MSW alum reflects on a lifetime of social work research
Rebecca Chaisson had her first encounter with social work at the Xavier University Counseling Center. Envisioning herself as a counselor there, she was awarded a National Institute of Mental Health fellowship and began the Master of Social Work (MSW) program at Tulane School of Social Work.
Now, Chaisson is a full-time professor at the Millie M. Charles School of Social Work at Southern University of New Orleans (SUNO), where she served as dean for seven years. In her almost 50 years of practice, Chaisson has worked in nearly every social work setting – including social service agencies, state agencies, medical facilities, K-12 schools, and criminal justice and court settings – and conducted research, training, and teaching in academic settings and other learning environments across the U.S.
17 years after earning her MSW, Chaisson returned to Tulane for a PhD in Social Work after being awarded a Minority Fellowship by the Council on Social Work Education.
Without my education at Tulane, my voice would never have been heard.
Rebecca Chaisson, PhD, LCSW
“It was so exciting and stimulating to engage with other students, scholars, and community members who had unanswered questions about not just behavior but also the larger problems that create and promote individual and community problems,” Chaisson said.
After graduating with her PhD in 1999, Chaisson began a career in academia, teaching social work courses and leading grant-funded research at Tulane, SUNO, and Louisiana State University (LSU). Her research spans a wide variety of topics that impact Black women, from breast cancer risk factors to challenges faced in the wake of Hurricane Katrina to the impact of media on behavior. Most recently, she has collaborated with Dr. Marva Lewis – one of her mentors at Tulane – to co-author a textbook chapter on the “Black Woman’s Tax”, or the compounded economic cost of being a person of color and a woman.
“Without my education at Tulane, my voice would never have been heard. Often, I speak not just for my own benefit but the benefit of many others who cannot speak and are not even invited to the table,” Chaisson said. “My wish is to contest and disrupt stereotypes and to create a space for the ways we experience the negative outcomes of oppression. How do we overcome these forces with strength and dignity? Tulane exposed me to a diverse set of teaching faculty, a few of whom were mentors.”
In 2025, Tulane School of Social Work’s Alumni Association awarded Chaisson the 1914 Distinguished Academic/Research Award in recognition of her exceptional contributions to social work research and the profession at large. Chaisson takes pride in amplifying communities’ knowledge, mentoring social work faculty and students alike, and working toward equity and well-being for all.
For Chaisson, a career in research has provided a lens through which she can unpack the ways social work education and practice uphold societal privilege. As an academic, her ultimate goal is to serve others – producing research that addresses issues affecting individuals, families, and communities. “We should focus not only on how much we publish but how publishing translates into change.”
“It is my hope that students preparing for social work education at Tulane will take full advantage of the opportunities to act for social change that benefits the most vulnerable members of our society. Further, it is my hope that we employ the privilege of a Tulane education to engage in courageous actions across the many areas of social work practice,” Chaisson said.