School of Social Work News

Field Faculty and Lecturer Leigh Robertson has been named the 2021 SSW Distinguished Lecturer for her dedication and skill in field education.

Since joining the School in 2004, she has provided exceptional instruction and mentorship to over 1,500 social work students. She has worked closely with field instructors, who routinely testify to the importance of Robertson’s mentorship and support of their efforts in working with our students. In attending to the needs and growth of both students and field instructors, she has ensured that MSW students receive the kind of learning and growth through their field experiences which fulfill a vital and significant aspect of the School’s curriculum.

Robertson has also played an instrumental role in attending to the importance of diversity, equity and inclusion concerns and has provided important support to LBGTQIA+ students. She took the lead in creating “Out in Field'' trainings for field instructors and agencies, which not only support LGBT+ students’ ability to fully benefit from their field placements, but also advance the work of inclusion and diversity across our community.

Professors Mary Ruffolo and Mieko Yoshihama have been named 2021 SSW Distinguished Faculty for their dedication to scholarship and teaching, for their excellent service to both the School and to students.

In recent weeks, the number of COVID-19 cases in India has exploded, overwhelming the nation’s public health, medical and infrastructure capacities, and creating a health care catastrophe.

The U-M Community has close ties to India that go back over a century, resulting in cherished long term research and educational partnerships. We currently have about 1,000 students from and 6,000 alumni in India, many of whom are personally affected by this unfolding crisis.

How you can help:

• Give to the American India Foundation’s COVID Response Fund. Entering “University of Michigan” in the comment box will ensure that your gift is recognized as part of the U-M community’s effort to assist at this critically important time.
• Take five min to call Congress and ask them to encourage and support measures that would increase vaccination rates in India.
  • Find your U.S. Representative.
  • Find your U.S. Senator.

We know many of you with family or friends in India are suffering. Please do not hesitate to reach out to access university support resources if you need help during such a difficult time. Our Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) are available to all students.

• U-M Counseling and Psychological Services CAPS resources are shared with students and listed in the MSW News. Alejandro Rojas, MSW, is the CAPS embedded counselor with the School of Social Work,. You can reach him by phone at (734) 763-7894 or aroja@umich.edu.
• Our Faculty and Staff Counseling and Consultation Office is open and available to provide support to U-M faculty and staff on the Ann Arbor.

Professor William Elliott III spoke with the New York Times about how establishing college savings accounts early transforms expectations about the future and impacts savings. “A savings account for a low-income kid means a lot more to them than it does for a wealthy kid.”

The advisory committee includes faculty, staff, students and other members of the U-Community. The committee is looking for a replacement for Lynn Videka who will step down as dean on December 31, 2021. Read the full story in The University Record.

The jury has found Derek Chauvin guilty on all counts. 
The jury has found Derek Chauvin guilty of second-degree murder in the death of George Floyd.
The jury has found Derek Chauvin guilty of third-degree murder in the death of George Floyd.
The jury has found Derek Chauvin of manslaughter in the death of George Floyd.

Read the university’s response to the verdict in the trial of Derek Chauvin.

On April 9, five MSW students, Sofie Aaron, Amy Belfer, Flavio Di Stefano, Hannah Lefton and Callie Torkelson, showcased Designing Access, a resource they created to promote the creation of events that are inclusive and welcoming to all. Their design was part of the Envisioning an Anti-Racist World Challenge, in partnership with the U-M Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.

Designing Access was one of seven presentations at the virtual showcase. Participants were able to create an avatar and enter virtual rooms to experience the presentations. The team was awarded $1,000 in recognition of their innovative approach to creating a future world that is anti-racist.

The team was initially brought together by Clinical Assistant Professor Katie Doyle. The original project idea started as a class project with the insight that someone developing an event could use the DEI Checklist as a tool for ensuring that any event was fully accessible. The website takes users through the entire event planning process and provides resources for them, right on the website, to help them tackle the relevant planning questions.

Hannah Lefton, a Designing Access team member, remarked, “A big challenge of using technology to increase accessibility is that technology is not always accessible. There are a lot of pitfalls one can hit when trying to make a website (or any technology) accessible. But, our team also thinks technology can be used intentionally to make resources much more accessible. It's just a matter of putting in the time and effort to make it that way. As social work students, the Designing Access team was happy to put in that time and energy, because we know that creating more accessible spaces is an important goal.”

The team worked hard to create an online toolkit that can be used by anyone. They hope it will become a resource for event planners, teachers, administrators, nonprofits, small businesses, for-profit enterprises and even individuals who are interested in making casual social gatherings more accessible.

The tragic loss of Daunte Wright, a 20-year-old Black man killed by police during a traffic stop in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota fills our community with pain, fear and anger. Day-to-day interactions, like traffic stops, put Black members of our community lives at risk every day. Each incident of injustice is a dark reminder of the amount of work to dismantle systemic racism and oppression in our law enforcement and in society.