Richard L. Edwards

After serving as Chancellor of Rutgers University—New Brunswick, University Professor, Distinguished Professor, and Dean of the Rutgers School of Social Work, Dr. Richard L. Edwards returned to the School as Interim Dean from 2023-2024.

Dr. Edwards served as Chancellor of Rutgers–New Brunswick from 2014 to 2017, a pivotal moment in the university’s history, with its entrance into the Big Ten and Big Ten Academic Alliance, the integration of the former University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, and the university’s historic 250th anniversary.  Prior to his appointment as Chancellor, Dr. Richards served as Executive Vice President of Academic Affairs from 2011 to 2014.

Among the hallmarks of his administration is a commitment to improving the student experience, both in and out of the classroom.  He enacted several task forces and committees to review and make recommendations for enhancing various aspects of the campus experience, ranging from broadening conversations about inclusion and racial climate on campus to exploring ways to improve the experiences of first-year, transfer and non-traditional students. 

Edwards, who came to Rutgers in 2005 as dean of the School of Social Work, is a scholar, educator, and administrator in social work education and professional practice.  Over a four-decade career, he has held deanships at Case Western Reserve University’s Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences and the School of Social Work at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.  He is past president of the National Association of Social Workers and has written extensively on issues related to social work education and nonprofit and public management.  Edwards served as interim president of Rutgers from July 1 to August 31, 2012.

As a scholar, Edwards has studied the management and organizational effectiveness of public-sector and nonprofit organizations. He has been a visiting professor at Babes-Bolyai University in Cluj-Napoca, Romania, and Memorial University in Newfoundland, Canada, and served as a consultant for the Soros Foundation's Open Society Institute on the development of gerontology education for professionals in 18 central and eastern European countries. In 2008, Edwards spent several weeks at Ben Gurion University in Israel as a Fulbright Senior Specialist.

Edwards is the author of numerous articles and book chapters and served as editor-in-chief of the 19th edition of the Encyclopedia of Social Work, published in 1996. He serves on the editorial boards of several professional journals and served for several years as associate editor for North America for Social Work Education: The International Journal. He has been honored as a distinguished alumnus by the School of Social Service Administration at the University of Chicago, where he received his master's degree, and the Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy at the State University of New York at Albany, where he earned his doctorate. He holds a bachelor's degree from Augustana College in Illinois.

BOOKS:

Hughes, J. W., Edwards, R. L., & Lisotkin, D. (Under Contract). Rutgers, Then and Now. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers Press, In Press.

Edwards, R. L. and Kurzman, P. L. (Eds.) (2022). Leading and Managing Nonprofit Organizations.  Washington, DC.  NASW Press.

Edwards, R. L. (2020). Building A Strong Foundation—Fundraising for Nonprofits (2^nd edition).  Washington, DC.  NASW Press.

Huang, C-C., Deng, G., Wang, Z., Edwards, R. L. (Eds.), ((2014). China’s Nonprofit Sector: Progress and Challenges. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Publishers.

Zhao, Y., Huang, C-C., Zhao. R., & Edwards, R. L. (Eds.) (2013). The Comparative Study of Social Work Education in China and the United States. Beijing, China: Social Sciences Academic Press.

Han, K-Q., Huang, C-C., Edwards, R. L. & Zeng, X., (Eds.) (2012). Comparison of Social Welfare in China and United States. Shandong People’s Publishing House, Shandong, China.

Kaufman, R., Edwards, R. L., Mirsky, J. and Avgar, A.  (Eds.)(2011). Crisis as an opportunity: Organizational and professional responses to disasters. Lanham, MD: University Press.

Edwards, R. L. and J. A. Yankey. (Eds.). (2006). Effectively managing nonprofit organizations. Washington, DC: NASW Press.

Carlton-LaNey, I., R. L. Edwards, and P. N. Reid, (Eds.), (1999). Preserving and strengthening small towns and rural communities. Washington, DC: NASW Press.

Edwards, R. L., J. A. Yankey, and M. A. Altpeter, (Eds. (1998). Skills for effective management of nonprofit organizations. Washington, DC: NASW Press.

Edwards, R. L., E. A. Benefield, J. A. Edwards, and J. A. Yankey. (1997) Building a strong foundation:  Fundraising for nonprofits. Washington, DC:  NASW Press.

Edwards, R. L., (Editor-in-Chief). (1997). Encyclopedia of social work--1997 Supplement. Washington, DC: NASW Press.

Edwards, R. L., (Editor-in-Chief.). (1995). Encyclopedia of social work, Nineteenth Edition. Washington, DC: NASW Press, (3 Volumes - 2690 pp.)

Edwards, R. L. and J. A. Yankey, (Eds.). (1991). Skills for effective human services management. Silver Spring, MD: NASW Press.

Edwards, R. L. and Gummer, B. (Eds.). (1990). Issues in supervision and management: An overview. Albany, NY: Nelson A. Rockefeller College, University at Albany, SUNY.

Edwards, R. L., R. K. Green, and K. S. Edwards.  (1980). Tennessee laws relating to minors.  Gardena, CA:  Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich Legal and Professional Publications, Inc.

Edwards, R. L. and T. Morton. (Eds.).  (1980). Training in human services, Volume II.  Knoxville, TN:  The University of Tennessee School of Social Work.

Edwards, R. L., Editor. (1972). Breaking the poverty cycle: Readings on income maintenance.  New York: MSS Information Corporation.

