E-Contact Newsletter: May 2009
School of Social Work holds 88th annual commencement
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Our speaker was author and Duke history professor Dr. Timothy Tyson, who evoked cheers from the delighted crowd when he opened his dark blue Duke regalia to reveal his "true colors" -- a light blue Carolina T-shirt. He then gave an eloquent address, dotted with his trademark sense of humor, which compared and contrasted social work with the Biblical story of the Good Samaritan.
And being extremely helpful must run in the family, because Receptionist Ginger Haithcock and her daughter, Registrar Beth Sauer, were both deemed Most Supportive Staff Member by the grads.
Alumni: donate your graduation regalia
UNC honors aging expert Sheryl Zimmerman with distinguished professorship
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has named School of Social Work professor Sheryl Zimmerman a Mary Lily Kenan Flagler Bingham Distinguished Professor. This distinguished professorship is one of the most prestigious honors the University can bestow upon a faculty member. Zimmerman, a nationally-known expert in the field of aging, was approved for this highly competitive appointment by the UNC Board of Trustees on April 14.
Zimmerman is the director of aging research at the School of Social Work; director of UNC’s Interdisciplinary Certificate in Aging; co-director of UNC’s Interdisciplinary Center for Aging Research; co-director of the Program on Aging, Disability and Long-Term Care at UNC’s Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research; and an adjunct professor in the Department of Epidemiology at the School of Public Health.
Zimmerman’s research has focused on social gerontology, evaluation of practice, psychosocial aspects of health, dementia, hip fractures, and improving care in nursing homes and assisted living facilities. Her work in the field of residential long-term care for older adults has been highly influential for policy and practice.
“Dr. Zimmerman is an exceptionally productive, passionate and innovative scholar and mentor,” said School of Social Work Dean Jack Richman. “Her outstanding interdisciplinary research ability has gained national prominence in social work and in the fields of gerontology and geriatrics. We are so proud that the University has recognized this stellar professor.”
School of Social Work receives UNC diversity award
UNC’s School of Social Work has received the University’s 2009 distinguished “Diversity Award” for efforts to enhance diversity on the Carolina campus.
The award, given by the UNC Office of Diversity and Multicultural Affairs, Student Government and the Multicultural Council, was recently created as a way to honor UNC faculty, staff, students, student organizations, schools or departments, and community members or alumni for contributions in “creating an inclusive and diverse” campus community. Six other award recipients were honored during an inaugural reception at Graham Memorial’s Johnston Center for Undergraduate Excellence on April 29.
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School of Social Work faculty member Travis Albritton holds the award plaque. More photos |
The School’s Diversity Committee was also recognized for developing a resource guide that ensures that diversity discussions in the classroom are constructive, productive and free from personal attacks.
Diversity Committee members Travis Albritton and Natasha Bowen accepted the award on behalf of the School. Albritton said the award is a “testament to the hard work and commitment of faculty and staff to promote issues of diversity.” Full story
School partners with community to promote sustainable development
When you see the word “sustainability” you most likely think of environmental preservation and eco-friendly phrases such as “reduce, reuse and recycle” and “building green.” But did you know that it also applies to living wages, accessible health care and affordable housing? At UNC’s School of Social Work, students and faculty have long understood the value of building social equity. Now, they are helping to educate others.The School has joined the Foundation for a Sustainable Community and its umbrella partner, the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Chamber of Commerce, to create a joint venture to help influence research, policy and practices in sustainable development. The collaboration, known as the Institute for Sustainable Development, brings together businesses, educational experts and private investors to promote the importance of investing in resources that advance the triple bottom line:
environmental stewardship, social equity and economic prosperity. “You can’t do one without the other,” said Gary Nelson, a School professor and an institute founding member. “Unless you invest in all three, you’re going to come up short.” Full story
School welcomes Mountain Area Distance Education Program students
On April 29, the School of Social Work hosted a reception for admitted students at the new site of the Mountain Area Distance Education MSW Program, Blue Ridge Community College in Flat Rock, N.C. More than 40 alumni, students, faculty and community members attended.
Kelly Reath, program director, described the reception as full of positive energy and excitement. “The gathering was clearly a demonstration of the community’s investment into the success of our program,” said Reath. “For our incoming students, the opportunity to visit with graduates and faculty was priceless. The evening was truly a ‘Kodak’ moment.”
 | Pictured left to right: Dean Jack Richman, Blue Ridge Community College President Molly Parkhill, CEO Community Foundation of Henderson Co. and SSW Advisory Board Member McCray Benson, and Associate Dean for Academic Affairs Anna Scheyett at the April 29 reception. Photo by Sharon Thomas |
Save the date: Clinical Lecture Series fall schedule announced
Mon., Sept. 14: Psychological Functions of Nonsuicidal Self-injury, Mitch Prinstein, Ph.D. Mon., Oct. 19: Grief Work for the Clinician and Client, Steven Bradley-Bull, MA, MED, LPC. Mon., Nov. 16: Treating Clients and Ourselves with Positivity, Barbara Fredrickson, Ph.D.
Registration is not yet open for the fall events.
Lecture videos posted: Some of our past lectures are now available to view on the Web site. Check them out.
Know someone 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 Fri., June 5 at 2:00 p.m. Contact Jane Gump to register.
