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School of Social Work News

  1.  
    Curtis Center Supports CDC on Addressing COVID-19 Health Inequities

    The Vivian A. and James L. Curtis School of Social Work Center for Health Equity Research and Training Center has secured a contract with the National Network of Public Health Institutes to review best or promising practices that address social and structural determinants of health related to COVID-19.

    The Curtis Center was one of just four research centers contracted to support more than 100 grant recipients from the CDC in the assessment, translation and dissemination of evidence-based practices — and best or promising — practices to address COVID-19 related disparities associated with at-risk and underserved populations, including racial/ethnic minorities and rural communities.

    • January 17, 2022
  2. Trina R. Shanks
     
    Trina Shanks’ Editorial in Detroit Free Press Encourages Home Ownership in Detroit

    The conventional mortgage market is not working in Detroit, writes Professor Trina Shanks in a Detroit Free Press editorial. Shanks and her co-authors recommend new programs to support homebuyer education programs and establish a single-family residential rehabilitation fund. “We know the private mortgage market does not serve Detroit in the same way as it does adjacent communities. The evidence is indisputable,” writes Shanks. The article cites data reviewed by the Center for Equitable Family and Community Well-Being that shows that vast swath of Detroit, identified by neighborhood, see very little mortgage lending activity in relation to residential property sales. “We are in a once in a lifetime moment, where substantive federal investments are flowing into Detroit. Let's focus these infrastructure investments in a way that benefits Detroiters.

  3.  
    Seven Faculty on Stanford University’s 2021 World's Top 2% Scientists List

    Seven U-M SSW faculty are included on Stanford University’s 2021 World's Top 2% Scientists list. The database provides standardized information on citations, h-index, co-authorship-adjusted hm-index, citations to papers in different authorship positions, and a composite indicator.

    • Linda Chatters
    • Lorraine Gutiérrez
    • Todd Herrenkohl
    • Joseph Ryan
    • Robert Taylor
    • Richard Tolman
    • Bradley Zebrack
  4.  
    Deena Etter, Madeline Loss, Courtney Marsden and Nevo Polonsky Named Presidential Management Fellows

    MSW students Deena Etter, Madeline Loss, Courtney Marsden and Nevo Polonsky have been selected to the Presidential Management Fellowship (PMF) Program. Administered by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, the program attracts outstanding graduate students who have a commitment to excellence in leadership and management of public policies and programs.

  5.  
    Bryant Hepp Receives Dow Distinguished Award Funding

    MSW student Bryant Hepp is part of an interdisciplinary team that has been awarded $60,000 in funding through the Dow Distinguished Awards competition.  The team’s project, “Greening Low-Income, Self-Managed Housing Projects in Brazil,” will implement schematic designs at a designated self-managed housing site. Activities will include planting trees, protecting water springs and creeks, installing educational signage, pathways throughout areas of permanent protection, and construction of communal spaces (pavilions) with pervious surfaces. 

    U-M’s Dow Distinguished Awards are designed to foster interdisciplinary collaboration and engaged learning at the graduate level.

  6. Sunggeun (Ethan) Park
     
    Sunggeun (Ethan) Park Elected Treasurer of the Society for Social Work and Research

    Assistant Professor Sunggeun (Ethan) Park has been elected treasurer of the Society for Social Work and Research. In his vision statement, Park listed the following goals: maintaining fiscal accountability and responsibility; promoting inclusive and transparent fiscal decision-making processes and representing the voices of early-stage scholars with marginalized identities and interests. Park will begin his term on February 1.

    • January 4, 2022
  7.  
    Pioneering LGBTQ+ Activist Jim Toy, MSW ‘81, Has Died

    Jim Toy, MSW ‘81, has died. Toy’s lifelong LGBTQ+ activism resulted in inclusive policies at the university and legislation at the state and local level.  One of those results is the Spectrum Center, which was the first such university office of its kind. Toy received an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from U-M last May.

    Read more about Toy's life and impact:

    Michigan’s first openly gay man, prominent Ann Arbor LGBTQ activist, dies at 91

    A Community in Mourning: Michigan Politicians, LGBTQ+ Orgs Honor Jim Toy’s Activist Legacy

    Longtime LGBTQ+ activist Jim Toy, first publicly gay man in Michigan, dies at 91

    Gentlest But Most Unshakeable Campaigner’ Jim Toy, Michigan LGBTQ+ Trailblazer and Icon, Dies at 91

    Memories and Tributes for Jim Toy

    Jim was bright, funny, exuded the most humble and positive energy, tirelessly advocated for systems change and discussed the tapestry of his intersectionality, being biracial, gay, growing up poor, long before most of us embraced this concept. Jim impressed upon me and so many students the value and skills to push for social justice change, and always encourage me to "keep misbehaving" which, I do in his honor! The Harvey Milk of Michigan, Jim Toy, has died and left a profound legacy. - a model for us all.
    Laura Sanders
     
    I thoroughly enjoyed working with Jim on creating an inclusive and safe environment for the LGBTQ+ community. He will be sorely missed.
    Paula Allen-Meares
     
    It's hard to have words to express the difference that Jim Toy has made in the world and for so many people. He was a visionary in his work for social justice and did not let fear get in the way of what he knew was right. We are all privileged to have benefitted from the good he has made in the world. We should never forget his courage, vision, and the hard work he put into advancing justice.
    Lorraine Gutiérrez
     
    Jim was a one-of-a-kind, amazing person. Jim used his gifts to lead to meaningful change! We will all miss him dearly and we will all benefit from his work in the years ahead.
    Joseph Himle
     
    Thank you very much, Jim, for your immense amount of service to the community and very meaningful contributions to the LGBTQ community.
    Christine MacKenzie
     
    I first knew Jim as one of my students. We even traveled together to one of my extension classes. Afterward, I invited him to speak to many of my classes. I think of him as a friend and I mourn his loss.
    Charles Garvin

    Recordings of Jim Toy

     
    • January 3, 2022
  8. Bradley J. Zebrack
     
    Brad Zebrack Receives the American Psychosocial Oncology Society’s Ruth McCorkle Excellence in Research Mentorship Award

    Professor Brad Zebrack has received the American Psychosocial Oncology Society’s Ruth McCorkle Excellence in Research Mentorship Award.  The award honors those who have demonstrated a longstanding commitment to nurturing intellectual growth, career development, professional guidance and positive role modeling in the field of psychosocial oncology.

    • December 17, 2021
  9. Fernanda L. Cross
     
    Fernanda Cross Featured on Deutsche Welle (DW)

    Assistant Professor Fernanda Cross is featured on Deutsche Welle (DW) website. The article explores her journey to the U.S. and her research at U-M School of Social Work. “It is as an immigrant that Cross finds the necessary empathy for her work. As a researcher, she analyzes precisely the insertion of Latin American immigrants in the United States.”

  10. Andrew C. Grogan-Kaylor
     
    Andrew Grogan-Kaylor Appointed the Sandra K. Danziger Collegiate Professor of Social Work

    Andrew Grogan-Kaylor has been appointed the Sandra K. Danziger Collegiate Professor of Social Work. His research focuses on scientific knowledge development and intervention research on children and families with the aim of reducing violence against children and improving family and child well-being. He also examines the dynamic interplay of parenting behaviors and their effects on child health and mental health outcomes across socioeconomic contexts, neighborhoods and cultures.  A collegiate professorship is a University of Michigan advanced professorial title, which recognizes: a national, or preferably international, reputation in research; a record of exceptional teaching quality and of innovation; and a history of service to the School, the university and the community.

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