Free financial health assessments available for nonprofit organizations

Local nonprofit organizations can receive free financial health assessments from UNC-Chapel Hill graduate students enrolled in a spring 2008 semester class entitled “Financial Management for Nonprofits,” taught by UNC School of Social Work clinical assistant professor, Mat Despard.

Participating nonprofits can expect a report delivered to the organization in late April 2008 that includes an assessment and recommendations regarding several financial issues, such as operating reserves, current ratio of assets to liabilities, cash flow, overhead rate and revenue diversification. More info



African American Healthy Marriage Initiative conference materials available online

The Jordan Institute and the UNC School of Social Work co-sponsored the second annual research conference of the African American Healthy Marriage Initiative on campus last June. Miki Kersgard, with written materials by Laurie Selz Campbell, produced comprehensive web-based proceedings from the conference which are now available at http://ssw.unc.edu/jif/aahmi07.



Going to the SSWR annual conference in Washington?

If so, be sure to attend the UNC School of Social Work reception on Friday, January 18 from 7:45-9:00 at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, D.C. SSWR



Admissions deadline is fast approaching

Do you know someone who may be interested in our masters or doctoral programs? Applications must be in by January 16. More info


Recruitment events

January 4: Information session at the School of Social Work, 2:00-4:30 p.m. in room 300. Contact Jane Gump to register.

January 18: Society for Social Work and Research (SSWR) Annual Conference, Washington, D.C. Although we will not have a booth at this event, Sharon Holmes Thomas will attend the UNC School of Social Work reception on Friday, January 18 to meet prospective applicants.


Graduation set for December 15

The School of Social Work starts a new tradition on Saturday, December 15 when students of our Winston-Salem distance education MSW program will have their own graduation ceremony. It takes place in the Tate-Turner-Kuralt building auditorium at 3:00 p.m.

2008 Clinical Lecture Series dates

January 14 - Ethics and End of Life Care. Speaker: Laura Hanson, MD, MPH. February 18 - How Do We Treat Perpetrators? The Ethics of Working With Sex Offenders. Speaker: Melissa Grady, PhD, MSW, LCSW. March 17 - Using Transference and Counter-transference. Speaker: David Freeman, MD. April 21 - Steps to More Powerful Groups. Speaker: Bohdan Hrynewych, MSW, LCSW, LCAS. All lectures take place on Mondays in the School of Social Work auditorium from 12:00 noon to 2:00 p.m.; two contact hours. Click here for more info and to register.



Alumni: a student needs you as a mentor

The School of Social Work Alumni Council is calling for alumni volunteers who would be interested in mentoring an enrolled student. This program is designed to match students with alumni who are practicing in an area of the students' interest. Please consider giving a little bit of your time to help a student. If you are interested, please contact Kristen Huffman.





Mark Fraser, John A. Tate Distinguished Professor for Children in Need, is being honored with the Distinguished Achievement Award from the Society for Social Work Research for his outstanding contributions to social work research. This is SSWR's highest award, and will be given at the annual conference in Washington, D.C. on January 18.




Matthew Howard has received a $4,000 grant from the UNC School of Public Health to travel to Canada to continue his research on inhalant abuse treatment centers. The funding is part of the Global Health Faculty Research Partnership Grants program through the Office of Global Health, and is designed to foster the development of interdisciplinary research projects and partnerships in global health. Howard is the Frank A. Daniels Distinguished Professor for Human Services Policy Information.


The UNC School of Social Work has been awarded a $648,893 grant by The Duke Endowment. The funds will enable assistant professor Rebecca Macy to conduct a research evaluation of the Mothers Overcoming Violence through Education and Empowerment (MOVE) project. An alarming increase in the number of women receiving court-mandated services for perpetration of domestic violence has been reported by two human service agencies in Wake County, NC -- SAFEChild, which provides child abuse prevention services, and Interact, which provides domestic violence services. However, the agencies’ staff have determined that these women are also domestic violence survivors, and most were defending themselves or their children at the time of the incident that brought them into the judicial system. The MOVE project is a collaborative effort of SAFEChild and Interact to plan and implement a 12-week parenting program for these women that will be coordinated with therapeutic support group services for their children.

On November 16, Macy made a presentation to the Crime Victims' Services Committee of the North Carolina Governor's Crime Commission, entitled "Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Services: Knowledge, Challenges and Promising Developments." The presentation was about research she conducted in 2005-07 funded by the GCC. Download report


Kim Strom-Gottfried is the author of a newly-published book, "The Ethics of Practice with Minors: High Stakes, Hard Choices." Strom-Gottfried is the Smith P. Theimann Distinguished Professor for Ethics and Professional Practice.

Bobby Cagle, MSW '98, was promoted to family services director for the Georgia Department of Human Resources, Division of Family and Children Services. Cagle is responsible for the development of programs and policy in the areas of child welfare, domestic violence, and sexual assault for the Division. He also serves as the Division's Legislative Liaison, promoting DFCS legislative initiatives and serving as subject matter expert in child welfare, family violence, and sexual assault.

Mark Hecker, MSW ‘05, was named 2007 Social Worker of the Year by the Consortium for Child Welfare. The Consortium is a coalition of 22 nonprofit service agencies established to improve child welfare services in Washington, D.C. He is a teacher with The Greentree School, part of The National Center for Children and Families in Bethesda, Md.

Jennifer Baddour Snead, MSW ‘99, and husband Kevin, of Chapel Hill, welcomed baby William on September 13. Snead is a therapist with 3-C Family Services in Cary.

John Wasson, MSW ‘71, received the Sharon C. Wilder Advocacy Award at the Quest for Quality Awards in Raleigh on Oct. 30. He was honored for his work to improve the quality of life for long-term care residents in North Carolina. Wasson is the director of the Cleveland County Department. of Social Services, and a key participant in the new book, "Unspeakable: The Story of Junius Wilson," published by the University of North Carolina Press.


Do you have news to share?

If you have received an award, promotion, taken a new job, gotten married, or added a new member to the family, let us know. We would love to share your news with other alumni and the School of Social Work community. Please e-mail your alumni news to sswalumni@unc.edu.

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