Carlyn Kimiecik
Assistant Professor
Areas of Expertise
- SW 885: Sport Social Work in Practice Settings
- SW 450: Social Work Research
Highlighted Publications
- Kimiecik, C., Reed, J., gMoser, M., Rodriguez, N. M., Klenosky, D. B., MacDermid Wadsworth, S., & Ruiz, Y. (2025). Studies of resilience and family resilience within families experiencing homelessness/housing instability: A systematic review. Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment, 1-35.
- Kimiecik, C., Gonzalvo, J. D., Goodin, D., Cash, S., & Pastakia, S. D. (2023). Building university-school-community partnerships to improve adolescent wellbeing. Children and Schools, 45(1), 27-34.
- Newman, T., Magier, E., Okamoto, K., Kimiecik, C., Shute, L., Beasley, L., & Tucker, A. (2021). Social work in sport: Playmakers in the athletic arena. Journal of Social Work, 22(3), 692-714.
Current Projects
- Recess for Champions- A university-school partnership program that promotes positive youth development and wellbeing through sport and play by trained college student facilitators to deliver a structured, sport-based curriculum during elementary school recess to teach 'what it takes to be a CHAMP.'
- College Student-Athlete Wellbeing & Development- A line of research and practice focused on supporting college student-athletes' holistic wellbeing, leadership development, and civic engagement through strengths-based and interdisciplinary approaches.
- School-Based Sport Partnerships Initiative- A university-school-community partnership model that engages high school student-athletes, coaches, and other school personnel in mental health education and dialogue through collaborative and sustainable school-based programming.
Student & Research Availability
- Accepting Students in Programs: Bachelors | Doctoral | Masters
- Available Student Positions: Honors Thesis | Independent Study | Internships | Other Opportunities | Practicum
- Research or Interest Area Key Words: Sport Social Work Positive Youth Development Student-Athlete Wellbeing Community Partnerships Qualitative and Visual Methods
Alma Mater
Purdue University - PhD in Public Health, 2024 The Ohio State University - Master of Social Work, 2018 Miami University (Oxford, OH) - Bachelor of Science (Health Promotion), Bachelor of Arts (American Studies), 2015
Get to Know Carlyn
Carlyn (Carly) Kimiecik, PhD, MSW, is an Assistant Professor at the University of Kentucky College of Social Work. She is an interdisciplinary scholar informed by her practice experiences in sport for development and college athletics. Her scholarship centers on advancing health, wellbeing, and positive youth development among youth (ages 10-24) and college student-athletes, with particular attention to leveraging sport and play as meaningful contexts for development and community engagement.
Guided by strengths-based and community-engaged approaches, Dr. Kimiecik collaborates with K-12 schools, community-based organizations, and collegiate athletic departments to co-design and implement initiatives that center young people’s lived experiences. Her research and applied work focus on enhancing mental health literacy, holistic health and wellbeing, leadership development, and civic engagement across youth and sport settings. Additionally, her scholarship and initiatives explore how the social work profession engages within athletic contexts to address athletes’ complex challenges and draw on their unique strengths.
Dr. Kimiecik is particularly interested in university-school-community partnerships that support sustainable and contextually relevant programming and strengthen the role of social workers in youth-serving and sport-based settings. In addition to her work with youth, she engages college student-athletes through leadership development and civic engagement initiatives to support individual growth and collective community impact. Dr. Kimiecik’s work emphasizes applied practice, interdisciplinary collaboration, and the translation of research into community action and impact, while consistently centering individual and community perspectives.
Outside of academia, Dr. Kimiecik has over ten years of experience in after-school and youth sport programming and college athletics, which continues to inform her teaching, research, and community-engaged initiatives.