Jay Memmott

MSW, Ph.D
Department Chair, MSW Program Director, Associate Professor

Jay Memmott earned his B.A. in English at the University of Utah (March 1974), and both his master's degree in social work (MSW) and his doctorate in social work (Ph.D.) at the University of Kansas (May 1977 and May 1984 respectively). He has worked as a clinical social worker in the Psychiatry Service for the Department of Veteran Affairs at VA Medical Centers in Salt Lake City, Utah (1977-1979); Kansas City, Missouri (1979-1981); and Topeka, Kansas (1981). Jay is the founding director of Hospice Care in Douglas County, which was established in 1981. He headed Hospice Care until 1983. In 1983, Jay founded the Kansas Family Institute, which he owned and operated until 1987. From 1984 to 1986, Jay directed the new Adolescent Care Unit at Stormont-Vail Regional Medical Center in Topeka, Kansas. He served as a consultant for Comprehensive Care Corporation from 1986 to 1989.

In August of 1989, Jay joined the Social Work Department at the University of Oklahoma (OU), Norman, Oklahoma. At OU, he taught both graduate and undergraduate social work courses. Jay also worked part-time as a clinical social worker for the PsychTest Corporation, providing outpatient mental health services to clients in the Norman office as well as two other locations in Oklahoma City. In 1994, Jay took a leave of absence for 10 months from OU to head up the Persian Gulf War Family Support Program, which provided counseling and case management services to Gulf War veterans and their families. In 1994, Jay joined the faculty at Saint Louis University (SLU) where he taught foundation and advanced practice courses. He directed the MSW Program from July 1998 through June 2001. He was granted tenure at Saint Louis University in May 2000. From June 1995 to May 2000, Jay worked part-time as an intake case manager on the IBM unit at Magellan Behavioral Health. He was affiliated with the Saint Louis Behavioral Medicine Institute as a clinical social worker 1996 to 2002, doing primarily individual, couples, and family therapy. He is an approved supervisor and clinical member of the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT). In addition, Jay is a member of the Academy of Certified Social Workers (ACSW), the National Association of Social Workers (NASW), and the American Society of Clinical Hypnosis (ASCH).

Jay assumed duties as chair of the Social Work Department at Washburn University in the School of Applied Studies on July 1, 2002. He said he was attracted to Washburn because of the strong clinical orientation of the department and the high quality of the faculty, staff, and students. "This also a home-coming for me because my wife, Noell, is from Stull, Kansas, and even though I am from Utah, I consider Topeka to be my home." Jay's research and scholarly interests include substance abuse and substance abuse treatment, cults and charismatic groups, family therapy, natural helping, and clinical hypnosis. When he's away from academia, Jay likes to fish for bass in local farm ponds. He has been a long time, avid science fiction fan---both books and movies. He said his favorite movies are "Blade Runner" and "Forbidden Planet." During the spring and summer months, he also enjoys planting and maintaining flower and vegetable gardens.