Schnavia Smith Hatcher, the embattled dean of the University of Alabama School of Social Work, is stepping down.
Hatcher has faced criticism for repeated failures, including low enrollment, continuing Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) training programs despite laws prohibiting them and awarding a scholarship and teaching contract to Rahim Thawer, a Canadian doctoral student who praised a terrorist while condemning Charlie Kirk. That student is studying "anti-racist, queer-affirming psychoanalytic frameworks."
The school currently has 647 students, 329 of whom are undergraduates. Yet the program has 108 faculty and staff members.
The school's 2022-2027 Strategic Plan includes four goals. One goal was "Culture and Diversity." Under that goal, DEI was a part of the first objective.
In March 2025, a year after the state's divisive concepts bill went into effect, the school hosted a national training through its doctor of social work program, featuring numerous identity-based sessions that promoted diversity, equity and inclusion or antiracism.
Hatcher, a native of Selma, was hired by UA in December 2020, following nationwide protests over George Floyd's death. According to a press release at the time of her hiring, her previous experience includes work at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte as the first director of the School of Social Work, director of the Race and Social Equity Academy, a social work professor and a member of both the honors and graduate faculties.
In a statement released earlier this month, the school said that Hatcher will remain at the university as "a full professor, continuing her research, teaching, and service."
A review of Hatcher's "research" includes numerous papers centered on the victimhood of blacks, including one critical of law enforcement.
The abstract for that paper says,
“Recent deaths by police of unarmed minority youth have raised important questions about the nature and outcomes of involuntary minority youth-police encounters. Youth are the most surveilled group of Americans and minority youth frequently live in neighborhoods disproportionately targeted for proactive policing (i.e., using broad police discretion to “target” those most likely to be engaged in criminal activity before criminal acts become apparent). Understanding the experiences of minority youth who encounter police officers is of critical concern for social workers in many practice and research areas. Social workers must examine how a minority person’s perceptions are formed through repeated, frequent, involuntary encounters with the police. The purpose of this qualitative interpretive meta-synthesis was to capture these experiences through the voices of minority youth in recounting their contacts with the police. Four themes were identified: dangerous, controlling, prejudiced, and ineffective. Further reduction of these themes resulted in an overarching theme that captures the essences of these youth’s experiences: dehumanization.”
Still, the university was generous in its support of her.
"Under Dean Hatcher's leadership, the School of Social Work has strengthened its academic programs, expanded its research enterprise, and deepened its partnerships across the state," said Interim Provost Lesley Reid in its statement. "We are grateful for her dedicated service and look forward to her continued contributions as a member of our faculty."
"Serving as dean of the flagship school of social work in my home state has been an extraordinary privilege," Hatcher said. "I am proud to leave the school stronger, more innovative, and well-positioned to advance its mission of addressing adverse social conditions and promoting societal well-being long into the future."
The UA School of Social Work, established in 1965, is the only program of its kind in Alabama. Lawmakers are working to change the state law that requires the school to be a standalone program, a move bill sponsor says is not political but will allow greater university oversight. That bill passed the House and its Senate committee and is awaiting Senate floor action.
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