Faculty member and children's advocate Gary Shaffer dies

Gary L. Shaffer, Ph.D., one of the state’s leading experts on social work practice and a staunch advocate for children who became a recognizable voice against the use of corporal punishment within North Carolina’s public schools, died on Sept. 4. He was 62.

During the "Poverty Simulation" exercise, students learned what living in poverty means to many families. More orientation photos

School welcomes new students, holds  conference-like orientation

The School of Social Work welcomed over 150 new students this semester to our Advanced Standing, Full-time and Distance Education MSW Programs. The students were selected out of nearly 500 applicants, and represent a range of diversity.

The average age of the entering class is 28; however, the range is 21 to 61 years of age. 13% are men, a slight increase over last year. Students of color make up 24% of the entering class, and various ethnic and cultural groups are represented. Full story

Winston-Salem MSW program adds new area of concentration

The UNC-Chapel Hill School of Social Work is expanding its Winston-Salem Advanced Standing master of social work program to offer two areas of concentration: Direct Practice, and Management and Community Practice.

The Advanced Standing program is tailored to meet the needs of the working adult who has a bachelor's degree in social work. In this 20-month program, classes are held on Fridays at the Forsyth County Department of Social Services. Most students complete their field placement requirements in their home community during the work week. Full story

Pathways to Prosperity conference to be held

Faculty members Michal Grinstein-Weiss and Andréa Taylor are are helping to organize the North Carolina Assets Alliance Third Annual Statewide Conference: Pathways to Prosperity. The conference will be held Oct. 13-14 in Durham and will highlight local and national experts in policy, research and practice in the fields of financial education and asset building. Grinstein-Weiss and Taylor represent the School of Social Work on the North Carolina Assets Alliance and will be presenting several papers at the conference. Information and registration

New child welfare, Work First and nutrition data Web site launched

The Jordan Institute for Families has launched a new Web site, Management Assistance for Child Welfare, Work First and Food & Nutrition Services in North Carolina. The site combines information for social services programs from three older Web sites into one, with a more user-friendly interface.  Full story
 

Clinical Lecture Series

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.

Details & registration

"Diversity" Web site launched

This semester, the School launched a "Diversity" Web site as part of its ongoing commitment to recognize the value of diversity within the School and across the University community. The Web pages focus on student, faculty and alumni news and include a list of UNC resources and state and national resources devoted to diversity, including issues on age, gender, race, social class, disability, nationality, ethnicity, sexual orientation and religion.

Visitors to the site can also find diverse independent multimedia presentations and School-produced videos featuring our graduate students and faculty.

Discounts available for two new faculty books

"Propensity Score Analysis: Statistical Methods and Applications" describes a family of new statistical techniques useful in estimating the effects of social and health programs. The authors are School of Social Work faculty Shenyang Guo and Mark Fraser. Fraser and Guo recently launched a support Web site for the book.

The book is now available through Amazon.com for a 28% discount off the list price.

School of Social Work faculty members Mark Fraser, Jack Richman, Maeda Galinsky and Steve Day have authored "Intervention Research: Developing Social Programs." This guide will serve as a solid reference for social workers in the field, as well as help the next generation of social workers develop skills to contribute to the evolving field of intervention research. Flyer (pdf)

The book is published by Oxford University Press and can be ordered online. Use promo code 27239 to receive a discounted price of $19.95.

5K walk, conference to raise awareness about suicide prevention

Faculty member Jodi Flick is a member of the N.C. Youth Suicide Prevention Task Force, which developed and helps implement a statewide strategic plan; and a member of the Triangle Consortium for Suicide Prevention.

Looking for a job? Have a job to post?

Check out our alumni job board. 11 new positions were added in the past three weeks.

Carynne Hardy, a second-year MSW student, devoted her summer to bringing economic recovery help to local communities.

