Ginneh L. Akbar, MSW, DSW, LSW
Program Director, Department Chair, Associate Professor
Anderson Hall 403a
610-738-0353
gakbar@wcupa.edu
Curriculum Vitae
Degrees
- BA, Social Work: University of Maryland, Baltimore County
- MSW: Temple University
- DSW: University of Pennsylvania
Research Interests
- Anti-oppressive social work practice
- The impact of social media on social work and social relationships
- Environmental justice and environmental racism
- Race, gender, and leadership in higher education
Inspiration
I come from a family rooted in human services and social justice. My parents didn't just work in helping professions—they lived those values. Our home was always open: friends who needed a place to land, family going through hard times, or long-lost cousins in town for college. Someone was always staying with us, and no one was ever made to feel like a burden. That environment of compassion and care shaped who I am. Social work didn't feel like a career I chose, it felt like a natural extension of the world I was raised in.
But my path was not without challenges. During my senior year of college, my brother was tragically killed, and it shook everything. I wasn't sure I could keep going. What carried me through was the support of my professors and mentors, people who didn't let me give up on myself. Their kindness, patience, and belief in me made it possible for me to finish my degree and apply to graduate school. I will always be grateful for that.
Because of everything I've lived through, I feel a deep responsibility to make my time, both personally and professionally, meaningful. That's one of the reasons West Chester has felt like the right place for me. The values here are more than words; they show up in how we treat our students, how we show up for one another, and how we make space for people to grow. I truly believe we don't always know what we're capable of until we're tested, and my journey is living proof of that. I'm honored to be part of the MSW program and to walk alongside our students as they discover their own strength and purpose.
My teaching, scholarship, and service are deeply rooted in my clinical practice experience, embodying the core values of social work. My leadership is grounded in principles of intersectionality, inclusion, anti-oppression, and anti-racism. Over the past 15+ years, I have cultivated strong relationships and collaborated with universities, agencies, and administrators across the country. My work has focused on providing teaching, training, intervention, leadership, and mentoring that is strengths-based, client- and staff-centered, trauma-informed, and committed to social justice. I am particularly passionate about expanding the pipeline for scholars and practitioners from the global majority, with a special focus on supporting those of marginalized genders.
Child welfare social work
I am committed to improving the welfare of children in metropolitan areas. My clinical practice experience has been primarily with children and families, and my doctoral dissertation focused on ethics in child welfare social work.
Presentation
- Akbar, G. (2015, November). Child welfare social work and client self-determination. Paper presented at WCU Research Day, West Chester, PA.
Publications
- Akbar, G. Child abuse and neglect: Issues in child welfare. Manuscript in progress.
- Akbar, G. Child welfare social work and the promotion of client self-determination. Manuscript in progress.
Social work and social media
One of social work's core values and primary ethical principles is social justice. Social media create low-cost opportunities to disseminate massive amounts of information and organize large audiences. I developed an elective course, Social Media and Social Movements, to highlight how social media can impact social change.
Presentations
- Akbar, G. (2016, November). Using social media to pique student interest in social movements. Paper presented at the Council on Social Work Education Annual Program Meeting, Atlanta, GA.
- Ezell, A., & Akbar, G. (2016, October). Social work, social media, and social movements. Presentation at the meeting of the National Association of Social Workers-Pennsylvania Chapter, King of Prussia, PA.
- Akbar, G. (2016, April). Using social media to pique student interest in social justice and social policy. Paper presented at the meeting of the Pennsylvania Chapter - National Association for Multicultural Education, West Chester, PA.
- Akbar, G., & Ezell, A. (2016, February). Using social media to pique student interest in social justice and social policy. Paper presented at the meeting of the National Association of African American Studies, Baton Rouge, LA.
Publication
- Akbar, G., & Mendez, N. Friend request? Social media and the therapeutic relationship. Manuscript in progress.
Additional areas of research
Presentation
- Holbrook, A.M., & Akbar, G. (2016, November). Incorporating environmental justice into social work education: A theoretical framework and application. Interactive workshop presented at the Council on Social Work Education Annual Program Meeting, Atlanta, GA.