Research Interests

Tenure-Track Faculty

Louis (Lou) Burgio, Harold R. Johnson Professor of Social Work, Professor of Social Work, School of Social Work, Adjunct Professor of Nursing, School of Nursing
Louis (Lou) Burgio Research Interests: Applied gerontology, interventions to improve quality of life for elders in nursing homes/community settings, translational research, clinical trials.
Letha Chadiha, Associate Professor of Social Work
Letha  Chadiha Research Interests: Family caregiving involving older African Americans
Linda Chatters, Professor of Social Work,School of Social Work, Professor of Health Behavior and Health Education, School of Public Health and Faculty Associate, Research Center for Group Dynamics, ISR
Linda  Chatters Research Interests: Religious involvement and well-being, social support networks of adult/elderly African Americans, intergenerational family relations, families and health.
Barry Checkoway, Professor of Social Work, School of Social Work, Professor of Urban & Regional Planning, A Alfred Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning
Barry  Checkoway Research Interests: Community organization, social planning, neighborhood development.
Sandra (Sandy) Danziger, Professor of Social Work, School of Social Work, and Research Professor of Public Policy, Gerald R Ford School of Public Policy
Sandra (Sandy) Danziger Research Interests: Child, adolescent, and family policies and programs, effects of welfare reform.
Jorge Delva, Professor of Social Work and Associate Dean, School of Social Work, Faculty Associate, Survey Research Center, Institute for Social Research
Jorge  Delva Research Interests: Drug epidemiology, program evaluation, survey research, cross-cultural and cross-national research, the use of multilevel statistics to study individual- and contextual-level variables.
Ruth Dunkle, Wilbur J Cohen Collegiate Professor of Social Work, Professor of Social Work, and Associate Dean, Academic Programs
Ruth  Dunkle Research Interests: Clinical gerontology, service delivery to the elderly, the oldest old, coping and service deliver strategies for the elderly, racial and ethnic variations in caregiving to the elderly.
Kathleen Coulborn (Kathleen) Faller, Marion Elizabeth Blue Professor of Children and Families and Professor of Social Work
Kathleen Coulborn (Kathleen) Faller Research Interests: Child welfare, child abuse/neglect, sexual abuse.
Larry Gant, Professor of Social Work, School of Social Work, and Professor of Art and Design, School of Art and Design
Larry  Gant Research Interests: Program evaluation, African American populations, HIV/AIDS intervention research.
Eve Garrow, Assistant Professor of Social Work
  Research Interests: The resource environment of nonprofit human service organizations, with a special emphasis on government revenue and social enterprises.
Karla Goldman, Sol Drachler Professor of Social Work
Karla  Goldman Research Interests: American Judaism and American Jewish community and leadership, the history of Jewish women, black-Jewish relations, urban Jewish communities, and the construction of ethnic/racial identities in America.
Andrew (Andy) Grogan-Kaylor, Associate Professor of Social Work
Andrew (Andy) Grogan-Kaylor Research Interests: Poverty, neighborhoods, families and parenting, child well-being. Program evaluation. Advanced statistical models such as models for multilevel and longitudinal data, and models for categorical outcomes.
Lorraine Gutierrez, Arthur F Thurnau Professor, Professor of Psychology, College of Literature, Science, and the Arts, and Professor of Social Work, School of Social Work
Lorraine  Gutierrez Research Interests: Empowerment-oppressed groups, Latinos, social justice.
Joseph (Joe) Himle, Associate Professor of Psychiatry, Medical School and Associate Professor of Social Work, School of Social Work
Joseph (Joe) Himle Research Interests: Mental health, anxiety, depression, psycosocial interventions, cognitive-behavioral therapy, interface between neurobiology and psychosocial interventions in mental health.
Leslie Hollingsworth, Associate Professor of Social Work
Leslie  Hollingsworth Research Interests: African American families, child welfare, adoption, foster care.
Berit Ingersoll-Dayton, Professor of Social Work
Berit  Ingersoll-Dayton Research Interests: Social support of families in later life, employed caregivers, cross-cultural gerontology.
Sean Joe, Associate Professor of Social Work, Faculty Associate, School of Social Work, Associate Professor of Psychiatry, Medical School and Faulty Associate, Research Center for Group Dynamics, Institute for Social Research
Sean  Joe Research Interests: Self-destructive behaviors, including suicidal behavior, community organizing, positive youth development.
Edith (Edie) Kieffer, Associate Professor of Social Work
Edith (Edie) Kieffer Research Interests: Ethnic and geographic disparities in health and health services; maternal and child health; multi-level community-based intervention research to promote prevention of diabetes and its complications.
Sherrie Kossoudji, Associate Professor of Social Work, School of Social Work, and Adjunct Associate Professor of Economics, College of Literature, Science, and the Arts
Sherrie  Kossoudji Research Interests: Immigrant work lives, labor market inequalities, migrant worker opportunities, gender economics.
Laura Lein, Katherine Reebel Collegiate Professor of Social Work, Dean and Professor of Social Work, School of Social Work, and Professor of Anthropology, College of Literature, Science, and the Arts
Laura  Lein Research Interests: Households in poverty, NGOs and human services, health disparities, women's employment, child care, interdisciplinary and mixed methods research approaches.
Edith (Edie) Lewis, Associate Professor of Social Work and Women's Studies
Edith (Edie) Lewis Research Interests: Culturally competent practice, empowerment, women and families of color, international practice.
Lydia Li, Associate Professor of Social Work
Lydia  Li Research Interests: Physical and mental health of home care elders, elder suicide, long-term care, family caregiving, intergeneration relationships, social support, cross-cultural gerontology.