For 10 weeks, Hardy worked in Greensboro as an intern in the Carolina Economic Recovery Corps, a summer program sponsored by the University’s Office of Economic and Business Development with funding from the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research and Economic Development. The interns helped community leaders seek federal economic stimulus money available through the American Economic Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Full story (scroll down to bottom right side of page)

F A C U L T Y   S P O T L I G H T

Mark Fraser, John A. Tate Distinguished Professor for Children in Need, is featured in two new multimedia broadcasts:

In July, emerita faculty member Dee Gamble attended the 16th symposium of the International Consortium for Social Development in Monterrey, Mexico where she presented a paper, "A 2lst Century Perspective of Social Work: Our Role in Building Sustainable Relationships in the use of Social, Economic and Environmental Resources."  Also attending and presenting were two of our Ph.D. alums, Denise Gammonley '98 and Karen Smith Rotabi '05.

Dee Gamble and Marie Weil, Berg-Beach Distinguished Professor, have written a new book which will be published by Columbia University Press in November,  "Community Practice Skills: Local to Global Perspectives." Flyer

 
Matthew Howard, Frank A. Daniels Distinguished Professor for Human Services Policy Information, was appointed a member of the National Institute of Health's (NIH) Epidemiology and Behavior Genetics Study Section.

The Center for Scientific Review of the NIH and the Italian Ministry of Health, Directorate for Health and Technologies Research have recently signed a memorandum of understanding to collaborate on evaluation of grant applications from Italian researchers in biomedical fields. Howard was asked to review a portion of these grants.

Anita Case, MSW '01, married Dr. David Meeler on July 25. They reside in Rock Hill, S.C. where she is the executive director of Catawba Care Coalition, a not-for-profit HIV organization.

Deborah Marie Atkinson Gonzales, MSW '88, ACSW, LCSW, has moved to Anchorage, Alaska to work with her husband, a psychologist, in the Fort Richardson Army Mental Health Department under a temporary contract. In her private practice, she works with families dealing with issues of multiple deployments, soldiers, airmen, activated guardsmen as well as members of the Coast Guard and other community members who regularly deal with the effects of having hundreds of their community members deploy for long periods of time. She started a women's relaxation group on base for female soldiers and has provided treatment to military members who have developed PTSD and mTBI as a result of their combat experiences. The couple plans to move back to North Carolina in the spring. Gonzales can be reached at debmgonz@hotmail.com.

Anne Gerth Logan, MSW '68, has opened a Grand Rapids, Mich. coffee and doughnut shop called "Simply Anne's" in a city corner property she's purchased. She and her husband Tom, a '72 UNC Ph.D., are 30-year residents of the area and enjoy living in an historic Frank Lloyd Wright-style home. Logan retired three years ago from Blodgett Hospital/Spectrum Health after 28 years.

Mick Rogers, MSW ’80, earned an advanced clinical supervisor certificate from Smith College’s School for Social Work. The program entailed monthly consultation via phone on process recordings of supervisee’s sessions and concomitant process recordings for the supervisor’s sessions. This was book ended by two weeks of intense course work at Smith. Rogers is the manager and clinical director of Sacramento’s Child Guidance Clinic/Sutter Counseling Center. He is also serving as manager of psychotherapy services at Sutter’s Psychiatric Hospital. In addition, Rogers and his wife Pam Marrone (pictured) recently celebrated their 31st anniversary.

Charessa Sawyer, MSW '09, is featured in the Daily Tar Heel article, "UNC alumnae work with stimulus funds: Summer projects lead to employment." Sawyer is working for the Office of Economic Recovery and Investment in Raleigh.

Allison McKenney Shultz, MSW '05, and husband Patrick welcomed their first child, Parker William Shultz, on June 10.

Aaron Swart, MSW '08, is the new director of membership services at the National Association of Social Workers-North Carolina Chapter.

Jo Ann McCachern Swart, MSW '78, retired in January after working 41 years in the field of adoption and foster care. Six of those years were with Gaston DSS and the rest were with New Hanover DSS. During her professional years, she strove to make a difference as an advocate for children, families and the social work profession, and as a volunteer. 

Editor: Michelle Rogers
 
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