Leslie E. Tower, Ph.D.

Dr. Leslie E. Tower is a tenured Professor and Assessment Coordinator in the WVU School of Social Work. She has also is the Director of the WVU Women’s Resource Center. 

From 2002 to 2015, Tower had a dual appointment in the School of Social Work and Department of Public Administration. She is a passionate advocate for policies that support women’s full participation in society. She has published research on women and work, adult learners, and violence against women. 

Her recent scholarship focuses on gender equity in institutions of higher education. She is also interested in supporting college students’ decision to use a menstrual cup, a potential tool in reducing period poverty and environmental waste. She currently is the external evaluator for a US DHHS-NIH-National Institute on Aging grant.

Tower has authored/co-authored more than 30 peer-reviewed journal articles, a scholarly book, and other scholarly publications. Her research has been funded by NSF, FDA, and USDA as well as private foundations.

Tower was co-principal investigator on the original WVU NSF ADVANCE grant. One of her publications from the project, entitled, Work/Life Satisfaction Policy in ADVANCE Universities, was highlighted in Science . She led the policy development component of the grant, resulting in numerous work-life integration policies: Lactation Network and Supportive Lactation Program; Paid parental for 9-month faculty; Family Travel Program, and free membership to Care.com.

Tower was Chair/Co-Chair of the Council on Social Work Education’s (CSWE) Council on the Role and Status of Women in Social Work Education (2012-2015), Track Chair of the CSWE APM Feminist Scholarship Track (2017-2022), and Editorial Board Member for the Journal of Women & Social Work (AFFILIA) (2017-2020) . Tower is the recipient of the 2023 CSWE Feminist Scholar Award.

EDUCATION

• Ph.D., Barry University, 2001
• M.S.W., Barry University, 2002
• M.B.A. University of Miami, 1995
• B.S., University of Florida, 1993
• Certificate in Women’s Studies, Florida Atlantic University, 2002
• Certificate in Health Administration, University of Miami, 1995

RESEARCH INTERESTS

Women & Work:

Chiarelli-Helminiak, C. M., McDonald, K. W., Tower, L. E., Hodge, D. M., & Faul, A. C. (2021). Burnout among social work educators: An eco-logical systems perspective. Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment, 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1080/10911359.2021.1977209

Cram, B., Alkadry, M. G., & Tower, L. E. (2016). Social Costs: The Career-Family Tradeoff. In M. L. Connerley & J. Wu (Eds.), Handbook on Well-Being of Working Women (pp. 473–487). Springer Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-9897-6_27

Stout, M., Tower, L. E., & Alkadry, M. G. (2015). Reframing Workplace Spirituality to Reduce Career and Social Costs to Women. Public Integrity, 17(2), 143–164. https://doi.org/10.1080/10999922.2015.1000662

Tower, L. (2021). Caregiving and Conferencing: Supporting Faculty Participation in Conference Travel. ADVANCE Journal, 2(1). https://doi.org/10.5399/osu/ADVJRNL.2.1.2

Tower, L. E. (2016). Changing work-life policy in institutions of higher education. In Family-Friendly Policies and Practices in Academe (Vol. 43, pp. 115–135). http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0730888415622253

Tower, L. E., & Dilks, L. M. (2015). Work/life satisfaction policy in ADVANCE universities: Assessing levels of flexibility. Journal of Diversity in Higher Education, 8(3), 157–174. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0039372

Tower, L. E., Faul, A. C., Chiarelli-Helminiak, C., & Hodge, D. M. (2019). The Status of Women in Social Work Education: A Follow-Up Study. Affilia, 34(3), 346–368. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886109919836105

Tower, L. E., Faul, A., Hamilton-Mason, J., Collins, W. L., & Gibson, P. (2015). Work/Life Fit: The Intersection of Developmental Life Cycle and Academic Life Cycle. Affilia, 30(4), 519–532. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886109914555217

Tower, L. E., & Latimer, M. (2016). Cumulative Disadvantage: Effects of Early Career Childcare Issues on Faculty Research Travel. Affilia, 31(3), 317–330. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886109915622527

Tower, L. E., Lazzari, M. M., Faul, A. C., & Alvarez, A. R. (2015). Challenges, Changes, and Impact of the Council on Social Work Education Women’s Council: An Update. Journal of Social Work Education, 51(4), 702–722. https://doi.org/10.1080/10437797.2015.107627

Adult Learners:

Hash, K. M., Poole, J., Floyd, M., Moore, C. D., Rogers, A. T., & Tower, L. E. (2017). Innovative Experiential Learning Activities in Aging: The Experiences of Four BEL Projects. Journal of Teaching in Social Work, 37(2), 156–170. https://doi.org/10.1080/08841233.2017.1300207

Mankowski, M., Tower, L. E., Brandt, C. A., & Mattocks, K. (2015). Why Women Join the Military: Enlistment Decisions and Postdeployment Experiences of Service Members and Veterans. Social Work, 60(4), 315–323. https://doi.org/10.1093/sw/swv035

Tower, L., Mankowski, M., Hash, K., & Kim, H. (2019). Teach-In: Positive Responses during Divisive Times. Journal of Teaching in Social Work, 39(3), 237–247. https://doi.org/10.1080/08841233.2019.1607798

TEACHING INTERESTS

• Social Work Research Methods
• Social Welfare Policy
• Healthcare Systems (Public Administration)
• Health Policy: Health, Women’s Health, Health Law & Ethics (Public Administration)

CV

• Tower CV 2021