School of Social Work News

Sara Stein, Joint Doctoral Program in Social Work and Psychology, has successfully defended her dissertation entitled “Towards Intentional Relational Well-Being: Syndemic Contributions of Mental Health, Trauma Exposure, and Sociodemographic Factors to Risk for Intimate Partner Violence Victimization.” Her committee consisted of Andrew Grogan-Kaylor and Sandra Graham-Bermann (chairs), Julie Ribaudo, Quyen Ngo and Todd Herrenkohl.

Sara received a two year American Heart Association Postdoctoral Fellowship to work with Alison Miller and Maria Muzik at the University of Michigan.

Associate Professor Terri Friedline discusses her research in The Conversation on how postal banking could provide a financial lifeline to the millions of Americans without a bank account.

According to data, 24% of U.S. census tracts  have neither a community bank nor a credit union branch, leaving 21 million people "underbanked." The lack of affordable banking creates real hardships that disproportionately hurt low-income Americans and communities of color. Without a bank account, people pay higher fees and interest rates, have a harder time building credit history and are less able to get mortgages and other kinds of loans, writes Friedline.

Professor William Elliott III spoke with MarketWatch about the role children's savings accounts can play in countering racial wealth inequality. "Education in itself will never reduce wealth inequality in America, it can be a part of it and it's really important, but if we're talking about inequality, you've got to have wealth and start off with assets," he said. "But unless the government, philanthropists and others provide a significant amount of money, the accounts won't narrow the gulf in wealth between Black and white and rich and poor households."

In celebration of our centennial, lamp post banners have been installed on campus. Look for the banners featuring "The Right View," a sculpture created by Washington Color School painter Sam Gilliam on commission by the School of Social Work in 1998, on South and East University Avenues.

Assistant Professor Jaclynn Hawkins received an R21 research grant from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases entitled "Diabetes Self-Management Intervention for African American Men." The goal of this project is to develop and preliminarily validate the effectiveness of an adapted Peer Leader Diabetes Self-Management Support intervention designed to improve diabetes-related self-management behaviors in Black men with Type 2 Diabetes.

Professor Robert Joseph Taylor has received the James Jackson Outstanding Mentorship Award from the Gerontological Society of America. This award recognizes outstanding commitment and dedication to mentoring minority researchers in the field of aging. "I was overjoyed when I was informed that I had received the inaugural James Jackson Outstanding Mentorship Award," said Taylor. "James Jackson was my mentor and he always stressed the importance of mentoring students and junior faculty and including them in his work. I view mentoring as my way of acknowledging James' legacy and ‘paying forward' the investment that he made in me."

"Robert Taylor is a dedicated mentor who has provided resources to advance the careers of dozens, maybe even hundreds, of social work and social science scholars in the U.S. He invests his time and wisdom and creates relationships and social networks that provide support and success throughout the careers of his mentees," said Dean Lynn Videka. "Of special note is the annual summer workshop for scholars who focus on diverse populations; these gatherings create lifelong networks of support for the attendees. Robert's investment in the mentorship of underrepresented scholars is an example of what makes Michigan Social Work great."

Clinical Assistant Professor and Washtenaw County Commissioner Justin Hodge was quoted in Concentrate on the county’s plans to use taxes from the rapidly growing legal cannabis industry to address racial inequity. The Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners recently approved a budget amendment that will use all annual revenue from the marijuana excise tax, which is expected to produce $200,000 per year, to create equity-based programming initiatives. Hodge wants this budget amendment to help expand the county’s Racial Equity Office.

“I’d like to see us grow that office to several more staff, so that they’re in the position to work intensely across the county to promote racial justice and equity initiatives,” Hodge said. “Some of that might look like doing trainings, doing audits of departments, providing resources in the community, and making sure that all of the initiatives coming out of every county department are approached through an anti-racism lens.”

Hayeon Lee, Joint Doctoral Program in Social Work and Anthropology, has successfully defended her dissertation entitled “Korea Dreaming: Vietnamese Women's Stories from the Marriage Migration Cycle.” Her committee consisted of Michael Spencer, Kelly Askew (co-chairs), Sandra Momper, Ruth Behar and Youngju Ryu.