John Turner, former dean and social work trailblazer, passes away

John B. Turner, Ph.D., whose career in social work spanned more than 40 years and whose efforts and leadership helped earn national recognition for the School of Social Work at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, died on Friday, Jan. 30. He was 86.

Turner, a writer, scholar and teacher who devoted his life to community organization, social activism and social work education, had been recovering from a fall last year.

Turner joined the UNC faculty in 1974 as the William Rand Kenan Jr. Professor of Social Work. He was named school dean in 1981 -- becoming the first African-American dean at the University -- and remained in the position until his retirement in 1992. Turner is largely credited for mapping out the graduate program’s road to prominence, including the construction of a $10 million building in Chapel Hill. That site -- the school’s current home -- still bears his name today and was the first academic building on campus to be named for an African-American; it also acknowledges the services of John A. “Jack” Tate, a Charlotte businessman and longtime social justice advocate who died late last year, and the late Charles Kuralt, an award-winning TV journalist.

Turner, who developed the school’s first development office and worked diligently to broaden the minority student presence, earned national and international honors over the course of his career. Full story

Fraser named editor-in-chief of new social work research journal

UNC School of Social Work’s Mark Fraser was appointed editor-in-chief of a newly created electronic journal published by the Society for Social Work and Research (SSWR).

Fraser, the School’s John A. Tate Distinguished Professor, will provide editorial direction for the Journal of the Society for Social Work and Research (JSSWR), an open-access publication that will give researchers the opportunity to publicly publish their work and retain control over the material. 

The journal, which will be available to anyone without a subscription, is expected to publish studies and reports covering a broad range of issues, including mental health, health, child welfare, poverty, employment, criminal justice and housing. Full story

Carolina Cares, Carolina Shares Campaign breaks all-time record

The 2008 Carolina Cares, Carolina Shares Campaign ended last month, raising $813,788 -- the highest in its 23-year history.

Dean Jack Richman (pictured with basketball coach and campaign supporter Roy Williams) served as this year's chairperson of UNC-Chapel Hill's arm of the State Employees Combined Campaign (SECC). The SECC is the only charitable giving program authorized for North Carolina state work sites, supporting about 900 local and national charities.

Several School of Social Work staff and faculty helped plan and implement this year's campaign, including coordinators Dana Caudill and Sarah Naylor, and committee members Jennifer Dunn, Kristen Huffman, Drew Lasater, Margaret Morse, Mat Tarpley and Diane Wyant. Over 300 team leaders and volunteers were organized across campus to facilitate the campaign in their respective areas.

"Despite tough economic times, Carolina employees stood up and supported the community," said Richman, adding that most of the money raised stays in the Triangle.

Since 2001, UNC-Chapel Hill employees have contributed over $5 million through the SECC.

CareerStart program raises test scores, narrows the achievement gap among middle school students

When Dennis Orthner, professor at the School of Social Work at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, helped launch CareerStart four years ago, he had one primary goal in mind: to keep more students in school. Orthner saw the intervention program, which helps students connect what they are learning in school to future career opportunities, as a way to reach those most at-risk of failing.

What he didn’t expect was that this same program would amount to a possible solution to raising academic performance and closing the achievement gap among students statewide. But according to a recent study of student progress in one North Carolina school systems, CareerStart may hold that potential.

The success is being touted in Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools, where Orthner; Patrick Akos, an associate professor in UNC’s School of Education; and Donald Martin, WSFC school superintendent, launched CareerStart in 2004. According to a recent analysis, eighth-graders in the school system’s middle schools were more likely than other students to achieve “mastery” or proficiency on state end-of-grade (EOG) math and reading tests if they were taught by seventh and eighth-grade teachers who regularly used career examples to illustrate their classroom lessons. Full story

Participants wanted for summer study trips to China and South Africa

This year's School of Social Work Summer Study Abroad in China is scheduled for May 28–June 18. The program provides a chance to examine social problems, policies, and programs in China; visit community organizations, service providers, governmental and non-governmental organizations; and learn about Chinese history and culture through field trips to Hangzhou, Beijing, Shanghai and Xian.

