Moving the School forward by bringing in the next generation of ideas through the strategic plan and new faculty
Lynn Videka, dean and Carol T. Mowbray Collegiate Professor, will be stepping down as dean when her term ends on December 31, 2021. Videka’s distinguished career includes serving as the dean and vice president for research at the University at Albany, SUNY, and as dean of the Silver School of Social Work at New York University. She has been dean of the School of Social Work since August 2016, and recently spoke with Ongoing about the challenges and accomplishments of her tenure. This conversation focused on two of Videka’s priorities: the implementation and results of the School’s strategic plan, and the new generation of faculty hired during the last five years.
ONGOING
Tell us why you came to Michigan.
Lynn Videka
Even before I came to Michigan, I knew the School would be a great match for me, and I knew it would be a tremendous privilege to be the leader of the top school of social work in the country. I first came to know Michigan because [Dean Emerita] Paula Allen Meares and I were very good friends, and even before I had been to the campus, I had long admired all the graduates of the program.
My two kids have degrees from Michigan, so I like to say that I was a proud Michigan parent before I became a Michigan faculty member and dean. There were so many things that drew me. It was really a hard choice — I was really honored to have the position at NYU — but I’m glad I made the decision to come to Michigan in 2016.
ONGOING
Let’s talk about the strategic plan. What was its genesis?
Lynn Videka
The strategic plan comes from my own philosophy about leadership. It's common to ask about the dean’s vision, but the dean's vision alone doesn't mean as much as a collective vision built by the School community.
I feel like my job as dean is to support — not to create, but to support — a collective vision that brings the faculty and community together, and that enables the school to move to its next level. Many people are skeptical about strategic plans — that they're just verbiage that sits in the drawer, they don't mean anything, they aren’t implemented — but I feel that a good strategic plan engages the whole community and serves as a blueprint for the future. In a good strategic plan, every member of the School community sees something that excites them about the future of the School. Maybe no one but I am excited about all of it, but a good strategic plan should have at least one element — and it won’t be the same element — that every single faculty member can get behind.
The most important part of a strategic plan is the implementation. A five-year term is a perfect way to strategize and identify which goals will really mean something for the School, and to use the collective power of the whole faculty as well as the staff to make sure we can achieve them.
ONGOING
Five years later, what has the plan accomplished?
Lynn Videka
I'm going to tell you five things we’ve accomplished from the Strategic Plan, one in each category.
I'm deeply proud of a completely revised and rethought MSW program. It's a very forward-looking program and the pathway approach prepares students for the jobs of the future. We've also strengthened the PhD program, and I'm proud of our graduates who are joining the faculties of the best universities across the country.
Strategic goal two is improving access to a Michigan Social Work education, so of course I'm proud of the part-time and online programs. Working students now have several ways to earn a University of Michigan MSW, including the online program and the part-time on-campus program.
The MasterTrack program — which allows students to begin their degree by earning a certificate online — is really revolutionary. We're the only program in the nation that has cut the cost of an MSW education by 22 percent for those on the MasterTrack Program.
The current generation of students is focused on activism — demanding equity, and fighting racism and oppression. This is the third goal of our plan. This has been a really challenging time for our nation and our School. While we have been heavily criticized by some of our students, we have made strides in terms of anti-racism, diversity, equity and inclusion. I see faculty, staff and students who are committed for the long run to keep these issues on the front burner, and the schoolwide commitment represents real progress.
With respect to the plan’s fourth goal, outstanding interdisciplinary team research that advances social justice, I’m super proud of the collaborations in our School on important social issues. The research centers, including the Vivian A. and James L. Curtis Center for Health Equity Research and Training; the Center for Equitable Family & Community Well-Being; the Center on Assets, Education and Inclusion; the Child and Adolescent Data Lab; the Treatment Innovation and Dissemination Research Group and the many faculty-led labs produce important research discoveries on the most important social and health issues of our time. We've seen a substantial increase in external awards (a 44 percent increase in both 2018 and 2019), which means that public funders, and public and private foundation funders, are recognizing the caliber and quality of our research.
The fifth goal, renewing the School’s engagement with its communities, was the last goal we got to work on. When I arrived, the School was concluding the Detroit-based Good Neighbors Project, funded by the Skillman Foundation. We are now in the process of renewing and revitalizing our engagement with Detroit and with other communities in southeastern Michigan. Under the leadership of Professor Trina Shanks, the ENGAGE program and the Center for Equitable Family & Community Well-Being are partnering with communities and meeting community needs in very visible and tangible ways. I'm proud and I'm pleased that the university is an environment that values engaged research and public engagement enough that it provides incentives and recognition for our faculty like Professors Joe Ryan, who co-leads the Child and Adolescent Data Lab, Luke Shaefer, who directs U-M’s Poverty Solutions initiative and Trina Shanks, who also directs the Center for Equitable Family & Community Well-Being.
ONGOING
Let's talk about the new generation of faculty that you have brought into the School. Tell us about the changes that you've witnessed in social work and social work education during your time in the field.
Lynn Videka
We've been on a trajectory of tremendous growth in social work as well as at Michigan Social Work. There are now 296 accredited MSW programs in the U.S. When I began my career 40-some years ago, there were about 160 programs. Most of the growth has been in teaching institutions, not research universities.
During this same period, the role of science-based knowledge has become more important than ever in social work. Public investment requires that outcomes be realized, achieved and measured in order to continue investment, and that's been a real challenge for social work education. So more than ever, research universities like ours have a special and critical role to play. Very few universities can marshal all the elements of research in the way the University of Michigan can.
