Mary McKay
Executive Vice Provost and Professor
Contact
Phone: 314-935-6693
Email: mary.mckay@wustl.edu
Education
PhD, University of Illinois at Chicago
Areas of Focus
Child mental health services
Child- and family-focused HIV prevention and care
Poverty and economic inequality
Public health interventions to strengthen families, communities and systems
Biography
Mary M. McKay joined the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis as dean in 2016, continuing the School’s legacy of creating vital knowledge, initiating social change, and preparing leaders to address social and health challenges both locally and globally.
McKay’s academic experience connects deeply to both social work and public health. She has received substantial federal funding for research focused on meeting the mental health and health prevention needs of youth and families impacted by poverty. She also has significant expertise in child mental health services and implementation research methods, as well as over 20 years of experience conducting HIV prevention and care-oriented studies, supported by the National Institutes of Health.
She has authored more than 250 publications on mental and behavioral health, HIV/AIDS prevention and urban poverty, and more. In January 2021, Mary McKay was appointed vice provost of interdisciplinary initiatives in the Office of the Provost and stepped down as dean in 2022. As of 2024, Mary serves as the Executive Vice Provost.
Prior to joining the Brown School, McKay was the McSilver Professor of Social Work and the inaugural director of the McSilver Institute for Poverty Policy and Research at New York University’s Silver School of Social Work. She previously served as the head of the Division of Mental Health Services Research at Mount Sinai School of Medicine. Her prior academic appointments include Columbia University and University of Illinois at Chicago.
In Brown School News
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May 15, 2025
Ssewamala, Nabunya named 2025 SSWR Fellows
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NIH funding to build research capacity among refugee youth in Uganda
September 20, 2024
WashU Receives Grant to Address Economic Mobility of Black Youth
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Brown School Dean Search Committee Appointed
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August 11, 2022
ICHAD Receives $5 Million NIH Grant for Global Health Research
April 1, 2022
Co-Interim Deans Edmond and Reis Take the Reins
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Faculty Co-Edit Book on Child Behavioral Health in Sub-Saharan Africa
January 24, 2022
Edmond, Reis To Serve As Interim Co-Deans Of Brown School
November 12, 2021
Brown School Presentations at APHA 2021
October 25, 2021
Equity, Affordability Among the Goals of Brown School’s New Strategic Plan
October 11, 2021
Brown School Partners with STL Mayor’s Office to “Transform” Public Safety
September 2, 2021
Open Classroom Creates Popular New Path to Learning and Community Engagement
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New Center to Boost Management, Training for Nonprofits at Delmar Divine
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Brown School Offers New Options for Masters of Social Policy Degree
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The Brown School’s International Center for Child Health and Development Builds a Pipeline of Researchers from Underrepresented Backgrounds
April 8, 2021