Zhiying Ma Promoted to Associate Professor with Tenure

The University of Chicago Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy, and Practice is pleased to announce that Zhiying Ma, PhD, has been promoted to Associate Professor with tenure, effective July 1, 2026. The promotion was approved by the President and Provost following the Dean's and the School’s tenured faculty's recommendations.

Professor Ma is a medical anthropologist whose scholarship examines the intersection of care and governance in contemporary China. Her research explores how social welfare policies and practices shape the lives of families and individuals living with serious mental illnesses and other disabilities. Grounded in ethnographic and interdisciplinary approaches, her work investigates how health, illness, and disability become sites of population management, ethical deliberation, and moral debate across multiple levels—from family caregiving relationships to national and global health systems.

Her scholarship is widely recognized for its theoretical sophistication, empirical rigor, and methodological innovation. By tracing the psychological, social, economic, and political forces that influence both service delivery and lived experience, Professor Ma’s work exemplifies the ecological perspective central to academic social work and social welfare research.

In addition to her scholarly contributions, Professor Ma is an engaged member of the Crown Family School and the broader University of Chicago community. She has served on several School committees, including the Internal Initiatives Committee, and is a member of the advisory committee for the Kiphart Center for Global Health and Social Development. She has also played a leading role in the Crown Family School’s participation in the Tripartite Collaboration for Advancing Social Work in China.

At the University level, Professor Ma is a faculty affiliate of the Center for East Asian Studies, the Center for the Study of Gender and Sexuality, and the Global Studies Program, and she serves on the steering committee of the University’s Beijing Center. Nationally and internationally, she has held leadership roles in the American Anthropological Association and the Society for Psychological Anthropology. In recognition of her commitment to translating research into social justice–oriented practice and advocacy, she was named a Ford Global Fellow in 2021.

The Crown Family School congratulates Professor Ma on this significant milestone and looks forward to celebrating her promotion in the new year.