Richard P. Barth, PhD, MSW
Professor, University of Maryland School of Social Work
Deputy Director, UMB Institute for Clinical and Translational Research
The author or co-author of 15 books and more than 300 scholarly articles, Richard Barth is recognized as a leading expert on numerous topics in the field of social work, including social education, adoption, foster care, and child welfare. He has often testified before state legislatures and Congress, and his scholarship across a wide array of topic has been cited more than 30,000 times.
A former dean of the University of Maryland School of Social Work (UMSSW) and past president of the American Academy of Social Work and Social Welfare (AASWSW), Dr. Barth speaks across the world on important social work issues and ways that social work can help improve communities and the human condition.
He joined UMSSW in 2006 as dean and professor and led the school until 2020. During his tenure, Barth was the driving force behind significant growth, as grants and contracts rose from $5 million to $44 million a year; UMSSW’s development campaign climbed from $46,000 to $4 million a year; and total annual aid to students grew to $3 million.
He oversaw an expansion of training, research, and stipend support in behavioral health and recruited national experts in this area to join the faculty. He also led efforts to strengthen the school’s PhD program, develop a postdoctoral program, and offer social work programs at the Universities at Shady Grove in Rockville, Md. He also reestablished the Alumni Association Board of Directors and increased alumni awards and scholarships.
Barth is a leader in the Grand Challenges for Social Work, the first major initiative of AASWSW, and served as the academy’s founding president from 2009 to 2015. Hosted at UMSSW, Grand Challenges tackles some of the nation’s most urgent social problems.
He helped secure the foundational funding and administrative support needed to launch the University of Maryland, Baltimore’s Institute for Clinical and Translational Research (ICTR), which was the first Universitywide interdisciplinary hub for clinical translational research and training, and serves as ICTR’s deputy director.
Barth has received numerous honors, including Fulbright Scholarships in 1990 and 2006, the 1998 Presidential Award for Excellence in Research from the National Association of Social Workers, the James Flynn Prize for Research in 2005, and the 2007 Peter Forsythe Award for Child Welfare Leadership from the American Public Human Services Association. He is a fellow of the American Psychological Association, the Society for Social Work Research, and the American Academy of Social Work and Social Welfare.
In 2023, he was recognized as the most cited social work scholar in the United States in “The 100 Most Impactful Global Contributors to Social Work Publications,” as well as among the top 1 percent of most-cited scientists in the world, according to a compendium from Stanford University.
Barth earned his bachelor’s degree in psychology from Brown University and his Master of Social Work degree and PhD from the University of California, Berkeley.
