August 28, 2024
Graduating with her Bachelor of Science in Sociology from Shawnee State University in 2010, Dr. Courtney Ruggles has recently returned to her alma mater as the Program Director of the developing Bachelor of Social Work degree.
“I’m so excited to be a Bear again,” she said on returning to campus. “It’s an amazing opportunity to be able to develop a curriculum that will benefit not only students on campus, but the community as well.”
When pursuing her undergraduate degree at SSU, Ruggles was part of the first cohort for the Social Work minor. She quickly realized in her coursework that she had found a path to her future career.
“I always wanted to go into the helping profession and learning about social work just felt like I had found my soul mate,” she said. “The minor and field worked so well with the Sociology degree that it just made sense to me that’s what I wanted to do.”
After earning her degree in Sociology from SSU, Ruggles continued her education at the University of Kentucky to earn her Master’s in Social Work and then received her Doctorate of Social Work from Capella University. She worked as a clinical social worker for many years working in therapy and then as a medical social worker in hospice before transitioning into social work in higher education as a Director of Accessibility & Mental Health and then eventually a professor.
“I really love teaching,” she said on transitioning from practicing social work to teaching it in a classroom. “You get the opportunity to help develop future social workers and that in turn impacts the field as a whole.”
As she’s settled into her new role at SSU, Ruggles has largely focused on gaining input from students, faculty, staff, and the community to develop the upcoming degree program.
“We’re really working closely with community agencies to gain feedback and get their ideas for how this program should be developed,” she said. “It’s really going to show in how the program is shaped that the community had a great hand in its planning.”
Part of funding awarded through the Appalachian Regional Commission’s INSPIRE (Investments Supporting Partnerships in Recovery Ecosystems) program, SSU’s upcoming Bachelor of Social Work will be designed to address workforce shortages in the area of behavioral health and addiction treatment services.
“Social work teaches you how to help people in a skilled way,” said Ruggles. “Our program will give students the skills to do that.”
The Bachelor of Social Work at SSU is planned to become available in the next academic year following program approvals. The program will be housed in the university’s College of Health & Human Services and will align with the college’s mission to grow and enhance its programs to meet the needs of the healthcare workforce and impact the overall health of the community.
To learn more about the College of Health & Human Services at Shawnee State University, visit shawnee.edu/chhs.