Office of Global Activities News

CASC Program Coordinator and LEO Adjunct Lecturer Alice Mishkin received a grant from the U-M Center for Global and Intercultural Study. She will spend three weeks in Palestine and Israel learning about different models of activism and the role of memory and trauma in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

Assistant Director of Global Activities Katie Lopez, Assistant Professor Reuben Miller and LEO Adjunct Lecturer Shari-Robinson-Lynk will receive recognition from the University of Michigan's Council on Global Engagement during International Education Week (November 16 - 20). Each of these faculty members was nominated by a student who said they had a positive impact on their global education experience - here in Ann Arbor or abroad.

Irene Ng (PhD’06, social work and economics) is the first director of the National University of Singapore's new Social Service Research Centre. In addition to this position, she is also an associate professor of social work in the Department of Social Work at the National University of Singapore.

Professor Larry Gant received a grant from the U-M International Institute to launch a program for the Winter 2015 semester with the subsequent study abroad component to Amsterdam and Berlin. The faculty teaching the Winter 2015 courses, workshops and the study abroad experience are Dr. Larry M. Gant and Christiane Edwards.

The following presentations were given by faculty at the recent Joint World Conference on Social Work, Education, and Social Development in Melbourne Australia.

Lecturer Katie Lopez, professor Lawrence Root and associate professor Betsy Voshel - "Developing an effective international field internship program for MSW students: A global partnership".

Assistant professor Katie Richards-Schuster and professor Mary Ruffolo - "Preparing future civic agents: Exploring the impact of social work education on undergraduates through a multidisciplinary minor in community action and social change".

Professor Lawrence Root - "Strengthening social and economic wellbeing in South India villages: Assessing a model for sustainable development".

Professor Mary Ruffolo - "Web-based common elements training of behavioral health workers: A new approach to evidence-based practices".

Professor John Tropman - "Free or cheap: Uncompensated and undercompensated work as a source of inequality".

Office of Global Activities manager and LEO adjunct lecturer Katie Lopez recently presented a session titled "Creating International Internship Opportunities for Graduate and Professional Students" at the Association of International Educators NAFSA 2014 Annual Conference in San Diego, CA. 

Professor Larry Gant taught "International Community Organizing" in May 2014 with 20 students (17 undergraduate (several CASC students) and 3 SSW graduate students) in Amsterdam, Netherlands and Berlin, Germany.  In both countries, students were engaged in policy presentations, site visits, and interviews with social workers involved in  human trafficking, juvenile justice and art based community practice.  The course was funded by grants from Global Course Connections and the International Institute's Experimental Learning Fund.

Katie Lopez was funded, through the LEO Lecturers Professional Development Fund, to attend the Joint World Conference on Social Work, Education and Social Development in Melbourne, Australia where she will be giving a presentation. She will also be conducting site visits for our global field placement students placed there and visiting our institutional partner at the University of Melbourne.