School of Social Work News

ENGAGE Program Manager Fatima Salman spoke with WDET about both the critical role social workers play in supporting individuals and communities and how the celebration of Social Work Month supports the profession.

The state of Michigan officially recognized March as Social Work Month thanks to a resolution by State Representative Carrie Rheingans, MSW ’11.

Associate Professor Terri Friedline spoke with “Marketplace” about the benefits of public banking, especially given the recent turmoil in the banking sector. Not only would public banking provide a full range of services to underserved communities, but they also generally offer more safety than private banks. “State- and municipal-owned banks are intended to be publicly accountable, transparent, democratic,” Friedline said.

PhD student Jay Kayser wrote about the overreliance of medication in the treatment of depression in The Conversation last week. “The U.S. health care system relies heavily on medication and other biomedical treatments for depression. But in fact there are numerous non-drug-based solutions for prevention and treatment of depression.”

Kayser also discussed his research with Michigan Public Radio. “There are alternative treatments out there that really can tap into someone's own abilities to be resilient and to recover from depression. Medication is an excellent option for many, but we kind of want to expand the conversation out to cover alternative approaches, too,” Kayser said.

ENGAGE Program Manager and Ann Arbor City Council Member Ayesha Ghazi Edwin, MSW ’10, worked with fellow City Council Member Linh Song, MSW ’04 and the Michigan chapter of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW-MI)  to officially proclaim March as Social Work Month in the city of Ann Arbor. “We have so many great social workers improving our society everyday, and serving at various levels of government — from local, to county, to state level and beyond,” said Ghazi Edwin. “Many of us were trained at U-M’s School of Social Work and carry our teachings into communities to improve society and create change.” Dean Beth Angell and Duane Briejak, MSW ’12 and executive director of NASW-MI, were also in attendance for the proclamation at the Ann Arbor City Council meeting on March 20, 2023.

Professor Luke Shaefer spoke with the Michigan Advance about the “dark times” Michigan is facing given the recent cuts in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. “I want to stress how incredibly successful the expansion of the safety net was during the COVID crisis — the expansion of SNAP, extended unemployment insurance, the expanded child tax credit, as well as rental assistance,” he said, "...it really saved millions of families across the country, and many, many families here in Michigan, from the types of hardships I expected when we started COVID."

Associate Research Scientist Roland Zullo discussed Michigan’s right-to-work law with WEMU. “Repealing right-to-work certainly helps the labor movement on a couple of levels. But the main one,” said Zullo “is that it shows that labor has regained a little bit of political power in this state.”

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.

Associate Professor Camille Quinn will receive the 2023 Milestone Achievement Award from the University of Chicago’s Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy, and Practice. The Milestone Achievement Award honors Crown Family School alumni for their exemplary social work values, exceptional performance in clinical or administrative practice, and a strong commitment to the social work profession.