School of Social Work

Paige Safyer defended her dissertation "M(other) Nurture: Exploring the Influence of Maternal Care on the Development of Infant Emotion Processing, Regulation, and the Emotional Brain."  Her committee consisted of Richard Tolman, Brenda Volling (co-chairs), Katherine Rosenblum, Julie Ribaudo and Ioulia Kovelman. She has accepted an Assistant Professor of Social Work position at Arizona State University. 

Kathryn Berringer, PhD candidate Social Work and Anthropology was awarded a Rackham Program in Public Scholarship. The scholarship supports research projects created in partnership with Rackham students and community organizations.

Berringer is working with the Ruth Ellis Center in Highland Park to produce a set of multimedia products documenting the history of the center serving LGBTQ youth in metro Detroit. She will be collaborating with the center's Youth Advisory Board.

Pinghui Wu defended her dissertation, "Demand Shocks, Shift in Welfare Regime, and the Well-being of Workers and Their Families."  Her committee consisted of Luke Shaefer, Dominick Bartelme (co-chairs), Sandra Danziger, Charles Brown and John Bound. She has accepted a postdoctoral fellowship at Poverty Solutions at the University of Michigan.

“A thoughtful wealth transfer equips all people with tools that can complement their own contributions; it’s as American as the plow, the automobile, and the iPhone.”  Professor William Elliott and Associate Professor Trina Shanks reframe the American wealth narrative in an essay in New America.

Anthony Abshire, MSW candidate, has been selected to serve this summer as a Foster Youth Intern in Washington, D.C. The Foster Youth Internship Program is a summer congressional internship for young adults who have spent time in the foster care system. The program is sponsored by the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute, which works with the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Caucus. 
 

Associate Research Scientist Roland Zullo’s research on privatizing food service in Michigan prisons was featured in The Nation’s cover story “How Private Equity Is Turning Public Prisons Into Big Profits.”

Berenice Castillo, Joint PhD student Social Work and Psychology was recently awarded the Jerald and Virginia Bachman Research Fellowship on Change in American Youth from the Institute for Social Research. The Bachman Fellowship is designed to support an outstanding emerging scholar who is conducting research to examine patterns and changes in the lifestyles and values of American youth and young adults.

Lauren Davis, Assistant Director of the School of Social Work DEI Program has been selected as a member of the U-M Voices of the Staff Advancing Diversity, Equity and Inclusion team.

Robert Joesph Taylor was installed as the Harold R. Johnson Professor of Social Work on March 6. Taylor delivered an installation address "Family and Church Support Networks of Older African Americans" highlighting his research. He is one of the nation’s foremost experts in the informal social support networks (i.e., family, friends and church members) of adult and elderly Black Americans as well as religious participation among African Americans. 

He is the founding editor of African American Research Perspectives and is currently on the editorial boards of the Journal of Marriage and the

Associate Professor Trina Shanks has been named a fellow at the Urban Institute, where she will contribute her expertise on poverty, wealth inequality and child development to the institute’s research projects. The institute is known for its robust microsimulation models, which use historical census and tax data to forecast the effects of specific policies on communities and families. As a fellow, Shanks will be able to run simulations specifically focused on Michigan and Detroit.