Kate Kaufman

Dr. Kate Kaufman is a faculty member in the Social Work program at Siena University. She holds a Doctorate of Social Work from Simmons University in Boston, MA, with a specialization in leadership, advanced clinical practice, and pedagogy. A Licensed Clinical Social Worker in New York State for over 25 years, she has dedicated her career to supporting families of adoption, those experiencing grief and loss, and young adults and athletes hoping to foster positive mental health and performance. Her expertise also spans course design, non-profit leadership, and clinical supervision. Her research focuses on flourishing coillege campuses, families impacted by adoption, and leadership for social change. Beyond academia, Dr. Kate is a lifelong musician—a pianist, vocalist, and conductor of diverse ensembles. Dr. Kate arranges teams, classrooms and student learning experiences where every unique voice is heard so that the collective sound is resonant. Guided by her identity as a leader, builder and healer, she is committed to preparing the next generation of social work leaders and practitioners to foster hope for others and create meaningful, lasting social change. 

My Siena Experience

My Teaching Philosophy

I believe that learning is rooted in relationship. Every time I walk into a classroom, I am reminded that teaching is grounded in a willingness to form meaningful connections with students. I strive to be flexible, to listen to seek to understand, to de-center authority and balance power, and to allow for plentiful moments of grace. I find myself asking questions such as, “How do my students learn”, “What holds them back?”, and, “How do they come alive?”. This pedagogy of care that I cherish fosters relationship, connection, and a spirit of authenticity. College is about transformation, and at Siena University we are all pilgrims on a journey of becoming.

I value the art of instructor presence. Students cannot be successful agents of change and create a more just, humane and peaceful world if they cannot first take risks and try out new ideas, challenge the status quo, and get intensely curious about the learning process in the classroom. Learning is not spectating, it is designed to be deep, meaningful and active. I apply metacognition skills and practices, and opportunities to think about thinking, to help us test what we do and do not know, how we know it, and why we know it. Self-reflection is at the heart of this critical process of becoming for me as an educator, and for the diverse learners I am honored to mentor and serve. For me, teaching and social work practice are both engaged with matters of the heart that are cultivated and sustained through relationship.

What I Love About Siena

Sr. Margaret Carney, OSF, former president of St. Bonaventure College, addressed our community at Siena University in recent years. She said that if she was hard pressed to boil down the Franciscan mission into one word it would be, “relationship”. It is no coincidence that our Franciscan mission and heritage underscore our social work clinical practice and teaching encounters. The heart of our Franciscan teaching and learning as a relational practice is foundational to the deeply human endeavor where relationships, power, meaning and mattering intersect in higher education. I love Siena University because it calls us to cultivate teaching as a process of entering into relationships with one another. I believe this will change the world for social good. 

I am a constant work in progress, and I care deeply about our Siena Saints and their own journey of becoming. I love that Siena University's Franciscan heritage and mission are intimately and seamlessly aligned with our social work values and the myraid ways that relationships are cultivated in the classroom and beyond.