Ruth A. Brandwein, Ph.D., M.S.W., is professor and former dean of the School of Social Welfare. She began her career as a community organizer in Seattle, has taught at Boston University, was Director of the School of Social Work at the University of Iowa and held a Distinguished Chair at the University of Utah School of Social Work. She also served four years as Commissioner of Social Services for Suffolk County, was President of the New York State Chapter of NASW and a member of the National Advisory Council on Voilence Against Women. Dr. Brandwein has published extensively on women and welfare, family violence, feminist theory and practice and is currently Book Review Editor for Affilia: Journal of Women and Social Work.

Dr. Brandwein's research interests include family violence, welfare, and poverty; women in administration; organizational and social change; single-parent families; feminist frameworks; history of U.S. social policy; and international social welfare.