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Biography

K Scherrer is a Professor in the Department of Social Work. Currently, they serve as Associate Chair for the Department of Social Work and as a Faculty Fellow for the Office of Diversity and Inclusion. Dr. Scherrer’s scholarship focuses on how issues of sexuality, sexual orientation, and gender identity shape people’s life course experiences of social inequality, particularly within family systems. Drawing on an interdisciplinary framework (sociological and social work), Dr. Scherrer’s research reflects their commitment to understanding how social inequalities are constituted at micro-, mezzo-, and macro- levels of society. Dr. Scherrer’s primary focus has been to better understand social inequalities, how they persist, and ultimately, how they can be dismantled, as well as to prepare students to address social inequalities in social work practice. Recent research has been funded by the National Science Foundation, and examines how care and conflict emerge in intergenerational family relationships, particularly amidst social and political difference.
As a full-time faculty member, they have taught numerous undergraduate social work courses including, Introduction to Social Work, Social Work Experience: Practice and Communication, Social Work Practice with LGBTQ+ People, Privilege, Oppression and Power, Gender and Social Work, Human Behavior and the Social Environment, Generalist Practice, and Creative Approaches to Change. Dr. Scherrer has also taught MSW courses, including Social Work Practice with Individuals, Families and Groups, Clinical Social Work: Aging, LGBT Issues, Women’s Issues, International Social Work, Exploring Diversity, Capstone I & II, and Social Work Practice with LGBTQ+ People, as well as teaching and supporting PhD and DSW students. Dr. Scherrer’s professional social work practice experience has focused on working with families experiencing crises, such as supporting a family member when they disclose an LGBTQ+ identity or older couples coping with illness and loss.
Dr. Scherrer received a BA in Sociology and Psychology the University of Colorado at Boulder. They conducted their graduate work at the University of Michigan where they received an MSW, a MA in Sociology and a PhD in Social Work and Sociology, as well as a certificate in teaching. Dr. Scherrer is a licensed social worker in the state of Colorado.