The University of Texas at Austin School of Social Work

The University of Texas at Austin School of Social Work Offering undergraduate (BSW) and graduate programs (MSSW and PhD), along with comprehensive research in the field, we are "Educating for Change" at UT Austin.

The Steve Hicks School of Social Work page is open to anyone interested in the school. We encourage posts and responses from members, but ask that you please keep communications civil and respectful. We also have certain guidelines for posts to our page:

1) Keep posts relevant. They should pertain to the school or the field of social work in some way, or promote student and/or alumni new

s and updates. Posts that lack relevance or appear to heavily self-promote will be deleted at the discretion of the Communications team. This is an information space, not a storefront.

2) Post for yourself. While it is possible that the school may share your post, please do not expect it. The decision to share a post is made on the basis of relevance and interest to our community. We cannot promote posts for you unless they are school-related news and events, as this would violate University policies on endorsements. Alumni and students may also consider posting events and job opportunities to our LinkedIn page.

3) Keep it clean. Any posts or comments that use inappropriate language will be deleted. Posts that are degrading to a specific person or population will also be deleted, and reported to Facebook. Twitter & Instagram:
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/school/texas-steve-hicks/

09/03/2026

"Why would someone choose UT Social Work?"

We've got several good reasons... but just ask our alumni! 🤘

First faculty/staff meeting of the year in the books. 🤘Excited to welcome a record number of faculty members and staff t...
09/03/2026

First faculty/staff meeting of the year in the books. 🤘

Excited to welcome a record number of faculty members and staff to support our record number of students this year!

Our greatest days still remain ahead of us.

Welcome to Scholarship Orientation!Today, we brought in our students who receive student support through scholarships an...
08/28/2026

Welcome to Scholarship Orientation!

Today, we brought in our students who receive student support through scholarships and funding through the School of Social Work to learn about the endowment process, who funds the philanthropy that supports students, and importantly, how we can thank supporters of our school to continue supporting future students.

A majority of our students receive some form of scholarship through donor-based funds, and continuing to grow support for students remains a top priority for our school.

08/24/2026

POV: you’re ready for the biggest adventure of your life 🤘

GONE TO SOCIAL WORK!Welcome to UT Social Work, our newest cohort of Texas Longhorns! We’re so excited you’re here. 🤘
08/24/2026

GONE TO SOCIAL WORK!

Welcome to UT Social Work, our newest cohort of Texas Longhorns! We’re so excited you’re here. 🤘

08/23/2026

We can’t wait to see you at Gone To Texas - Social Work tonight! We’re live at 6 p.m. 🤘

UT Social Work alumna Audrey Hai (Ph.D. ’20) will return to the Forty Acres as an associate professor at The University ...
08/21/2026

UT Social Work alumna Audrey Hai (Ph.D. ’20) will return to the Forty Acres as an associate professor at The University of Texas at Austin’s School of Social Work.

Hai, who most recently served as an assistant professor at Tulane University, works at the intersection of substance use disorder, digital health innovation, and spirituality in social work. Drawing on intervention science, implementation science, and community-engaged research, she builds and implements effective interventions for people who need them most but can least reach them.

“Dr. Hai’s expertise in technology, substance misuse, and social work and spirituality strengthens our faculty and expands our teaching and research impact,” said Allan Cole, dean of UT Social Work. “I know she will make lasting and meaningful contributions to our School, the University and those we serve, and I look forward to having her on the Forty Acres.”

Dr. Hai’s research articles have appeared in top behavioral health journals and she brings rigorous research to the Forty Acres.

One of Dr. Hai’s current research projects, funded by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, develops a technology and spiritually enhanced intervention for Hispanic young adults with alcohol use disorder. The project aims to transform the underutilized evidence-based Twelve-Step Facilitation intervention into an engaging, accessible, and scalable smartphone app.

She will also bring to UT another project, funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, testing an innovative AI-enhanced, VR-delivered mindfulness intervention for people with HIV and substance use.

Welcome back to UT, Dr. Hai!

The ask was simple. Posted in an online networking group for Austin clinicians: “Come sing karaoke, no shop talk require...
08/20/2026

The ask was simple. Posted in an online networking group for Austin clinicians: “Come sing karaoke, no shop talk required.”

A group of about 12 to 15 therapists from Austin met up to sing, and “theraoke” was born. That core group, which includes Matt Smith Rubio (MSSW ’05) now meets monthly to renew themselves and bond with other mental health professionals.

“I have a community,” Smith Rubio said. “And I’ve got people stepping up for me in a way I never experienced before.”

Twenty years into a career that has included clinical therapy, nonprofit work, volunteer mediation, classroom teaching and now a brand-new private practice, Smith Rubio has built a meaningful career. It just didn’t happen the way he expected.

“I’m a believer that not everything has to happen according to a plan,” he said.

Smith Rubio followed the clinical track at UT Social Work, finished his degree and started working toward his LCSW. Then his career pivoted — more than once. He stepped away from clinical work, got involved with organizations that needed leadership, trained in management because a nonprofit he cared about was falling apart. He got into mediation in 2009, worked on conflict resolution skills, and advanced his career.

Today, Smith Rubio is a licensed therapist, a certified mediator and a parenting coordinator working with families navigating high-conflict divorce. He trains new mediators for the Austin Dispute Resolution Center, Tarrant County and Texas A&M Law School. He earned his LCSW in 2023 — 18 years after graduating. He also opened his own private practice this year.

“Once a social worker, always a social worker,” he said. “Wherever you go, there’s more than one way to be one.”

ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT: Sammy Menjivar (MSSW '26) Goes From Caseworker to Policy DirectorWhen Sammy Menjivar (MSSW ’26) came i...
08/19/2026

ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT: Sammy Menjivar (MSSW '26) Goes From Caseworker to Policy Director

When Sammy Menjivar (MSSW ’26) came into the MSSW program, his experience in child protective services had already taught him that the constraints caseworkers face trace back to policy. That realization drove him toward the Administration and Policy Practice concentration, and ultimately, a full-time job in policy work.

In May 2025, Menjivar took “Social Work Leadership for the Public Good,” a course taught by Dr. Noel Landuyt that takes students to Washington, D.C. to build federal advocacy skills, work alongside policymakers and expand their professional networks.

Through one of the D.C. panels, Menjivar received a referral and made connections to the Maryland Developmental Disabilities Council, where Menjivary now works as director of policy. His focus is children and family policy, and he continues to bring social work knowledge and values to the policy we develops.

For students heading into the job market, his message is one of reassurance, where people who show up for each other.

“We’re all kind of doing the same thing,” he said. “We’re really here to help. We can lean on each other. You’re going to find more good people than not.”

When Jan Neis was seeking a broader lens on life’s challenges, she found The UT TOWER Fellows Program and UT Social Work...
08/18/2026

When Jan Neis was seeking a broader lens on life’s challenges, she found The UT TOWER Fellows Program and UT Social Work.

As part of the program, she enrolled in Dean Allan Cole’s “Persons, Pain, and Resilience” course, a seminar that explores the human experience of physical, emotional and spiritual suffering through the lenses of humanities, social work and medicine.

Months later, she still thinks often about what the course gave her. Presence, she reflected, calls on curiosity, thoughtful listening, reflection and a willingness to honor another person’s story.

“People were comfortable sharing,” Neis says, “because right away the professor is sharing, the TA is sharing. Their stories and wisdom have become companions I now carry with me."

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