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About Diane
Diane Mitschke, PhD, MSW, is a Professor and Associate Dean for Academic and Student Affairs in the School of Social Work at the University of Texas at Arlington, where she joined the faculty in 2006. She advanced to Associate Professor in Fall 2012 and to Full Professor in Fall 2024. In recognition of her teaching excellence, Mitschke was inducted into the Academy of Distinguished Teachers in 2021. Her career emphasizes community-engaged scholarship and service, particularly supporting refugee and immigrant populations through research and direct practice. Mitschke maintains an active research agenda centered on the health and mental health of vulnerable populations, with specific emphasis on refugee and immigrant health and wellness. Her current studies investigate housing choice, transportation equity, and access to essential resources such as healthcare, quality schools, employment, and social support in these communities. By prioritizing community-led research, she ensures that findings directly inform city planning efforts to enhance well-being and integration for new Americans, including those resettled from regions like Burma who have endured prolonged displacement and trauma.
Since 2006, Mitschke has volunteered weekly at The Agape Clinic, a free health facility in east Dallas serving uninsured and underserved individuals, predominantly immigrants and refugees. Observing the needs of Burmese refugees, particularly the Karen ethnic group fleeing persecution and genocide after years in Thai camps, she collaborated with volunteers from UTA and UT Southwestern to launch a dedicated weekly refugee clinic. This initiative provides primary healthcare, mental health services, transportation to appointments, medical interpretation, case management for complex issues, and connections to resources like tax preparation, WIC, SNAP, and citizenship assistance. Mitschke highlights the remarkable resilience, tenacity, and skills—such as woodworking, gardening, and weaving—demonstrated by these individuals despite immense challenges like language barriers and cultural adjustment. She integrates hands-on community experiences into social work education, requiring students to complete at least 480 internship hours focused on social justice and empowerment. Her work underscores the importance of diverse cultural recognition in fostering societal transformation and thriving communities.
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