School of Social Work

Associate Professor Terri Friedline and PhD student So’Phelia Morrow call on President Biden to stop the predatory burden of student loan debt in an article in Ms.“To advance his promises of racial and gender justice and to better ensure an inclusive economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, President Biden should cancel all student loan debt—not just a meager portion of it.” Their article also cites research conducted by a team at Michigan Social Work, which focuses on the physical and mental health tolls women face due to their debts and outstanding obligations.

MSW student Olivia Stillman has been named a 2021 Dow Sustainability Fellow. Designed to support the next generation of sustainability leaders in business, government, and nonprofits, The Dow Sustainability Fellows Program is among the most prestigious and productive graduate programs at U-M. Fellows are selected through a competitive process from a pool of applicants nominated by their academic units.

During the year-long program, Stillman will work collaboratively with the cohort to solve real-world sustainability challenges. Each fellow receives a $20,000 stipend, along with sustainability

The Michigan Social Work marketing and communications team has won a Pride of CASE V Award for the fall 2019 cover of Ongoing. Niki Williams’ photo of Juliana Huxtable — taken during her February 2019 performance presented by the School — makes use of lasers and fog to frame the artist. CASE is the Council for Advancement and Support of Education, a global non-profit association dedicated to educational advancement, alumni relations, communications, development, marketing and advancement services.

Professor Luke Shaefer spoke with the New York Times about Biden’s child poverty plan. “This is the boldest vision laid out by an American president for fighting poverty, and child poverty in particular, in at least half a century,” said Shaefer. 

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Researchers at the Center for Equitable Family & Community Well-Being surveyed more than 600 low-income residents across Ypsilanti about the impact of COVID-19. Their work is giving voice to the needs of those disproportionately impacted by the pandemic, ensuring that local health and economic responses attend to issues of equity.

Trina Shanks, Harold R. Johnson Collegiate Professor of Social Work is named a 2021 Society for Social Work and Research Fellow. The Society for Social Work and Research Fellows are members who have served with distinction to advance the mission of the Society — to advance, disseminate and translate research that addresses issues of social work practice and policy and promotes a diverse, equitable and just society. SSWR Fellows serve as role models and mentors for individuals pursuing careers in social work research.

Assistant Professor Shanna Kattari has received the Society for Social Work and Research (SSWR) 2021 Deborah K. Padgett Early Career Award, which recognizes an individual in their early career who is making a notable impact in their profession. Her accomplishments reflect innovative scholarship, a rigorous approach to social work research and work that exhibits an emerging influence in the field.

“I am so honored to receive this award; as someone whose focus on community engaged research and areas that are often less explored in the field of social work, I am delighted that this research is

Field Faculty Rosalva Osorio and Field Instructor Meghan Thiel have been selected as U-M Interprofessional Leadership Fellows. The program provides faculty members with opportunities to learn from and work with health sciences academic and practice leaders, at both the university and national level, and equips them to be interprofessional educator scholars, effective leaders and change agents.

Professor William Elliott III and MSW student Sophia Nielsen write about reducing poverty and promoting economic mobility through Child Savings Accounts and other short-term and long-term education investments in College Promise’s latest newsletter.

PhD Student Charles Williams II spoke with the Detroit Free Press about the skepticism in Black communities about the COVID-19 vaccination.  As a clergy member who interacts with patients in hospital settings and in his church, Williams qualified to get an early vaccine.  He hopes to convince his church members that the vaccine is safe.  “As a leader, as a pastor… if I have to be the one to get my arm poked so folks can feel a little bit comfortable about them doing it, so be it,” said the Rev. Charles Williams II, current PhD student.