Virgen Luce

Virgen Luce is Assistant Dean of Field Learning and Community Partnerships and a Clinical Associate Professor at NYU Silver. She has over forty years’ experience educating MSW students and supervising clinicians with a focus on those specializing in HIV/AIDS, Palliative Care and End-of-Life, Parkinson’s disease, and health care broadly. Professor Luce has trained thousands of MSW students in her role as a field instructor, faculty field advisor, and practicum instructor. She received the 2011 Social Work Leadership Award from the NASW-NYC Latino Social Work Task Force for her dedication and commitment to social work education and the great strides that she has achieved in encouraging and supporting Latino students and social workers in the community.

Professor Luce is also the Field Education Faculty Leader for NYU Silver’s Zelda Foster Studies Program in Palliative and End-of-Life Care (PELC) MSW Fellowship, and is co-leader of the Zelda Foster PELC Clinicians of Color Forum. The Social Work Hospice and Palliative Care Network (SWHPN) honored Professor Luce in 2019 with its Award for Excellence in Professional Education.

In 2018, she became the Director of NYU Silver’s Post Master’s Certificate Program in Clinical Supervision. She has given numerous presentations in the areas of field education and health care and co-authored a chapter entitled “Integrated health care roles for social workers” in the book Social Work and Integrated Care (Oxford University Press, 2017). In January 2019, an article she co-authored entitled, “Clinical social work in the care of Parkinson’s disease: role, functions, and opportunities in integrated health care,” was published in a special issue of the journal Social Work in Health Care.

In addition to her academic duties, Professor Luce maintains a private practice in clinical social work in New York City. Her extensive professional clinical career began in a community-based mental health agency, and continued to hospital settings where she held various clinical, supervisory, and director-level management positions in the service of a multi-racial/ethnic client population.

Professor Luce earned her MSW and a post-graduate master’s certificate in social work administration and supervision and training at Hunter College School of Social Work (CUNY) and her BA at Lehman College (CUNY).

Mirabito, D. & Luce, V. (2017). School-Based Social Work Services: Perspectives of Students, Field Instructors, and Faculty Advisors. Poster Presentation at 44th International Conference on Practice Research, Hong Kong

Luce, V. (2017). Advising Social Work Interns in PELC: A Pedagogical Approach. Invited Presenter at SWHPN 2017, Scottsdale, Arizona.

Luce, V., Festinger, T. & Lemen, A., (2016). Enhanced Wellness for the Parkinson’s Care Partner through Group Support. Poster Presentation at the 4th World Parkinson Congress, Portland, Oregon.  

Luce, V., Morton, P., Speier, S. & Videka, L., (2015). Interprofessional model of care delivery for community-based social workers. The Gerontological Society of America's 68th Annual Scientific Meeting, Orlando, Florida.

Luce, V. (2015). Communicating the Tough Emotions related to Parkinson's. Invited presenter. The Gonzalez-Ramos Parkinson’s Wellness Educational Symposium (Edmond J. Safra Parkinson's Wellness Program—at JCC of Manhattan), New York, NY.

Luce, V. (2014). Love Law, Live Life. Invited presenter at New York Legal Assistance Group (NYLAG), New York, NY.

Mirabito, D. & Luce, V. (2014). School-Based Internships Needs Assessment: Perspectives of Students, Field Instructors, and Faculty Liaisons. Council on Social Work Education APM, Tampa, Florida.