CHS Welcomes Social Work Chair and MRC Assistant Professor
Bruce Friedman
Chair and Professor, Department of Social Work
Dr. Friedman joins UTEP after a long and distinguished career in higher education with a focus on social justice education and administration. He received his doctoral degree in social welfare from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, and his master’s in social work from Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. Before joining UTEP, he served as Chair of the Social Work Program at California State University, Bakersfield (CSUB) and co-founder of the CSUB Center for Social Justice, where he worked on addressing health coverage for all, particularly the undocumented. Prior to CSUB he served as the department head of the Social Work Program at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (formerly University of Texas Pan American). Dr. Friedman navigated both programs through their accreditation processes. As a community-based participatory researcher, he has worked with the Dolores Huerta Foundation on school-based discipline issues and the Coalition for Valley Families to address obesity issues and gang violence. Dr. Friedman conducted a 'scholar in residence' set of workshops in Pakistan on community-based participatory research and provided management training in Beijing. He published the first social work cookbook and has an interest in cooking and baking. Dr. Friedman is the current co-convener of Social Work and Health Inequalities Network, an international organization that brings together researchers, scholars, and practitioners interested in the role of social work to address health inequalities. He is a past president of the Network for Social Work Management that developed the competencies for Social Work Leadership and Management. Dr. Friedman also started the mentorship program for NASW California Chapter. He is the author of a number of books including The Research ToolKit: Problem-Solving Processes for the Social Sciences, Public Health, Social Work and Health Inequalities; How to Teach Effectively; and Community-Based Participatory Action Research: It is All About Community.
Yun-Pai (Beatrice) Lee
Assistant Professor, Master of Rehabilitation Counseling Program
Dr. Lee joins UTEP from the University of Wisconsin-Madison (UW) with a research focus on malleable risk and protective factors that can help people with chronic health conditions and disabilities deal more effectively with stress. Her goal is to further inform the development and validation of positive psychology-based, stress management interventions to improve community participation and the quality of life for people with neurological and psychiatric conditions. Dr. Lee earned a doctoral degree in rehabilitation counselor education, a master’s in rehabilitation psychology, and a bachelor’s in psychology, all from UW. While at UW, Dr. Lee taught courses in rehabilitation counseling psychology theory and assessment. She has been deeply involved in community-based research since the start of her education as an undergraduate student. She has worked with clinicians and scholars at the Taiwan Institute of Psychotherapy, the Neuropsychology lab at the UW School of Medicine and Public Health, the Journey Mental Health Center in Wisconsin, Compensated Work Therapy at the William S. Middleton Memorial Veterans Hospital, and the State of Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development. She has worked at the Multiple Sclerosis Multidisciplinary Clinic at the UW Health University Hospital where she conducted neuropsychological assessments for individuals with MS to understand their strengths and limitations. Her work there helped guide patients in utilizing their strengths in daily living and community participation. Dr. Lee earned multiple awards throughout her academic career. She received the Rehabilitation Doctoral Student of the Year Award from the National Council on Rehabilitation Education for her outstanding research and advocacy of individuals with disabilities, the Doctoral Research Proposal Award from the American Rehabilitation Counseling Association, and the Fong Chan Award from the UW Department of Rehabilitation Psychology and Special Education. Her training has provided her the opportunity to collaborate with faculty and researchers from rehabilitation counseling, psychology, and other health related disciplines. She is a member of the American Psychological Association, the American Rehabilitation Counseling Association, and the National Council on Rehabilitation Education. During her downtime, Dr. Lee enjoys traveling, swimming, and cooking. She looks forward to conducting interdisciplinary research at UTEP with scholars from across campus.
Originally Published on August 25, 2020
Erika Villegas, Office of the Provost and VP for Academic Affairs
Photos courtesy of Dr. Beatrice Lee and Dr. Bruce Friedman
