Dr. Patrick Sullivan

Dr. Patrick Sullivan, is a native of Kansas earning a PhD from the University of Kansas in 1989. He went on to be a professor in the Indiana University School of Social Work at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI). In 2018 Dr. Sullivan was awarded the Chancellor’s Professorship, which is the most distinguished appointment an individual faculty member can attain at IUPUI. Recipients retain the title throughout their appointments at IUPUI and comprise a special group of mentors and advisors for colleagues.
Chancellor’s Professors are faculty who have consistently contributed at a high level to the development of IUPUI as an academic community of exceptional quality and integrity, and to their disciplines through the creation and application of knowledge. Through their leadership and service in their departments, in their schools and across campus, they have reinforced and advanced IUPUI’s mission and vision.

Sullivan is a well-respected scholar and expert in the area of strengths-focused social work practice and its application to multiple treatment realms such as mental health and addictions. He is one of the originators of the social work model called the “Strengths Perspective,” which is considered one of the most profound changes in the field during the past century. While a professor in the School of Social Work, he also became the director of the Division of Mental Health and Addictions in the Family and Social Services Administration. There, he oversaw the implementation of the Hoosier Assurance Plan, a legislative mandate to provide care for adults with serious mental illness, a chronic addiction or both; and for children and adolescents with a severe emotional disturbance.

At IUPUI, Sullivan has received multiple teaching awards, including the IUPUI Trustees Teaching Award five times. He is director of the School of Social Work’s Center for Social Health and Well-Being and was interim director of the Master of Social Work program. He is also one of the school’s most prolific writers, having published nearly 100 journal articles and book chapters, and he has done more than 150 state and national presentations.

Sullivan is an avid sports fan and heavily involved in motorsports. As of 2023, he serves the United States Auto Club as a special projects and media consultant and chairs the USAC Hall of Fame committee. In 2017, he was inducted into the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame for decades of work as an announcer and writer at race tracks around the country. Sullivan has announced for IndyCar and NASCAR and is believed to have announced more USAC races than anyone in the club’s history.

Dr. Sullivan is deep rooted in the mental health environment, his support and involvement with Racing for Mental Health truly coincides with his life’s work. He understands the need for mental health awareness and openness to “Talk About It”