Campus: Norman
Email: anatale@ou.edu
Education:
PhD, University of Denver
MSW, Portland State University
BS in Social Sciences, Washington State University
Anthony P. Natale, MSW, PhD, is a Professor of Social Work who joined the faculty in 2005. Dr. Natale has previously served as the Graduate Coordinator and Assistant Director. He is the inaugural director of the PhD program in social work, set to begin in the fall of 2025. He has also served as the Graduate College Faculty Fellow for Inclusive Excellence, where he oversaw programs and initiatives designed to support underrepresented graduate students throughout their academic journey, including recruitment, admission, retention, and graduation.
Dr. Natale holds a split appointment in Social Work and as the Senior Administrative Director for the Southwest Center for Human Relations Studies (SWCHRS), which is home to the National Conference on Race and Ethnicity in American Higher Education (NCORE). SWCHRS's mission is to organize learning communities around issues of human conflict and resolution.
His research themes include Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, Accessibility, and Belonging (IDEA-B) in higher education, HIV/AIDS health disparities among minoritized populations, trauma-informed interventions in social work practice, and social work with LGBTQQIPA2+ individuals. Dr. Natale teaches courses in Human Sexuality, Social Welfare Policy, and Human Diversity and Societal Oppression.