School of Social Work

Sam Gilliam, the abstract artist whose work “The Real Blue” was commissioned for the School of Social Work died on Saturday at his home in Washington, D.C. He was 88. “The Real Blue” is the centerpiece of the School’s original art collection.

“Sam Gilliam brought his dynamic use of structures and brilliant deployment of colors to the “The Real Blue,” said Dean Emerita Paula Allen-Meares. This commissioned work of art anchors the collection of artistic works at the School of Social Work. He contextualized this work within the spirit of social justice and the vibrant tapestry of the America we

On July 1, 2022, Kathryn Elizabeth (Beth) Angell was appointed as dean of the School of Social Work. She was previously dean of the Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) School of Social Work and, before that, held a number of leadership roles at Rutgers University in New Jersey. We caught up with Angell as she prepared to move to Ann Arbor, to learn more about her experiences, perspectives and hopes for the future.

Garrett Pace, Joint Doctoral Program in Social Work and Sociology, has successfully defended his dissertation entitled "Corporal Punishment Bans in Global Perspective: Conceptualization and Child- and Caregiver-Reported Outcomes.” His committee consisted of Shawna Lee and Andrew Grogan-Kaylor. Pace has accepted a tenure-track assistant professor position at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

Assistant Dean of Field Education Dan Fischer’s Interprofessional Education (IPE) team has won a 2022 bronze award from 1EdTech for their collaboration with U-M Informational & Technology Services.  Their project, Competency-Based Tracking for Interprofessional Education Leveraging Institutional Data, will leverage data to track competencies across U-M’s approximately 35 IPE offerings, which involve 5,000 students from 10 schools across 3 campuses. The team is in the final stages of preparing this project for launch and utilization on the U-M campuses.

Professor Karla Goldman’s op-ed in Lilth asks what can be expected from Reform Judaism in the wake of reports of sexual discrimination released by the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion (HUC) in Cincinnati. Goldman shares her own personal history as the first tenure-track woman faculty member on the HUC’s Cincinnati campus, and describes her lawsuit against HUC for wrongful dismissal based on gender bias. 

“As a historian of women in Reform Judaism, I have studied Reform’s very real commitment to women’s advancement within Judaism together with its century-long pattern of

Thanks in part to actions by the Joint Task Force on Stipends (JTFOS), Payments for Placement (P4P), other schools of social work in Michigan, and NASW-Michigan, we have encouraging news of legislative action happening in East Lansing and Washington, D.C. 

In the Michigan legislature, Senate Bill 1012, which calls for the creation of a new Student Mental Health Apprenticeship Retention and Training (SMART) program, has passed the senate. The SMART program would provide state funds for field education stipends for students placed in public school settings providing the students agree to a term

Assistant Professor Ashley Cureton has been named 2022 Student Union Teacher of the Year. This award is given by the School of Social Work students and recognizes faculty who have demonstrated commitment to improving DEI, made an outstanding and positive contribution to the School’s climate, and whose skills, dedication, understanding and caring have made a positive impact on students.

"I find teaching to be a profoundly rewarding experience. In fact, I believe I have the best job on the planet (SSW students are the best!). With the philosophy that education functions as a practice of freedom

Field Faculty and Lecturer Stacy Peterson has received the 2022 Distinguished Lecturer Award. For more than twenty years, her exceptional dedication and commitment to social work values have made a positive impact on both students and the field. Peterson has presented at multiple national Council on Social Work Education conferences on innovative field practices.

"Thank you for this wonderful recognition of my work. It is an honor and privilege to be in the company of great leaders and teachers. I am passionate about my work and use the core values of social work (service, social justice

Professor Daphne Watkins has received the 2022 Distinguished Faculty Award. Watkins is a University Diversity and Social Transformation Professor who studies behavioral interventions for historically marginalized groups, mixed methods approaches to research in context, and leadership development and organizational structures. She is the Director of the Vivian A. and James L. Curtis School of Social Work Center for Health Equity and Research Training. 

"The SSW Distinguished Faculty Award means a lot to me. As someone trained in anthropology and public health, this acknowledgment speaks to the

Congratulations to the following faculty members whose promotions were approved by the U-M Board of Regents last night: Jaclynn Hawkins,  Shanna Kattari and Addie Weaver were promoted to associate professor with tenure. Shawna Lee, Matt Smith and Karen Staller were promoted to professor. Earlier this spring, Rick Barinbaum and Daphne Brydon were promoted to Lecturer II and Yatesha Robinson to Lecturer IV.