Pioneering Contributions
Keith A. Alford, PhD, ACSW, was appointed dean of the University at Buffalo School of Social Work in August 2021, becoming the first African American to hold that position. Following the racially motivated mass shooting at a Buffalo supermarket on May 14, 2022, he provided decisive leadership in addressing this egregious act of racial violence that shocked the city and the nation. In the days that followed, he facilitated programs that allowed students, faculty, staff, and community members to engage in meaningful dialogue about their reactions to the tragedy.
In 2023, he led the coordination of an online seminar on Black racial trauma, marking the one-year anniversary of the violence. The seminar provided attendees with a safe space to grieve, share their thoughts and experiences, and ask questions. According to Dean Alford, cultural trauma deeply affected local residents, but healing was made possible through shared moments of connection. As he aptly stated, “To be trauma-informed, one has to be racially informed”—a central tenet of his leadership philosophy and approach to coexistence.
Alford has served as principal investigator, co-investigator, and consultant on various grants funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families, the New York State Office of Mental Health, the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency, and the Gifford Foundation. His scholarly work has consistently focused on culturally specific service delivery for special populations, family mental health, rites of passage programming for African American adolescent males, kinship care, and child welfare interventions. He is frequently invited to speak at national conferences and is often consulted to review academic qualifications for faculty promotion and tenure.
Alford was also involved with a National Science Foundation grant supporting the training of diverse undergraduates to conduct trauma research with veterans. As dean of the School of Social Work, he has made it a priority to recruit new faculty with diverse perspectives and research agendas, in alignment with his lifelong commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA). For Dr. Alford, DEIA reflects one of the core values of social work: uplifting the inherent worth and dignity of every person. His life’s work exemplifies a commitment to inclusivity and respect for lived experience.
Career Highlights
Before becoming dean at the University at Buffalo, Alford held multiple positions at Syracuse University, including serving as its first Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer (CDIO). Selected after a national search, he provided executive leadership and strategic vision to advance the university’s commitment to diversity and inclusion. During his 25-year tenure at Syracuse, he served as a member of the Chancellor’s Executive Team, professor of social work, chair of the School of Social Work in the David B. Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics, MSW director, and BSSW director. He also served on the Faculty Senate Committee on Diversity and was a member of the Division of Enrollment and the Student Experience Diversity and Inclusion Advisory Council. He was named Faculty Member of the Year on multiple occasions.
One of his crowning achievements as CDIO was securing a physical campus building dedicated to the Black student experience. The facility, now known as the Barner-McDuffie House, serves as a cultural meeting and gathering hub for undergraduate and graduate students, as well as alumni.
A former child protective services worker, outpatient family therapist, and therapeutic foster care supervisor, Alford has dedicated his professional life to addressing the needs of children and families. For over 23 years, he has been affiliated with InterFaith Works (IFW) in Syracuse as a facilitator of the community dialogue circles to end racism. Notably, he was one of the founding organizers of this initiative in 1996, helping to chart its trajectory. The dialogue circles continue to thrive today, serving as powerful forums for racial understanding and reconciliation among corporations, community organizations, educational institutions, and thousands of Central New Yorkers.
Alford is a Licensed Independent Social Worker in the State of Ohio and has been a member of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) since 1986. He is a member of the Academy of Certified Social Workers, the Council on Social Work Education, the Society for Social Work and Research, the Child Welfare League of America, the American Association of University Professors, and the National Association of Deans and Directors of Schools of Social Work.
Biographic Data
While Alford has called New York home for many years, he proudly identifies as a native of Columbia, South Carolina. As a young man, he was inspired by a speech from renowned social worker and human rights activist Dorothy Height, which motivated him to pursue a career in social work with a focus on families and social justice.
Alford earned a PhD from the College of Social Work at The Ohio State University (OSU), where he received the Edwin Sharp Burdell Award and was honored as Teaching Associate of the Year. He also earned his MSW from OSU and a Bachelor of Arts in history and sociology with a concentration in social services from Coker University in Hartsville, South Carolina.
