Frank Baskind, Ph.D., is dean emeritus and professor in the School of Social Work at Virginia Commonwealth University, where he also served as dean of the School of Social Work (1992-2008) and University ombudsman (2008-2013). Prior to his tenure at VCU, Baskind was at Southern Connecticut State University where he was dean of the School of Social Work and then the founding dean of the School of Social Work and Human Services.  He also was the founding director of the Undergraduate Social Work Program at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, TN, and served in the positions of president of the Board of Directors of the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE), as well as Chairperson of the Commission on Accreditation for CSWE. Baskind earned a doctorate in Education and the Master of Social Work degree from the University of Connecticut, a master of Theology degree from Saint Leo University, and the baccalaureate degree from Fordham University. He also earned the Diploma in Professional Education from the University of Connecticut.

Other relevant experiences include strategic planning, academic program reviews, and curriculum consultation to universities, social work education programs, and the Christian Children’s’ Fund.  Baskind is currently a member of United Way of Greater Richmond Community Building Committee and past member of Connecticut and Tennessee State NASW Board of Directors. He was one of two primary contributors to the development of the New York Academy of Medicine Leadership Institute for Social Work Deans and recently served on the Advisory Board of the Alexander Street Press for the creation of the learning resource, Social Work Online. In March 2010, Baskind was honored by the University of Connecticut School of Social Work as a “Leader Making a Difference” in Social Work Education. His creation and coordination of Help-Line of Central Connecticut, a crisis intervention and suicide prevention telephone network for a six-town region in Connecticut, launched his career in professional social work practice and education.