Valerie Borum

Dr. Valerie Borum, PhD, MSW, LMSW, (she/her/hers) joined Toronto Metropolitan University as the Director of the School of Social Work in January 2020. She has experience as both a BSSW Program Director and an MSW Program Director. As a social work practitioner, she directed two programs, supervising social work and human service professionals serving persons with intersecting identities (e.g., disability, race/ethnicity, gender, deafness, etc.). Dr. Borum’s research and scholarship focus on the role of ethnoculture as a protective and promotive factor in health, mental health, and disabilities, with attention to populations of African descent. She studies the intersection of disabilities, deafness, and ethnocultural, with attention to Black/African American and Afro-Latinx/Black Hispanic families with deaf and hard-of-hearing children. She also studies the intersection of ‘whiteness’ and anti-Blackness/anti-Black racism. She incorporates Womanist and Afrocentric approaches in her research, scholarship, and education (pedagogy). Dr. Borum completed her post-doctoral studies (e.g., focus on suicide and ethnoculture) at the University of Rochester, School of Medicine, Rochester, NY. Dr. Borum received her Ph.D. in Social Work from Howard University's School of Social Work (Historically Black University). She received the Ester Ottley Fellowship, a one-year Dean’s internship for one female student who most exemplifies qualities of leadership and humanity while at Howard University. Dr. Borum received her MSW from Gallaudet University, and all her instruction was in American Sign Language (ASL). She received her B.A. in Psychology with minors in Biology and Philosophy from Mundelein Women’s College at Loyola University, Chicago, IL. Dr. Borum's unwavering commitment to her research is evident in her role as a research collaborator/consultant with Laurent Clerc National Deaf Educational Research Center at Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C. This study focuses on the advocacy efforts among families of color with deaf and hard of hearing children and their advocacy efforts related to their children’s educational, linguistic, social and cultural needs and aspirations. She actively seeks external funding for her research, scholarship, and creative activities. Born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, USA, Dr. Borum's personal journey has deeply influenced her research and academic pursuits.