School of Social Work News

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. 

Webmaster Robert LaRoe was chosen as a session presenter and will give his talk, "Improving Your Website's Performance" at the May 5th-6th HighEdWeb Michigan Regional Conference at Grand Valley State University. 

Laura Sundstrom and Megan Elyse Williams, Evaluation Associates with the Curtis Center Program Evaluation Group, were invited to write a post for the American Evaluation Association blog, AEA365.  Their post highlighted the tool they developed for the Program Evaluation Group, the Tiers of Skill Development.  The Tiers of Skill Development intentionally guide students through developing their evaluation skills.  You can read their blog post here.