Stephen M. Young, PhD, LCSW, is delighted to return to his home community to serve as an Associate Professor in the Department of Social Work. After graduating with his diploma from Anderson High School, he earned his BSW and MSW from Indiana University and his PhD from the University of Georgia. Dr. Young is also a certified online instructor from the Institute on Pedagogy and Technology for online courses through Columbia University’s School of Social Work.
Dr. Young has worked extensively with children and families throughout his career, starting as a School Social Worker in Brownsburg, Indiana, and as a Qualified Social Worker in London, England. In addition, he served as the Director of Clarkston Global Academy and the Director of Research where he worked with immigrant and refugee families for the Center for Pan Asian Community Services located in Atlanta, Georgia.
Prior to joining Ball State’s faculty, Dr. Young directed the social work program at the University of South Alabama in Mobile. While he was there, he taught across the undergraduate social work curriculum and in the HRSA-funded, multidisciplinary Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner Opioid Workforce Expansion Program for the Gulf Coast Region. One of his most enjoyable projects was developing a study abroad tour of Mental Health and Social Welfare Services in the United Kingdom, where students traveled to London, York, and Edinburgh to learn from practicing social workers and mental health professionals.
Dr. Young’s research interests focus on increasing access to health services for minoritized and underserved populations. Dr. Young’s professional service includes evaluating Mobile County’s child welfare services as a Quality Assurance Reviewer and creating/facilitating Prism Families, a monthly psychoeducational support group for families with LGBTQ+ children, under Prism United in Mobile, Alabama. Recently, he employed an LGBTQ+ Assessment of Southwest Alabama, one of the first studies explicitly assessing the physical and mental health needs of the queer community in the region.
In his free time, Dr. Young is an avid hiker, traveler, and film lover, and during the pandemic, he enjoyed spending more time at home with his partner and golden doodle. While growing up in Anderson, he was a church pianist in Middletown, and he still enjoys playing the piano and singing along to The Chicks and whatever sheet music he can get his hands on. Upon relocating back to Indiana, he is looking forward to making more memories with his extended family and lifelong friends in the area. Lastly, he is excited to learn with/from his new colleagues and the undergraduate and graduate students in the Department of Social Work.
