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Bunch ’78 named director of ECU School of Social Work

Dr. Shelia Grant Bunch, MSW ’78, has been named director of the East Carolina University School of Social Work, effective  July 1.

Bunch has been an integral part of the ECU School of  Social Work faculty for 24 years, serving on many community, school and university committees. She earned a PhD in sociology from North   Carolina State University and an MSW from the University of North  Carolina at Chapel Hill. She has been serving as interim director of   ECU’s School of Social Work since 2008, and she is the former coordinator of the baccalaureate social work degree.

Bunch has published in the areas of grandparenting and kinship, intimate partner violence, and rural social work. In addition to serving as the principal investigator for the ECU Child Welfare Education  Collaborative, Bunch has been principal investigator and co-principal investigator on the following grants: Addressing Violence During and Around the Time of Pregnancy; Pregnancy and Depression: Pilot Study of a Cognitive-Behavioral Intervention in Pregnancy for Low-Income Women with Depressive Symptoms; and Insight-Plus: A Cognitive Behavioral Intervention Pilot Study for Pregnancy African-American and Caucasian Low-Income Women with Depressive Symptoms. Dr. Bunch is a native of Bertie County, North Carolina.

“My goal for the School of Social Work is to help create a work environment where faculty and staff can enjoy their work as we prepare the next generation of social workers to meet the challenges of practice in an increasingly complicated society,” said Bunch. “We are looking forward to improving our programs, increasing our community partnerships, and using our scholarly and creative activities to contribute to the profession.”

Story courtesy East Carolina University School of Social Work