School of Social Work News

Assistant Professor Sunggeun (Ethan) Park has been elected treasurer of the Society for Social Work and Research. In his vision statement, Park listed the following goals: maintaining fiscal accountability and responsibility; promoting inclusive and transparent fiscal decision-making processes and representing the voices of early-stage scholars with marginalized identities and interests. Park will begin his term on February 1.

Jim Toy, MSW ‘81, has died. Toy’s lifelong LGBTQ+ activism resulted in inclusive policies at the university and legislation at the state and local level.  One of those results is the Spectrum Center, which was the first such university office of its kind. Toy received an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from U-M last May.

Read more about Toy's life and impact:

Michigan’s first openly gay man, prominent Ann Arbor LGBTQ activist, dies at 91

A Community in Mourning: Michigan Politicians, LGBTQ+ Orgs Honor Jim Toy’s Activist Legacy

Longtime LGBTQ+ activist Jim Toy, first publicly gay man in Michigan, dies at 91

Gentlest But Most Unshakeable Campaigner’ Jim Toy, Michigan LGBTQ+ Trailblazer and Icon, Dies at 91

Memories and Tributes for Jim Toy

Recordings of Jim Toy

• Transforming Societal Paradigms: Jim Toy at TEDxUofM
• 2021 U-M Commencement
• History of the Spectrum Center
• I am Senior Strong: Jim Toy

Professor Brad Zebrack has received the American Psychosocial Oncology Society’s Ruth McCorkle Excellence in Research Mentorship Award.  The award honors those who have demonstrated a longstanding commitment to nurturing intellectual growth, career development, professional guidance and positive role modeling in the field of psychosocial oncology.

Assistant Professor Fernanda Cross is featured on Deutsche Welle (DW) website. The article explores her journey to the U.S. and her research at U-M School of Social Work. “It is as an immigrant that Cross finds the necessary empathy for her work. As a researcher, she analyzes precisely the insertion of Latin American immigrants in the United States.”

Andrew Grogan-Kaylor has been appointed the Sandra K. Danziger Collegiate Professor of Social Work. His research focuses on scientific knowledge development and intervention research on children and families with the aim of reducing violence against children and improving family and child well-being. He also examines the dynamic interplay of parenting behaviors and their effects on child health and mental health outcomes across socioeconomic contexts, neighborhoods and cultures.  A collegiate professorship is a University of Michigan advanced professorial title, which recognizes: a national, or preferably international, reputation in research; a record of exceptional teaching quality and of innovation; and a history of service to the School, the university and the community.

Lorraine Gutiérrez has been appointed the Edith A. Lewis Collegiate Professor of Social Work. Gutiérrez is an internationally renowned scholar in empowerment theory and anti-oppressive practice.  Her teaching and scholarship focus on multicultural praxis in communities, organizations and higher education.  Her current projects include identifying strategies for multicultural community-based research and practice, multicultural education for social work practice, and identifying effective methods for learning about social justice.  A collegiate professorship is a University of Michigan advanced professorial title, which recognizes: a national, or preferably international, reputation in research; a record of exceptional teaching quality and of innovation; and a history of service to the School, the university and the community.

Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs Joseph Himle will serve as interim dean of the School of Social Work beginning on January 1, 2022.

“It is an honor to serve as interim dean of the School of Social Work. The School has thrived under the stellar leadership of Dean Lynn Videka and I look forward to leading the school until a permanent dean is appointed,” Himle said. “The School of Social Work has tremendous faculty, students and staff who will all join together to guide the school during this transition period.”

Dean Lynn Videka will step down from the deanship at the end of the year. An advisory committee is conducting a search for the next dean of the School.

William Elliott was the keynote for the Alice P. Lin Memorial Lecture at Columbia University. Elliott’s talk, "We Also Have to Give Children Something to Live For: Children's Savings, Student Debt, and Wealth Inequality,” argued that the drive Americans have demonstrated throughout their history comes not just from having enough money to pay their bills each week or enough to live on, but from the promise of a better future and that Children’s Savings Accounts can play a role in realizing that future.

Elliott is a social work professor, director of the Joint PhD program in social work and social science and the founding director of the Center on Assets, Education, and Inclusion.