Rate My Professor Stephanie Saulnier

Stephanie Saulnier serves as Chair of the College of Letters, Arts & Social Sciences and Associate Professor in the Department of Social Work at Eastern Kentucky University. She earned her Master of Social Work from the University of Kentucky and a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism from Auburn University. Her research and academic interests focus on foster care, student success, student loan debt, and student basic needs. Saulnier draws on her experience as a foster parent to enhance her teaching in social welfare policy and empathy development among students.

In her scholarly work, Saulnier has co-authored publications such as "Grit, Social Support, and Academic Success of Youth Formerly in Foster Care" (2024, with E. Stevenson) in the Journal of Social Work and Welfare Policy, "Building a restorative justice diversion program for youth in rural areas" (2023, with E. Stevenson) in the International Journal on Social and Education Sciences, "Using collaborative field education to provide better outcomes for students at risk of leaving higher education" (2023, with N. Walker) in the Journal of Social Work Education, and "The student loan debt crisis: a narrative review" (2023, with A. Viverette) in the Journal of Human Rights and Social Work. She also authored "Teaching From the Heart" (2025) in Reflections: Narratives of Professional Helping. As department chair, her team received the Catalyst Award for Community Engagement for improving online learning experiences. She secured CCIC funding for "Hope is Not a Strategy: Stay-In Support for Stop-Out Students" (2021/2022) and "One Eastern/One Recovery: Establishing Peer Support and Advancing a Recovery Ready Workforce" (2024/2025). Saulnier belongs to the National Association of Social Workers, Interprofessional Education Collaboration, Association of Baccalaureate Social Work Program Directors, and Council on Social Work Education, and acts as Secretary for the Kentucky Association of Baccalaureate Social Work Educators. She is currently developing open educational resources for social work education.