School of Social Work News

Associate Professor Brad Zebrack received a grant from the National Cancer Institute via the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group to serve as co-chair for the Adolescent and Young Adult (AYA) task force. His responsibilities will include development and oversight of a research agenda and coordination of all AYA-related research activities.

Professor Edie Kieffer and colleague John Ayanian (Director, Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation) received a grant from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services-Subcontracts via the Michigan Department of Community Health to conduct the evaluation of Michigan's Medicaid expansion, the Healthy Michigan Plan.

Babe Kawaii-Bogue (PhD student) and her mentor, Professor Mary Ruffolo, received a grant from Rackham Graduate School to understand multiracial people's experiences of everyday racial discrimination through one-on-one qualitative interviews. No such questionnaire currently exists in psychological or social work literature for multi-racial microaggressions.

Associate Professor Andrew Grogan-Kaylor gave a video lecture to a symposium on the 25th Anniversary of the launch of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, at an event hosted by Academics for Equal Protection, part of the Children’s Social Care Research and Development Centre in Cardiff, Wales.

Psychiatry and Psychology Professor Robert Zucker, along with Professor and Associate Dean Jorge Delva received a grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) via the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) to train Ukrainian colleagues to examine substance abuse disorders from a lifespan approach.

Associate Professor Sandra Momper was an interviewee for Michigan NPR on the topic of American Indian Suicide: "The Devastating Rate of Suicide Among American Indian Teens"; her segment was aired on the Morning Edition and All Things Considered. She was also the Keynote Speaker for the "5th Annual Stakeholders' Report to the Community" sponsored by the Detroit Wayne Mental Health Authority (CONNECTIONS) and the Cross Systems Management Team. She gave an update on the SSW's jointly held SAMHSA Systems of Care Grant in the area of Cultural and Linguistic Competency.

Photo Courtesy of Kate Wells & Michigan Radio

Dear Social Work Colleagues,

Racial discrimination and inequality remain ongoing and pervasive aspects of our society brought again vividly to light by the recent grand jury decision not to indict in Eric Garner’s death.  In combination with the National Association of Social Workers and the schools of social work across the country, many of whom have issued statements following the recent refusal to indict Darren Wilson in the death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri and Daniel Pantaleo in the death of Eric Garner in New York, we need to draw together as a school and a profession on an agenda that can lead to the fundamental changes necessary to address racism in the U.S.

In the weeks after the shooting death in Ferguson, one of my colleagues teaching in St. Louis wrote, “People have asked if they can help.  My advice is to look at yourself and your community.  There are so many communities like Ferguson and so many places where something similar can happen.  Also, work with your legislators.  Our governor is forming a Ferguson Commission to make suggestions for change.  No real change will happen unless our Legislature is involved.”

 How can we make change? We need to start with ourselves.

• Work in our classrooms and other school venues to continue both critical discussion of the role of racism in our society and the design of social and policy responses to racism and inequality.
• Study and research the impact of racism in our communities and document publicly its effects.
• Work in the organizations and agencies in which we participate to put the fruits of these discussions and analyses to work.
• Work throughout the political system to engage in the work of changing the persisting painful inequities.

As one example, we can engage more specifically with our criminal justice system, towards the goals listed by NASW.

• National standards on the use of lethal police force.
• National standards on how police handle persons living with mental illnesses or disabilities.
• Trainings to help end police bias and racial profiling when dealing with people of color.
• Make body cameras standard police equipment.

 Along with others in the social work community, we must remain committed to addressing and remedying the pain and trauma caused by these events and by the myriad of other, less publicized events, now and in the future. We must also work towards the fundamental changes that will  attack the racial inequities that stunt our society.   I hope that we may come together as a community to address these tasks that we face in the weeks, months, and years to come.  We must also put this commitment into both words and actions, drawing strength and inspiration from what we can each contribute.

With Regards,

Laura Lein

Dean and Katherine Reebel Collegiate Professor of Social Work
University of Michigan

Thanks to Assistant Dean Tim Colenback, Assistant Professor Desmond Patton and Associate Dean Mike Spencer for collaborating with this statement.

On Friday, December 5, 2014, the Curtis Center Program Evaluation Group convened a panel to talk with the University and the community about the delicate dance between evaluation and philanthropy.  In total, over 70 people were in attendance, including students and faculty from the School of Social Work, members of the University community, representatives from foundations, consumers of evaluation, and professional evaluators.  The conversation was facilitated and moderated by John Tropman, PhD, Professor of Social work.  Panelists included Harlene Appelman, Executive Director of Covenant Foundation; Rob Collier, President & CEO of Council on Michigan Foundations; Jane Fran Morgan, JFM Consulting; and Pam Smith, President and United Way of Wasthenaw County.