Dr. Erin Olson

I have been with the Dordt College Social Work Department since August 2007 and serve as both Professor and MSW Program Chair. My position as Program Director means I am responsible for departmental budgeting, accreditation, and course load evaluations. I teach Introduction to Social Work, Research Methods for Social Science, Family System and Practice, and Human Behavior and the Social Environment. I also teach Sociology and Social Justice in the CORE program every semester. I thoroughly enjoy getting to know students and watching them grow and develop throughout their time at Dordt and in our program. I love discussing the topic of Christian faith and social work practice and ethics while wrestling with the ways that these two things can both complement and oppose each other from time to time.

I hold a PhD in Social Work from Baylor University in Waco, TX. The focus of my dissertation research was on the role and impact of calling and vocation in social work education and practice. I enjoy teaching, but I also love learning and enjoy bringing the things I am learning in my program into the classrooms where I teach. I received my MSW from the University of Nebraska-Omaha and my BSW from Dordt College. I worked for four years in a community mental health center providing in-home counseling services to at-risk kids and teens along with their families. I also worked as a hospital social work providing discharge planning and other supportive services to patients and their families. In 2011, I also served in the campus counseling office providing short-term mental health counseling to Dordt students.

I am married and have three children ages sixteen, thirtten, and ten. In my free time, I like to camp with my family and also read, run, play piano, and sing.