Ananda Newmark
Email: anewmark@vcu.edu
Phone: (804) 828-0456
Pronouns: He/him
Ananda Newmark, Ph.D., attended the University of Arkansas-Fayetteville and earned a Bachelor of Arts in Social Work and German in 1998. Following two years of professional practice, he returned to graduate school at Virginia Commonwealth University, where he graduated with his Master of Social Work degree in 2002 from the Advanced Standing Program. Upon receiving his M.S.W., Newmark returned to professional practice before entering higher education at VCU in 2005 with the School of Social Work.
Newmark served as a retention and recruitment coordinator and academic advisor to B.S.W. students until assuming VCU’s Baccalaureate Social Work Program director interim position in 2011 and being appointed director in 2012. He served as director through July 2022.
Newmark entered the Ph.D. social work program at VCU in 2010 and completed his Ph.D. degree in 2016 with his dissertation titled, \"Student Engagement in Undergraduate Social Work Education among ‘At-Risk’ Students.\" Newmark’s research fills a gap in the literature, offering a foundation from which to understand how B.S.W. students engage in their college experiences. His focus on student engagement stems from over a decade of work ensuring student success with B.S.W. students, in particular, those who are at-risk, first-generation college students and transfer students.
Additionally, his scholarly interests include the intersectionality of technology and social work education. Newmark teaches in the B.S.W. Program and engages in scholarly activities as an associate professor in teaching at VCU.
Areas of expertise
- Technology in Social Work Education
- Student Success
- Programmatic Assessment
Education and credentials
Ph.D., Virginia Commonwealth University
M.S.W., Virginia Commonwealth University
B.A., University of Arkansas
Work
Selected publications
Ward, C.J., Secret, M., & Newmark, A. (2019). Teaching practices drive online learning environments: Using pedagogy and technological tools to convert a face to face course to online format. Journal of Teaching in Social Work.
Book chapter contributions
Schriver, J. M. (2020) (7th ed). Human behavior and the social environment: Shifting paradigms in essential knowledge for social work practice. Hoboken, NJ; Pearson.
Contributing Technology chapter segments:
- Ch. 1. Social Work in the Digital World: A New Paradigm?
- Ch. 2. Technology and Paradigms
- Ch. 7. Technology and Identify Development
- Ch. 8. Technology and Families
- Ch. 9. Technology and Groups in Social Work
- Ch. 10. Technology and Organizations
- Ch. 11. Virtual Community
- Ch. 12. Technology and International Social Work
Professional highlights
Conference presentations
- Newmark, A., & Walker, S. (2020). Harnessing Technology to Embrace Backchannel Conversations in the Classroom. Interactive workshop: A focus on tools faculty can use in their classrooms to encourage and capture backchannel conversations as an approach to uplift all student voices. Council on Social Work Education 68th Annual Program Meeting. Denver, Colorado (Accepted).
- Newmark, A., & Walker, S. (2019). Harnessing technology to embrace backchannel conversation in the classroom: Tech Exploration. Virginia Commonwealth University, Center for Teaching and Learning Excellence. 2019 CTLE Symposium, Richmond, Virginia, April 2019.
- Secret, M., Ward, C. J., & Newmark, A. (2018). Course conversion: A workshop to guide face-to-face to online course development. Social Work Distance Education Conference. San Antonio, Texas, April 2018.
- Newmark, A., Ward, C. J., & Secret, M. (2016). Online learning environments and teaching priorities: A Delphi method conversion matrix grounding. Poster presented at the Council on Social Work Education 62nd Annual Program Meeting, Atlanta, GA, November 2016.
- Secret, M., Ward, C. J., & Newmark, A. (2015). From face-to-face to hybrid to online to MOOC: Choosing appropriate learning tools. An interactive workshop presented at the Council on Social Work Education 61st Annual Program Meeting, Denver, CO.
- Secret, M., Ward, C., & Newmark, A. (2015). An MSW course journey from face to face, to hybrid, to online to open access. Social Work Distance Education Conference. Indianapolis, IN.
- Secret, M., Ward, C, & Newmark, A. (2015) . An MSW course journey from face to face, to hybrid, to online to open access. Brown Bag Faculty Presentation, VCU School of Social Work, Richmond, VA.
- Newmark, A., Lee, J., & Young, J. (2013). Follow, Comment, Like: Developing new skills using social media in the classroom. Association of Baccalaureate Social Work Program Directors (BPD), Annual Meeting, Myrtle Beach, SC.
- Newmark, A. (2010). Technological Tools for Successful B.S.W. Advising, Paper Presentation at Association of Baccalaureate Social Work Program Directors (BPD), 2010 Annual Meeting, Atlanta, GA.
Accomplishments
- 2016: Ph.D. Elaine Rothenberg Social Work Award for outstanding student in the Ph.D. program that exemplifies academic excellence, service to the university, community and profession
- 2016: Advising Advocate Award Recipient, Certificate of Merit, National Academic Advising Association (NACADA)
Teaching areas and interests
- Introductory Social Work
- Human Behavior in the Social Environment
- Social Work Practice
- Capstone Teaching
- Field Liaising
Affiliations and service
- Council on Social Work Education (CSWE): Member and active Accreditation Site Visitor