Image of Dr. Enola Proctor
Award: Significant Lifetime Achievement in Social Work Education Award
Shanti K. Khinduka Distinguished Professor Emeritus, Washington University in St. Louis
The Significant Lifetime Achievement in Social Work Education Award is presented to Enola Proctor, PhD. Dr. Proctor is the Shanti K. Khinduka Distinguished Professor Emeritus at Washington University in St. Louis. Her research is motivated by the question, “How do we ensure that people receive the very best possible care?” She has studied this question in a variety of social work, public health, and health-care settings, ranging from hospitals to community agencies. Her research and teaching have advanced the field of mental health services research, particularly from a social work perspective. The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) has supported her research and training grants for 28 consecutive years. Her team was awarded the first NIMH-funded Social Work Research Development Center, and she was founding director of the longest-running mental health services research doctoral and postdoctoral training program in social work.
Dr. Proctor has contributed to the intellectual capital for the rapidly growing field of dissemination and implementation science, leading teams to distinguish, clearly define, develop taxonomies, and stimulate more systematic work to advance the conceptual, linguistic, and methodological clarity in the field. Dr. Proctor has advised the National Institutes of Health and the World Health Organization on several implementation science projects in low- and middle-income countries, including current work on COVID vaccine implementation. She directs the Implementation Research Institute, a training program in implementation science funded by NIMH. Her former students and mentees now lead countless research projects, training programs, and center grants in the area of mental health services. She was the first social worker appointed to serve on the NIMH National Advisory Council.
Proctor is a fellow of the Society for Social Work and Research and was a member of the inaugural class of fellows in the American Academy of Social Work and Social Welfare. Her awards include Washington University’s Arthur Compton Holly Distinguished Faculty Award, the Society for Social Work and Research’s Distinguished Research Award, the National Association of Social Workers’ President's Award for Excellence in Social Work Research, and the American Public Health Association Stephen M. Banks Award for Outstanding Mentoring in Mental Health Services.
Dr. Proctor has contributed to the intellectual capital for the rapidly growing field of dissemination and implementation science, leading teams to distinguish, clearly define, develop taxonomies, and stimulate more systematic work to advance the conceptual, linguistic, and methodological clarity in the field. Dr. Proctor has advised the National Institutes of Health and the World Health Organization on several implementation science projects in low- and middle-income countries, including current work on COVID vaccine implementation. She directs the Implementation Research Institute, a training program in implementation science funded by NIMH. Her former students and mentees now lead countless research projects, training programs, and center grants in the area of mental health services. She was the first social worker appointed to serve on the NIMH National Advisory Council.
Proctor is a fellow of the Society for Social Work and Research and was a member of the inaugural class of fellows in the American Academy of Social Work and Social Welfare. Her awards include Washington University’s Arthur Compton Holly Distinguished Faculty Award, the Society for Social Work and Research’s Distinguished Research Award, the National Association of Social Workers’ President's Award for Excellence in Social Work Research, and the American Public Health Association Stephen M. Banks Award for Outstanding Mentoring in Mental Health Services.