Research that is informed by critical theory and tightly woven into our profession’s social justice mission informs the future of social work. In social work education, new knowledge for tomorrow is being created by research, and that’s what’s so exciting about bringing new faculty to Michigan.
Like many other schools of social work, our School has been experiencing the retirement of a whole generation: the baby boomers and their predecessors. We have hired the next generation of researchers who are going to fundamentally change the field.
Our new faculty are carrying on the proud scholarly and teaching traditions of the School and of the University of Michigan by focusing on the most important social issues of the day. These include poverty, financial equity for all Americans and building assets for children; the well-being of children and families; inclusion and equity for populations who have been marginalized including people who identify as LGBTQIA+ or BIPOC or who manage disabling conditions; health equity for BIPOC people managing chronic physical and behavioral health conditions; Indigenous communities using their cultural strengths to fight depression and hopelessness and violence; inclusion for immigrants and refugee families and communities; building strong and inclusive service organizations; dismantling misogyny and gender-based violence; and educational success for first-generation, BIPOC and immigrant youth and young adults.
New faculty members are also taking the lead in integrating technology — including mobile apps and interactive computer games — into social work practice, and several new faculty members are focusing on using technology to support mental health in groups of cancer survivors, youth managing cognitive and behavioral health conditions, in rural communities and with homebound elders. I'm so proud of our faculty who are building knowledge in new and important areas.
We have also expanded the number of clinical teaching faculty who bring deep practice experience and innovations. The School has transitioned to the next generation — with a renewed faculty and renewed programs for the next generation of Michigan Social Work. We don't know all the outcomes, yet we know that they are suited to the social work world of tomorrow, and building on the strong Michigan traditions that we are celebrating this Centennial year. That's pretty exciting.
ONGOING
You are stepping down as dean at the end of the year. What comes next for you?
Lynn Videka
I've been a dean for a long time, so I always had more research to complete than I've had time to do. I look forward to being able to complete some of these projects!
One of the areas that I've been working on is the role of peer providers in the delivery of behavioral health services, especially for people with psychiatric disabilities. I also plan to continue my research focusing on parents with psychiatric disabilities — people who are parenting but are managing their own psychiatric disabilities as well — and on providing better support for that population.
I’ve loved my jobs and I love being a social worker. I’ve always felt that I made a contribution to society and I’m not giving that up yet, but at the same time, I feel the pull of the next generation, who are my grandchildren. We have six who have been born since we've been here at Michigan, and it is time for me to devote some attention to my family.
ONGOING
What memories from Michigan will you carry with you?
Lynn Videka
I've never been at a university that has as deep a pride and identity as the University of Michigan. I have never been in a place where the faculty members and the alumni are so accomplished, esteemed and hardworking. That was especially important last year, when we accomplished so much despite the pandemic. At the individual level, our faculty and alumni were very productive and just shined. At the organizational level, and with our new curricula, nothing missed a beat, even though COVID upset everything.
Believe it or not, I'm going to miss the faculty meetings. They are full of life and energy and opinions and debate. I’m going to miss being able to be as close to the career development of our junior faculty, as it is one of my responsibilities that I've loved most.
Michigan is a unique and special place, and I feel nothing less than totally privileged to have had the opportunity to work here among such dedicated and talented faculty and students, and in such a wonderful environment. It’s been the opportunity of a lifetime!
Strategic Plan Goals 2017-2021
1. Deliver educational programs that prepare graduates for leadership
2. Improve access to affordable education
3. Dedicated to diversity and respect for all
4. Engage with community to advance social justice and progressive change
5. Advance the social work profession through interdisciplinary research
MasterTrack Online Program
Students can begin their MSW online through the MasterTrack Certificate Program. The six-course program, Social Work: Practice, Policy and Research, which builds critical analysis, problem-solving and research skills in preparation for various types of social work. After receiving the certificate, students can apply to continue their studies online or finish their MSW on campus. Completion of the certificate reduces the amount of credit hours, saving students time and money. Visit ssw.umich.edu/programs/msw/mastertrack for full details.
Faculty Recruitment Under Dean Lynn Videka
Lindsey Bornheimer, Assistant Professor
Zaynab Boussi, Field Faculty
Amy Burandt, Field Faculty
Miriam Connolly, Field Faculty
Rosalva Osaorio Cooksy, Field Faculty
Fernanda Cross, Assistant Professor
Ashley Cureton, Assistant Professor
Katie Doyle, Clinical Assistant Professor
Abigail Eiler, Clinical Assistant Professor
William Elliott II, Professor
James Ellis, Assistant Professor
Katrina Ellis, Assistant Professor
Lisa Fedina, Assistant Professor
Daniel Fischer, Assistant Dean of Field Education and Clinical Associate Professor
Terri Friedline, Associate Professor
Odessa Gonzalez Benson, Assistant Professor
Jaclynn Hawkins, Assistant Professor
Todd Herrenkohl, Marion Elizabeth Blue Professor of Children and Families
Justin Hodge, Clinical Assistant Professor
Shanna Kattari, Assistant Professor
Ashley Lacombe-Duncan, Assistant Professor
Kathryn Maguire-Jack, Associate Professor
Sunggeun (Ethan) Park, Assistant Professor
Daicia Price, Clinical Assistant Professor
Yatesha Robinson, Field Faculty
Katie Schultz, Assistant Professor
Matthew Smith, Associate Professor
Aimée Vantine, Field Faculty
Lisa Wexler, Professor
Xiaoling Xiang, Assistant Professor
Anao Zhang, Assistant Professor