Skip To Top NavigationSkip To ContentSkip To Footer
Dr. Stephanie Payne
Stephanie Payne

Human ServicesAssistant Professor of Social Work/ Program Coordinator of CWBSTAPTurner Hall B-Wing 308803-536-8802

Stephanie Payne

Dr. Stephanie Payne is an assistant professor in the Social Work Program and the coordinator of the Child Welfare BSW Scholars Tuition Assistance Program at South Carolina State University.

Education

  • Doctor of Social Work (DSW)- Tulane University
  • Master of Social Work (MSW)-University of South Carolina
  • Bachelor of Arts in Psychology- North Carolina A&T State University

Background

Payne is a Licensed Master Social Worker, child welfare and DEI subject matter expert, and social work assistant professor at SC State University. She has an extraordinary record of serving children and families, training and developing child welfare professionals, educating future social workers, and walking alongside organizations as a social work consultant, assisting them in building capacity.

Payne co-authored the reflective manuscript, "Are you going to get in line? Black Administrators Navigating White Cultural Norms," based on her extensive research on white cultural norms and cultural taxation and its impact on women of color in leadership positions in higher education and other organizations/systems.

In addition to teaching at SC State, Payne is an adjunct professor at Winthrop University and has taught at Capella University in their online Master of Social Work program and served as the Child Welfare Training and Development director and program manager at the Center for Child and Family Studies at the University of South Carolina charged with facilitating and developing curricula for traditional instructor-led, virtual instructor-led, and web-based training for child protective services, foster care, and adoption staff and management at South Carolina Department of Social Services and other organizations that serve children and families.

Payne was named Citizen of the Year by Chi Iota Iota Chapter of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity Inc. in 2023, andshe  is a member of the South Carolina Black Pages Top 20 Under 40 2020 class.

Research interests

Her research interests include identifying and responding to child maltreatment, foster care and adoption, DEI, fatherhood, compassion fatigue and secondary trauma in social workers.

Courses

SW 302: Human Behavior and the Social Environment II, SW 304: Social Welfare Policy and Services, SW 305: Orientation to Professional Development, SW 404: Social Work Practice III, SW 418: Child Welfare Services; SW 420: Special Topics.