PhD News

Lisa Young Larance, Joint PhD student Social Work and Sociology, article “Understanding and Addressing Women’s Use of Force in Intimate Relationships: A Retrospective” was published recently in Violence Against Women.

Joint PhD student Yun Chen and Kathleen Pottick, visiting scholar and professor of social work at Rutgers University, are both recipients of an honorable mention for the 2019 Society for Social Work and Research Excellence in Research Award.

A new study from researchers at the University of Michigan School of Social Work is the largest to date to examine associations between parental spanking and child well-being. The results of this study suggest that the use of spanking is detrimental to children across cultural contexts.

Huiyun Kim successfully defended his dissertation entitled "Housing Insecurity and Low-Income Housing Policy in the United States". His committee consisted of Kristin Seefeldt, Sarah Burgard (co-chairs), Richard Tolman and Rachel Best.
He has accepted a postdoctoral associate position from Minnesota Population Center at the University of Minnesota.

Matthew Bakko, Joint PhD student in Social Work and Sociology has been selected for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Health Policy Research Scholars program.

The program supports and connects emerging scholars who are committed to bringing about meaningful change and building a national Culture of Health. Participants build the interdisciplinary skills and relationships necessary to extend their influence and impact, break down silos, address health disparities, and make our communities healthier.

Jessica Wiederspan, PhD '17 dissertation research, "How the Ideology of the American Dream Persists in an Era of Economic Insecurity" is cited in The Washington Post, "Donald Trump's grotesque fraud". Wiederspan is a researcher studying basic income with the Y Combinator.

Rick Rodems successfully defended his dissertation entitled "Hidden Hardship: Three Essays on Poverty and Material Welfare in the United States."  His committee consisted of Luke Shaefer, Fabian Pfeffer (co-chairs), Sandra Danziger and Greta Krippner. Rodems has accepted a postdoctoral fellowship at U-M Poverty Solutions.

Rick Rodems successfully defended his dissertation entitled "Hidden Hardship: Three Essays on Poverty and Material Welfare in the United States."  His committee consisted of Luke Shaefer, Fabian Pfeffer (co-chairs), Sandra Danziger and Greta Krippner. Rodems has accepted a postdoctoral fellowship at U-M Poverty Solutions.

Charity Hoffman successfully defended her dissertation "The 21st Century Mother: How New Moms Navigate Work, Family and the Struggle to Have it All” and obtained her PhD in Social Work and Sociology. Her committee consisted of Karin Martin, Katie Richards-Schuster (co-chairs), Fatma Muge Gocek and Mary Ruffolo.

Rachel Burrage successfully defended her dissertation "Trauma, Loss, Resilience, and Resistance in the Beauval Indian Residential School” and obtained her PhD in Social Work and Psychology.  Her committee consisted of Joseph Gone, Sandra Momper (co-chairs), Donna Nagata and Karen Staller. She has accepted a tenure track faculty position with University of Hawaii at the Manoa's Myron B. Thompson School of Social Work.