Visiting Faculty

Helen Harris Perlman Visiting Professor for 2012-13: Leila Patel, Ph.D.

Leila Patel is the Director of the Centre for Social Development in Africa and Professor of Social Development Studies at the University of Johannesburg. She was previously the Director General of Social Welfare in South Africa and Deputy Vice Chancellor and Vice-Principal of the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. She played a leading role in the development of South Africa’s welfare policy after apartheid. Her research interests are social work, social welfare, social security, social development and gender and development. She has published widely in the field of social welfare transformation and published a book titled Social Welfare and Social Development in South Africa (Oxford University Press, 2005).

About the Helen Harris Perlman Visiting Professorship

Each academic year, a reknowned scholar is invited to the University of Chicago School of Social Service Administration as a Helen Harris Perlman Visiting Professor of International Social Welfare. 
Visiting professors conduct research on social welfare policy, administration, and/or direct practice in countries other than the United States, and often conduct cross-national comparative research. They have experience and connections to a community of international researchers and practitioners. Substantive areas of inquiry include comparative social welfare policy; health, mental health, and health policy; community and social development; poverty and inequality; NGOs and civil society; and children, youth, and family well-being. During their term in residence, each visiting professor contributes to enriching the intellectual life and international content of our program in several ways, including teaching a master's level course, presenting and participating in seminars and symposia at the School and the University, being available to consult with SSA students, and engaging with faculty around research topics of common interest.