Faculty

Social Work Faculty

In addition to our teaching and advising assignments, our faculty members bring years of experience in a variety of social work practice fields including child treatment, mental health, adoptions, family therapy, domestic violence, sexual assault/abuse, community development, social and political advocacy, and program administration. Social and economic justice, international social work, social work values and ethics, substance abuse, and child development are just a few of the professional interests of social work faculty members.

Recent Faculty Achievements

2024-2025

Molly C. Driessen, Ph.D., MSW, LCSW and colleague, Dr. Sarah Nightingale, Eastern Connecticut State University, received a grant from the Center for Institutional Courage to support their research study, “Institutional Courage, Justice, and Healing: A Participatory Action Research Project to Improve College Campus Response to Sexual Violence and Centers Survivors.

Molly C. Driessen, Ph.D., MSW, LCSW presented her paper titled “The Experiences of Title IX Coordinators Navigating Multiple and Changing Social and Political Climates and the Impact on Campus Sexual Misconduct” at the Violence Prevention Research Conference in New Hampshire, July 2024. She also recorded a webinar with the same title.

Jordyn L. Hagar, Ph.D., LICSW and community partner, Bethanie Rado of East Providence Prevention Coalition, co-presented at CADCA’s Annual Mid-Year Training Institute in Chicago, Illinois, July 2024. The title of the presentation, “Stronger Together”. This brings her mental health awareness training, to the national level for the first time.

Jordyn L. Hagar, Ph.D., LICSW has joined the Providence College Social Work Department as Assistant Professor. Welcome Jordyn!

Sara C. Melucci, MSW, LICSW has joined the Providence College Social Work Department as Director of Field Education. Welcome Sara!

2023-2024

Katherine Kranz, Ph.D., LICSW was awarded the Marion and Jasper Whiting Fellowship and went to Switzerland in May. Her study and research is focused on harm reduction. She had the opportunity to walk through Platzspitz City Park, which today is a welcoming place. The park was known as “needle park” in the 1980’s as a meeting place to use heroin.   She also met with Dr. Thilo Beck, chief consultant psychiatrist at Paraclesus Recovery, he showed her the inner workings of an interdisciplinary focus in a five-story old bank building treating people with opioid and mental health challenges with care and compassion. She will take all the information learned and apply it to her SWK 285 Addictions course.

Robert G. Hasson III, Ph.D., LICSW and Dr. Terry McGoldrick (THL) have been selected for the DWC program’s globally focused colloquium in spring 2025. The Development of Western Civilization program committee unanimously decided to support this team and four other teams based off their excellent proposals tying the essential questions of the first 3 semesters of DWC to global themes and questions. Dr. Hasson and Dr. McGoldrick’s topic is The Story of Human Migration: Its Impacts of Indigenous Culture and How It Continues to Shape Our World.

Molly C. Driessen, Ph.D., MSW, LCSW has been awarded a Riccobono Academic Resilience Faculty Fellowship. She will be using this opportunity to focus on promoting and incorporating student well-being and academic resilience in her classes.

Dr. Robert Hasson, Bianca LaBella ’23, and Clara Oliva ’23 sat down with Providence College for a podcast on their reflections and research on Unaccompanied Children, Immigration and Mental Health.

Molly C. Driessen, Ph.D., MSW, LCSW has joined the Providence College Social Work Department as Assistant Professor. Welcome Molly!

2022-2023

Katherine Kranz, Ph.D., LICSW was awarded a Jasper & Marion Whiting Fellowship to study harm reduction in Switzerland.

Dr. Katherine Kranz and Sinead Martin ’23 presented their work at the Southwest Social Science Association in Ft. Worth, Texas. Their presentation focused on Social Work and Telehealth.

Katherine Kranz, Ph.D., LICSW wrote an article for the Providence Sunday Journal Opinion/My Turn: A more compassionate approach to opioids in Rhode Island.

Molly C. Driessen, Ph.D., MSW, LCSW gave an interview to MSW Online on Career Advice

2020-2021

Robert G. Hasson III, Ph.D., LICSW has been awarded a Riccobono Academic Resilience Faculty Fellowship. He will be using this opportunity to focus on incorporating self-care into his course, “Human Behavior Through the Lifespan.”

Katherine Kranz, Ph.D., LICSW has received a 2020 Marion and Jasper Whiting Foundation Fellowship for her research “Transformative Justice: Learning from Portugal’s Stories of Change.”

Susan Grossman, DSW, LCSW-R published the chapter, Empirical Evidence of the Embodiment Awareness Changes in Somatic Focused Gestalt Psychotherapy.

2019-2020

Robert G. Hasson III, Ph.D., LICSW has joined the Providence College Social Work Department as Assistant Professor. Welcome Robert!

Susan Grossman, DSW, LCSW-R has been promoted to Associate Professor of Social Work. Congratulations Susan!

2018-2019

Katherine Kranz, Ph.D., LICSW has been named 2018 Social Worker of the Year in Health/Mental Health by the Rhode Island Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers.

Susan Grossman, DSW, LCSW-R published Correlations of Gestalt Effectiveness Measurement Instrument (GIRL) with Psychiatric Diagnoses in Clinical Settings.

2017-2018

Katherine Kranz, Ph.D, LICSW presented at the Annual Southwest Social Science Conference in Austin, Texas on Same Families, Different Homes: The Meaning of Addiction and Recovery – Sibling Perspectives (April 2017).

Susan Grossman, DSW, LCSW-R was awarded the 2018 School of Professional Studies Summer Scholars Program.

Katherine Kranz, Ph.D, LICSW was awarded a Fellowship for the Alcohol and other Drugs Education Program (ADEP) for social work faculty at the University of Denver, Butler Institute for Families at the Graduate School of Social Work.

2017-2016

Kendra Marasco, LCSW, Director of Field Education was awarded the “Legacy Award” by Sojourner House in May 2017.

Susan Grossman, DSW, LCSW-R was awarded the 2016 School of Professional Studies Summer Scholars Program.