The USC School of Social Work has named Lawrence A. Palinkas and Ron Avi Astor to two endowed professorships. Both were honored at an installation dinner on Nov. 6 at the USC Davidson Conference Center.

Marilyn Flynn, dean of the School of Social Work, congratulated Palinkas and Astor and noted their significant career accomplishments and the importance of the endowments.

"Endowed professors are heralded," Flynn said. "Their ideas hold a special weight and are deeply respected."

Palinkas, a professor of social work, anthropology and preventative medicine, was awarded the inaugural – and newly endowed – Albert G. and Frances Lomas Feldman Professorship in Social Policy and Health.

Frances Lomas Feldman was a pioneer in the field of social work and a USC faculty member for 36 years before she died Sept. 30 at the age of 95. Her late husband, Albert Feldman, was the deputy director of the USC Andrus Gerontology Center, with joint appointments in social work and public administration. Both were avid community advocates with an emphasis on health and mental health.

Palinkas, whose work focuses on social policy and the elimination of health disparities, said the three years he has been at USC has been the best of his career and that the professorship has great meaning.

"It means a continuation of the thrill of learning, the thrill of interacting and the thrill of teaching," he said.

A medical anthropologist, Palinkas' primary areas of expertise lie within preventive medicine, cross-cultural medicine and health services research. He is particularly interested in health disparities, implementation science, community-based participatory research, and the socio cultural and environmental determinants of health and health-related behavior with a focus on disease prevention and health promotion.

Palinkas said he hopes to continue the Feldmans' legacy.

"Like Frances, my work focuses on the well-being of vulnerable populations," he said. "Like Albert, I have worked to improve the delivery of mental health services."

Astor, whose research centers around understanding and reducing school violence across the globe, was installed as the Richard M. and Ann L. Thor Professor in Urban Social Development.

Active in their community and loyal supporters of the school, the Thors established the professorship to create a lasting legacy of their friendship and allegiance to the School of Social Work. Richard Thor also has a special connection to the school, having graduated in 1958 and served as its assistant dean.

"You're honoring me and Larry … but it is really honoring the work that we do in the lives of the people we're helping and the suffering we're reducing," Astor said.

Astor, who has a dual appointment in the USC Rossier School of Education, examines the role of the physical, social-organizational and cultural contexts in schools related to different kinds of school violence. In the last 14 years, his findings have been published in over 100 scholarly journals and he has made real-world impact.

A school mapping and local monitoring system that can be used with students and teachers to generate grassroots solutions to safety problems was developed by Astor and his close colleague Rami Benbenishty, a professor of social work at Bar Ilan University in Israel. Their national monitoring studies have documented a 25 percent national reduction of school violence in Israel since 1999 when the studies first began. The mapping procedure and monitoring system have received several international awards and are used in schools across the globe.

Martin Levine, vice provost for faculty affairs, attended the ceremony to represent USC and congratulate the recipients.

"As one of the great research universities, we have a special responsibility not just to teach but to create the knowledge that all universities teach," Levine said.

Endowed professors are "the best of the best" and help the university carry out that responsibility, he added.