For immediate release: 09/03/97
Contact: Margie Yu,
Public Affairs Assistant
(323) 343-3047
Los Angeles, California -- Los Angeles resident James J. Kelly has recently been appointed to the position of Dean of the School of Health and Human Services at California State University, Los Angeles, effective September 1, 1997.
Prior to coming to Cal State L.A., Dr. Kelly was the director and professor of the Department of Social Work at CSU Long Beach. Previous to that, he taught at San Diego State University and at the University of Hawaii.
Kelly earned his bachelor's degree at Edinboro State University, Pennsylvania, and his master's degree at the University of Tennessee. In 1975, he received his doctorate from the Florence Heller Graduate School of Policy, Planning and Administration in Social Welfare at Brandeis University, Massachusetts. A licensed clinical social worker, he also completed a pre-doctoral clinical fellowship in psychiatry at UCLA/Sepulveda Veterans' Administration Medical Center from 1977 to 1979. He is also a fellow of the Gerontological Society of America.
Kelly has published articles and made frequent presentations on such topics as gerontology, mental health, AIDS, education, and human sexuality. In 1987, he was named U.S. Social Worker of the Year by the National Association of Social Workers and was the recipient of the 1981 Award of Merit for Outstanding Achievement for his research and publications in the area of lesbian and gay aging. He is currently the editor for the Journal of Gay and Lesbian Social Services and on the editorial board of the Journal of Women and Aging. He has worked internationally for the United States and the Taiwan government, and is currently the external reviewer for the Chinese University of Hong Kong.
In addition, Kelly is a member of the Community Advisory Council for the County of Los Angeles' Department of Children's Service and the Senior Care Action Network Health Plan Board of Governors. From 1994 to 1997, he served as president of the California Association of Deans and Directors of Schools of Social Work. Currently, he is serving as president of the National Association of Deans and Directors of Schools of Social Work and as president-elect of the Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers.