Department of Social Work and Anthropology
Our department’s majors explore some of today’s most consequential social issues, examining such topics as the causes of social justice, social inequality, the social factors that influence human behavior, and the diversity of cultural practices.
In addition to bachelors’ degrees in and Social Work/Social Work (Online), AUM offers minors in Social Work, Anthropology, and Child Advocacy Studies.
The Sociology major offers concentrations in Anthropology, Marriage and Family. These options allow students to design their degree to best fit their educational and career goals. Students learn from faculty that specialize in sociology of families, religion, and education, as well as urban sociology, anthropology, archaeology, and social work. Internships, field practicums, archaeological fieldwork, and other experiential learning opportunities prepare students for their future careers by allowing them to take the knowledge and skills they learn in the classroom and apply it to directly to the community.
Our degree plans prepare you for a variety of career paths, including non-profit work, social work, local, state, and federal agencies, museums, the law, and many other areas. University- and department-level scholarships may be available.
College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences
The College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences offers students a traditional liberal arts education to meet the needs of the 21st century, allowing them to compete for a variety of careers in an increasingly complex and evolving world.
Undergraduate Degree Programs
Anthropology
Sociology
Marriage and Family
Sociology
Pre-Social Work
Sociology
Social Work
Minors
Many students choose a minor in sociology, child advocacy studies or anthropology to enhance their educational experience in the social sciences.
A broad minor focusing toward the four-field approach to the study of anthropology. For more information, please contact Dr. Kimberly Pyszka at [email protected] or (334) 244-3637.
This minor will prepare pre-professionals and practitioners to respond to child maltreatment in an ethical and culturally sensitive manner. For more information, please contact Ms. Gina Allen at [email protected] or 334-394-5484.
A broad minor focusing on the various aspects of society’s culture and social life. For more information, please contact Dr. David Feltmate at [email protected] or (334) 244-3391.
Our social work minor focuses on social services with vulnerable populations. It allows students interested in social services to supplement a wide variety of majors. Contact Dr. Suzie Cashwell, Ms. Gina Allen, or check with your academic advisor.
Apply Now
Through its various departments, the AUM College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences offers a variety of resources to give students the necessary knowledge and skills to be profoundly competitive. Join us and apply to AUM, where learning matters most. It’s why we learn-and why we teach.
Faculty & Staff
Kimberly Pyszka
Department Chair; Associate Professor of Anthropology | College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences
Dr. Kimberly Pyszka is a historical archaeologist that specializes in studies of landscapes and architecture of the US Southeast. She has conducted archaeological research throughout the Southeast, including South Carolina, Tennessee, Arkansas, and Alabama, including on the AUM campus. Dr. Pyszka has published several peer-reviewed journal articles and in 2023 published, The Archaeology of Protestant Landscapes: Revealing the Formation of Community Identity in the US South. Some of her favorite classes to teach include Death and Dying, Themes in Food, Culture, and History, and Historical Archaeology. Dr. Pyszka also serves on the Alabama National Register of Historic Places Review Board.
Yolanda Machado-Escudero
BSW Program Director, Assistant Professor of Social Work
Yolanda Machado-Escudero
BSW Program Director, Assistant Professor of Social Work | College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences
Dr. Yolanda Machado is an Assistant Professor of Social Work at the Department of Sociology, Anthropology, & Social Work. She is a newcomer to AUM, Montgomery, and Alabama. Her classroom pedagogy, research scholarship, and service are informed by the intersections of race, ethnicity, gender, ability, and class among Latinx and other transnational migrant communities of color in the U.S. and abroad. Her research interests include historic trauma, resilience and resistance in oppressed groups, systemic inequality and other barriers to access health care, self-sufficiency and inclusion of people with disabilities in social settings, social work education in Latin America, and environmental injustice and climate grief in vulnerable contexts. She has worked in direct practice, management positions, and as a social work instructor in rural and urban settings in Puerto Rico, Virginia, Georgia, and Florida. Dr. Machado has a teenage son living with autism. Their pastimes include walking in nature, reading, gardening, and cooking Puerto Rican tasty meals.
LisaMarie Malischke
Assistant Professor | College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences
Dr. LisaMarie Malischke is an Anthropologist specializing in archaeology, with a background in hard science and medicine. Traditionally, my research focuses on post-contact 18th-century French and Indigenous interactions at forts and villages. I am trained in conflict and battlefield archaeology and, in partnership with Auburn University and Dr. Meghan Buchanan, we research and instruct field school students at the Civil War Conscription Camp #1, Camp Watts, in Notasulga, Alabama. At AUM, I also teach Cultural Anthropology, Introductory Archaeology, Public Archaeology, and Collections and Museum Curation Management for the Museums Studies Certificate. I am a board-member with the Alabama Archaeological Society and I enjoy mentoring students, instructing them in the field and in the lab, and taking them to conferences and on field trips.
Kashera Guy Robinson
Assistant Clinical Professor/Social Work Field Director
Kashera Guy Robinson
Assistant Clinical Professor/Social Work Field Director | College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences
Kashera Guy Robinson, DSW, is a Licensed Clinical Social Work educator with more than 25 years of experience in the areas of juvenile justice, child welfare, mental health, and school social work.
Dr. Guy Robinson is an expert on the topic of urban school social work and has written a number of articles on this specialized area of practice. She has collaborated on a number of webinars and at professional conferences on school social work topics. Dr. Guy Robinson is actively involved in several professional social work organizations and has served in a number of leadership roles in these organizations including District President, District Vice President, District Parliamentarian, Chairperson of Membership, and Specialty Practice Section Committee Member.
Dr. Guy Robinson’s research interests include exploring the issue of chronic absenteeism among minority school-aged youth residing in urban communities, examining how the historical traumas of transgenerational poverty and racism continue to impact this demographic, and exploring ways that trauma-informed interventions can help these youth. Her teaching interests include introductory social work courses and school social work-related topics.
Lacey Sloan
Professor | College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences
Dr. Lacey Sloan is a wanderer who received her BSW from the University of Mississippi and her MSSW and Ph.D. in social work from The University of Texas at Austin. Her three intertwining areas of scholarship are sexual rights and gender-based violence; social work education and practice in Islamic contexts; and, environmental justice. Her early practice and scholarship focused on sexual rights, with a specific focus on sexual violence, sex work and sex workers, violence against LGBT people, sexual violence and oppression against people with disabilities, and sexual violence and oppression against other marginalized populations. Her decades working in the anti-sexual violence movement at the local, state and national level included work in rape crisis centers, serving on the Texas Association Against Sexual Assault and National Coalition Against Sexual Assault boards of directors, and serving as the scientific lead for the Department of Justice funded Violence Against Women Act Measuring Effectiveness Initiative. Since 2001, she facilitated the development and/or initial accreditation of three MSW programs (University of Southern Maine, College of Staten Island, Zayed University [United Arab Emirates]), three BSW programs (College of Staten Island; five universities Somalia; Qatar University), and, two diploma and certificate programs in social work (six universities in Somalia; Juba University in South Sudan).
Angie Smith
Assistant Professor of Social Work | College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences
Dr. Angie Smith is a first-generation college graduate whose academic path reflects her dedication to social work and education. She earned an Associate degree in Pre-Social Work, a BSW from the University of Montevallo, and both an MSW and Ph.D. from The University of Alabama. Her doctoral dissertation explored the lived experiences of Black college students following encounters with police violence.
Dr. Smith’s current research focuses on social work education, particularly the importance of evidence-based practice in research for undergraduate students. Her broader interests include vulnerable populations, public and mental health, advocacy, policy, and the impact of police violence.
A passionate educator and mentor, Dr. Smith is committed to helping students reach their goals. She embraces the proverb, “Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day; teach a man to fish and he will eat for a lifetime,” and believes mentorship is essential to student success.
Outside of academia, she enjoys science fiction and fantasy films such as Star Wars, Harry Potter, and The Lord of the Rings. She also loves to travel and is known for her dry sense of humor.
