Keith Watts
Assistant Professor
Areas of Expertise
- BSW:
- Social Welfare Policy: Theory and Implementation
- Social Work Research.
- MSW:
- Research Methods in Social Work.
Highlighted Publications
- Watts, K. J., Howard, S. P., Spears, M., Lauckner, C., Farr, R. H., Means, G., & Moore, J. X. (2025). Feasibility of an LGBTQ+ public health surveillance platform in Kentucky: A brief report on mental health signals. Healthcare, 13(20), 2626.
- Watts, K. J. (2025). Paying the cognitive debt: An experiential learning framework for integrating AI in social work education. Education Sciences, 15(10), 1304.
- Watts, K. J., Flowers-Jones, A., Craigwell, A. B., & Ojelade, I. I. (2026). From critique to construction: The Ancestral Institute as a praxis-based model for decolonial community psychology. Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology, 36(2), e70245.
Student & Research Availability
- Accepting Students in Programs: Bachelors | Doctoral | Masters
- Available Student Positions: Independent Study | Practicum
- Research or Interest Area Key Words: community belongingness, community psychology, generative AI, health equity, intersectionality, LGBTQ+, mental health, minority stress, social determinants of health, youth violence prevention
Alma Mater
Virginia Commonwealth University (Ph.D.); Clark Atlanta University (MSW); Georgia State University (B.A.)
Get to Know Keith
Dr. Keith J. Watts serves as an Assistant Professor in the College of Social Work at the University of Kentucky. He holds additional appointments as Core Faculty in the Center for Health, Engagement and Transformation and as Affiliate Faculty in the Department of African American and Africana Studies. Driven by a commitment to social justice, his comprehensive research program is dedicated to advancing health equity for profoundly marginalized populations, with a specific emphasis on racial, sexual, and gender minorities.
Employing minority stress, intersectionality, and socio-ecological frameworks, Dr. Watts investigates how social determinants of health, ranging from systemic discrimination and hostile legislative environments to interpersonal microaggressions, negatively impact physical and mental health outcomes. His empirical work spans critical areas such as cancer mortality disparities, substance use patterns, and the detrimental impacts of structural violence on psychological well-being. A foundational pillar of his scholarship involves examining the protective mechanisms of identity-based community belongingness. His studies consistently demonstrate that strong, authentic connections within intersectional communities serve as vital buffers against the adverse psychological and physiological effects of systemic marginalization, and promote health and well-being more generally.
Dr. Watts is also actively engaged in pioneering decolonial frameworks for global community psychology and exploring the pedagogical implications of integrating artificial intelligence into social work education to cultivate students’ critical thinking capacities.
Prior to entering academia, he cultivated clinical expertise by delivering comprehensive behavioral and mental health services to diverse, vulnerable populations in community-based settings