School of Social Work News

Professor Trina Shanks will serve on the Framing and Design Committee of U-M’s Inclusive History Project. This presidential initiative is designed to create a more accurate narrative about U-M’s history, with an initial focus on race and racism. “We cannot move forward as a university until we acknowledge those we’ve excluded in the past. We must have the courage to understand the lived experiences of all those in our community, past and present,” said U-M President Santa J. Ono.

Assistant Dean of Field Education and Clinical Associate Professor Dan Fischer was honored on Tuesday by the Michigan Medicine Department of Social Work for his work as “a formidable leader, mentor and social work pioneer.” The Social Work Social Justice Ground Rounds will be renamed The Daniel J. Fischer Social Justice Grand Rounds.

“It is a tremendous honor to have my name associated with the Michigan Medicine Social Justice Grand Rounds series. It was a very proud yet humbling day for me,” said Fischer. “Knowing that this Grand Rounds series will continue to support the professional development and social justice lens of social work students, staff and other health sciences student learners at the University of Michigan is extremely rewarding. I suspect the full impact of this won’t really set in for a while, but in reality this has never been about me. Rather, the Social Justice Grand Rounds series has always been about helping providers self-reflect, consider and understand the impact their words, actions, policies and systems of care have on the patients and families they serve, and to strive to create health care environments that are accessible and meet the needs of everyone.”

Social Justice Grand Rounds is the only structured event at Michigan Medicine that formally unites graduate students in social work, field instructors, clinical social work staff, faculty and community leaders in a collaborative effort to address social injustice by featuring an actual case or topic that is illustrative of injustice in health care, as presented by a student in field at Michigan Medicine.

Lecturer Laura Yakas is the recipient of a 2022 James T. Neubacher Award Honorable Mention.  The U-M Council for Disability Concerns established the James T. Neubacher Award in 1990 as a memorial to Jim Neubacher, a U-M alum who was a columnist for The Detroit Free Press and an advocate for equal rights and opportunities for people with disabilities. Through his advocacy, he sought to “raise a little consciousness” and “raise a little hell!” The award is presented annually in October during Disability Community Month.

"I'm especially moved by the validating feedback about my anti-saneism/disability justice work,” said Yakas. “Anti-saneism is my passion and purpose on this planet, and it has historically been marginalized within social work — so to be recognized and nominated explicitly for this by members of our SSW community feels amazing!"

Congratulations to ENGAGE Program Manager and Lecturer Ayesha Ghazi Edwin, MSW ‘10, who has been elected to Ann Arbor City Council Ward 3. “As an alum, staff member and adjunct faculty, I’m incredibly proud to bring social work values of equity and social justice to city governance!”

MSW student Tian Y​​eung’s op-ed in the Michigan Daily explains how critical voting is in supporting democracy. “It took the fall of a city for me to learn the significance of voting. That city was the one I was born in, the one I spent my childhood in and the one I loved: Hong Kong,” wrote Yeung. “If I could go back in time, I would ensure I voted at every opportunity.”

Associate Professor Terri Friedline spoke with MarketWatch about the stress many Americans are facing in light of both rising costs and the threat of a predicted recession. “When things are not going well financially, it feels embarrassing and shameful,” she said. “Many, many people have financial difficulties, have struggled to pay their bills, or have over-drafted their accounts.”

Professor Karla Goldman spoke with Inside Higher Ed about the report released by Stanford University uncovering its history of limiting Jewish student enrollments. The report comes at a time when colleges and universities across the country are excavating their pasts and working to publicly acknowledge and correct for their roles in historical wrongs.  “This was happening everywhere, so it’s interesting that Stanford took this piece as seriously as they have,” Goldman said. “It’s to their credit. But does it mean there should be a wave of these things everywhere? Truly, almost every school in the Northeast should be apologizing.”

Six School of Social Work students have received CEW+ awards: 

MSW student Irma Maribel Andrade Guzman — Margaret Dow Towsley Scholar

MSW student Rossi Clark —  Beatrice Kahn Scholar 

MSW student Justine D’Souza — Margaret Dusseau Brevoot Scholar

MSW student Jennifer Harris — Susan Quackenbush Scholar 

MSW student Julia Hettich — Margaret Dow Towsley Scholar

PhD student Kari Sherwood — Mary Malcolmson Raphael Scholar

The CEW+ scholarship program was established in 1970 to honor the academic performance and potential of women whose education has been interrupted and to commemorate the one-hundredth anniversary of the admissions of women to U-M. With support from our generous donors, CEW+ was able to expand the program in 2008 to include additional scholarships for students of all genders. This year’s cohort will be honored at the CEW+ award luncheon in November.