Dr. Lynette Renner appointed next SSW PhD Program Director effective July 1

The School of Social Work is pleased to announce that Dr. Lynette Renner will become the next Director of the PhD Program effective July 1, 2021.

Dr. Renner has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to doctoral education across her entire career at multiple institutions. Since joining the faculty at the University of Minnesota in 2013, she has been a member of the School’s PhD Committee and Prelim Committee, and teaches in the PhD Program. She served as Interim Director of the PhD Program in 2018-2019 and has been an advisor and mentor to doctoral students in the School and across the University.

In the area of scholarship, Dr. Renner is a prolific researcher who conducts quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods studies. Her research has been funded by the National Institute of Justice, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office on Women’s Health, and the University of Minnesota’s Office for Academic and Clinical Affairs and Clinical and Translational Science Institute. Dr. Renner is a frequent grant reviewer for the Center for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. Department of Justice, along with the University of Minnesota’s Grant-in-Aid of Research, Artistry, and Scholarship program. 

Dr. Renner has a strong record of leadership in various settings. She is the Chair of the University’s Campus Committee on Student Behavior and the Chair of the State of Minnesota’s Crime Victims Reparations Board. She formerly served as co-Chair of the University’s Student Sexual Misconduct Subcommittee. Dr. Renner currently serves as the School’s Director of Research and Interim Director of Graduate Studies. She is also a member of the Graduate School Advisory Board, which is charged with providing guidance on and assessment of graduate education and postdoctoral training initiatives across the University of Minnesota system. In recognition of her substantial service and leadership, Dr. Renner received the University’s 2020 President’s Award for Outstanding Service.

Please join us in congratulating Dr. Renner on this new appointment!