Eileen Starr, Ph.D., a beloved MSU Denver professor known for her humor, honesty and fierce care for students, died Aug. 21 at home surrounded by family and friends.
Starr was a professor in MSU Denver’s Department of Social Work and a deeply valued teacher, mentor and colleague whose influence extended well beyond the classroom, said Ann Obermann, Ph.D., interim department chair.
“Dr. Starr was so many things to so many people — teacher, mentor, friend, joy-bringer, supreme paper editor, truth-teller, troublemaker in the very best sense, and one of those rare people whose presence changed the feel of a room,” Obermann wrote in a message to students.
Starr joined MSU Denver as a full-time faculty member 2016. She primarily taught electives on mental health disorders and crisis intervention while continuing to practice as a licensed clinical social worker focused on children and families. “She had a remarkable ability to bring real-world social work practice into the classroom,” Oberman said. At MSU Denver, Starr believed in a “reciprocal therapeutic relationship” and described her teaching style as “interactive in partnership with students” to help them meet their goals, as well as those of students’ patients in therapy.
Starr was born and grew up in Newark, Delaware. She was the first in her family to receive a bachelor’s degree, earning a Bachelor of Arts in Education from Marywood Catholic University.
She later received her master’s degree and Ph.D. in clinical social work from Widener University in Chester, Pennsylvania, and did her dissertation research in Northern Ireland. There, Starr also facilitated seminars about working with families and children in challenging situations in the Social Work Department at Queen’s University in Belfast.
In the United States, Starr spent most of her career as a community social work practitioner, including in casework after the World Trade Center attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, and Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
Starr worked for Upper Bay Counseling and Support Services Inc., developed the School-Based Mental Health Program for Maryland students while at a nonprofit agency and continued her private practice through tele-psychiatry in Delaware after she became a professor.
In both her teaching and clinical careers, Starr was devoted to improving the lives of children and families.
The Dr. Eileen F. Starr Endowed Scholarship has been established to honor her legacy and commitment to students and social work education. Contributions to the endowment will support future generations of students and carry forward the encouragement, advocacy and generosity that characterized Starr’s work.
Starr is survived by her partner, Carolyn Bryan. A celebration of life is expected to take place in late October.