A trip to South Africa is scheduled for June 17-July 3. This course will examine social issues, development strategies, and health/mental health programs in the new South Africa. Participants will explore how the country’s fledgling democracy and its people are redesigning organizations and interventions to respond to the needs of all South Africans. Stays in Johannesburg and Cape Town will include visits to townships, agencies, health/medical facilities, cultural  landmarks and universities.

Details about both of these trips are linked on this page.

Clinical Lecture Series

Feb. 23 - From the clinic to the real world: Empowering clients beyond the therapeutic session. Speaker: Zach Rosenthal, PhD. Mar. 23 - Ethics in practice: Terminating therapeutic work with clients. Speaker: Tina Souders, MSW, LCSW, JD. Apr. 20 - Engagement Interviewing: Increasing engagement and retention of clients in mental health services. Speaker: Betsy Bledsoe, PhD, MSW, LCSW Details & register

Alumni events

Winston-Salem alumni luncheon with the Dean
Wed., Feb. 11, 12:00-1:30
Big Shotz Tavern, 109 South Stratford Rd., Winston-Salem
Contact Kristen Huffman to register by Mon., Feb. 9.

Spring Alumni Association meeting
Sat., March 28 from 10:00-2:00 at the school.
Lunch is provided, so please RSVP to Kristen Huffman by Mon., March 23.

Employers: Come recruit students and attend a continuing education workshop

The School hosts its annual Career Day/Job Fair on April 6 from 10:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. We welcome all potential employers to take advantage of this free opportunity to recruit well-qualified MSW and BSW graduates. Following Career Day, we have planned an afternoon continuing education workshop for recruiters and alumni from 2-4 p.m. The workshop will be related to ethics and facilitated by Clinical Assistant Professor Melissa Grady. For more information about how to register for Career Day and the continuing education workshop, please contact Beth Sauer at 962-6443 or bhsauer@email.unc.edu.

Alumni volunteers needed for job preparation workshop

The School will sponsor a “Before, During and After the Interview” job preparation workshop for current SSW students on Mon., March 23 from 12:15-1:30 p.m. The workshop will include a panel of alumni who will discuss their interviewing experiences, share tips for the interviewing process and respond to student questions. If you are interested in participating on the alumni panel, please contact Sarah Naylor at 962-6444 or smnaylor@email.unc.edu for more information.

Know someone who is interested in our MSW program?

Each month the School holds information sessions to give potential applicants a chance to meet some of the faculty, staff and students and to ask questions about the program. The curriculum, field placements, financial aid, and admissions requirements are among the topics discussed. The next session is  March 6 at 2 p.m. Please contact Jane Gump to register.

Alumni Association bylaws updated

The members of the Alumni Council have approved changes to the bylaws.

Call for nominations: The Distinguished Alumnus/Alumna Award

The UNC School of Social Work is currently accepting nominations for the 2009 Distinguished Alumnus/Alumna Award. To qualify, the nominee must be a graduate of the School and meet some of the following criteria:

1. Demonstrate outstanding leadership and make significant contributions to the field of social work.
2. Demonstrate a deep commitment to high ethical social work standards.
3. Develop and/or implement major innovations that have improved the quality of life for members in her/his community.
4. Benefit her/his clients, the professional community and the social work profession through special contributions, advocacy and involvement in professional, civic or community organizations.
5. Be an effective advocate for social work issues.

Please e-mail your nominations by April 1 to Kristen Huffman, or mail to Kristen's attention: UNC School of Social Work, Campus Box #3550, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3550. Be sure to include a letter or paragraph about the person you are nominating which explains why your nominee should be considered. If you have any other questions, please call Kristen at 843-7285.

Newly-formed pro bono counseling network needs clinicians

The Mental Health Association of Orange County is starting a pro bono counseling network. The goal of this project is to recruit mental health professionals to join a network of clinicians who provide counseling to one individual client (or family) per year who is motivated to receive mental health counseling but cannot afford treatment. The network will serve English and Spanish speaking clients in Orange, Person, Chatham and Durham counties.

By joining a network of clinicians working together to make our system of mental health care more equitable, your efforts can have a big impact. Additional info

On Sept. 26, Gary L. Bowen, Kenan Distinguished Professor, presented “Conceptualizing Social Problems to Inform Assessment and Intervention Planning,” at the UNC-Greensboro Graduate Student Colloquium Series.