Sandra (Sandy) Momper, Assistant Professor of Social Work
Sandra (Sandy) Momper Research Interests: Gambling, substance abuse, PTSD, mental health and health disparities among rural and urban American Indians.
Emily Nicklett, Assistant Professor of Social Work
Emily  Nicklett Research Interests: Aging, Epidemiology of Chronic Disease, Health Disparities, Nutrition, Neighborhood Effects on Health, Social Support, Social Mobility
Robert Ortega, Associate Professor of Social Work
Robert  Ortega Research Interests: Child welfare, juvenile justice, serious mental illness.
Daphna Oyserman, Edwin J. Thomas Collegiate Professor of Social Work, Professor of Social Work, School of Social Work, Professor of Psychology and Adjunct Professor of Sociology, College of Literature, Science, and the Arts
Daphna  Oyserman Research Interests: Culture, race, stigma, prevention, identity, adolescence, cognition, motivation.
Janice (Janie) Paul, Associate Professor of Art, School of Art and Design and Associate Professor of Social Work, School of Social Work
Janice (Janie) Paul Research Interests: Prison art, integrated arts curricula in urban schools, university community partnerships in the arts, art programming in community development, perceptual development and children's art.
Brian Perron, Associate Professor of Social Work
Brian  Perron Research Interests: Community mental health, treatment processes, service access and utilization, evidence-based practices.
Thomas (Tom) Powell, Professor of Social Work
Thomas (Tom) Powell Research Interests: Mental health policies, self-help, and community-based support systems.
Beth Reed, Associate Professor of Social Work and Women's Studies
Beth  Reed Research Interests: Gender/ethnicity in social systems, feminist/multicultural practice, alcohol/drugs.
Lawrence (Larry) Root, Director, Office of Global Activities and Professor of Social Work
Lawrence (Larry) Root Research Interests: Social welfare/employment, services in the workplace, work-family, and cross-national labor policy/practices.
Mary Ruffolo, Associate Professor of Social Work
Mary  Ruffolo Research Interests: Intersection of mental health interventions with children, adolescents and their families.
Joseph Ryan, Associate Professor of Social Work, School of Social Work and Faculty Associate, Center for Political Studies, Institute for Social Research
Joseph  Ryan Research Interests: Child maltreatment, juvenile delinquency, substance abuse, intervention research, overrepresentation of African American youth
Daniel Saunders, Professor of Social Work
Daniel  Saunders Research Interests: Domestic and dating violence, direct practice, program evaluation.
H. Luke (Luke) Shaefer, Assistant Professor of Social Work
H. Luke (Luke) Shaefer Research Interests: Low-income working families and U.S. social policy, nonprofit organizations and management
Trina Shanks, Associate Professor of Social Work, School of Social Work, and Faculty Associate, Survey Research Center, Institute for Social Research
Trina  Shanks Research Interests: Poverty, wealth and child well-being, intergenerational economic inequality, family policies and programs.
Kristine (Kris) Siefert, Edith S. Gomberg Collegiate Professor of Social Work and Professor of Social Work
Kristine (Kris) Siefert Research Interests: Women's health, mental health, maternal and child health, prevention.
Marilyn Sinkewicz, Assistant Professor of Social Work
Marilyn  Sinkewicz Research Interests: Gender as a social determinant of health, health policies/programs, quantitative and qualitative methods, children affected by HIV/AIDS.
Michael (Mike) Spencer, Associate Dean and Professor of Social Work
Michael (Mike) Spencer Research Interests: Disparities in health and mental health service use, communities, social justice education.
Karen Staller, Associate Professor of Social Work
Karen  Staller Research Interests: Runaway and homeless youth, law, social problem construction, history of social welfare, qualitative research methods.
Robert Joseph (Robert) Taylor, Sheila Feld Collegiate Professor of Social Work, Professor of Social Work,School of Social Work, and Faculty Associate, Institute for Social Research
Robert Joseph (Robert) Taylor Research Interests: Informal social support networks of adult/elderly African Americans.
Richard (Rich) Tolman, Professor of Social Work
Richard (Rich) Tolman Research Interests: Group work and family violence, interpersonal practice.
John Tropman, Professor of Social Work
John  Tropman Research Interests: Decision-making systems, social welfare policy, disadvantaged groups, management of human service organizations, executive burnout, organizational reward systems.
David Tucker, Professor of Social Work, School of Social Work and Adjunct Professor of Sociology, College of Literature, Science, and the Arts
David  Tucker Research Interests: Organizational demography, organizational change, dynamic modeling of change processes, knowledge development and production.
Diane Kaplan (Diane) Vinokur, Associate Professor of Social Work
Diane Kaplan (Diane) Vinokur Research Interests: Nonprofit management, human service workplaces, collaboration between organizations and sectors.
Daphne Watkins Jacobs, Assistant Professor of Social Work, School of Social Work, Research Center for Group Dynamics, Institute for Social Research
Daphne  Watkins Jacobs Research Interests: Health promotion and disease prevention among underserved individuals and communities
Michael Woodford, Assistant Professor of Social Work
Michael  Woodford Research Interests: Marginalization and exclusion, heterosexism, HIV/AIDS prevention, social policy and administration, research ethics.
Mieko Yoshihama, Professor of Social Work
  Research Interests: Violence against women, community organizing and participatory action research in immigrant and marginalized communities, theatre-based prevention, mental health.
Bradley (Brad) Zebrack, Associate Professor of Social Work
Bradley (Brad) Zebrack Research Interests: Psychosocial oncology research and practice, program development, health disparities, patient advocacy.

