V. Nikki Jones, DSW, LCSW, LMFT, MPA

About V. Nikki

V. Nikki Jones, DSW, MPA, LCSW, LMFT, (she/they) currently serves as an Associate Professor and DSW Program Director at the School of Social Work, Spalding University. They teach undergraduate and graduate courses. They earned a Doctor of Social Work from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, master’s degrees from the University Louisville (MS in Social Work with a specialization in couple and family therapy) and the University of TennesseeChattanooga (public administration), and a bachelor’s degree from UT-Chattanooga (political
science).

They believe teaching and learning are enhanced when students make connections across personal, educational, and community contexts. Therefore, they encourage students to embrace and connect social work with their social and cultural experiences. Their main research and publication interests are repair/reparations and effective social work practice. Their scholarship explores how systemic oppression impacts the well-being of and practices with individuals and groups.

Publications

• McElderry, C. G., & Jones, V. N. (in press). Christianity and Reparations for Chattel Slavery, Social Work & Christianity.
• McElderry, C. G., Jones, V. N., & Conner, L. (2026). Social work students’ attitudes and knowledge of reparations for African American descendants of chattel slavery, Social Sciences, 15(1), 1-24. https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci15010025
• Jones, V. N. (2025). All the DEI and still no reparation: Transformative justice and the de-centering of diversity, equity, and inclusion. International Journal of Africana Studies, 23(1-2). Jones, V. N., & McElderry, C. G. (2024, September18). Reparations. Encyclopedia of Social Work.
• Jones, V. N., Bowman, A., & Harden, V. (2024). Sleep and discrimination among undergraduate students: A descriptive study. Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10911359.2024.2320426
• Jones, V. N., McElderry, C. G., McNary, M. L., Dotson, C. L., & Frazier, K. (2023). Social work advocacy for Black reparations. Social Work & Policy Studies: Social Justice, Practice and Theory, 6(1), 25-28. https://openjournals.library.sydney.edu.au/SWPS/article/view/17103
• Conner, L. R., Jones, V. N., & Johnston, J. P. (2023, April). A participatory exercise in developing syllabi with adult learners. Journal on Empowering Teaching Excellence, 7(1), Article 3. https://doi.org/10.26077/9fd9-9507
• Jones, V. N., McNary, M. L., & Abdur-Rahman, R. (2022). Advancing anti-racist strategies in child advocacy. Critical Social Work, 23(2), 2-21. https://ojs.uwindsor.ca/index.php/csw/article/view/7588/5457
• Harden, V., & Jones, V. N. (2022). Brain-based learning in social work education. Advances in Social Work, 22(1), 145-162. https://doi.org/10.18060/25142 Conner, L. R., Dyson, Y., Jones, V. N., & Drew, V. (2022). Black experiences matter: Reflections of Black faculty experiences with Black administrators. Journal of Social Work Education, 59(2), 372-390. https://doi.org/10.1080/10437797.2021.2019633
• Jones, V. N., McElderry, C. G., & Conner, L. R. (2021). Social workers’ attitudes toward reparations for descendants of chattel slavery. Journal of Social Work, 22(4),1-25. https://doi.org/10.1177/14680173211037245
• McElderry, C. G., & Jones, V. N. (2021). Ending our silence: Promoting H.R. 40 to study slavery and institutionalized racism. Advances in Social Work, 21(4), 1246-1260. https://doi.org/10.18060/24414
• Jones, V. N. (2020). Assessing multiple minority stress among African American LGBT women: A review of psychometric scales. Journal of Behavioral and Social Sciences, 7(3), 206-217. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1sEy5oRonoR2o7RD35NsL8B_g6AQUHfL4/view Bucchio, J., Jones, V. N., & Dopwell, D. M. (2020). Applying Maslow’s hierarchy of needs to meet the needs of LGBT foster youth in rural placements. Journal of Social Work Practice, 35(3), 287-299. https://doi.org/ffds
• Jones, V. N., & Conner, L. (2020). Measuring social work students reflective learning through role-play and writing. Social Work Education: The International Journal. http://doi.org/dmxm
• Jones, V. N., Mindrup, R. M., Herron, F., Patterson, D. A., & Conner, L. R. (2019). Discrimination, stress, variability: What affords Black gay women protection? Journal of Behavioral and Social Sciences, 6(3), 133-142.
• Bucchio, J., Jones, V. N., & Carter, K. (2018). Support groups for parents experiencing perinatal loss. International Journal of Childbirth Education, 33(3), 14-17. https://portal.issn.org/resource/ISSN/0887-8625
• Jones, V. N., & Bucchio, J. (2018). The sleep gap: Advancing healthy sleep among youth in rural communities. The Journal of Contemporary Rural Social Work, 10(1), Article 3. https://portal.issn.org/resource/ISSN/2165-4611

Honors & Affiliations

• 2025 Student-Nominated Teaching Award, Spalding University
• 2024 Society for Social Work and Research Excellence in Research Honorable Mention Award
• Spring 2022 QEP Writing-to-Learn Award for Innovative Teaching
• Spring 2020 Student Recognition, Office of Vice President for Student Affairs and Vice- Provost for Enrollment and Academic Services, Middle Tennessee State University
• Spring 2020 Student Recognition, Nominee, Textbook Brokers
• Fall 2019 Student Recognition, Influential Faculty, Phi Kappa Phi, Middle Tennessee State University
• 2019 Fresh perspective. MTSU CBHS Outcomes Magazine, 5(1), 14.
• Spring 2018 Student Recognition, Office of Vice President for Student Affairs and Vice- Provost for Enrollment and Academic Services, Middle Tennessee State University
• 2018 Honoree #42 for Social Work Grand Challenge #2, University of Tennessee, College of Social Work
• 2018 Faculty Spotlight: Dr. Nikki Jones, Social Work – MTSU News