Debra Gohagan, Professor | Department Chair | Title IV-E Child Welfare Program Director

Profile

Debra joined the faculty in August 1998. She received her BS in Sociology from Baptist College of Charleston (Charleston Southern University), Charleston, SC and her MSW from the University of South Carolina. She received her doctoral degree in social work at the University of South Carolina (2000), An Examination of Pedagogical Issues in Computer-facilitated Instruction in Social Work Education. The use of computer-based technology to enhance teaching, learning, and practice activities is one of her primary areas of interest. She currently serves as the Faculty Instructional Technology Consultant for the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences at Minnesota State University, Mankato. She is actively engaged in research and curricula projects related to the use of computer-facilitated instruction. She serves on several national advisory boards and is currently developing an international online comparative social policy course with social work faculty members in the Departments of Social Work at 3 European universities (Manchester, England; Amsterdam, The Netherlands, and Helsinki, Finland).

Debra has more than twenty years of direct practice and private practice experiences in a broad range of social work settings. Her social work experiences include providing assessment, counseling and consultation services to children, youth, families, adults, and staff in social services agencies, psychiatric facilities, and health and mental health community-based settings. She is also involved in advisory committees, grant management, research, and evaluation projects in working with children and families in Minnesota.

Currently, she primarily teaches the introductory practice classes and the child welfare course.