Jenni Harpring focuses on community-engaged teaching, creating collaborative learning environments, advising, and higher education administration. A winner of the Excellence in Advising award, she works intently working with students to achieve their goals.

Throughout her career in community engagement, she has held positions at a public health department, city housing department, and non-profit organizations. She has over 10 years of higher education experience in civic engagement, social work, and public health education. 

As assistant dean of social work, Harpring draws on over 15 years of professional experiences at the intersection of large decision-making institutions and their surrounding communities to develop field education curriculum. She leads the field education curriculum and is engaged in training field instructors, supporting the field education team on curriculum design and development, and working directly with students in their field placements. In addition to field education, Harpring teaches community-based courses in both the social work and public health programs. 

Harpring has appointments at Washington University beyond the Brown School through teaching and serving on various committees. She serves as assistant director of the Beyond Boundaries program which is designed to provide first year students the opportunity to explore topics – from climate change to aging to artificial intelligence – from multiple disciplinary perspectives.