Students News

PhD student Olivia Chang received an honorable mention from the 2023 Ford Foundation Fellowship Program. The programs seek to increase the diversity of the nation's college and university faculties by increasing their ethnic and racial diversity, maximize the educational benefits of diversity, and increase the number of professors who can and will use diversity as a resource for enriching the education of all students.

Briana Starks, Joint PhD in Social Work and Sociology, successfully defended her dissertation, "Diapers, Debt, and Degrees: The Practical and Theoretical Implications of Maternal Postnatal Educational Attainment." Her committee included Kristin Seefeldt (co-chair) and Karen Staller.

Starks has accepted a position as a Human Services Researcher at Mathematica.

MSW student Peter Slutzker has been appointed to Ann Arbor’s Housing and Human Services Advisory Board. “I'm honored to receive this appointment on behalf of the mayor’s office,” said Slutzker. “I'm hopeful that, as a community member-at-large, I can provide insights from my years providing supportive housing and case management services to members of historically marginalized communities, in both urban and rural settings, to improve conditions and service provisions for Ann Arbor residents. I'm looking forward to the experience of working and learning alongside the knowledgeable members of the board.”

Nina Jackson Levin, Joint PhD in Social Work and Anthropology, successfully defended her dissertation, "Meta/Static Ethnography of Adolescent and Young Adult Oncofertility Research and Practice at a United States Hospital: Implications for Sexual and Gender Minorities.” Her committee included Bradley J. Zebrack (co-chair) and Shanna Katz Kattari.

Jackson Levin plans to complete a Postdoctoral Fellowship at the University of Michigan Department of Endocrinology.

MSW student Kevin Nguyen has been appointed to the Michigan Asian Pacific American Affairs Commission by Governor Gretchen Whitmer. “As the only student and youngest commissioner to ever serve on MAPAAC, I am humbled and honored to represent the growing APIA population in Michigan.” ENGAGE Program Manager and Lecturer Ayesha Ghazi Edwin serves as chair of the commission.

MSW student Cassandra Kelly has been selected as the 2023 University of Michigan National Association of Social Workers (NASW) Student of the Year. NASW selects students for this honor based on criteria that includes demonstrated leadership qualities, contribution to the positive image of a social work program, commitment to political and community activities, success in academic performance and the student’s representation of the NASW Code of Ethics.

Online Award Ceremony

Friday, April 14, 2023, 6-8 PM

RSVP »

Ramona Perry, Joint Doctoral Program in Social Work and Psychology, has successfully defended her dissertation "Black During COVID-19: A Mixed-Methods Exploration of Adoption of COVID-19 Risk Reduction Behaviors among Black Adults." Her committee included Jamie Mitchell (co-chair) and Jaclynn Hawkins.

After graduation, Perry will be co-owner of an evaluation consulting firm.

PhD Student Irene Routté has recently received both the Lester P. Monts Award for Outstanding Graduate Research from U-M’s African Studies Center, as well as an honorable mention from the 2022 Bennetta Jules-Rosette Graduate Essay Award contest from The Association for Africanist Anthropology. Routté’s essay, “Will You Take Care? Bio-Space, Racial Assemblages and the U.S. Youth Refugee Resettlement Welfare System,” is an ethnographic case study of an unaccompanied refugee minor from Nigeria during his first year in care under the United States Office of Refugee Resettlement. This essay was also awarded the School’s Henry Meyer award.