The first time Dr. Sheila Roth walked into a Carlow classroom, it was as a one-off guest speaker. She wasn鈥檛 planning to start a program that would change the University鈥攁nd the way social work is taught in Pittsburgh鈥攆orever. But sometimes the smallest moments lead to the biggest transformations.
That guest lecture turned into a part-time teaching gig. Then a full-time job. Then a mission.
In the thirty years that followed, Roth built Carlow鈥檚 undergraduate and graduate social work programs from the ground up鈥攑rograms known not just for academic rigor, but for their deep human focus. At Carlow, social work was never about memorizing diagnoses or checking boxes. It was about people. About real-world resilience, about showing up. It was about 鈥渢he heart work.鈥�
鈥淲e wanted to create the kind of program that prepares students to walk into crisis, not away from it,鈥� she says. 鈥淎nd to do it with compassion, skill, and confidence.鈥�
Today, Dr. Roth is retired from the classroom, but not from the work. In her private practice, she now counsels first responders鈥攂ringing the same empathy to those who are too often overlooked. She鈥檚 still teaching, still advocating, still doing the work of mercy.
Because for Sheila Roth, service was never just a lesson plan. It was鈥攁nd is鈥攁 calling.
A Night Shift Conversation That Changed Everything
Before she was a professor, Dr. Roth was a hospital social worker. 鈥淚 was one of the first emergency room social workers at Mercy back in the mid-80s,鈥� she recalls. 鈥淚 worked nights and weekends, doing trauma, crisis, ICU, burn unit鈥攜ou name it.鈥�
One night, during a long shift, she found herself in conversation with the daughter of a patient. This turned out to be Sister Rita Flaherty, chair of Carlow鈥檚 psychology department. 鈥淲e were talking about my PhD program, and she said, 鈥榃hy don鈥檛 you come be a guest speaker?鈥欌�� Roth remembers. 鈥淓ventually, she asked if I鈥檇 teach the class.鈥澛�
In 1993, pregnant with her son and finishing her doctorate, Roth accepted a full-time position. 鈥淚 delivered my son in July,鈥� she says, 鈥渁nd in August I was at Carlow starting the BSW program.鈥澛�
Programs Built for the Real World
Over the next 30 years, Dr. Roth helped build both the undergraduate and master鈥檚 social work programs at Carlow, co-founding the MSW program with her colleague Dr. Marsha Frank. But from the start, her vision for social work education was clear: it had to be real.聽
鈥淲e didn鈥檛 just teach theory鈥攚e built in skill labs, role-play, and simulations every week,鈥� she says. 鈥淪tudents needed to hit the ground running. They had to know how to talk to people, how to work through a crisis… how to be present, even in moments of trauma.鈥�
That approach earned Carlow students a strong reputation in the field. Dr. Roth describes the Carlow model as grounded in the “person-in-environment” perspective, encouraging students to look beyond surface-level symptoms. 鈥淪omeone may present with anxiety,鈥� she says, 鈥渂ut what鈥檚 really going on? What’s happening at home, at work, in their community?鈥�
Just as importantly, Carlow programs fostered a sense of belonging for students navigating real-life challenges. 鈥淲e created an atmosphere of comfort,鈥� Roth explains. 鈥淪tudents could say, 鈥業鈥檓 struggling this week,鈥� and we would help them find support. That mattered.鈥�
Recognition Well-Deserved: SWAG Award and 鈥淭he Pitt鈥�
Earlier this year, Dr. Roth received a , which honors social workers making a meaningful difference in the field. 鈥淚 had never even heard of it,鈥� she laughs. 鈥淏ut when I found out colleagues from past and present had nominated me, I was so touched. I told the organizer鈥攊t鈥檚 the first time in my life I鈥檝e felt so valued as a social worker.鈥�
Dr. Roth鈥檚 reputation as a crisis expert and ER social worker even led to an unexpected Hollywood turn. In 2024, she was contacted by the Norman Lear Center to consult on a new medical drama being filmed in Pittsburgh: HBO鈥檚 The Pitt.
鈥淎t first, I thought it was spam,鈥� she says, laughing. 鈥淏ut it was real. They wanted someone who had been there, who understood emergency social work.鈥�
She reviewed storylines and advised writers, contributing to the development of complex, human-centered scenarios for the show鈥檚 storyline. 鈥淚 told them, don鈥檛 make the social worker frumpy and one-dimensional. We have a broad scope of practice. Show that.鈥� Her husband, an ER physician, later consulted on the show鈥檚 final episodes as well.
A Legacy of Compassion
To students considering social work, Dr. Roth is enthusiastic. 鈥淵ou get to wear a hundred hats,鈥� she says. 鈥淵ou can do clinical practice, community work, policy. And if you ever want to reinvent yourself, you can.鈥�
And why Carlow? 鈥淏ecause people will care about you here. You鈥檒l learn how to do the work鈥攁nd you鈥檒l be supported while you learn it.鈥�
In her post-Carlow chapter, Dr. Roth launched a private practice: Roth Consulting, dedicated to serving first responders and crisis workers. 鈥淢y heart has always been with first responders,鈥� she says. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 who I grew up around鈥攆irefighters, medics, police. I鈥檝e always wanted to create a space where they could come talk after a bad call.鈥�
For Dr. Roth, retirement is just another reinvention. But the legacy she built at Carlow lives on in classrooms, agencies, and communities across the region. 鈥淚鈥檓 very proud to have been a part of it,鈥� she says. 鈥淚t was always about heart.鈥