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June 25, 2020

Pandemic and Protests - the Michigan Social Work Community in Action

Between the pandemic and the protests in the wake of George Floyd’s brutal death, social workers have been called to action.  We checked in with a number of students, alumni and community members to hear how they are putting their training into action these last several months.  Read the stories of...

June 19, 2020

Student Union Encourages Social Workers to Act Now in Support of Recent Supreme Court Rulings

Dear SSW community,

"At the Michigan SSW Social Work We Believe... Black Lives Matter, Womxn's Rights are Human Rights, No Human is Illegal, Love is Love, Environmental Justice is Social Justice, Community is Everything."

- ABSW Inclusion Sign in McGregor Commons

Student Union would like to share...

June 18, 2020

Words Matter: Insights on Conversations About Race

PhD student Change Kwesele recently published ‘It’s Not a Quick Fix.’ Notes for the ‘good’ white people: Insights on conversations about race at work” on Medium.  Kwesele breaks down why the choice of words matters.  “White people must be mindful of how certain ‘polite’ words and conversations have...

June 17, 2020

We Grieve for Robert Fuller and Malcolm Harsch

Dear Michigan Social Work Community,

Today, we name Robert Fuller and Malcolm Harsch. We grieve with their families and with too many other families facing similar loss.  We endorse the further investigations of their deaths which are overseen by the FBI and the state of California.  At the same...

June 16, 2020

Abigail Eiler Appointed to Big Ten Anti-Hate and Anti-Racism Coalition

Clinical Assistant Professor of Social Work Abigail Eiler was appointed to the Big Ten Anti-Hate and Anti-Racism Coalition. The coalition will encourage, educate and empower student-athletes and will develop tangible and actionable efforts in a collective manner and provide viable solutions...

June 15, 2020

Protests Can be a Powerful Strategy to Enact Change

In light of COVID-19, and ongoing protests in the wake of George Floyd’s death, Professor and Associate Dean of Research Rogério M. Pinto spoke to MLive about both the timing and the power of this moment of unrest.  “Protests can be a powerful strategy to enact change, and already the movement has...

June 15, 2020

TAKE ACTION: Help Protect Transgender People from Health Care Discrimination

The University of Michigan School of Social Work stands for health equity and equal human rights for the LGBTQIA2S+ community. Over the weekend the federal government reversed an important Obama administration ruling that provided access and nondiscrimination in insurance coverage for transgender...

May 29, 2020

Take a Stand Against the Structures that Perpetuate and Tolerate Killings of Black Americans

"We must move past indecision to action...If we do not act, we shall surely be dragged down the long, dark, and shameful corridors of time reserved for those who possess power without compassion, might without morality, and strength without sight.”
-Martin Luther King Jr.

Dear Social Work Community...

May 26, 2020

How to Tell if It’s More Than a Bad Mood?

Associate Professor Shawna Lee’s research is cited in a New York Times article that discusses how the tremendous changes wrought by the pandemic can mimic, mask or amplify depression-like feelings.  According to the research she conducted in April, a third of respondents reported symptoms of...

May 26, 2020

Reform Judaism is a Wounded Giant

Professor Karla Goldman’s article in Forward discusses how the economic disruptions of the coronavirus add to the woes that have been threatening the viability of the historic institutions and programs that support Reform Judaism.