Kim M. Anderson is a UCF Professor in the School of Social Work and the Public Affairs Doctoral Program. For the past 30 years, Anderson has taught across the curriculum on the BSW, MSW, and Ph.D. levels. Her academic career began at Avila University, a liberal arts institution in Kansas City, MO, where she served as the Field Coordinator and then as the BSW Director for 11 years. After she received her Ph.D. in 2002 (dissertation chair: Dennis Saleebey) from the School of Social Welfare at KU, she became a faculty member with the School of Social Work at the University of Missouri-Columbia, a research-intensive land-grant institution. In her 13 years at MU, she led the initiative to revamp the MSW clinical curriculum to include practice intensive courses. Additionally, she chaired 5 dissertations to completion and served as a qualitative methodologist and/or committee member on an additional 9 completed dissertations. In 2015, Anderson became a faculty member at the research-intensive University of Central Florida. She held a joint appointment in the School of Social Work (SOW) and the interdisciplinary Public Affairs (PAF) doctoral program. From 2015-2020, Anderson served as the SOW track coordinator for the PAF program and recruitment and admissions, advising, tracked student matriculation, and coordinated graduate assistantships. From 2018-209, she served as the interim PAF director and managed all aspects of the program. Anderson has chaired 4 PAF dissertations to completion and served as a committee member on an additional 9 completed dissertations.
Credentials
- Ph.D., Doctor of Philosophy
- MSSW, Master of Science in Social Work
- LCSW, Licensed Clinical Social Worker
Kim M. Anderson is a core faculty member of the interdisciplinary Violence Against Women faculty cluster at UCF. In 2017, she and her colleagues secured University support for a faculty research cluster initiative in the VAW area. In 2016, Anderson and her colleagues established the Center for Behavioral Health Research and Training (CBHRT) within the UCF School of Social Work. Anderson served as Co-Director of CBHRT from 2018-2020. From 2015-2020, Anderson and her colleagues integrated a community-engaged research approach throughout the Public Affairs doctoral curriculum. Anderson’s scholarship includes the methodologies of mixed methods, qualitative (Grounded Theory, Narrative, & Thematic Analysis), and community-based participatory research (CBPR).
For 30 years, she has conducted research in the trauma field. Her book Enhancing Resilience in Survivors of Family Violence (Anderson, 2010) provides empirical findings and conceptual insights for professionals to assist people affected by violence and oppression to cultivate their strengths and resilient capacities. Anderson has also created a digital story (DS) curriculum for youth and adults impacted by violence and trained staff on this innovative narrative method. Additionally, Anderson has developed and implemented a trauma training manual for teachers working in urban Title I community partner schools to support learning for students exposed to trauma. She has also collaborated with urban Title I Schools and community partners to develop science and environmental classes inclusive of school gardens.
Anderson has worked with several social service agencies regarding community needs assessments, program evaluations, and best practices implementation. Examples of recent and local collaborations include the Victim Service Center of Central Florida, the POLIS Institute, Boys and Girls Club, and Valencia Peace and Justice Institute. Anderson’s community-based research with urban communities facing concentrated disadvantage includes partnerships with the residents and street-level organizations that face these urban challenges every day:
- Engaged in CBPR with Parramore residents about their health needs and presented results for program and policy planning to residents, city officials, and service providers.
- Conducted surveys with service providers on health needs of Parramore residents and presented results for program planning.
- Partnered with the POLIS institute to create Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Mapping of Parramore Community socioeconomic, environmental hazard, and health- and justice-related data. This resulted in the Parramore Community Data Portal for residents and service providers.
- Partnered with the POLIS Institute to support 8 resident-driven community projects based on data from the Parramore Community Data Portal to enhance their neighborhoods’ health and well-being.
- Established a Community Garden at the Jackson County Community Center in Parramore.
Areas of Specialty
- Life Trajectories of Children Exposed to Domestic Violence across the Lifespan
- Economic and Health Inequity in Communities of Concentrated Disadvantage
- Methodologies: Community-Based Participatory Research, Mixed Methods, Qualitative (Grounded Theory, Narrative, Thematic Analysis)
Research Grants
A Research Study Evaluating the Impact of PJI Academy on K-12 Teachers
Research Identifies Student Pathways to Academic Success
Research underway by Center for Higher Education Innovation (CHEI) fellows is producing key insights into how to help students with adversity in their backgrounds find academic success. The Life Happens project is led by...
BSW Student Receives Alpha Eta Student Research Presentation Award
Mary Farley, a senior majoring in social work, received the Alpha Eta Student Research Presentation Award for her study “Access Barriers to Long-term Healthcare for Female Sexual Assault Survivors.” Farley...
Social Work Track Doctoral Candidate Khalilah Louis Caines Awarded FICW Fellowship
Khalilah Louis Caines, LCSW is earning her Ph.D. in Public Affairs within the social work track and has recently been awarded $5,000 for a 2022-2023 Dissertation Fellowship from the Florida...
BSW Student Mary Farley Receives Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship and Grant
Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) student, Mary Farley is a recipient of the 2022 Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Program, Track 1 (SURF Fellow). Through this program, Farley will receive...
Recipients of the 2022 Seed Funding Program Announced
The program awarded a total of $1 million to 32 teams. This is the third year the program has been available to UCF faculty and researchers. UCF announced the recipients...
