School of Behavioral and Applied Sciences

Mary Rawlings, Ph.D., is chair of the Department of Undergraduate Social Work and director of the BSW Program at Azusa Pacific University. Her interests are in competency-based education, helping students develop skills necessary for entry-level practice, and assessing outcomes of social work education. She is interested in experiential learning models, such as service-learning, that can enhance student educational outcomes. She is a licensed clinical social worker with more than 10 years practice experience. Her practice interests are in women’s issues, teen pregnancy prevention, and chronic and persistent mental illness. She completed her doctorate at Case Western Reserve University. She currently conducts research on the outcomes of an infused curriculum model for developing skills, attitudes, and knowledge in gerontology, and in developing observed structured clinical exams for evaluation of social work skills.