UM social work icon, Dr. Susan Vaughn, dies at 74

By DONALD MOTTERN | Staff Writer

MONTEVALLO – Dr. Susan Vaughn, a retired educator and iconic figure in the University of Montevallo’s Social Work Program, died on Tuesday, Aug. 13. She was 74.

Born on Oct. 14, 1949, in Geneva, Alabama, Vaughn earned her degree in sociology with a concentration in social work from the University of Montevallo in 1972. She went on to earn a master of social work and worked with the Alabama Department of Pensions and Securities, now known as the Alabama Department of Human Resources, before returning to UM as an instructor in 1976.

In 1983, she completed her Ph.D. at Case Western Reserve University.

“For over 30 years Dr. Vaughn dedicated herself to higher education,” read an announcement from the University of Montevallo’s Social Work Program. “She taught every course in the social work curriculum, served as practicum director, directed the social work program for 19 years and chaired the Department of Behavioral and Social Sciences for 14 years.”

Over the course of her career at the University of Montevallo, Vaughn served as a source of inspiration and encouragement for new recruits in the school’s social work program.

“Dr. Vaughn was a firm but infinitely fair professor who could be counted on to go the extra mile for students, truly as many miles as necessary,” the announcement read. “Dr. Vaughn’s legacy is simply remarkable, as she touched so many lives.”

Described as an incredibly important figure in the development of the school’s social work program, the announcement of Vaughn’s death was met with an outpouring of support on a number of the University’s social media accounts and in the local community as a whole.

“I am heartbroken to hear of Dr. Vaughn’s passing,” said Thresea Ladd Epps, a former student of Vaughn’s. “As others have so beautifully stated, she was simply the best. She certainly did care about her students. I entered Montevallo in 1980—a first generation college student with one goal—to become a social worker. She talked me into staying in Social Work when I wanted to quit and helped me see a path to my future. She was truly heaven sent. I could never say enough to express my deepest, heartfelt gratitude for her investment in me.”

Vaughn received the first University of Montevallo Faculty Service Award in 2008 and also received the Alabama/Mississippi Social Work Educator of the Year Award in that same year.

Despite her retirement in 2009, she continued to serve as a professor emerita of social work at UM and was further honored by receiving the inaugural Alumni Award from the university’s Department of Behavioral and Social Sciences. She was inducted into the Alabama Social Work Hall of Fame in 2012 and most recently received the Mary Lou Elder Williams Alumni Award on Oct. 12, 2023.

Vaughn’s family have requested that memorial donations be made to either the Dr. Susan Vaughn Scholarship Foundation at University of Montevallo Station 6215 Montevallo, AL 35115 or to St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church at 925 Plowman Street Montevallo, AL 35115 in lieu of flowers.

Visitation for Vaughn will be held on Tuesday, Aug. 27 from 5-7 p.m. at St. Andrews Episcopal Church located at 925 Plowman St in Montevallo. A second visitation will be held Wednesday, Aug. 28 from 9-10 a.m. at St. Andrews with a memorial service set to immediately follow.

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