Zhenrong Su, MSW

Zhenrong Su (he/him), MSW, is a PhD student at the UConn School of Social Work. His research interests center on how community-level physical and social environments shape the risk of child abuse and neglect (CAN). In particular, he is interested in questions such as how incidents of CAN cluster geographically over time and how community conditions influence these patterns, with the broader aim of identifying key risk and protective factors that predict CAN rates at the neighborhood level and generating evidence to inform decision-making within the child welfare system.

Before beginning his doctoral studies, Su gained extensive experience as a policy researcher and project manager at a national social work organization in China, where he focused on strengthening the social work and child welfare workforce and providing policy recommendations to government agencies and UNICEF China.

Having grown up in an economically disadvantaged rural area of China and as the first in his family to attend college, Su understands the challenges faced by under-resourced communities. He deepened this commitment by serving as a volunteer primary school teacher for two years in western China. These personal and professional experiences continue to shape his dedication to advancing child and family well-being in marginalized communities.

MSW:
Nanjing University – Nanjing, Jiangsu, China

Research Interests：
Child abuse and neglect
Child welfare workforce development
Interprofessional collaboration
Community- and neighborhood-level risks and protective factors
Quantitative and mixed-methods research
Policy analysis in child welfare

View Zhenrong’s CV