Biography
Herman L. De Bose, MSW, Ph.D., is Emeritus Professor in the Master of Social Work (MSW) department. He received his BS in Sociology from North Carolina A&T State University, his MSW from the University of Southern California and his Ph.D. in Social Welfare from the University of California at Los Angeles. For six and half years (January 2008 to August 2014), he served as chair of the Sociology department at CSUN where he was responsible for the departmental administration, 22 tenured/tenure track faculty members, 34 - 40-adjunct faculty members and approximately 2000 sociology majors. He was a faculty member at CSUN for 25 years. In the MSW Department he taught Human Behavior and The Social Environment II, Social Work Practice in Multi-Cultural Communities, Generalist Social Work Theory and Practice II and Advanced Social Work Practice in Urban Communities. While a member of the Sociology faculty at CSUN, he taught Introduction to Social Welfare, Introduction to Social Work Practice, Social Work Practice in Multicultural Communities, Human Behavior and the Social Environment, Race Relations, Social Policy and Ethnic Diversity in America. Additionally, he taught Organizational Theory and Behavior in the Masters of Public Administration program at CSUN. Also, he was one of the founding members of the CSUN MSW program twelve years ago. During his 25 years at CSUN, he has received the CSUN Faculty Distinguished Teacher of the Year Award (1999-2000) and the CSUN Faculty Extraordinary Service Award (2000-2001). His primary areas of research are Diversity in the Workplace, Biracial/ Multiracial Identity, At-Risk Youth, Community Policing, and HIV/AIDS among minority populations. The research has afforded him the opportunity to make at least sixty presentations at international, national, regional and local professional conferences and meetings over the last 24 years.
He was the principal investigator of a five-year (1996 to 2001) $1,300,000 contract from the Los Angeles County Probation Department to implement and administer a Youth Services Specialists (YSS) program at CSUN. The YSS program provided academic credits and part-time employment for 20 CSUN students per semester who assisted probation officers at seven high schools in the San Fernando Valley while gaining practical experience grounded in sociological theory. The CSUN YSS program aimed to reduce recidivism by helping deputy probation officers expedite the transition of juveniles on probation to the community.
Prior to accepting his position at CSUN, he worked in a variety of positions for Los Angeles County (18 years) and the United States Peace Corps (2 years). He worked as a Psychiatric Social Worker on the Psychiatric Emergency Team and as a Patient Rights Advocate for the mentally ill with Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health. He also worked as an Evaluator for the Drug Abuse Program Office and the AIDS Program Office where he was Unit Head responsible for Training, Partner Notification, and Behavior Change sections with Los Angeles County Department of Health Services. Additionally, he facilitated several groups with individuals who were HIV positive or had full-blown AIDS. In his employment with the United States Peace Corps, he served as Associate Peace Corps Director in Kenya (1985 – 1987) where he was responsible for approximately 125 Peace Corps volunteers in the Western Province of Kenya. It should be noted; he was a United States Peace Corps Volunteer himself serving in an education program in Kenya (1969 to 1972).
He has been sharing his experience and knowledge with others by serving on several advisory boards and committees (i.e. State of California Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission - Cultural and Linguistic Competence Committee, State Bar of California Legal Service Trust Fund Commission, Los Angeles County Mental Health Commissioner, Los Angeles Police Department Professional Advisory Committee (reserved LAPD officer), United Neighborhoods, Neighborhood Council Member, and Los Angeles City Historic Overlay Zone). Additionally, he serves as a mediator, specifically with the homeless, through the LA County Department of Business and Consumer Affairs. He brings a wealth of knowledge and experience that he has gained over the past 50 years of employment and volunteering. He creatively communicates the essence of his knowledge and experience to others so that they can also communicate and work effectively with the growing diverse population of the United States of America and the world.