{"id":80007,"date":"2026-10-20T07:48:24","date_gmt":"2026-10-20T11:48:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/news\/?p=80007"},"modified":"2026-10-20T07:48:25","modified_gmt":"2026-10-20T11:48:25","slug":"sabbatical-spotlight-associate-professor-of-social-work-amy-doolittle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/news\/2026\/10\/sabbatical-spotlight-associate-professor-of-social-work-amy-doolittle\/","title":{"rendered":"Sabbatical Spotlight: Associate Professor of Social Work Amy Doolittle"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Dr.

Dr. Amy Doolittle<\/p><\/div>\n

Sabbatical Spotlight explores the meaningful and innovative work University of Tennessee at Chattanooga faculty members undertake during professional development leave. The series also illustrates how leave can advance scholarly, creative, teaching and professional work.<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Professional development leave is an investment UTC makes in its faculty and, through them, in the students, colleagues and communities they serve. Faculty considering an application should act now. The deadline is Oct. 31.<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

#\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 #\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 #\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 #\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 #<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Before joining the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in 2007, Dr. Amy Doolittle and her husband spent the first 24 years of their marriage in pastoral ministry, serving churches in Georgia, Alaska and Kentucky.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

During that time, Doolittle saw members of their congregations age and sometimes lose their connection to the communities they had once been part of.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Doolittle, an associate professor and director of the Master of Social Work program, spent her fall 2025 professional development leave exploring the role churches can play in supporting people with dementia and their caregivers.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In her research, she was able to combine pastoral ministry and social work, two major parts of her life.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI think it marries those two things for me, my ministry experience and my social work experience,\u201d Doolittle said.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Her interest in the subject became even more intense when her grandmother developed dementia and eventually moved into long-term care, where she was no longer able to attend church regularly.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cShe had been very involved in her church, but she didn\u2019t receive any pastoral visits when she went into long-term care,\u201d Doolittle said. \u201cThat just broke my heart.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

She also began thinking about her mother, who helped care for her grandmother, and whether anyone had asked what support she needed as a caregiver.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThat sort of planted a seed,\u201d she said.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

During her professional development leave, Doolittle had the time to turn that seed into a research project she calls \u201cFateful Presence,\u201d focused on serving people with dementia and their caregivers.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The project did not move as quickly as she expected. Her first survey went to 279 people and received only 12 responses.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Doolittle adjusted her methodology and expanded her outreach. By the time the survey closed, she had gathered about 40 responses and shifted her attention toward the open-ended responses.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Those conversations convinced her to keep going.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI had one retired pastor, he goes, \u2018You have no idea what you\u2019re on to. This is big,\u2019\u201d Doolittle recalled. \u201cHe said, \u2018It may take a while, but this is really important what you\u2019re talking about and what you\u2019re interested in.\u2019\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

One idea Doolittle has discussed at her own church is a dementia-friendly service, designed with the needs of people with dementia and their caregivers in mind.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen a lot of folks are maintained in the home, some family member manages their care,\u201d she said. \u201cAs the disease progresses, they\u2019re pulled out of life a whole lot more.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Doolittle said this is where her background in ministry and social work comes together.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re giving connectivity,\u201d she said. \u201cWe\u2019re helping them stay connected to things that help them stay grounded a bit. And we\u2019re also providing services to the caretaker because if you\u2019re a caretaker of someone with dementia, you need a lot of support.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The dementia project was one of several Doolittle was able to move forward during her sabbatical.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

She completed a manuscript examining student outcomes and the use of ePortfolios to assess competency in social work education, which was published in spring 2026. She also continued research with a colleague and a student examining perceived stress and self-care among people preparing for social work practice. The team is now adding a resilience component before submitting it to another journal.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Doolittle was recently re-elected to the National Association of Social Workers Tennessee Chapter Board of Directors and appointed by Gov. Bill Lee to serve on the Tennessee Board of Social Workers.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

After 19 years at UTC, having a semester dedicated to research gave Doolittle uninterrupted time, something she rarely gets during the academic year.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI could do in two or three hours what it could take me two or three weeks to do if I were trying to fit it in the office,\u201d she said. \u201cI could get on a topic and get into articles, highlighting and reading and calling folks.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The experience gave her the time to get the project started and the space to think about where she wants her work to go next.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI think that sabbatical gave me a season of refreshment where I can come back and say, \u2018OK, I got a little bit of perspective gathering there,\u2019\u201d she said. \u201cIt helped me see what my focus is.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Dr.<\/p>\n

Learn more<\/h4>\n

UTC Social Work<\/a><\/p>\n

Visit UTC<\/a><\/p>\n

How to apply<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dr. Amy Doolittle, an associate professor and director of the Master of Social Work program, spent her fall 2025 professional development leave exploring the role churches can play in supporting people with dementia and their caregivers.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Continue Reading <\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2000,"featured_media":80102,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[64,70,15,56,3,7712,122641,8244,48007,781,12790],"tags":[10224,127069,127099,83441,127414],"class_list":{"0":"post-80007","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-academics","8":"category-campus","9":"category-college-of-health-education-and-professional-studies","10":"category-community","11":"category-faculty-and-staff","12":"category-faculty-success","13":"category-honors-and-awards","14":"category-news","15":"category-research-academics","16":"category-scholarship","17":"category-social-work","18":"tag-amy-doolittle","19":"tag-goal-1-2-enhance-learner-success-strategic-plan-2030","20":"tag-goal-4-1-service-excellence-focus-strategic-plan-2030","21":"tag-master-of-social-work","22":"tag-sabbatical-spotlight","23":"entry"},"yoast_head":"\nSabbatical 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