R. Paul Maiden has been named the USC School of Social Work's new vice dean of faculty and student affairs. He brings 27 years of expertise in the field of workplace human services, most recently with the University of Central Florida's School of Social Work.

"Paul comes to us with significant experience in graduate social work education, distance learning, international programming and continuing education," Dean Marilyn Flynn said. "He's a dynamic individual with great talent and leadership, and has shown he has many ideas to share with faculty."

In his new role, Maiden will serve as the chief operating officer of the School of Social Work, assuming a leadership and development role in a range of new domestic and international program endeavors currently in the planning stage. He will also oversee the development of the school's distance learning and web-based instruction initiatives.

"I am honored to have been selected by Dean Flynn and my new faculty colleagues to serve in this capacity. USC is truly a world-class university, with a highly ranked school of social work and an accomplished, productive and collegial group of faculty members," he said.

Maiden, who is editor of the Journal of Workplace Behavioral Health, the only peer-reviewed journal in this field, has published extensively in the areas of employee assistance programs, substance abuse and workplace legislation, as well as the evaluation of work-based human services, AIDS in the workplace, alcohol abuse and domestic violence, and managed behavioral health care.

In addition, he has authored numerous articles and book chapters on employee assistance, workplace behavioral health and occupational social work. Maiden is editor and contributing author of The Older Worker and the Changing Labor Market: New Challenges for the Workplace, Employee Assistance Programs in Higher Education, Workplace Disaster Preparedness & Disaster Management, The Integration of Employee Assistance, Work/Life and Wellness, Global Perspectives of Occupational Social Work, Employee Assistance Services in the New South Africa and Employee Assistance Programs in South Africa.

His research interests led him to found the Workplace Research Collaborative, a global network of social work academicians and scholar-practitioners engaged in workplace research. In his previous capacity, Maiden had been granted more than $3 million in research funding and was invited into the University of Central Florida's Office of Sponsored Research's Million Dollar Club, an honorary distinction given to researchers who receive more than $1 million in funding in a single fiscal year.

Maiden also has extensive international experience and has twice received Senior Fulbright Scholar awards to Russia and South Africa with a focus on workplace substance abuse and workplace violence. He has taught at universities in Russia and South Africa and directed study abroad programs to South Africa, Zimbabwe, Swaziland and Russia.

He received a master's degree in social work from the University of Tennessee and his doctorate in social work from the University of Maryland.