Faculty Profiles

Dr. Katherine Selber is a Professor in the School of Social Work at Texas State University. She holds a Master of Social Work degree from the University of Houston and a Ph.D. in Social Work from The University of Texas at Austin.

Dr. Selber is a founding member of the Texas State University Veterans Advisory Council (VAC) and served as co-founder and faculty sponsor of the student veteran organization, the Veteran Alliance of Texas State (VATS), from 2008 to 2013. Since 2008, she has provided leadership in developing and expanding Texas State’s comprehensive program for student veterans and military-connected students. Through her work integrating academic and service missions, Texas State has been recognized as one of the nation’s top veteran-friendly four-year universities by Military Times and earned Gold Recognition for Veterans Education Excellence from the Texas Veterans Commission since 2021.
As part of this nationally recognized initiative, Dr. Selber has supervised Master of Social Work and Bachelor of Social Work students in a specialized Veterans Initiative that serves student veterans both on campus and in the community. Since 2010, this program has provided more than 20,000 hours of direct services, including outreach, case management, program development, and applied research. She also teaches a graduate-level course, Helping Troops and Veterans Transition Back to Families and Community, and has trained more than 400 students to work in veteran-serving settings. Graduates of this program are now employed across the country in organizations such as Wounded Warrior Project, Operation Homefront, the Samaritan Center’s Hope for Heroes, and VA clinics and hospitals.

Dr. Selber has served as principal or co-principal investigator on numerous state, federal, and foundation-funded grants supporting veterans and military-connected populations. These include projects funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the U.S. Department of Education (Veteran Upward Bound, 2022–2027), and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (2024-2025), as well as private foundations such as the Chase Foundation and the Del Kolbe Foundation. Her scholarship includes peer-reviewed journal articles, book chapters, and presentations at state and national conferences focused on veterans, families, and mental health.

Her contributions have been recognized through numerous awards and honors, including the U.S. President’s Volunteer Service Award for military support activities, Texas State’s Faculty Advisor of the Year Award, the Student Services Award, and multiple Friends of Veterans awards. She also received in 2015 the state-wide Texas Veterans veteran support award for her state-wide support of veterans. She was also appointed Texas State University System Chancellor’s Research Fellow (2018–2019) for her work on veteran issues across system campuses and served on the City of Austin Mayor’s Veterans Task Force.
Dr. Selber is a military family member and brings both professional expertise and lived experience to her work with service members, veterans, and their families.

veterans on university campuses
capacity building and leadership in veteran service organizations
veterans in transition

veterans in transition
leadership in non-profit organizations
​the power of collaborations with the community