Joint PhD Program News

Vincent Fusaro successfully defended his dissertation, “The Spirit of '96: States & the Implementation of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families” and obtained his PhD in Social Work and Political Science. Dr. Fusaro has accepted an Assistant Professor of Social Work position with Boston College.

Elizabeth Armstrong successfully defended her dissertation, “Bridging the Intimate Partner Violence and Alcohol and Other Drug Service Fields” and obtained her PhD in Social Work and Sociology. Dr. Armstrong has accepted a position at the University of Maine.

Elizabeth Koomson successfully defended her dissertation, “Transforming Customary Systems: Talensi Women in Small-scale Mining” and obtained her PhD in Social Work and Anthropology. Dr. Koomson is currently researching her options on the job market.

Adrian Gale successfully defended his dissertation, “Examining Black adolescents’ perceptions of in-school racial discrimination: The role of gender, socioeconomic status and perceptions of school climate on academic outcomes” and obtained his PhD in Social Work and Psychology. Dr. Gale has accepted a position at Rutgers University.

Vincent Fusaro and Janelle Goodwill received the Doctoral Poster Award at the School of Social Work's annual Research Day. Fusaro was awarded for his poster "Children in Immigrant Families & Economic Hardship", and Goodwill for her poster, "How Do Young Black Men Cope with Life Stressors and Mental Health Challenges?" Fusaro's research looked at immigrant family participation in public programs, while Goodwill studied in-group differences in mental and health coping strategies in young Black men.

John Mathias successfully defended his dissertation, "Contentious Ethics: Creativity and Persuasion among Environmental Justice Organizers in South India" and obtained his PhD in Social Work and Anthropology. He has accepted an Assistant Professor of Social Work position with Florida State University.

Lisa O'Donnell, PhD '16, and current UCLA postdoctoral fellow, along with Professor and Associate Dean for Research Joe Himle and Associate Professor Andy Grogan-Kaylor have had their article "Depression and Executive Functioning Deficits Predict Poor Occupational Functioning in a Large Longitudinal Sample with Bipolar Disorder" published in the Journal of Affective Disorders.

Sara Stein (PhD student) received the Research Grant for Scholarship and Creative Activities Focusing on Women and Gender from the U-M Institute for Research on Women and Gender.