School of Social Work News

Abigail Eiler, clinical assistant professor and assistant director of athletic counseling hosted a webinar for more than 1000 U-M athletes. "It's called 'Managing My Mental Health After Collegiate Athletics,' " said Eiler, who works with counseling director Greg Harden, MSW '81 and oversees day-to-day counseling operations. 

The webinar is just one example of how social work supports the U-M athletic department and student-athletes. The group discussed the COVID-19 pandemic, the NCAA canceling the remainder of the winter and spring sports seasons and other necessary life adjustments. The webinar focused primarily on seniors, most of whom have left campus and are now distributed across nearly every U. S. state and internationally.

Today the Regents of the University of Michigan approved H. Luke Shaefer’s appointment as the inaugural Hermann and Amalie Kohn Professor of Social Justice and Social Policy at the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, for a five-year term, through February 2025.

In 2018, with a generous gift to the Ford School, U-M alumnus Harold L. Kohn and Carol K. Kohn and the Kohn Charitable Trust established the Hermann and Amalie Kohn Professorship in Social Justice and Social Policy. The gift supports a faculty member whose scholarly work and research focus on social justice and gives a voice to those who are disadvantaged in society.

 Shaefer has established himself as a major scholar of contemporary American social welfare policy. He is co-author with Kathryn Edin of the acclaimed book, $2 a Day: Living on Almost Nothing in America. Shaefer is the inaugural director of U-M’s Poverty Solutions, an interdisciplinary, cross-campus presidential initiative to inform, identify and test innovative strategies to prevent and alleviate poverty.

“I am deeply honored to be named the Hermann and Amalie Kohn Professor of Social Justice and Social Policy,” says Shaefer. “Above all else in my work, I seek to use evidence and analysis to drive real, positive change for families who are vulnerable. The Kohn family’s generous gift, in memory of Hermann and Amalie, inspires me to continue on in this to the fullest extent I know how.“

Shaefer holds a joint appointment with the School of Social Work and the Ford School. Michigan Social Work Dean Lynn Videka, states, ”Luke Shaefer is an exemplary interdisciplinary scholar and leader in the proudest Michigan tradition. The Hermann and Amelie Kohn Professorship in Social Justice and Social Policy supports the important social justice work that Shaefer’s research informs, and it supports collaboration between Social Work and the Ford School.” 

As our country confronts the economic fallout from the coronavirus, Shaefer has been actively engaged as a public voice in the New York Times, and other outlets, on the consequences facing low-income families, and in developing policies to help families weather the crisis here in Michigan.

Shaefer received his Bachelor of Arts from Oberlin College in 2001, and his M.A. in 2005 and Ph.D. in 2008, both in social service administration, from The University of Chicago. 

Associate Professor Terri Friedline’s research, “Mapping Financial Opportunity” can be used to inform the Automatic BOOST to Communities Act drafted by Rashida Tlaib, U.S. Representative for Michigan's 13th congressional district. In response to the coronavirus crisis, the proposed legislation would immediately provide a U.S. debit card preloaded with $2,000 to every person in America, which could be transitioned into a universal federal or postal banking account. Each card would be recharged with $1,000 monthly until one year after the end of the coronavirus crisis. Friedline's research focuses on universal bank account access and she maps post office locations to inform the potential for postal banking.

In February, the Vivian A. and James L. Curtis School of Social Work Center for Health Equity Research and Training announced the three inaugural awardees of the Curtis Center Signature Programs Initiative (SPI). SPI is a launch program for Michigan Social Work faculty to develop new or further existing health equity research programs.

Professor Luke Shaefer is quoted in a New York Times article detailing how low-income families often bear the brunt of the pain in natural disasters and large-scale emergencies. “They tend to be the first hit when things go wrong and then also to take the longest time to recover.”

Congratulations to Briana Tetsch, the 2020 University of Michigan NASW Student of the Year. Student Social Workers of the Year are selected based on the following criteria:

• Demonstrated leadership qualities
• Contribution to the positive image of a social work program
• Commitment to political and community activities
• Success in academic performance
• Degree to which the student represents the professional ethics of social work as defined in the NASW Code of Ethics

Alaska Public Media interviewed Professor Lisa Wexler about her work with a new suicide prevention model titled Promoting Community Conversations About Research to End Suicide. The program is a community health intervention designed, supported and implemented by remote communities in Northwest Alaska to decrease suicide. “The whole process is all about self-determination and about people deciding for themselves what they want to do and how they want to do it,” Wexler said.

When children experience stress and adversity in their homes and communities, schools become a critically important setting in which to intervene and foster their resilience. Marion Elizabeth Blue Professor of Children and Families Todd Herrenkohl has collaborated on a video to help school professionals understand and better educate vulnerable and traumatized students.