Diversity and the School of Social Work
Defining Diversity
Our School
At UNC's School of Social Work, we recognize and value the unique characteristics that exist across individuals, communities and cultures. Furthermore, our students, faculty and staff are committed to creating a learning and teaching environment where an individual’s age, gender, race, social class, disability, nationality, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, or religion are viewed as vital strengths and assets that contribute to the overall educational fabric of our campus and to society as a whole.
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Travis Albritton, chair of the School of Social Work's Diversity Committee, with a welcome message
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Our Students
Our graduate students represent a host of nations around the world. Over the past five years, our students have come from: Australia, Canada, Chile, China, England, Ethiopia, France, India, Israel, Korea, Liberia, Mexico, Nigeria, S. Korea, Taiwan, and the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago.
News 2013
Black Student Caucus wins University Diversity Award
The UNC School of Social Work's Black Student Caucus received a 2013 University Diversity Awards recognizing their significant contributions to the enhancement, support and furtherance of diversity on the Carolina campus and in the community. Full story
Students showcase talent, celebrate culture at Harambee event
Students, faculty and staff gathered on March 4 for the School of Social Work’s annual Harambee multicultural event, which celebrates ethnic, racial and cultural diversity through food, art and performances. Full story | photo gallery
Student fights for migrant farmworkers' rights 
For Jennie Wilburn, a third-year student in the MSW/MDiv program, educating others about the living and working conditions of migrant farmworkers has become a full-time passion and nearly a full-time job. Thanks to an internship that developed from her field education at Duke, Wilburn is helping to bring attention to injustices in the agriculture industry through work with two North Carolina organizations: Farmworker Advocacy Network (FAN), and Student Action with Farmworkers (SAF).
Full story
UNC faculty members see immigration reform on the horizon
Over the next few months, many around the country, including students, faculty and staff at UNC, will be watching closely to see what, if any, political progress develops over the one domestic issue that has long divided much of America: immigration reform. Full story
News 2012
The Intersection of Faith and Practice
Jimmy Creech, a civil rights activist, author, and former United Methodist pastor, and his wife Chris Weedy, an ’86 MSW graduate and practicing social worker, spoke to about 65 students, faculty, and staff on March 27 on “The Intersection of Faith and Practice.” Creech is the author of Adam’s Gift, a memoir of one pastor’s journey to re-evaluate his own beliefs about homosexuality and same-sex marriage. Creech frequently speaks across the country to churches, colleges and universities as well as to community and national organizations about human and civil rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. Weedy, also an advocate for LGBT rights, is a senior practitioner with Wake County Human Services and a support group leader with the HIV/AIDS Support Group in Raleigh.
NEWS 2011
CSWE Launches Online Center for Diversity and Social & Economic Justice
The center is designed, among other things, to promote dialog and action through a clearinghouse of current resources for social work educators and students.
Carolina Diversity Summit to Feature Presenters from School of Social Work
The 2011 Carolina Diversity Summit, "Intersectionality: Exploring Diversity from Varied Perspectives," will be held on Nov. 18.
School Hosts Discussion on "DOMA" Amendment
About 45 people attended a discussion on the effects of the “Defense of Marriage Amendment” on Oct. 11 at the School of Social Work. The School's Diversity Committee hosted the event and invited UNC School of Law Professors Maxine Eichner and Holning Lau to lead the conversation on the proposed Constitutional amendment, which would make marriage between a man and a woman “the only domestic legal union that shall be valid or recognized in this state.” N.C. residents will vote on the amendment in May.
Eichner presentation | Lau presentation | Watch the Video
NASW-NC Responds to Proposed Marriage Amendment
"Social workers should not practice, condone, facilitate, or collaborate with any form of discrimination on the basis of race, ethnicity, national origin, color, sex, sexual orientation, age, marital status, political belief, religion, or mental or physical disability."
UNC Law School Hosts Debate on Marriage Amendment
A week after N.C. state lawmakers agreed to place a proposed "Defense of Marriage Amendment" on voting ballots in May, Reps. Paul "Skip" Stam, R-Wake, and Rick Glazier, D-Cumberland, appeared before a crowd of about 250 students, faculty, staff and others at UNC's School of Law to debate the measure, which if approved by voters would make marriage between a man and a woman the only domestic legal union recognized in the state. View video of debate
Triangle Center for Japanese Studies:
UNC, Duke, N.C. State launch Japanese Studies Center | Website
Celebrating Carolina's Diversity:
The Newsletter of the Alumni Committee on Racial and Ethnic Diversity
Addressing the needs of LGBT Elders
On Saturday, April 2, 2011, the School of Social Work hosted "Breaking Generation Silent: Facing the needs and challenges of LGBT Elders."
