Catherine Tompkins
Assistant Professor
Director, Undergraduate Social Work Program
Unit: Dept. of Social Work
Mail Stop: 1F8
Office Location: Robinson Hall B 378C
Phone: 703-993-2838
Email: ctompkin@gmu.edu
Dr. Tompkins' background is in curriculum development, administration, and gerontological social work research. She received her BA in Psychology, MSW and Ph.D. in Social Work from the University of Maryland. Her dissertation research utilized a survey methodology to explore the effects of stress, role ambiguity and social support on burnout among home health aides. In both of her roles as the director of the Association for Gerontology in Higher Education (AGHE) and as the program coordinator for the John A. Hartford funded project, Strengthening Aging and Gerontological Education in Social Work (SAGE-SW), she had several opportunities to work with gerontological social work educators and researchers across the country. Publications resulting from this work include: An edited monograph, Fostering Social Work Gerontology Competence, (Tompkins, C.J. & Rosen, A., 2007); Teaching Aging: Syllabi, Resources & Infusion Materials for the Social Work Curriculum, (Kropf, N.P. & Tompkins, C.J., 2002); An Analysis of Social Work Textbooks for Aging Content: How Well do Social Work Foundation Texts Prepare Students for our Aging Society? (Tompkins, C.J., Rosen, A.L., & Larkin, H., 2006); Developing Visibility for Aging in Social Work (Tompkins, C.J. & Rosen, A.L. 2006); Increasing Aging and Advocacy Competency: The Intergenerational Advocacy Pilot Project (Hermoso, J., Rosen, A.L., Overly, L. & Tompkins, C.J. 2006) and Innovations in Gerontological Social Work Education: Transforming Social Work Education, Guest Editorial (Hooyman, N.R. & Tompkins C.J., 2005).
As a result of her administrative work, Dr. Tompkins has also been involved in disseminating evidence relative to the importance of technology within social work education. Publications resulting from this work include: Using Image Manipulation Skills to Teach Community Problem-Solving (Davis, M.E., Tompkins, C.J., Wolf-Branigin, M., 2006); Collaborating, Teaching and Learning in Cyberspace: A Virtual Age Experience (Tompkins, C.J. & Weinreich, D., 2007) and Learning Objects and Gerontology, (Weinreich, D.M., Tompkins, C.J., 2006).
Dr. Tompkins joined the faculty at George Mason University (GMU) in 2003 as the BSW Program Director and has primarily been teaching in the research and human behavior sequences. She is also developing a distance education course on intergenerational caregiving. Dr. Tompkins has been pursuing two research tracks since arriving at GMU: 1) The need for supportive services for Alzheimer’s patients and their caregivers and 2) an exploration of the potential caregiving relationship that exists between grandparents and grandchildren residing within grandparent-headed households. In 2006, Dr. Tompkins was a co-investigator on a $30,000 research award from the Virginia Center on Aging to study: Ethics of Respect for Spirituality in Persons Living with Alzheimer’s Disease. Dr. Tompkins was also the 2007 award recipient of GMU’s College of Health and Human Services, Habit of Excellence Award and the 2006 award recipient of the Mit Joyner Gerontological Leadership award.
Dr. Tompkins will conduct a classical Glaserian Grounded Theory study developing theoretical models to explain the caregiving relationship between grandparents and grandchildren residing within grandparent-headed households for her Hartford Faculty Scholars Program research project.
Research interests: gerontological social work practice and education, alzheimer's disease, grandparent-headed households, intergenerational practice, technology and education.
Recent Publications:
Tompkins, C.J. & Weinreich, D. (in press). Collaborating, teaching and learning in cyberspace: A virtual age experience. Journal of Gerontological Social Work.
Tompkins, C.J. (2006). Are we really teaching our students an aging perspective when we use the term intergenerational? Are we encouraging the stigmas associated with aging if we use a ?backdoor approach? in recruiting students to become interested in working with older adults? Journal of Intergenerational Relationships, 4, 109-112.
Newman, S. & Tompkins, C.J. (2006). A case study reflecting healthy aging in the U.S. Indian Journal of Gerontology, 20, 99-110.
Weinreich, D.M., Tompkins, C.J. (2006). Learning objects and gerontology. Educational Gerontology, 32, 785-801.
Tompkins, C.J., Rosen, A.L., & Larkin, H. (2006). Invited Essay: An analysis of social work textbooks for aging content: How well do social work foundation texts prepare students for our aging society? Journal of Social Work Education, 42, 371-391.
Tompkins, C.J. & Rosen, A.L. (2006). Developing visibility for aging in social work: The first NGSWC. Journal of Gerontological Social Work, 48, 1-8.
Hermoso, J., Rosen, A.L., Overly, L. & Tompkins, C.J. (2006). Increasing aging and advocacy competency: The intergenerational advocacy pilot project. Journal of Gerontological Social Work, 48, 179-192.
Ericson, C.B. & Tompkins, C.J. (2006). Infusing Aging Content into a research course: A National Organization and University Partnership. Educational Gerontology, 32, 225-240.
Hooyman, N.R. & Tompkins, C.J. (2005). Special Section: Innovations in gerontological social work education: Transforming social work education, Guest Editorial. Journal of Social Work Education, 41, 371-377.
Educational Background
- Ph.D. - University of Maryland
- M.S.W., University of Maryland