined orientation initiatives, focused curricular review and revisions, and expanded efforts to provide a supportive and responsive culture and climate."