Clinical and Research Faculty

Jeff Capobianco, Research Investigator
Karen Harlow-Rosentraub, Assistant Research Scientist, School of Nursing and Assistant Research Scientist, School of Social Work
  Research Interests: Healthy aging, civic engagement, volunteers and policy evaluation strategies.
Susan McDonough, Research Associate Professor and Adjunct Associate Professor of Social Work, School of Social Work, and Associate Research Scientist, Center for Human Growth and Development
Susan  McDonough Research Interests: Children's mental health, preventive interventions.
Gregory Pratt, LEO Intermittent Lecturer
Julie Ribaudo, Clinical Assistant Professor of Social Work
Julie  Ribaudo Research Interests: Prevention and early intervention, infant mental health, post-institutionalized children, attachment patterns and school outcomes, and impact of poverty on young children.
Katherine (Katie) Richards-Schuster, Assistant Research Scientist and Lecturer IV
Katherine (Katie) Richards-Schuster Research Interests: Youth participation, community organization, youth-led community change, and community-based participatory evaluation and research.
Beth Sherman, Assistant Professor of Social Work
Beth  Sherman Research Interests: Children and youth, school social work, prevention, and early intervention.
Elizabeth (Betsy) Voshel, Clinical Associate Professor of Social Work and Director of Academic Programs, School of Social Work
Elizabeth (Betsy) Voshel Research Interests: Field instruction, field instructor training, social work ethics, safety preparation for social workers, interdiciplinary collaboration, case management.
Kathleen Wade, Director of Social Work and Associate Hospital Administrator, UMH Operations, Assistant Dean of Hospital Social Work Services, School of Social Work, and Research Assistant Professor, School of Social Work
Kathleen  Wade Research Interests: Clinical social work, social work in health care.

