School of Social Work News

The University of Michigan School of Social Work celebrated World AIDS Day with talks on science and policy, personal testimonials--including words from Jeanne White-Ginder, the mother of Ryan White--awards to prominent local AIDS activists, including members of the Michigan HIV/AIDS Council, a social justice exhibit drawn from the School's fine art collection, and an impromptu AIDS "quilt," created by attendees (out of paper, not cloth).

The event, sponsored by the office of the Associate Dean for Research, also featured Dawn Lukomski of the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, telling a generally optimistic story of the state of HIV/AIDS in southeast Michigan, but stressing the need for, among other things, wider acceptance and understanding of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) to limit the spread of the disease. Associate Dean for Research Rogerio M. Pinto followed Ms. Lukomski and outlined an ambitious new research agenda around PrEP.

The day also featured words from Dean Lynn Videka and a performance by Unified Field Theory, a jazz combo from Ann Arbor's Community High School.

Joint PhD student Yun Chen and Kathleen Pottick, visiting scholar and professor of social work at Rutgers University, are both recipients of an honorable mention for the 2019 Society for Social Work and Research Excellence in Research Award. The award recognizes the article “Conceptualizing Culturally Infused Engagement and Its Measurement for Ethnic Minority and Immigrant Children and Families, Clinical Children and Family Psychology.” In conferring the honorable mention, the Society recognized outstanding social work research that represents the highest of scientific standards and advances social work knowledge.

Lindsey Crandle, Jill Schaefer and Ariel Kennedy (left to right), ‘18 MSW graduates were selected as 2019 Presidential Management Fellows Finalists. The Presidential Management Fellows Program is administered by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management. The Presidential Management Fellows Program attracts to Federal service outstanding graduate students who have a commitment to excellence in the leadership and management of public policies and programs. The U-M School of Social Work had more finalists than any other school of social work.

Sol Drachler Professor of Social Work Karla Goldman discusses with Forward how sisterhoods have been a “launching pad for women’s public identities both inside Judaism and in the wider society.”

Michelle Woods, MSW Student Career Services Director, will receive a University of Michigan Distinguished Diversity Leaders Award as a member of the Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Accessibility  (I.D.E.A.) Committee Team. The Distinguished Diversity Leaders Award was established to shine a light on U-M staff members who work toward achieving a welcoming, supportive and inclusive working environment.

The University of Michigan LSA National Center for Institutional Diversity recently published a scholar story showcasing Assistant Professor Shanna Kattari. Her scholarship focuses on three main areas:

• disability, ableism and microaggressions around disability;
• sexuality and gender;
• healthcare access, culturally responsive healthcare and sexual and reproductive healthcare.

Kattari enjoys using mixed methods, PhotoVoice, digital storytelling, arts-based methodologies and phenomenology from the qualitative perspective to depict her research.

What is Antisemitism, and how is it manifesting itself today? Is it on the rise globally? How does it differ in different parts of the world? A panel of U-M faculty including  Karla Goldman, Sol Drachler Professor of Social Work will discuss the issues surrounding antisemitism in our world.

The Alliance of Social Workers in Sports established “The Bill Vanderwill Award” for outstanding leadership in sport social work.  The new award was announced at the Fourth Annual Social Work in Sports Symposium in Orlando, Flordia. This is an annual award and Bill Vanderwill, SSW Field Educator is the first recipient of this honor.