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Deborah Stiles
Program Director and Assistant Professor of Social Work
Contact Information
- Reade Liberal Arts Center
- 765-998-4841
- deborah_stiles@taylor.edu
Specialties:
Education
- DSW, Teaching and Leadership, University of St. Thomas (2022)
- LCSW, Indiana (2008)
- MSW, Social Work—Children & Families, Schools, University of Kansas (1994)
- BSW, Northwest Nazarene University (1990)
Biography
Christian higher education is designed to provide students with tools to critically engage with the world through our lens of faith. In the field of social work, critical engagement must be combined with both empathy and curiosity in seeking to understand what has happened to the client. My role as a Christian educator is to teach students the skills to empathetically engage with clients, work with clients to assess their needs, and to collaboratively develop a plan to meet those needs.
Training the next generation to be the hands and feet of Jesus through embodying Micah 6:8 is my deepest desire. We are called to act justly—to be the voice for the voiceless and the marginalized; to love mercy—to be an advocate against injustice towards others; and to walk humbly—to recognize that we are in as much need of mercy and grace as anyone that we think that we are called to serve.
My research interest is focused on trauma-informed care in the BSW curriculum and our department infuses trauma-informed content throughout our courses.
Courses I Teach
Working with Children, Helping Troubled Families, Process and Practice 2—Groups, Diversity and the Disenfranchised, Advanced Social Work Practice, Integrative Senior Seminar, and Senior Practicum
Hobbies
Traveling, cooking and baking, reading, and walking along the Oregon coast