Joint PhD Program News

Abigail Williams-Butler successfully defended her dissertation "The Role of Relational Permanence in Positive Outcomes among African American Adolescents in Foster Care". She has accepted a postdoctoral fellowship followed by an assistant professorship at Rutgers University School of Social Work. Her committee consisted of Joseph Ryan, Vonnie McLoyd (co-chairs) John Schulenberg, Desmond Patton and Pamela Davis-Kean.

Na Youn Lee successfully defended her dissertation, “Understanding Interracial Closeness, Racial Policy Attitudes, and Children’s Academic Achievement through the Prism of Racial Frameworks” and obtained her PhD in Social Work and Political Science. Professors Andrew Grogan-Kaylor and Kathleen Faller were on her committee. 

Finn Bell and Vincent Fusaro (PhD students) are the co-recipients of the 2016 Henry Meyer Award. Bell's paper, "The Prison within a Prison" and Fusaro's paper, "States and the End of Cash Assistance" made original contributions to empirical or theoretical literature in a manner that integrates social work and social science.

Sara Stein, Abigail Williams-Butler, Analidis Ochoa-Bendana, Oto Alves da Silva, Ronke Olawale, and Joyce Lee (PhD students) received grants, the Bobbe and Jon Bridge Award for Research/Travel to support research expenses and conference travel. The Bobbe and Jon Bridge Award for Engaged Scholarship supports Rackham graduate students who are conducting original research focused on child welfare.

Ninive Sanchez (PhD '15), Associate Professor Andrew Grogan-Kaylor, Professor Jorge Delva and Assistant Professor Cristina Bares' book chapter, "An Agenda for Longitudinal Research on Substance Use and Abuse with Hispanics in the U.S. And with Latin American Populations" was published in the book, Drug Use Trajectories among Minority Youth. 

Ronke Olawale (PhD student) received the U-M Center for the Education of Women’s Margaret Dow Towsley Scholarship. The scholarship is awarded on the basis of goals and commitment, academic record, and motivation to allow women the chance to complete their education at U-M.

Guillermo Sanhueza (PhD’14) gave an interview (Spanish) with one of Chile's main TV channels, Canal 24 Horas, about his research on prisoner reentry in Chile.

Angie Perone (PhD student) received the Margaret Dow Towsley Scholarship through the U-M Center for the Education of Women Scholarship Program. This scholarship serves women who act as primary caregivers or whose education has been interrupted.