LSU School of Social Work to Host Allan Cole, PhD, from the University of Texas as a Visiting Scholar
October 26, 2026
BATON ROUGE, LA — LSU School of Social Work will host Allan Cole, PhD, dean of the University of Texas Austin School of Social Work, as a visiting scholar. Cole will give a free presentation entitled “Sixteen Words
Can Change Your Life...and Your Work: a discussion of health humanities in social
work” on Friday, November 13, at 10:00 a.m. in the Huey P. Long Field House room 1370. 
All students, faculty and staff are invited to attend this free presentation. Registration is encouraged.
Cole serves as Dean of the UT Austin School of Social Work, the Robert Lee Sutherland Chair in Mental Health and Social Policy and the Bert Kruger Smith Centennial Professor in Social Work. He also serves in leadership at Dell Medical School, as Deputy for Health Humanities and Technology, and as Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences.
As a scholar, Dean Cole is a nationally recognized authority on chronic illness, health humanities, bereavement, and the study of spirituality and religion in social work. The author or editor of 15 books, his latest works include: Jumping to the Skies: Additional Lessons from Parkinson’s Disease (Cascade, 2023); Riding the Wave: Poems (Resource Publications, 2023); In the Care of Plenty: Poems (Resource Publications, 2021); Discerning the Way: Lessons from Parkinson’s Disease (Cascade, 2021), and Counseling Persons with Parkinson’s Disease (Oxford University Press, 2021).
Much of Dean Cole’s scholarship and advocacy centers around caring for people living with Parkinson’s disease. He moderates PD Wise, a hub he created for sharing personal stories, experiences, and wisdom gained from living with Parkinson’s, which encourages personal connections and opportunities for learning.
"The School of Social Work is eager to host Dean Cole and learn from his distinguished scholarship," Michelle Livermore, PhD, LMSW, director of the LSU School of Social Work, said. "We are excited for the opportunity for our school community to engage with his innovative social work research and look forward to the dialog."
RSVP for Dean Cole's Free Presentation
About the LSU School of Social Work
The LSU School of Social Work (SSW) is a vibrant center of intellectual development
and knowledge generation, a leader in promoting and supporting diverse communities,
and an advocate for an integrated and inclusive model of social work, all within a
learning environment that supports best educational practices. The SSW offers Bachelor
of Science in Human Development and Family Science, Bachelor of Social Work (BSW)
, Master of Science in Human Development and Family Science, Master of Social Work
(MSW), online MSW, and Social Work PhD. SSW is part of the College of Human Sciences
& Education.