Karla Goldman's article "Fifteen Years after Katrina: Lessons for August 2020" reflects on Hurricane Katrina and draws connections to the pandemic. Writes Goldman, "A crisis offers the opportunity to draw upon established strengths and reach forward for new possibilities implicit in working across differences, even as we hold fast to the essential connections and stories that define who we are."

Associate Dean for Research and Professor Rogério M. Pinto is the lead on the project “Brazil Theater Exchange: Innovation for Social Work Education,” which was recently awarded a Council on Social Work Education’s Katherine A. Kendall Institute of International Social Work Education grant. Since 2015 the Kendall Institute has awardedgrants that support international social work education projects that help prepare United States students for global citizenship and encourage opportunities for international social work.

“Brazil Theater Exchange: Innovation for Social Work Education” uses self-referential drama techniques to prepare social workers to overcome service barriers and enhance advocacy by developing and evaluating theater methods for social work education.

Professor Robert Joseph Taylor was quoted in Salon and CNN: "People are talking about the race disparity in COVID deaths, they're talking about the age disparity, but they're not talking about how race and age disparities interact: They're not talking about older Black adults."

On Wednesday, Detroit teachers voted to authorize a “safety strike,” should their concerns about protective equipment and protocols not be met.  Associate Research Scientist Roland Zullo spoke with the Detroit Free Press about the potential legal consequences and public reaction. "No one knows about the exact risks" of COVID-19, Zullo said. "I don't think it'd be unreasonable and my guess is that the public would be on the teachers' side."

Jaclynn Hawkins and Jamie Mitchell have each received loan repayment awards for their continued commitment to engage in health-disparities research. The awards are from the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities whose loan repayment programs were established by Congress and designed to recruit and retain highly qualified health professionals into biomedical or biobehavioral research careers. Hawkins is an assistant professor and leads the Diabetes in Men's Health Lab. Mitchell is an assistant professor and is a co-director of the Co-investigator of the Michigan Center for Urban African American Aging Research.

Roland Zullo’s paper “Explaining Privatization Failure: The Vice of Sweet Carrots and Hard Sticks” has been selected by the editorial board of the Review of Radical Political Economics as winner of the Annual Best Paper Award.  The paper explains why private contracting underperforms in the production of public services.

Clinical Assistant Professor Justin Hodge, MSW ‘13, won the Democratic primary for Washtenaw County Commissioner, 5th District; he’ll advance to face the Republican candidate in the November election.

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 addressing the issues of hate and racism in our society.