Nicole Bromfield: Graduate College of Social Work - University of Houston
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Nicole Bromfield

nicolebromfield.jpg

Associate Professor 

Email: nfbromfield@uh.edu
Room: 201 Social Work Building
Phone: 713-743-4327

Personal Statement

As a seasoned scholar-administrator with over twenty years of experience working in public research universities in the United States and the global South, I am strongly committed to impactful teaching, research, and service that addresses the needs of our local and international communities.

I am currently an associate professor at the Graduate College of Social Work. I served as the College’s associate dean for academic affairs from 2016 to 2020. Before that, I spent six years as an assistant professor at the United Arab Emirates University in the Arabian Gulf.

During 2022 and 2023, I was a Fulbright Research and Teaching Scholar in Namibia. During my nearly two years in the country, I was honored to be engaged in community-based research with adolescent girls living in informal settlements who are impacted by HIV and AIDS. I also developed and taught undergraduate and graduate-level courses and supervised graduate theses at the University of Namibia.

My work is interdisciplinary and international, utilizing perspectives from multiple related disciplines. My general research program focuses on local capacity building and the social wellbeing of those who are vulnerable and at risk for exploitation, especially women and children, in a global context. As a macro-level interdisciplinary researcher with an international focus, a key part of my academic mission is to promote positive social policy development driven by community needs. I have designed and led numerous studies addressing social issues in countries in the Middle East, Asia, and Africa, including investigations on divorced women from arranged marriages, global surrogacy arrangements in India, street-connected children in Bangladesh and India, and other issues related to the social wellbeing of vulnerable populations.

Education

Ph.D., Public Policy | Virginia Commonwealth University | Richmond, VA
M.S.W., Social Work | West Virginia University | Morgantown, WV                    
B.A., Anthropology | West Virginia University | Morgantown, WV 

Courses Taught

  • SOCW 7397: Global Social Work: Women and Human Rights
  • SOCW 7397: Human Trafficking
  • SOCW 7334: Dynamics of Leadership in Social Work (course lead)
  • SOCW 7320: Empowerment
  • SOCW 7367: Social Policy Analysis