Summer study trips to China and South Africa yield meaningful experiences

More photos from China

More photos from South Africa

"Theimann Advisory" publication series launched

Faculty member Kim Strom-Gottfried has launched a new series of periodic white papers to address questions that transcend legal, ethical and clinical issues. This digital publication is produced in-house at the School of Social Work. Strom-Gottfried expects to publish about four times a year.

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.

Alumni job board

The Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Section of the American Public Health Association (APHA) has selected dual degree MSW/MPH student Adriane Casalotti for its Student Fellows Program. The fellows will be matched with a public health mentor in the MCH field who is serving in a leadership role in the MCH Section. They will participate in business meetings, serve on various committees, work on policy statements and help to organize a special session at the annual meeting.

Carmen Crosby was selected for a Minority Doctoral Fellowship by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) Minority Fellowship Program. The national selection committee also recommended Ijeoma Nwabuzor as an alternate candidate. The fellowships are funded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).

F A C U L T Y   S P O T L I G H T

Oscar Barbarin, L. Richardson and Emily Preyer Bicentennial Distinguished Professor for Strengthening Families, is relocating to New Orleans and taking a chaired professorship in the Department of Psychology at Tulane University. A New Orleans native, he plans to continue his research with school systems and will work to remediate the impact of Hurricane Katrina on the local public education system. 

Deborah Barrett has an article published in the summer '09 issue of Fibromyalgia Aware Magazine, entitled "When FM Leads to a Career Change." Read it (pdf)

Iris Carlton-LaNey was invited to speak as part of the Summer Lecture Series at Smith College School of Social Work. She will present "African Americans Aging in the Rural South: Stories of Faith, Family and Community" on July 13 in Northampton, Mass.

Joanne Caye and Kathleen Rounds served on a panel at the 2nd Annual Training Institute on Trauma-Affected Women, Children & Families. It was held on June 23 in New York City and sponsored by the Association of States and Territorial Public Health Social Workers. Their panel was called "Public Health and Social Work: Academia's Role in Educating on Trauma." Rounds also gave a second presentation on "Leadership Programs and MCH (maternal and child health) Bureau Resources for Public Health Social Workers."

Nancy Dickinson traveled to Melbourne, Australia in June where she was an invited keynote speaker at a national child welfare conference on "Resilient Families Need Resilient Workers: Practice, Policy and Research."  The topic of her speech was "Achieving Retention Through Evidence-based Practices: Building Resilience in the Child Welfare Workforce."

In June Maeda Galinsky traveled to Chicago to present her paper co-authored with Mark Fraser, "Intervention Research With Groups: A Partnership Between Group Work Practitioners and Researchers" at the 31st International Symposium on Social Work with Groups.

On June 9 in Durham, Michal Grinstein-Weiss presented at the Ford Foundation/ Self-Help annual summit on her research looking at the effects of early parental teaching of financial management on financial outcomes later in life. The title of her presentation was “Teach Your Children Well: Credit Outcomes and Prior Parental Teaching of Money Management.” Her co-authors on this paper are Jonathan Spader, Yeong Yeo, Elizabeth Books Freeze and Andréa Taylor. The research findings support the work that asset-building researchers, policymakers and advocates are doing to promote early financial education for parents and children.

Matthew Howard's UNC Medical School grand rounds presentation on inhalant abuse is now available online, and through July 15 you can submit questions to him via this page. Howard's talk reviews widely abused inhalant products; modes, settings and contexts of inhalant use; characteristics of inhalant intoxication; signs and symptoms of inhalant abuse and dependence; recent research examining the natural history of inhalant dependence; common mental health and substance-related problems of inhalant users; screening protocols for inhalant use; and specific issues having to do with nitrate abuse, nitrous oxcide inhalation, and suicidality in inhalant users. Generalizations are offered that may prove useful for practitioners and researchers working with inhalant users.

Rebecca Macy was interviewed on radio show "The North Carolina Report with Bruce Ferrell," which is part of the North Carolina News Network. "North Carolina Report" is a weekly half-hour program that examines important issues for residents. The program aired locally on June 21 on WRAL-FM (101.5) and WCMC-FM (99.9), and focused on domestic violence in the state.

Tina Souders was elected for a three year term to the delegate assembly of the National Association of Social Workers, N.C. chapter (NASW-NC). In addition, Souders will deliver a keynote presentation at the 12th Annual NASW-NC Clinical Social Work Summer Institute in July. The title of her presentation is "Terminating Therapeutic Work with Clients."

Erin Barger, MSW '09, has moved to Athens, Ga. where she serves as the director for Athens Urban Ministries, a program division of Action Ministries. She can be contacted at erinbarger@gmail.com.

Susan Del Grande, MSW '80, of Swansboro, was awarded the Meritorious Civilian Service Medal in recognition of her “outstanding performance of duty” at the Camp Lejeune Naval Hospital. The award is the third highest granted to civilian employees of the federal government. Full story

Johanna Greeson, PhD '09, has launched Johanna Greeson Consulting, a small research, evaluation and consulting firm specializing in professional and technical services for individuals, non-profits and human service organizations.

Ruth Thayer Hartman, MSSW ’45, age 90, died peacefully on June 25 in Corpus Christi, Texas, surrounded by family and friends. Hartman was born in Trinity, N.C. She met her husband Vlad when they were both graduate students at UNC, and they married in 1945. Hartman had a distinguished career spanning many decades as a medical social worker at Duke University Medical Center in Durham; as a professor at the University of Missouri School of Social Work in Columbia, Mo. and the Albany Medical College in Albany, N.Y.; and as assistant director and chief psychiatric social worker at the Albany Child Guidance Center. In addition, Hartman was very proud of her career at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md. As a Lt. Commander for the U.S. Public Health Service, she worked with terminally ill patients suffering from cancer and heart disease.

Anne Marie Larkin McJilton, MSW '89, age 66, died peacefully on June 30 after a two and a half year battle with lung cancer. McJilton lived in Chapel Hill and was an avid Tar Heels fan. She worked as a social worker and therapist and served on several state boards. She is survived by her husband Roy, three children and five grandchildren. The family wishes to thank the UNC Oncology Department and UNC Hospice for the loving care given during her illness.

Dr. William L Pollard, MSW '69, was appointed president of Medgar Evars College by the board of trustees of The City University of New York. During his 40-year career, which has included illustrious positions in the public and private higher education arenas, Dr. Pollard has worked to promote public universities, garnered millions of dollars in funding to support initiatives such as faculty recruitment, and fostered crucial ties with both alumni and the community at large. Full story

Editor: Michelle Rogers
 
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