ARTICLES IN REFEREED JOURNALS

Huang, C., Blake, A., Edwards, R. L., Liu, C. Nolan, R., Rusen, B. & Thompson, D. (2013).  Professional Knowledge of Child Support Staff: Evidence from the New Jersey Child Support Training Program. Evaluation Review.

Huang, C., & Edwards, R. L. (2009). The Relationship between State Efforts and Child Support Performance. Children and Youth Services Review. 31. 241-248.

Huang, C., Edwards, R. L., & Nolan, R. B. (2008). State Performance on Child Support Enforcement Under CSPIA. Journal of Policy Practice. 7(4). 280-297.

Reid, P.N. & Edwards. R. L. (2006). The purpose of a School of Social Work—An American perspective. Social Work Education—The International Journal. 25(5), 461-484

Edwards, R. L., Shera, W., Reid, P. N., and York, R. (2006). Social work practice and education in the US and Canada. Social Work Education—The International Journal. 25(1), 28-38.

Edwards, R., Smokowski, P. R., Sowers, K.M., Dulmus, C.N., & Theriot, M.T. (2004). Abuse of power: School personnel who bully students. Journal of Evidence-Based Social Work: Advances in Practice, Programming, Research, and Policy 1(2/3). 111-129.

D’Aprix, A., Dunlap, K., Abel, E., Edwards, R., (2005).  Goodness of fit: Career goals of MSW students and the aims of the social work profession in the United States. Social Work Education: The International Journal.

Edwards, R. L., Roth, M., Davis, R., & Popescu, L. (2000). The role of global collaborative efforts to develop Romania’s child protection and social work education systems. Social Work and Globalization (A special combined issue of Canadian Social Work 2(1) and Canadian Social Work Review, 17. 162-183).

Green, R., & Edwards, R. (1998). Welfare reform: Implications for professional development in social work, Professional Development in Social Work, 1 (1), 4-15.

Edwards, R.L., P.W. Cooke, P.N. Reid. (1996).  Social work management in an era of diminishing federal responsibility. Social Work. 41(5), 468-479.

Taylor, E. H. and R. L. Edwards. (1995).  When community resources fail: Assisting frightened families.  Pediatric Clinics of North America, 42 (1), 209-216.

Edwards, R. L. and D. C. Eadie. (1994).  Meeting the change challenge: Managing growth in the nonprofit and public human services sectors.  Administration In Social Work. 18 (2), 107-123.

Robinson, E.A.R., M. Joffe & R.L. Edwards, (1993). A unique collaboration by a community mental health board and a school of social work to train mental health professionals. Innovation and Research. 2 (3), 33-38.

Johnson, A. K., R. L. Edwards, and H. Puwak. (1993).  Foster care and adoption policy in Romania: Suggestions for international intervention.  Child Welfare.  LXXII (5), 489-506.

Eadie, D. C. and R. L. Edwards.  (1993) Board leadership by design.  Nonprofit World. 11 (2), 12-15.

Edwards, R. L. and H. Curiel.  (1989).  Effects of the English-only movement on bilingual education.  Social Work In Education, 12 (1), 53-66.

Edwards, R. L. and T. Minotti (1989).  Mandated case recording:  Rural and urban perspectives.  Journal of Applied Social Sciences, 13 (2), 317-342.

Edwards, R. L. and W. J. Reid. (1989).  Structured case recording in child welfare:  An assessment of social workers' reactions. Social Work, 34 (4), 49-52.

Edwards, R. L. (1988). Reaganomics and rural America. Human Services in the Rural Environment, 11 (4), 14-19.

Gummer, B. and R. L. Edwards. (1988).  The enfeebled middle:  Emerging issues in education for social administration.  Administration in Social Work, 12 (3), 13-23.

Edwards, R. L. (1987).  The competing values approach as an integrating framework for the management curriculum.  Administration in Social Work. 11 (1), 1-13.

Edwards, R. L., S. R. Faerman, and M. R. McGrath.  (1986).  The competing values approach to organizational effectiveness:  A tool for agency administrators.  Administration in Social Work. 10 (4), 1-13.

Edwards, R. L. and S. A. Kirk. (1986). Responses to resource decline:  The case of schools of social work.  Administration in Social Work. 10 (2), 15-25.

Gummer, B. and R. L. Edwards.  (1985).  A social worker's guide to organizational politics.  Administration in Social Work. 9 (1), 13-21.

Edwards, R. L., and R. K. Green.  (1983).  Mandatory continuing education:  Time for reevaluation.  Social Work. 28 (1), 43-48.

Green, R. K., and R. L. Edwards.  (1982).  Contracting between schools of social work and social welfare agencies:  A controversial issue.  Journal of Continuing Social Work Education. 2 (1), 7-10, 33-35.

Fitzpatrick, J. L., R. L. Edwards, and C. Olszewski.  (1981).  Job priorities of rural services workers:  Implications for training and practice.  Arete. 6, (4), 35-44.

Edwards, R. L., and M. Malecki.  (1981).  Migrant tutorial programs:  A resource for linking clients and services in rural areas.  Human Services in the Rural Environment. 6 (3/4), 50-53.

Jankovic, J. and R. L. Edwards.  (1980).  Understanding people through music.  Lifelong Learning: The Adult Years. 4 (3), 4-7, 31.

Edwards, R. L. (1979).  Considerations related to providing adult education services in Appalachian coal mining regions. The Tennessee Adult Educator. 12 (1), 2-6.

Jankovic, J. and R. L. Edwards. (1979).  The courts and PL 94-142.  The School Social Work Quarterly. 1 (3), 249-255.