School of Social Work News

Research Area Specialist Intermediate Meghan Harrington has received a 2025 Research Study Coordinator Award from U-M’s Office of the Vice President for Research. This award honors staff members for important contributions to the university’s research mission through exceptional performance, and by going beyond the ordinary fulfillment of position duties.  Harrington will receive the award at a reception in May.

Professor Katie Edwards spoke with The Atlantic about the termination of hundreds of research awards made by the NIH. She said that grinding these trials to a screeching halt is “completely reckless.”

Assistant Professor Ashley Cureton has received the Elizabeth Butler Award from the University of Chicago Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy and Practice. This award honors those who have demonstrated extraordinary career success, advocacy for social welfare and exemplary leadership within ten years of graduating from the Crown Family School.

Professor Rogério Pinto spoke with Concentrate about his exhibition “Colorism,” currently on view at the Duderstadt Center Gallery on North Campus. The exhibition explores skin color and beauty ideals through imagination, humor and audience interaction. At the beginning of each new project, Pinto asks himself: “What am I seeing in my environment that is oppressive to me, and to people around me, and beyond?”

PhD student Charles Wiliams was featured in a Washington Post article about how consumers are boycotting companies as they roll back diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. Williams helped coordinate a “good-buy” at a Detroit-area Target. “We sent a clear message to Target that our voices and our dollars matter,” he said.

Professor Connie Sung’s research focuses on community-based interventions in improving individuals with disabilities in career development and psychosocial adjustment. She has authored over 90 publications and secured over $20 million in research funding. Applying a holistic, strengths-based approach, she has led and co-led multiple projects, developing community-based interventions that involve interdisciplinary, interagency and international collaborations. 

“I am absolutely thrilled to join the University of Michigan School of Social Work  and become part of its diverse, vibrant, and dynamic community that champions community-based participatory research and teaching— values that deeply resonate with me,” said Sung. “My goal is to develop and implement evidence-based interventions that serve as actionable solutions to empower marginalized communities, foster equity and accessibility, and ignite a cultural shift toward greater inclusion and understanding of disability. I’m excited to collaborate with brilliant colleagues and contribute to groundbreaking research and teaching that drive meaningful and lasting progress in social justice and inclusion."

Sung most recently served as the program director of the MA in Rehabilitation Counseling and as the co-director of the Michigan State University Center for Services, Training, and Research for Independence and Desired Employment (STRIDE).  She received her Master of Philosophy from Hong Kong Polytechnic University and her PhD from the University of Wisconsin, Madison.

PhD student Olivia Chang was quoted in a recent MSN article about her research on the connection between veterans with PTSD and their use of corporal punishment in their parenting practices. “Understanding a child’s emotions and behavior is essential for effective parenting. This study reveals the challenges parents face in deciphering emotional cues, particularly when shaped by factors like racial background and the effects of traumatic stress,” said Chang. The story also was published in Medical Xpress.

Professor Rogério Pinto spoke with Michigan Public Radio's “Stateside” about the recent executive order to cut federal funding to health care centers that provide gender-affirming care for minors. This order includes restrictions on coverage under Medicaid, Medicare, and federal employee benefits.

“We have a vast amount of research that demonstrates that those procedures are safe, they are life-saving for a lot of young people,” said Pinto.