Emily Dakin, she/her, Professor in the Department of Social Work. She joined the social work department at AppState in 2014 after having been in the social work faculty at Colorado State University. Emily’s research interests focus broadly in the area of gerontology (aging), theory, and social work curriculum, and she teaches courses related to gerontological social work; human behavior in the social environment; and death, dying, and living. Her current research projects are 1) a content analysis with Mike Howell of textbooks within a particular area of the social work curriculum and 2) a study with Kelly Williams and Maureen MacNamara (AppState social work department) of the relationship between pet ownership and quality of life among older adults. Her service work has largely been in the social work department’s departmental honors program, AppState's faculty senate and the UNC system’s faculty assembly, and in serving as reviewer for various aging-related journals. Emily was drawn to AppState because of its balance of research and teaching, student focus, emphasis on sustainability, the collegial atmosphere, culture of work/life balance, culture that allows flexibility in exploring various scholarly and research interests, and the natural beauty of the area. She loves nature, the arts, coffee, and being a mom to her sweet 6 year old son. Emily’s mentoring advice is, identify your dream and follow it.
