Campus: Norman
Email: angela.b.pharris-1@ou.edu
Education:
PhD, Tennessee State University
MSW, Spalding University
BSW, Middle Tennessee University
Dr. Pharris joined the University of Oklahoma in 2017. She is an assistant professor in the Anne & Henry Zarrow School of Social Work, director of the Center for Child Welfare Simulation and Training, and a Senior Researcher at the Hope Research Center.
Dr. Pharris’s current research is in child welfare and human service organizations and the application of Hope Centered and Trauma-Informed framework. Hope is a psychological strength, a buffer to stress, adversity, and burnout, and a hopeful mindset that improves organizational and individual outcomes. She is interested in the impact of intervention services, which improve program outcomes and client well-being. Dr. Pharris’s current research is in child welfare and human service organizations and the application of the Hope Centered and Trauma-Informed framework. Hope is a psychological strength, a buffer to stress, adversity, and burnout, and a hopeful mindset that improve various of individual and organizational outcomes. She is interested in the impact of utilizing the framework as a model for services aimed at improving program outcomes and client well-being.
Dr. Pharris is particularly interested in programs and services to serve older youth in foster care, those who turn 18 while still in foster care. She also uses research to improve support for the child welfare workforce. Dr. Pharris is also the principal investigator and evaluator of several projects, including the Child Welfare Professional Enhancement Program, the adaption of simulation-based training in child welfare, and implementation of hope as a framework for human service practices grants.
