Research Office News

Six School of Social Work Professors have been selected to serve as cluster co-chairs for the Society for Social Work and Research (SSWR) Annual Conference. Cluster chairs play a significant role in the abstract review and development of the abstract-based program content for the SSWR annual conference.

Associate Professor Lindsay Bornheimer — Mental Health cluster

Assistant Professor James Ellis — Black and African Diaspora Focused-Research cluster

Assistant Professor Odessa Gonzalez Benson — Race and Ethnicity cluster

Associate Professor Shanna Kattari — Gender cluster

Associate Professor Kathryn Maguire-Jack — Inequality, Poverty, and Social Welfare Policy cluster

Associate Professor Camille Quinn — Black and African Diaspora Focused-Research cluster

Research Fellow Greer Hamilton, PhD ’23, has been selected as an Agent of Change Fellow. Sponsored by the Environmental Health News and Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, the program is designed to empower emerging leaders from historically excluded backgrounds in science and academia to reimagine solutions for a just and healthy planet.

Associate Professor Shanna Kattari spoke with USA Today about polyamory, the changing attitudes towards monogamy and increased interest in different relationship styles. "The more that even monogamous people are willing to learn and educate themselves about polyamory, the better it is for everyone," said Kattari.

Associate Professor Shanna Katari spoke with NPR’s Marketplace about job discrimination and the role it plays in the higher rates of economic hardship that transgendered people face in the U.S. “So it might not be something as explicit as ‘I’m not hiring you because you’re trans,’ but ‘I’m not hiring you because you don’t match my idea of what a woman should look like,’” they said.

Associate Clinical Professor Daicia Price spoke with Gray TV’s Local News Live about social media and loneliness. “Social Media has a role in our society,” she said, “but it is not a replacement for those intimate connections that people probably were really desiring.”

Associate Professor Shanna Kattari was interviewed on PBS NewsHour Weekend in a segment on the challenges of love and dating while living with disabilities.

“I think nondisabled people really buy into a lot of the notions that have been perpetuated around disability and disabled people, such as disabled folks are all asexual, which is not true,” said Kattari. “There is this idea that we should feel grateful to be asked on a date or grateful to be partnered with, which is totally not the case.”

Assistant Professor Anao Zhang has been named to the 2023 cohort of the Sojourns Scholar Leadership Program. Established by the Cambia Health Foundation in 2014, the program advances the next generation of palliative care leaders across a range of disciplines — including nursing, social work, pharmacy, communications, health systems, psychology and spirituality —with a goal of increasing palliative care access, awareness and quality across the nation. Zhang will receive a two-year, $180,000 grant for his project “Developing and implementing an inclusive and equitable framework to integrate palliative care services in adolescent and young adult (AYA) oncology programs.” 

The University of Michigan School of Social Work, in collaboration with the U-M Arts Initiative, proudly announces the selection of the Pan-African Creative Exchange (PACE) as the featured artist residency for 2024. This initiative, a part of the Arts Initiative’s Visiting Artist Integration Program (VAIP), is designed to infuse the University of Michigan’s engagement and learning processes with the dynamic creativity of artists. 

About Pan-African Creative Exchange (PACE)

PACE, founded at the prestigious Vrystaat Arts Festival at the University of the Free State in Bloemfontein, South Africa, serves as a biennial arts market and showcase for African and African-diaspora artists. The platform provides a gateway for presenting tour-ready work, showcasing excerpts, pitching new creations, facilitating producer exchanges, hosting workshops, and fostering critical debates—ultimately creating an invaluable network for artists and creatives. The 2024 U-M School of Social Work Artist Residency will feature a bi-coastal duo, Nike Jonah and Erwin Maas, who specialize in art consultancy across various creative sectors. Their residency, taking place during two weeks in February (Feb. 8-14) and April (April 10-15) will encompass masterclasses, workshops, and conversations aimed at enriching the U-M community and the Southeast Michigan region.

Nike Jonah and Erwin Maas

Jonah, a British Nigerian based in London, and Maas, a Dutch-American based in NYC, bring a wealth of international experience to U-M. Their diverse backgrounds and expertise promise a unique perspective on diversity, equity, and inclusion matters, as well as the sustainability of performing arts professions in Africa and its diaspora.

“We are excited to partner with the U-M Arts Initiative to host these two residencies, which will explore the diversity of cultural expression and how the arts can drive social change. The intersection of social work, social justice and the arts is a vibrant and impactful area of study. I look forward to engaging in compelling and thought provoking conversations,” said Beth Angell, Dean and Phillip Fellin Collegiate Professor at the U-M School of Social Work.

The February 8-14 artist residency will include: 

Feb. 8: Leading and Managing Global Majority Cultural Organizations (Class Visit)

Feb. 8: Theatre & Incarceration (Class Visit)

Feb. 8: ArtsEngine (Affiliate Event)

Feb. 9: Theatre Studies Forum

Feb. 9: Stamps School of Art & Design MFA program (Critique Salon)

Feb. 10: Prison Creative Arts (Workshop)

Feb. 11: PACE Luncheon of the Willing (Public event; U-M Detroit Center)
RSVP

Feb. 12: School of Social Work Art Collective (Dinner and Conversation)

Feb. 13: Essentials of Community & Organizational Practice (Class Visit)

Feb. 14: An Afrocentric Approach to Practice with African Amer/Black Indiv., Families & Communities (Class Visit)

Feb. 14: Unity Diversity Dinner hosted by DEI & Office of Global Activities 

Feb. 14: Art-centered Social Justice Practice & Self-healing (Class Visit)
 

Additional Events in April

April 12: Global Networking & Idea Pitching w/ Pan-African Creative Exchange
RSVP

April 15: PACE Speed-Networking Pitching Session

RSVP