Focus on the Field Center

Field Center Advisory Board Profile: Dr. Robert Sadoff

Dr. Robert Sadoff has been involved with the Field Center since its inception. Nationally recognized for his contributions to the field of forensic psychiatry, social justice has been at the core of Dr. Sadoff’s career. Dr. Sadoff received his undergraduate and medical degrees from the University of Minnesota, after graduating as valedictorian of his high school at the age of sixteen. He then went on to the University of California at Los Angeles, where he was accepted as one of eight residents at the UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute. He also earned a Master of Science Degree in Psychiatry while at UCLA.

Dr. Sadoff then went to Philadelphia, where he studied at Temple University School of Law and served as a Captain in the U.S. Medical Corps at New Jersey’s Walson Army Hospital. He completed a fellowship in forensic psychiatry which was sponsored by Temple University’s law and medical schools. In 1972, Dr. Sadoff accepted a position as Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania, and became a full Clinical Professor of Psychiatry in 1978. Sadoff developed a course in forensic psychiatry that was given at the Annual Meeting of the American Psychiatric Association for many years. He has taught in every single state in the U.S., as well as in twelve other countries. He is the recipient of numerous awards in forensic psychiatry and is respected nationally for his work.

Dr. Sadoff has been involved with numerous charitable organizations. He served as the president of the American Red Magen David for Israel, which is the American support group for the Israeli Red Cross. He serves on the Board of Directors and the Executive Committee of Gratz College. He is also active with the Philadelphia Chapter of the Anti-Defamation League and the Center for Social Responsibility of the Jewish Federation of Philadelphia. In May 2004, he donated the Robert L. Sadoff Library of Forensic Psychiatry and Legal Medicine to the College of Physicians of Philadelphia. He is currently planning to establish a symposium on interfaith dialogue at Gratz College.

Sadoff has served as a consultant in forensic psychiatry at many state hospitals and prisons, evaluating and examining thousands of individuals charged with various crimes. Noting that abuse sometime reflects itself in criminal or self-destructive behavior, Sadoff remarked, “I’ve seen a number of serial killers and murderers, and I have never seen one that wasn’t seriously abused as a child. If we can prevent or treat that effectively, we may be able to prevent violent behavior that will occur later in life.” Dr. Sadoff feels that children are one of the nation’s most vulnerable populations, and thus feels that the Field Center’s mission of advocating on behalf of abused and neglected children is extremely important.

Dr. Sadoff has made family life a priority despite the many demands of his professional life. He and his wife Joan, a social worker with two masters degrees, one in education and one in social work, will celebrate their fiftieth anniversary next year. Together they have four children and ten grandchildren.

Field Center Student Profile: Danfeng Wang

Danfeng Wang is an MSW candidate at the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Social Policy and Practice. Originally from southeastern China, Wang graduated from Fudan University in Shanghai in 2007, where she majored in social work. Wang’s interest in child advocacy piqued as an undergraduate, during her field placement in a juvenile delinquency center in Shanghai. While working at the juvenile delinquency center, Wang discovered that the social service system in China is relatively underdeveloped. Juvenile delinquency and child abuse are relatively high in China, and Wang hopes that once China’s social service system is more developed, it will adequately address and ameliorate these issues. After earning her MSW at Penn, Wang plans to pursue a PhD in public policy, so she can ultimately teach others who want to go into social work. She also hopes to eventually contribute to policy changes that will expand the social service system in China. In her spare time, Wang enjoys swimming, cooking, and traveling. We are extremely excited that she has decided to join the Field Center.