Field Educators

G. Warren Clark
Susan Wiant Crabb
Oliva Alban Kuester
Stacy L. Peterson
Leigh Robertson
William L. Vanderwill
 

LEO Faculty

Alison Adlaf
M. Antonio (Tony) Alvarez
Research Interests: School social work, adventure based practice, child welfare, community-based interventions, bullying and suicide prevention and intervention, international social work, and practice with indigenous/immigrant populations.
Michael Appel
Shane Brady
Julie Cushman
Douglas (Doug) Davies
Research Interests: Clinical practice with children.
Susan Davis
Adrienne Dessel
Daniel Fischer
Steven Foley
Sallie Foley
Sarah Fraley
Joseph Galura
  Research Interests: Community service learning, especially how this pedagogy affects student outcomes; diversity, spirituality, and social work practice; the experiences of Filipino Americans, particularly in metropolitan Detroit.
Tammie Glenn
Carolyn Grawi
Karen Hague
Timothy Handy
JoAnn Heap
Charles (Chuck) Kieffer
Kristine Konz
William Long
John Martin
Debra Mattison
Robert (Bob) Miller
Patricia Miller
Laura Nitzberg
Mary Ortega
Kathryn Pelz-Davis
Christopher Plummer
Gregory Pratt
Janet Ray
Katherine (Katie) Richards-Schuster
Research Interests: Youth participation, community organization, youth-led community change, and community-based participatory evaluation and research.
Lori Roddy
Katherine Root
Anthony (Tony) Rothschild
Laura Sanders
Sue Ann Savas
Sally Schmall
Stuart Segal
Anne Segall
Gary Stauffer
James Svensson
Sioux (S) Trujillo
Kathleen Wade
Research Interests: Clinical social work, social work in health care.
Scott Weissman
Laura Wernick
Stephen Wiland
  Research Interests: Integrated treatment for co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders.
Deborah Willis
Ellen Yashinsky Chute

Emeritus Faculty

Paula Allen-Meares
Research Interests: Schools, adolescents, parenting.
Oscar Barbarin III
Research Interests: Culturally-sensitive psychological assessment, culture and children's mental health, development of African American children.
Harvey Bertcher
Research Interests: Group work, self-instruction, support by teleconferencing.
William (Bill) Birdsall
Research Interests: Policy analysis, program evaluation, prevention and treatment of drug abuse in women, poverty, inequality, welfare.
Howard Brabson
Sallie Churchill
Research Interests: Group work with children, child abuse and neglect, and adoption.
Tom Croxton
Research Interests: Social work ethics and standards of practice, juvenile justice, law and social work.
Sheila Feld
Research Interests: Role transitions among the elderly, late-life divorce and widowhood, social support for the elderly, variations in support groups among racial/ethnic groups.
Phillip Fellin
Research Interests: Rural and urban communities, social program evaluation, mental health policies and services, mental health and the elderly, and school social work.
Charles Garvin
Research Interests: Interpersonal practice gender/ethnicity, group work, long-term mental illness.
Rose Gibson
  Research Interests: Race and ethnicity in aging, inequality, racial differences in retirement and health status.
Martha Gizynski
  Research Interests: Family and children's services, ego psychology, clinical practice, adolescents, post-surgery trauma, supervisory relationships, maternal depression, and coping mechanisms of the elderly.
Jesse Gordon
Research Interests: Clinical research, labor.
Srinika (Siri) Jayaratne
Research Interests: Work stress, professional practice, client violence towards social workers, human service prevention programs.
Harold Johnson
Research Interests: Gerontology, organizational issues, and human service issues.
Armand Lauffer
Research Interests: Community organizing, planning, organizational development, Jewish communal service.
William Lawrence
  Research Interests: Social welfare administration, social work education. personnel and fiscal management, and program development.
Shirley Lockery
Research Interests: Aging-ethnogerontology, health policy, family support, retirement, and health of older African Americans.
Frank Maple Jr.
Research Interests: School social work, interviewing methods, group and family treatment.
Elizabeth Mutschler
Research Interests: Treatment procedures, therapist behaviors, computers in social work practice.
Rosemary Sarri
Research Interests: Child/family welfare policy, juvenile and criminal justice systems.
Brett Seabury
Research Interests: Interpersonal practice, radical critique, indigenous healing systems.
Vivian Shapiro
Helen Weingarten
Research Interests: Interpersonal conflict as a mechanism of change, affects of gender on behavior and outcomes, culture and conflict.
Mayer Zald
Research Interests: Organizational studies, collective behavior, social theory.