School hosts its first "Welcome Weekend" for new students
The UNC School of Social Work and Alumni Council hosted its first "Welcome Weekend" for admitted MSW students April 17-18. The weekend was an incredible success! Over 80 people participated in the activities, which included a certificate/dual degree/residency fair, curriculum and field education presentations, faculty small group discussions, student panels, Friday evening reception, Saturday morning breakfast with alumni and a campus tour led by Welcome Weekend coordinators, Sharon Thomas and Kristen Huffman.
"The Alzheimer's Project" films to be shown
The School of Social Work is a sponsor of the screening of a three-part film documentary series about Alzheimer's disease, to be shown June 3, 10 and 17 at 6:30 p.m. in Chapel Hill. More info
Minority Public Health Videoconference airs June 9
The topic of this year's conference is "Breaking the Cycle: Investigating the Intersection of Health Disparities and Educational Disparities." This event will be held in the SSW auditorium and broadcasted live online, 1:30-4:00 p.m. For details, please see: http://www.minority.unc.edu/institute/2009/
Field instructors needed
Social programs are closing or reducing services in this stressed economy, and years of disruption in the state's mental health system have resulted in fewer learning opportunities for our students. The School of Social Work has an increased need for quality field placements and instructors, especially for students at the foundation level.
Please contact Rebecca Brigham, director of field education, at brigham@email.unc.edu if you are interested. The Field Education office will be glad to discuss the program with you, or to receive your recommendation of other qualified MSW social workers for us to contact.
Did you know that May is Foster Care Month, and that nearly 20,000 teens "age out" of foster care each year? Doctoral candidate Johanna Greeson was a guest on an internet radio show on May 6 about this topic. Greeson discussed "Caring Adults R Everywhere" and the positive role mentors can play with teens facing life on their own. Rather than just focus on the negative aspects, the program revealed how ordinary citizens can learn more, raise awareness and help. Listen
Giving new meaning to the phrase "running between classes," UNC School of Social Work Master's student Shaunee Morgan is also a track star at the University of Pennsylvania.
When Nobel Peace Prize winner Dr. Muhammad Yunus came to UNC-Chapel Hill in February to talk about his New York Times bestseller, "Creating a World Without Poverty: Social Business and the Future of Capitalism," one person in the audience took Dr. Yunus' call to action seriously. MSW student Darshan Mundada, a Rotary World Peace Fellow from India was in attendance at the talk and will be completing a summer internship in Bangladesh at the Yunus-founded Grameen Bank, which is widely credited as the world's foremost micro finance institution. School of Social Work faculty member Mat Despard will act as Mundada's field supervisor over the summer. Despard is also working with an organization in rural Haiti to develop a micro enterprise project.
Master's student Erin Ridout's poem about her grandmother, "Branwen," has been accepted by "Affilia: Journal of Women and Social Work" for publication in the winter 2009 issue. Ridout wrote the poem for the heritage gallery assignment in Iris Carlton-LaNey's "Confronting Oppression" class.
Iris Carlton-LaNey was a participant in the 23rd Women's History Month Lecture Series at the University of Texas-Arlington in March. The theme was "Life on the Edge: Women and Hard Times." She was also the keynote speaker for the 29th Annual Social Work Education Conference at Mississippi Valley State University in April.
Joanne Caye is quoted in an April 29 Raleigh News & Observer story on background checks for adoptive parents.
At the School of Social Work's annual Career Day on April 6, Melissa Grady presented a continuing education workshop for recruiters, entitled “Between the Rock and the Hard Place: Ethical Issues When Policy Impacts Practice.” 
Michal Grinstein-Weiss received a $145,000 grant from the Ford Foundation, with Janneke Ratcliffe of UNC’s Center for Community Capital, for their project “Learning from $aveNYC: Facilitating Savings for Low-Income Workers.” This research project is a collaboration with the New York City Department of Consumer Affairs’ Office of Financial Empowerment (OFE) to evaluate their pilot program aimed at promoting savings among eligible New Yorkers. $aveNYC encourages Earned Income Tax Credit recipients to save a portion of their tax refund, and leave those funds in savings for at least one full year. Grinstein-Weiss was invited to give a talk at the National Poverty Center at the University of Michigan on April 3. Her work on “Testing Long-term Impacts of Individual Development Accounts (IDAs) and Asset Building on Social and Economic Well-being” was selected as one of four small grant recipients for the National Poverty Center’s annual competition. She presented preliminary findings from her study on the long-term effects of IDAs on homeownership.
Rebecca Macy is quoted in an April 16 Philanthropy Journal article and a May 6 Independent Weekly article about her research project working with SAFEchild and Interact of Raleigh, which helps domestic violence victims.
Paul Reavis, ACSW, LCSW, MSW '81, was honored in Virginia on May 5 as one of five recipients of the Governor’s Award for Public Service. Gov. Tim Kaine presented the award to Reavis in recognition of his extensive efforts in disaster shelter planning and raising public awareness of the importance of emergency preparedness. Reavis served two terms as vice president of the School of Social Work's Alumni Council in the late 1990s.
Sally Scholle, MSW '96, is a school social worker at Siler City Elementary School in Chatham County. She has also taken on the task of "garden coordinator" -- establishing a community garden at the school to serve as an integrated learning project for the children.
Barbara Ann Wilfong, MSW '74, 58, died March 30 at Sunrise Assisted Living in Charlotte. She spent her entire career as a social worker for the Charlotte-Mecklenburg school system. The family will receive friends at the Heritage Funeral Home in Weddington from 12:00-2:00 p.m., Fri., April 3. A graveside service will follow at the Forest Lawn East Cemetery. Obit
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.
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