This fall, UConn School of Social Work alumna Shannon Lane ’09 Ph.D. returned to her alma mater full time as the director of the Nancy A. Humphreys Institute for Political Social Work and professor-in-residence. She replaces Tanya Rhodes Smith ’88 (SSW), ’00 MSW, who served as director for the past 11 years.
Lane’s research interests include political social work, political justice, social policy, macro practice, social work education, and voting rights and engagement.
Since 2004, she’s been affiliated with the Humphreys Institute, serving as a Research Committee Chair, supporting the work of the Voting is Social Work campaign and the Campaign School for Social Workers, and serving a mentor for students and professionals interested in supporting civic engagement and nonpartisan voter engagement. As a Ph.D. student, the late professor and Institute’s namesake Nancy A. Humphreys served as a mentor and advised Lane on her dissertation.
“It’s great to be back at UConn, and I can’t imagine a better place to be. It feels like home,” Lane says. “I hope to continue the incredible work of Nancy and Tanya.”
Additionally, Lane wants to build on the Institute’s role in promoting evidence-based political social work research.
“Many people, including some social workers, aren’t familiar with the idea or importance of political social work, and here at UConn, our faculty and scholars are contributing and developing a solid research base on the subject,” Lane says. “In time, I’d love to see the Institute create a political social work hub where experts in this field, from all over the country, can share their ideas and research with one another.”
In her new role, Lane also supports the coordination, planning, and evaluation of the annual Campaign School for Social Workers, an annual two-day event that has already prepared 3,000 participants to run for office, lead campaigns, work for elected officials, and hold leadership positions in political settings.
“The goal of the institute is to create systems that will result in policy that better reflects the values of the social work profession and better serves our communities,” Lane explains. “Through the Campaign School and our voter engagement work, we teach social workers how to be leaders within our political systems and changing those systems to make them more just.”
Another goal is securing new grants that support saving democracy.
“The work we do is well suited for funding that will help us continue our work to help individuals access their political power and hold systems accountable,” she says.
Lane comes to the SSW from the Wurzweiler School of Social Work at Yeshiva University where she served as an associate professor and associate director of research for the Ph.D. program in social welfare. She also has teaching experience at Sacred Heart University and Adelphi University. Prior to this, she worked for the U.S. Senate, where she worked for Senate Democratic Leader Tom Daschle for several years.
Lane received her BA in psychology from George Washington University; her MSW from the University of Michigan; and Ph.D. from UConn. Her dissertation examined the experiences of social workers who ran for political office.
Additionally, Lane is the co-author of two books, Political Social Work: Using Power to Create Social Change (2018) and Social Welfare Policy in a Changing World (2024) and over 30 peer-reviewed publications, largely focused on political social work and social work pedagogy.
Outside the office, Lane enjoys serving the town of Bethany as a member of the Bethany Board of Education and as the Assistant Registrar of Voters. A mother of two children, she also enjoys attending music festivals and sporting events, including her daughters’ baseball and basketball games. As a family, they are avid UConn women’s basketball, Connecticut Sun, and Boston Red Sox fans.
Learn more about Lane on her professional website.
