Rebecca J. Macy

Rebecca J. Macy, MSW, Ph.D., is a professor, the Associate Dean for Research and Faculty Development, and the L. Richardson Preyer Distinguished Chair for Strengthening Families at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Social Work. She received her doctoral degree in social welfare from the University of Washington in Seattle. Her program of research comprises 17 years’ experience conducting community-based studies that focus on violence prevention, specifically intimate partner violence, sexual violence, human trafficking, and improving services for survivors of violence and trafficking.

Dedicated to finding the most effective and feasible strategies, she regularly conducts investigations in community settings, working in collaboration with survivors, service providers, and policy makers. Her research has been supported with funding from federal and state agencies, foundations, and private donors. Her research expertise also enriches her teaching in the MSW and PhD programs, particularly her courses in intervention research, quantitative methods, social work practice, as well as trauma and violence.

Macy has published 80 peer-reviewed articles, book chapters, and invited commentaries, and has given more than 130 peer-reviewed and invited presentations at national and international venues. The rigor of her research and its benefit to practice has been recognized with awards from the North Carolina Division of Public Health, the Office of the UNC-CH Provost, and the Orange County Rape Crisis Center. In addition, Macy is a Fellow of the American Academy of Social Work and Social Welfare. She has been the editor-in-chief of the Journal of Family Violence since 2017. In 2019, she was appointed Guest Professor at Jinan University in Guangdong, China.