This semester, nine new faculty members join the University of Texas at Arlington School of Social Work as the school expands to reach more students and professionals.
With the addition of the fully online Doctor of Social Work program, the new centers, including the Center for Lifelong Learning and the Center for Child Welfare, and the eventual addition of the Center for Clinical Social Work, these new faculty members will help shape the next generation of changemakers.
As the school grows with the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, it continues to add full-time faculty to meet the increasing numbers of in-person and online students from across the country.
Along with new programming, these faculty members will also expand the use of innovative classroom and simulation technology, ensuring students continue to receive the high-quality education the School is known for and offering a variety of specialties and courses to choose from. The new faculty will also contribute to the School’s top 3% in research productivity and social work knowledge base to effect change beyond North Texas.
Tyler Argüello, Associate Professor — Argüello is a scholar-clinician-leader with more than 33 years of social work practice experience. His research examines communicative practices, queer-affirmative interventions, intersectional identities and health inequities, particularly HIV. He is the author of Queer Social Work and maintains a recognized psychotherapy practice. A published poet, Argüello joins UTA with his husband, Juan Carlos, and their dog, Stewie.
Marcus Brown, Assistant Professor — Brown recently earned his doctorate from the University of Houston and brings 14 years of direct practice experience in inpatient, outpatient, and community mental health settings. A licensed clinical social worker, Brown's research focuses on how Black adults with serious mental illness experience recovery and navigate formal and informal pathways to care.
Maima Fant, Assistant Professor of Practice and DSW Program Coordinator — Fant joins the School of Social Work with expertise in perinatal mental health, focusing on women navigating pregnancy, postpartum experiences, trauma, grief and major life transitions. She previously served as an assistant professor at St. Mary's University of Minnesota and joins us from UT Southwestern Medical Center. She also operates a private practice, Hatch Life Wellness.
Craig Keaton, Assistant Professor of Practice — Keaton brings nearly 25 years of experience helping individuals understand the connections among physical health, mental health and environmental well-being. His work integrates counseling, movement, lifestyle and nature-based practices, as well as higher education program development. A three-time UTA graduate, he returns to the School of Social Work after serving as director of well-being and assistant professor of medical education at the TCU School of Medicine.
Mansi Patel, Assistant Professor of Practice — Patel's professional experience spans social work practice, higher education leadership and finance, providing a multidisciplinary perspective on individuals, organizations and systems. Her teaching interests include behavioral health, social work practice, professional identity development and career preparation. Her research focuses on justice-involved populations, behavioral health and identity transitions, resilience and reinvention.
Spencer Sandberg, Assistant Professor — Sandberg joins UTA in January 2027 after earning his doctorate from Boston College. His research focuses on environmental social work and global health, with particular attention to climate displacement and environmental justice. His dissertation examined climate displacement in Bangladesh, and he plans to expand this work to address environmental challenges affecting Texans.
Shahnaz Savani, Assistant Professor — Savani joins UTA from the University of Houston-Downtown, where she taught research methods and directed a study abroad program in India. Her expertise includes mental health, suicide prevention and intervention. Her research focuses on understanding the lived experiences of suicide in low-income settings and developing scalable approaches to reduce gaps in mental health care access.
Charles Williams II, Assistant Professor — Williams is a community-engaged qualitative researcher whose work explores poverty, health disparities, race and religion. His research emphasizes church-based approaches to improving health outcomes and expanding access to social safety net resources in underserved communities. He joins UTA from the University of Michigan and is committed to translating research into practical solutions that strengthen communities.
Bethany Wood, Assistant Professor — Wood is a poverty researcher whose work examines neighborhood conditions as social determinants of mental health. She specializes in community-engaged research and advanced quantitative methods aimed at advancing behavioral health equity. Wood plans to work with community partners in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex.