Prochaska, Fred
Date Updated
7-22-2020
Department
School of Social Work, College of Health and Human Services
Academic Rank
Lecturer D
Year Retired from SJSU
2011
Educational Background
University of Pittsburgh, School of Social Work, Ph.D. 1982
West Virginia University, School of Social Work, M.S.W. 1980
University of Pittsburgh, Graduate School of Public Health, M.P.H. 1981
Pennsylvania State University, B.A. 1975
Dissertation Title
An Analysis of Organizational Change Within an Inpatient Substance Abuse Center (funded by National Institutes of Health)
Teaching Experience
San Jose State University, School of Social Work 1990-2020
West Valley College, Saratoga, CA. Community Education 1987-1990
Community College of Beaver County, Monaca, PA, Sociology 1984-1986
La Roche College, Pittsburgh, PA, Sociology 1982-1984
University of Pittsburgh, School of Social Work 1980-1982
Administrative and Professional Experience
Dean, Career Education and Workforce Development, West Valley College, Saratoga, CA 2005-2011
Dean for Sponsored Research and Grants and Director of Grants and Development, West Valley-Mission Community College District, Saratoga, CA 1986-2005
Director of Research/Development/Foundation, Community College of Beaver County, Monaca, PA 1984-1986
Director of Institutional Research and Grants, La Roche College, Pittsburgh, PA 1982-1984
Consultant/Researcher, Gateway Rehabilitation Center, Monaca, PA 1981-1982
Consultant/Researcher, Parental Stress Center, Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, PA 1980-1981
Social Work Supervisor, Foster Care Unit, Allegheny County Children & Youth Services, Pittsburgh, PA 1980-1981
Director of Residential Services (Casework Supervisor I), Fayette County MH-MR Program, Uniontown, PA 1977-1980
Social Worker, Lawrence County Children’s Services, New Castle, PA 1975-1977
Service
2012-2013 Volunteered to act as the SJSU School of Social Work Undergraduate BASW Program Student Advisor, and as a result, received an Exceptional Student Services Award the following year.
1988 to 1991 - Served a three-year term of office as a Commissioner on the Santa Clara County Social Services Commission, appointed by the County Supervisors.
1988-various to present – served as a member of the county's GAIN Planning Council, Vice-Chair of the Region 4 (Santa Clara, Monterey, Santa Cruz, and Alameda Counties) Council, on the Board of the Pacific Medical Research Foundation and Vice President of the Capistrano Homeowners Association.
1986 to present - Led more than a dozen seminars and presentations at national and statewide conventions including NETWORK, CLCC, CAIRS, and GAIN on resource procurement, consortia arrangements, and diversity.
1988 to 1993 Elected to public office on the State Central Committee of the California Democratic Party. Re-Elected to 2nd Term in 1990.
1987 to 1994 - Board of Directors, Senior Information and Referral Services Agency, San Jose California.
1983 1988 - Management consultant to St. John's Health and Hospital Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
1985 to 1986 - Appointed to term of public office on the Moon Township, Pennsylvania, Municipal Planning Authority.
1985 to 1986 - Elected to membership on the Planning Committee of the United Way of Beaver County, Pennsylvania.
1984 to 1986 - Appointed by Governor to Statewide Higher Education/Private Industry Partnership Council, Pennsylvania Association of Colleges and Universities.
1984 to 1986 - Board Member, Persad Community Mental Health Center, Inc. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
1982 to 1984 - Member of the college's Planning Commission, Professional Development Committee, and Task Force on Technology, La Roche College, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
1980 to 1982 - Academic Review and Academic Integrity Committees, University of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
1977-1980 Board of Directors, Try Again Homes Social Services Agency, Waynesburg, PA.
Selected Publications
Mellander, Gustavo A, and Fred Prochaska. The Diversity Challenge: A Collection of Model Programs. Saratoga, CA: West Valley-Mission Community College District. Distributed by ERIC Clearinghouse ( ED 332762), 1991.
Mellander, Gustavo A, and Fred Prochaska. Accessing Resources Through Consortium Arrangements. Saratoga, CA: West Valley-Mission Community College District. Distributed by ERIC Clearinghouse ( ED 318493), 1990.
Prochaska, Fred. “Grants: Who Is Giving Them and How Do I Apply?” The California Business Teacher 1(2): 31-32, 1988.
Files
Personal Commentary
Dr. Fred Prochaska has been a faculty member, dean, and administrator of educational programs since 1982 and a social worker since 1975. He grew up in public housing in western Pennsylvania, was the first in his family to graduate from college and succeeded in a multi-faceted career as a social worker, faculty member, and higher education administrator. He usually worked in more than one professional position at a time.
He received a Ph.D. Degree in Social Work and an M.P.H. Degree in Health Services from the University of Pittsburgh, an M.S.W. Degree from West Virginia University, and a B.A. Degree in Social Welfare from the Pennsylvania State University. He had the distinction of completing all four degrees in a total of four years and eight months of accelerated studies.
From 1986 he worked for the West Valley-Mission Community College District and worked as the Dean of Career Education and Workforce Development until his retirement in October 2011. In this capacity, he directed more than two-dozen academic departments and many student services, instructional, and economic development programs. These included all career programs, the older adult program, three childcare centers, a drug and alcohol educational program, CalWORKs, Economic and Workforce Development grants, and many others.
For the past 30 years since 1990 he has also served as a part-time faculty member at the San José State University, School of Social Work. Dr. Prochaska, who is a former resident of Pennsylvania, worked for several years in social services agencies, including four years in child welfare/family services, and four years in community mental health/rehabilitation.
Fred served as an instructor for many dozens of classes and hundreds of students in the departments of social work, sociology, community education, and public health; and more than thirteen years of teaching experience at institutions such as San José State University, West Valley College, the Community College of Beaver County, the University of Pittsburgh, La Roche College, and the Pennsylvania State University. He was recognized as the outstanding lecturer of the year at San Jose State in 2006. Classes he has taught at both the graduate and undergraduate levels include Human Behavior and the Social Environment I and II, Medical Sociology, Introductory Sociology, Pathology and Dysfunction, Casework Methods, Grants Procurement and Management, Victims of Abuse and Neglect, Professional Practice Evaluation, Social Work and the Law, and Research Methods.
In his spare time, Dr. Prochaska is active in several community organizations. He has served as a member of the Santa Clara Social Services Commission, the Board of Directors of the Senior Information and Referral Services Agency and is currently on the Santa Clara County Employment Support Initiative (Welfare Reform) Committee and the Pacific Medical Research Foundation Board. Some of the projects for which Dr. Prochaska has been able to obtain support over the years are more than $8 million for the Santa Clara County Community Colleges GAIN/Welfare Reform consortium which provides vocational training for welfare recipients, more than $4 million to support five childcare centers on the West Valley and Mission College campuses for low income families, $800,000 to establish the NSF/Pac-TEC program which involves the SJSU College of Engineering, and dozens of K-12, CCC, CSU, and UC inter-segmental projects in fields such as English, the Health Professions, Minority Faculty Recruitment, Foster Parent Education, and Business/ Entrepreneurial Development.