Joint PhD Program News

Charles Williams' editorial, “The Real Lesson That We Learned from the Juwan Howard Incident: A Black Man Still Has No Rights That Require Respect” is included in the latest issue of Diverse: Issues In Higher Education. “Watching Coach Howard try to negotiate anger the best way he could when walking down the handshake line, makes me flashback to every single moment in my life when I got to my car, or made it to my office or left the conflict and literally thanked God that I got away without having an emotional to physical blackout,” wrote Williams.

PhD student Charles Williams II was featured on the CBS Evening News in a story on voting rights. “They aren’t securing the vote, they are suppressing the vote,” said Williams in regards to a petition backed by republicans to tighten voter ID requirements in the state of Michigan. Williams is leading local efforts to protect voting rights. “The fight must continue, and I think many people on the ground understand and are very clear that they will not stop until justice comes.”

PhD student Rita Hu has received the 2021 Elizabeth Douvan Junior Scholar in Life Course Development, part of the Institute for Social Research (ISR) Next Generation Awards.

Named in honor of Elizabeth “Libby” Douvan, the first female member of ISR’s research facility, the fund is designed to support senior graduate students, post-doctoral candidates, and junior faculty members with research agendas in Life Course Development (LCD). Scholars at this point in their careers are often at their most creative and productive and Douvan is fondly remembered for her skill and caring in assisting researchers through this stage.

“As a mentee of Dr. Toni Antonucci, the Elizabeth M. Douvan Collegiate Professor of Psychology, and a member of the LCD program, it is my honor to pass on the legacy,” says Hu.  “My research interests in social relations across the lifespan were inspired by research done by LCD members and the supportive learning environment at LCD. The fund will support me in learning and exchanging ideas with scholars at conferences, as well as advancing my knowledge in research methods to further understand social relations and ageism.”

Berenice Castillo, Joint Doctoral Program in Social Work and Psychology, has successfully defended her dissertation entitled "Three Studies Examining Externalizing Behavior and Substance Use Among Diverse Youth."  Her committee consisted of Andrew Grogan-Kaylor, and John Schulenberg (co-chairs), Cristina Bares and Matt Diemer.

Castillo will join Florida International University as an assistant professor of social work in January.

Joint PhD student Charles Williams II is the subject of a new “This is Michigan” video, which chronicles the emergency response program Williams spearheaded during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. The School of Social Work partnered with the Historic King Solomon Baptist Church in Detroit, where Williams is the pastor, to care for those in the community who were hit hard by the shutdown. School of Social Work students worked emergency hotlines, manned food banks and conducted wellness checks. Entitled “Caring Throughout Crisis,” the video also features Professor Trina Shanks.

PhD student Charles Williams II is featured in a video from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services addressing vaccine hesitancy and encouraging the COVID-19 vaccination. Williams, who is pastor of the Historic King Solomon Baptist Church, says “There is no invincibility to COVID-19. If it hits you, and it hits you wrong, you’re gone.”

Joint PhD student Irene Routté has been awarded a 2021 Rackham Public Scholarship Grant for her project “Grand Rapids Congolese Refugee Youth Council and Leadership Program.”  In partnership with Michigan Banyamulenge Community (MBC), a refugee-run organization in Grand Rapids, Routté will help develop and launch a community-driven youth council and leadership development program for Congolese refugee youths. This project will help MBC extend its organizational capacity to serve the roughly 8,000 Congolese refugees in the Grand Rapids area and create a space of support and empowerment for Congolese and other refugee youth.

The Rackham Program in Public Scholarship supports mutually beneficial projects created between Rackham students and community partners.

Ed-Dee Williams, Joint Doctoral Program in Social Work and Sociology, has successfully defended his dissertation entitled, “Black Boys Mental Health Help-Seeking: Exploring Perceptions, Barriers and Social Processes.” His committee consisted of Jamie Mitchell and Alford A. Young, Jr. (co-chairs), David Córdova and Renee Anspach.

Williams will join the University of Michigan School of Social Work Level Up: Employment Skills Simulation Lab as a postdoctoral fellow this August. Williams will use his expertise on the mental health of Black youth to support two federally funded studies that are focused on autism, as well as engage in an intensive training program to lead randomized controlled trials.The fellowship will also support Williams to develop a new technology-based intervention to enhance the conversational help-seeking skills for Black autistic youth experiencing depression.