School Updates
Aaron Mann joined the University of Pittsburgh School of Social Work faculty after a career in public service focused on youths, job development and training, and youth programs. Mann began his School of Social Work career under the tenure of Dean David Epperson and also served as a member of the search committee that recruited the next dean, Larry Davis. In addition, Mann was the Bachelor of Arts in Social Work (BASW) Program director for several years.
When Mann’s third dean, Betsy Farmer, was recruited by the School of Social Work in 2018, she said she was amazed by the number of students who told her about Mann and what a positive difference he made in their lives. Clinical Assistant Professor Elizabeth Mulvaney noted Mann’s “advocacy, teaching, [and] commitment to and fantastic mentorship of BASW students.” Current BASW Program Director Toya Jones says that she misses Mann’s “wisdom and commanding presence” in the school’s Cathedral of Learning classrooms
and offices.
From his earliest job as an inner-city youth director at the YMCA in Hamilton County, Ohio, to his work teaching and mentoring social work students at Pitt, Mann feels fortunate that he’s been able to incorporate his values into his long career, which has focused on “investing in people and developing human services so that folks can get what they need to succeed.” Mann retired in April 2022.