On Jan. 6, Bowen presented “Community Capacity Building for Military Families” at the "Addressing Substance Abuse and Comorbidities among Military Personnel, Veterans, and their Families: A Research Agenda" meeting in Bethesda, Md. Bowen participated on a panel called "Potentially Applicable Prevention Interventions for Families: Pre- and Post-deployment."

Bowen has been working with UNC’s Citizen-Soldier Support Program to assist the military in effectively engaging communities in support of Reserve Component members and families. In 2008, he participated as a faculty member in four Advanced Institute building community partnership trainings that were sponsored by the Army Family Programs office. Approximately 228 Army family service providers have participated in the three-day sessions. Participants return to their home communities with knowledge and resources to strengthen community partnerships in support of Reserve component members and families.

Joanne Caye gave the closing plenary presentation, "Interventions from an International Perspective," at a conference on Jan. 9 in Jerusalem. The "Crisis as an Opportunity" conference dealt with mitigation and prevention of disasters, and was sponsored by the Spitzer Department of Social Work at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, and the School of Social Work at Rutgers University.

On Feb. 16, Mark Fraser, John A. Tate Distinguished Professor, will present "The Effectiveness of Social and Character Development Programs in Elementary Schools" at the University of Alabama School of Social Work. This event is part of the School's 2008-09 Colloquium Series.

Amelia Roberts-Lewis will speak on a panel at the "Black Women in the Academy: Strategies for Survival, Success and Transformation" symposium on Sat., Jan 31. The conference is held at UNC's Friday Center and begins Jan. 30.

Lynn Usher was invited by the Board on Children, Youth, and Families of the Institute of Medicine and the National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences to participate in a March 13 Washington, D.C. meeting to plan for a larger group meeting on "Improving the Metrics of Performance Assessment in Child Welfare Systems."

Teaching award winners announced

Congratulations to the 2007-08 Dean’s Recognition of Teaching Excellence Award winners:
 Mat Despard, Mark Fraser, Melissa Grady, Anne Jones, Kerri Patrick, Joelle Powers and Marty Weems.

School well represented at research conference

The Society for Social Work and Research (SSWR) held its annual conference Jan. 16-18 in New Orleans. Presentations were made by several faculty members and doctoral students, including Betsy Bledsoe, Gary Bowen, Natasha Bowen, Pajarita Charles, Mat Despard, Johanna Greeson, Michal Grinstein-Weiss, Shenyang Guo, Matthew Howard, Susan Parish, Roderick Rose, Paul Smokowski, Kelly Williams, Yeong Yeo and Joan Yoo.

Susan Parish was presented the 2009 Deborah K. Padgett Early Career Award at the conference. The award recognizes Parish’s notable influence and innovative work in the area of promoting evidence-based practice within the field of developmental disabilities and her noteworthy contributions to advance the social work profession.

Laura Harroun, MSW ’07, and husband Frank welcomed their first child, Adrienne Faith, on Dec. 10. She weighed 8 lbs. 6 oz. and was 21" long. Harroun is a geriatric social worker with Aging Family Services, Inc. in Raleigh.

Anna Elizabeth Power Heule, MSW '05, received her LCSW in 2005, married Tim Heule in May 2007, and currently lives in Apex. She works as an adult outpatient therapist for Therapeutic Alternatives (formerly OPC) in Chatham and Randolph counties. Heule see adults with mental illness and specializes in working with women who are diagnosed with mental illness and addiction. 

Howard N. Lee, MSW '66, N.C. State Board of Education chairman, received the North Carolina Alliance for Athletics, Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance's 2008 Advocacy Award. He was honored for his work with the Childhood Obesity Task Force and for his continued involvement in its efforts.

Lee's guidance and advocacy "are crucial in the fight against obesity in North Carolina. He is a key player with the In-school Prevention of Obesity and Disease (IsPOD), a comprehensive school prevention program to improve physical activity and eating habits in grades K-8 through the utilization of specialized curriculum training offered to physical educators," according to a statement from the alliance.

Lee served in the state Senate from 1990-2003. He is a member of the North Carolina
Utilities Commission.

Editor: Michelle Rogers, Director of Communications

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Alumni -- 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 and photos.

Alumni -- update your contact information

 
2009 Archive January