After graduating from Coker University, he began his career with the Child Protective Services division of the Darlington County Department of Social Services. Early in his tenure, he received a commendation from the South Carolina Department of Social Services for starting the first parenting support group in the Pee Dee region. This initiative reflected his strengths-based orientation and laid the groundwork for his future emphasis on cultural specificity and uplifting the human condition.
He was later awarded an honorary Doctor of Letters by his alma mater and delivered the 2002 commencement address—an especially meaningful experience that he describes as a return to his roots.
Reflecting on his upbringing, Alford credits his father, James Granville Alford—a barber known for his strong work ethic—and his mother, Marilyn Johnson Alford—an elementary school social studies teacher and advocate for public education—with instilling in him a commitment to service. In a profile article, he recalled how his mother produced a school-wide assembly in 1976 for the U.S. Bicentennial, filling their home with red, white, and blue memorabilia and fostering his early interest in history and human rights.
As he once stated:
“Listening to my mother talk about the meaning of the Declaration of Independence, I was drawn to Thomas Jefferson’s words and wondered—do they ring true for every person?” His experiences growing up during a time of racial tension shaped his understanding of inequality and fueled his passion for social justice. He has since devoted his career to helping others achieve their full potential.
As Alford noted on his faculty webpage:
“Current times force our society to engage in deep individual and collective introspection. Social workers must respond and reinvigorate our core values in the process. Practice wisdom within the profession is fortified by research, and research remains vital as we spread empirical understanding and foster diverse and expansive educational opportunities.”
Significant Recognition and Awards
- Buffalo Business First IDEA (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, Awareness) Award – 2024
- Children’s Home and Aid, Child and Family Service Agency Black History Month Trailblazer – 2021
- 100 Black Men of Syracuse, Inc. Leadership Award – 2019
- InterFaith Works of Central New York Leadership Award: Creating a Civil Community – 2018
- Harriet Tubman Spirit Award – 2015
- Martin Luther King, Jr. Unsung Hero Award – 2009
Significant Publications
Alford’s academic writings have been featured in numerous scholarly journals, including the Journal of Social Work Education, Journal of Family Social Work, Child Welfare, and the Journal of Technology in Human Services. He is co-editor of the book, Rural families and reshaping human services. Additionally, he has authored influential book chapters and contributed opinion pieces to various publications on topics related to diversity, human services, and volunteerism.
He has served on the editorial boards of the Journal of Urban Social Work, Journal of Brief Therapy, and Journal of Family Social Work. Below is a selection of key works:
- Cook, J. F., Alford, K. A., Uhrich, J., & Conway, P. (Eds.) (2015). Rural families and reshaping human services. London: RoutledgeFalmer
- Alford, K. A., Denby, R., & Gomez, E. (2019). Use of smartphone technology in foster care to build relational competence: Voices of caregivers and implications for prudent parenting. Journal of Family Social Work, 22(3), 209–230.
- Alford, K. (2003). Cultural themes in rites of passage: Voices of young African American males. Journal of African American Studies, 7(1), 3–26.
- Alford, K. A., & Lantz, J. (2002). Existential crisis intervention. Journal of Brief Therapy, 2(1), 43–51.
- Alford, K. A. (2022). The uphill climb of Black men: Therapeutic treatment and educational considerations for mental health engagement. In K. V. Hardy (Ed.), The enduring, invisible, and ubiquitous centrality of whiteness (pp. 472–492). New York, NY: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc
- Wang, X., Phelps, B. J., Alford, K. A., & Lee, M. Y. (2022). Trauma-informed care: An intergenerational approach. In R. Denby-Brinson & C. Ingram (Eds.), Child and family-serving systems: A compendium of policy and practice (pp. 211–232). Washington, DC: Child Welfare League of America.
- Alford, K. A. (2007). Adolescent African American males and the rites of passage experience. In S. L. Logan, R. Denby, & P. A. Gibson (Eds.), Mental health care in the Black community (pp. 305–319). New York, NY: Haworth Press.
- Alford, K. A., McKenry, P. C., & Gavazzi, S. M. (2001). Enhancing achievement in adolescent Black males: The rites of passage link. In R. Majors (Ed.), Educating our Black children: New directions and radical approaches (pp. 141–156). London: Routledge Falmer.