More than 225 people attended this free event, which included a viewing of the 1-hour documentary, “Gen Silent.” This 2010 award-winning film highlights the realities that many gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender seniors are facing, including discrimination, isolation, poverty, and inadequate access to health and long-term care services. A panel discussion followed the film screening to further explore the social, medical and financial needs of LGBT elders.
See previous story | See photos from the event
Art helps social work students see the full picture
Associate Professor Mimi Chapman uses art to encourage her students to consider how political and religious beliefs, or personal characteristics, such as race, gender, age and sexual orientation, influence a social worker’s conclusions about a client and that client’s needs. Full story
Immigration Policy in North Carolina
On Feb. 23, 2010, the School of Social Work hosted a seminar that examined the leadership, legal and ethical considerations that social workers face in the debate over comprehensive immigration reform.
Speakers Deborah M. Weissman, UNC's Reef C. Ivey II Distinguished Professor of Law and Director of Clinical Programs; Dr. Hannah Gill, Assistant Director for the Institute for the Study of the Americas and Director of the Latino Migration Project; and Ilana Dubester, an Immigrants' Rights Advocate, addressed the effects of the 287(g) Ice Access Program in North Carolina's counties, including whether these programs have impacted public safety, domestic violence protections, child welfare placements and racial profiling. Click on the links below for additional resources and information.
Immigration Policy in North Carolina: Legal and Ethical Consequences for Social Workers
Immigration Policy Resources for Social Workers
Immigration Policy Center's Top 10 Resources
International Civil Rights Museum Opens
Fifty years ago, the F.W. Woolworth building in Greensboro, N.C., stood as a reminder of segregated life in the south. Today, the building stands as a monument to the power of human courage and its ability to bring about social change. The International Civil Rights Center & Museum is more than just a building designed to house historical exhibits and artifacts. It is a place to witness, to experience and to discuss how to affect social change in our own nation and around the world.
National News
March 2010
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Minority Health and the National Resource Center for Hispanic Mental Health have released a report on the Latino Behavioral Health Workforce. This report examines the crisis affecting Latinos in need of behavioral health and the behavioral health workforce in the United States. While at over 15% of the overall population, not including the four million
residents of Puerto Rico, Latinos are visibly absent from all areas of the behavioral health professions including medicine, nursing, psychology and social work. Although a sizable population to be reckoned with, a critical mass cannot be found in positions of leadership, or on national board and advisory committees. Due to the shortage of Latino professionals in behavioral health, issues pertaining specifically to the Latino behavioral health agenda go widely unnoticed and unaddressed.
Full Report
Nov. 3, 2009
The Council on Social Work Education and Lambda Legal have issued a joint national study that examines how prepared students in social work programs are to work with individuals who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender, especially LGBT youth in out-of-home care. According to the CSWE, the "nationwide survey revealed that program directors and faculty need more resources to increase their knowledge on sexual orientation and gender expression and to further infuse content on LGBT individuals and youth throughout curricula areas."
Executive summary |Full Report
UNC SSW News
Harambee: February 2010
Students, faculty and staff gathered on Feb. 2 for the School of Social Work’s annual Harambee multicultural event, which celebrates ethnic, racial and cultural diversity through food, writing and performances.
Participants in this year’s event shared poems, personal stories and songs. Harambee also featured roundtable discussions on culture and ethnicity. 
“Harambee is such an important experience,” said MSW student Alejandro Bidot, who organized this year’s event. “It is a forum for sharing cultures and talking about what makes us different. By exploring our differences, we find that we do have one thing in common: humanity.”
Shining Students: January 2010
Carynne Hardy has been chosen as an intern to the Office of the First Lady and will be working with Michelle Obama's staff at the White House from January to May. Hardy is a second year MSW student who came to us with an MPA degree, and who clearly has a promising future!
July 2009
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).
June 2009
UNC Diversity Resources
Across campus, there are a host of university offices and student groups that provide leadership, advocacy and programs geared toward promoting and supporting diversity issues and diverse populations. We have included a sample of these diversity resources but you can also find a fuller listing of UNC sites as well as diversity resources outside the UNC campus, including links to agencies, organizations and nonprofits Web sites.
