School of Social Work News

Associate Dean for Educational Programs and Professor Mary Ruffolo and her team: Assistant Professor David Córdova, Professor Jorge Delva, Assistant Dean of Field Education and Clinical Assistant Professor Dan Fischer, Associate Dean for Research and Professor Joe Himle, LEO Adjunct Lecturer Adrienne Lapidos, Clinical Assistant Professor Deb Mattison, Assistant Professor Jamie Mitchell, Associate Professor Sandra Momper, LEO Lecturer Daicia Price and Associate Professor Trina Shanks were awarded a grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration to provide inter-professional training opportunities for MSW students with the Detroit Wayne Mental Health Authority (DWMHA). This project expands field placements that link behavioral health and primary care systems within the DWMHA network. The DWMHA field placements prepare MSW students to work with low resourced racial and ethnic minority children, adolescents, and transitional age youth living with behavioral health conditions and adults with psychiatric disabilities in the Detroit community. 

U-M President Mark Schlissel announced a new multidisciplinary program, Poverty Solutions headed by Associate Professor Luke Shaefer. Poverty Solutions aims to become a leader in informing, identifying and testing new strategies for the prevention and alleviation of poverty in Michigan, the nation and the world.

Schlissel stated, "One out of eight Americans live in poverty, and some Michigan cities are sometimes three times higher than that. The aim is to translate research into actionable interventions and rigorously assess their effectiveness."

View the video interview with Trina Shanks, Luke Shaefer, Kristin Seefeldt and Reuben Miller. Read the complete announcement in the URecord.

Each year the Office of Global Activities works with and supports students who complete global social work experiences around the globe. The Global Social Work Poster Fair is an opportunity for students who recently returned from abroad to share their global experience with the larger School of Social Work community.

During the summer of 2016, 60 students participated in a global experience in more than 30 different countries. Student experiences included global field placements, global independent studies, attending an international social work conference and serving in the Peace Corps as a part of the School's Peace Corps Master's International program.

At the Global Social Work Poster Fair I presented my work in India with classmates and faculty and demonstrated the impact I had on the children at Kamal Loachan Society.  Just today, I got a Facebook post from one of the children asking for homework help.

Arlene Chandra, MSW ‘18

See Arlene Chandra’s Poster

Join Kelsey Tajer (MSW ‘16) in the Student Ambassador Program. You will be able to be directly involved in policy by communicating with members of Congress to advocate for change. You will also be given the opportunity to increase your understanding of advocacy through annual training and networking events on Capitol Hill in Washington D.C.

Robert Joesph Taylor was installed as the Harold R. Johnson Professor of Social Work on March 6. Taylor delivered an installation address "Family and Church Support Networks of Older African Americans" highlighting his research. He is one of the nation’s foremost experts in the informal social support networks (i.e., family, friends and church members) of adult and elderly Black Americans as well as religious participation among African Americans. 

He is the founding editor of African American Research Perspectives and is currently on the editorial boards of the Journal of Marriage and the Family and Race and Social Problems. Taylor was ranked number one in the top 20 most cited African American scholars in social work.

LEO Adjunct Lecturer Daniel Fischer and Professor Mary Ruffolo, who is also the co-chair of the workgroup, have been appointed to the curriculum group for the interprofessional education initiative. The curriculum work group is charged with exploring the curricula and accreditation standards of the health science schools to assess the role of interprofessional education at U-M. 

Assistant Professor David Córdova, along with his Detroit community partner Detroit Hispanic Development Corporation, presented his research, "Preventing Substance Abuse and Mental Health Problems Among Detroit Hispanic Youth," at the Urban Research Center 20th Anniversary Symposium on January 21, 2016. The project aims to narrow and ultimately eliminate Hispanic health and mental health inequities in Detroit. 

Assistant Professor Mathieu Despard was named a Faculty Associate with the Center for Social Development at the George Warren Brown School of Social Work at Washington University in St. Louis. He is currently conducting research on the outcomes of a large scale tax-time savings experiment and on the promise of employer-based financial wellness programs in partnership with the Center for Social Development.