College of Business, Health, and Human Services
Assistant Professor of Social Work
Dr. Tracey McElwee is an assistant professor of social work in the College of Business, Health, and Human Services. Among her research interests is a focus on equitable access to food.
Dr. McElwee has published 20 peer-reviewed articles and four book reviews, has four manuscripts under review, and has more than 30 referenced conference presentations. As part of helping students develop their own application of evidence-based research, she has helped 10 students with seven peer-reviewed publications, 11 students with five peer-reviewed conference presentations, four students with five awards, and has helped with three research projects involving hundreds of students. Her many recognitions include the 2016-2017 Ronald E. McNair Faculty Mentor of the Year Award and the University of Mississippi’s School of Applied Sciences Thomas A. Crowe Outstanding Faculty Alumnus Award in 2018-2019.
In 2016, she partnered with the No Kid Hungry Campaign and the Arkansas Hunger Relief Alliance to oversee internal program evaluation of the Share Our Strength Cooking Matters program. This program focused on those receiving SNAP benefits. Since 2019, she has served as an analytic consultant for Dr. Taren Swindle’s Centers for Biomedical Research Excellence grant and is also the research consultant on Dr. Swindle’s seven-year R01/R37 Merit Award from the National Institutes of Health. From 2018-2021, she collaborated with Dr. Kevin Fitzpatrick to serve as the lead program developer and evaluator for a $4 million-dollar National Science Foundation (NSF) Smart and Connected Communities grant application. She is also the principal investigator of the Voter Education and Empowerment project, which is one of 12 funded from the New York Community Trust through the CSWE’s Policy Practice in Field Initiative grant.
Dr. McElwee received her Ph.D. in social work from the University of Texas at Arlington, a M.S.W. from the University of Alabama, and a B.S.W. from the University of Mississippi.