Jones Wins Social Work Education Award
April Lavette Jones received the 2026 Distinguished Recent Contributions to Social Work Education Award from the Council on Social Work Education.
Updated on Nov. 7, 2026 in Distance Learning
April Lavette Jones, director of strategic innovation and distance social work education at Alabama A&M University, received the 2026 Distinguished Recent Contributions to Social Work Education Award from the Council on Social Work Education. Jones arrived on the Alabama A&M campus in fall 2026.
Why it matters
The award recognizes Jones's work shaping undergraduate, master's, and doctoral social work programs at Alabama A&M through distance education, faculty development, and workforce partnerships. It highlights the role of distance learning in expanding access to social work training in Alabama.
Jones holds a master of social work degree from the University of Alabama and a doctorate in psychology with a specialization in organizational psychology from Walden University. She previously served as department chair of social work and tenured associate professor at Tuskegee University.
The players
April Lavette Jones
Director of strategic innovation and distance social work education at Alabama A&M University, with more than two decades of experience in social work and academic leadership.
Council on Social Work Education
The national accrediting and professional organization for social work education in the United States, which presents the Distinguished Recent Contributions award.
Alabama A&M University
A historically Black public land-grant university in Huntsville, Alabama, where Jones now shapes its social work programs.
The details
Jones is helping shape Alabama A&M's undergraduate, master's, and doctoral social work programs through strategic innovation, responsible artificial intelligence integration, distance education, faculty development, and workforce partnerships. Before joining Alabama A&M, she chaired the School of Education and Social Sciences at Talladega College and has worked for Bellevue University.
Timeline
Fall 2026: Jones arrives on the Alabama A&M campus.
2026: Jones receives the Distinguished Recent Contributions to Social Work Education Award.
Spring 2027: Jones begins teaching courses in group work and psychopathology.
Season Trajectory
Distance social work education has grown as programs seek to reach students beyond traditional campuses. Recognition from the Council on Social Work Education signals the field's attention to distance-based training models.
Prospective social work students in Alabama can look to Alabama A&M's distance-based undergraduate, master's, and doctoral programs as an option. Jones's spring 2027 courses in group work and psychopathology offer a concrete entry point for current students.
The takeaway
Distance social work education depends on faculty who can combine technology with clinical training. Prospective students should compare program accreditation and course formats before enrolling.
Further reading
Explore more on Distance Learning to see how online social work education is expanding across Alabama.
Source note: This article includes information reported by The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education.
