Jeffrey (Jeff) Noel Draine, PhD’95, a former professor in the School of Social Policy & Practice (SP2), died on September 7, 2025, from complications of young-onset Alzheimer’s Disease. He was 62.

Born in 1962 in Lively, Virginia, Dr. Draine moved among Methodist parsonages throughout Virginia in his childhood. He attended the University of South Carolina before transferring to Virginia Commonwealth University, where he graduated with a BS in rehabilitation and urban affairs in 1986. After college, Dr. Draine remained in Richmond, working with Freedom House, a nonprofit that addressed the needs of the homeless population. He then earned an MSW in social planning from Temple University in 1990. During his time at Temple, he also worked as a research associate at Hahnemann University (now part of Drexel University) under the mentorship of Phyllis Solomon. He followed Dr. Solomon to Penn to pursue doctoral studies, receiving a PhD in social welfare there in 1995.

While working towards his PhD, Dr. Draine became a research associate in Penn’s School of Social Policy & Practice and the Perelman School of Medicine, working in the latter’s psychiatry department. He also lectured in both schools, and in 1999, he joined the tenure track in SP2 as an assistant professor. He became an associate professor in 2003 and a full professor in 2010. In SP2, Dr. Draine taught graduate students and led a research program. In 2011, he was recruited by Temple University to chair the School of Social Work in the College of Public Health, where he served until 2018.

A housing advocate his entire life, Dr. Draine’s work was grounded in social justice. “He was a dedicated, skilled, and highly successful researcher who understood that—when done right—research could be a form of resistance,” said his family in a tribute. “He was involved in pioneering research on peer-delivered services and was a leading researcher in understanding the experiences of people with mental illnesses in the criminal justice system. He was a vocal advocate for mental healthcare in prisons and a staunch prison abolitionist, challenging the systems he worked within to be more humane and equitable. The quintessential social worker, Jeff knew that mental illness was real, but cared a lot more about addressing the poverty, racism, and other forms of oppression that make mental health problems so much more intractable and difficult to live with.” 

Dr. Draine is survived by his wife, Debora Dunbar; his sister, Betsy Draine; five children, Olly Baldwin (Jacob), Ben Dunbar (Lela), Maddy Draine Eberle (Naomi), Isaac Dunbar (Romina), and Leah Dunbar (Jafar); and four grandchildren, Suzannah (Sookie) Baldwin, Jett Baldwin, Gabriel Dunbar, and Andre Dunbar. 

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to the Penn Memory Center at https://tinyurl.com/PennMemoryCenter.