By Matthew Smith University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Social Work students, faculty, staff and alumni gathered to celebrate its Winston-Salem Program on Saturday, Sept. 21. The three-year master of social work program announced its closure this spring after 20 years of operation, but joy and excitement filled the room as Tar Heels in the program reconnected — many for the first time in years. Guests shared their thoughts on their future and what the Winston-Salem Program meant to them on an “impact wall,” highlighting the profound effect the program had on social workers across the state. More than 120 guests honored some of the faculty and staff that made the program a resounding success for two decades, including Director of Digital Learning and Instruction Tina Souders, Winston-Salem Program Director Theresa Palmer, and UNC Cares Program Coordinator Annamae Giles. Guests also heard from Dean Ramona Denby-Brinson and…
By Tina Souders The Winston-Salem Distance Education MSW Program held its first ever alumni reunion picnic on Sat., May 22 at Salem Lake in Winston-Salem. Event photos Despite a few showers in the late morning, graduates from the last five years gathered under an open air shelter overlooking a beautiful 365-acre lake, surrounded by 7 miles of walking trails. Children played on the nearby playground and some alums rented canoes to paddle around the lake when the sun finally broke through the clouds. Grilled hot dogs and hamburgers were accompanied by many wonderful dishes brought by the alums from the Winston-Salem program. Graduates from as far away as Atlanta, Ga. to Greenville, N.C. made the trip to re-connect with classmates, family, faculty and friends. Approximately 40 people attended the reunion picnic with hopes for an even greater turnout next year.
By Chris Hilburn-Trenkle When Debbie Barrett was a student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Social Work, she remembers seeing a flyer about a guest lecture on psychotherapy. In the early 2000s, such events were not a regular part of the implicit curriculum, making this a rare opportunity to learn from a practitioner in the community. The program was so popular that Barrett, who was pursuing her Master of Social Work degree at the time, couldn’t secure a spot. The experience left a lasting impression on her. “I thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be nice to offer more programs like that,’” said Barrett, who is now a clinical associate professor and the director of continuing education at the School of Social Work. Shortly after graduating Barrett took her own idea to heart. She launched the Clinical Lecture Series in 2005 to give students the opportunity to learn…
Jenny Smith, EdS, MSW, BSW (she/her/hers) is a licensed clinical social worker supervisor and holds clinical social work licenses in both North Carolina and South Carolina. With more than 25 years of experience in juvenile justice, departments of social services (child welfare, intensive in home, and post adoptions), private practice, and higher education (counseling and wellness services/administrator) she joined UNC Chapel Hill in 2022 as a clinical assistant professor. Prior to joining UNC Chapel Hill School of Social Work she spent 15 years in a university setting as the associate dean of students and director of counseling services at Lenoir Rhyne University. During her time there, she established an integrative health and wellness center for students that includes counseling, disability, and student health services. Additionally, she has in-person and online teaching experience and has served as a field instructor for students from the Winston-Salem Program.
[caption id="attachment_32735" align="alignleft" width="150"] Alicia Bowles, MSW[/caption] The School of Social Work continues to expand its faculty with the addition of four new clinical assistant professors for the 2022-2023 academic year. Alicia Bowles, MSW, and Jenny Smith, EdS, MSW, BSW, will bring a combined 45 years of social work experience to the 3-year Winston-Salem MSW program this fall. Bowles has worked in the areas of substance abuse and mental health, as well as in public and private child welfare systems in North Carolina, Virginia, and Maryland. For the past 16 years, she has worked in a variety of capacities for the Children’s Home Society of North Carolina, the state’s largest private foster care and adoption agency. Among her previous responsibilities included the oversight of 25 counties in Central and Western North Carolina. Bowles also has extensive training experience and recently served as a field instructor for the Winston-Salem program. [caption…
Theresa Palmer, MSW, has been named director of UNC School of Social Work’s 3-Year Winston-Salem MSW Program. Palmer, who joined the School as an adjunct faculty member in 2007, had served as clinical associate professor and coordinator for field education in Winston-Salem since 2010. As director, she succeeds Tina Souders, Ph.D., who led the program for 17 years. Souders is transitioning full time into her role as the School’s director of digital learning and instruction, a newly created position she was appointed to in a part-time capacity last year. Moving forward, Souders will work exclusively to advance the digital learning and instruction needs of the School, including coordinating trainings for faculty. With the fall semester around the corner, Palmer is working to ensure that the Winston-Salem program continues to foster a “strong sense of community, connection and support between students and faculty.” “I'm excited to build on the program's many…
Clinical associate professor Theresa Palmer, MSW, was named a winner of the University’s prestigious 2022 Distinguished Teaching Award. A clinical associate professor and coordinator for field education in the School’s 3-year MSW Program in Winston-Salem, Palmer is among four UNC faculty members honored for post-baccalaureate teaching. All total, 25 faculty members and teaching assistants were recognized in 2022 for outstanding teaching and mentoring for graduate and undergraduate students. Administered by the Center for Faculty Excellence, the awards were chosen by the University Teaching Awards Committee from more than 800 nominations. Palmer is the seventh School of Social Work faculty member to receive the post-baccalaureate teaching award since it was established in 1995. She and other current award winners will be formally recognized during a half-time ceremony on Jan. 15, at the UNC-Georgia Tech men’s basketball game in the Dean E. Smith Center. Each winner will receive a one-time stipend of…
UNC School of Social Work has witnessed significant growth and achievement during its 100+ years as one of the nation’s leading schools of social work. The timeline below will introduce you to some of the key people, events and accomplishments that have marked turning points in our School’s history. Through each decade, you will see how the School’s history has woven into the extraordinary social history of our nation and world. Of course, the timeline is not an exhaustive compilation — our history includes the work of thousands of faculty, staff, students, alumni and donors over the years. We are grateful for the contributions of each individual and each moment in time, although we could not include everything within this limited space. Our history is rich and vibrant, filled with high points as well as low points, and each has helped build our character as a professional school within the…
Abdi Nor Iftin, author of the memoir “Call Me American,” is the next featured speaker for the Centennial Speakers Series at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Social Work. “A Refugee’s Journey: A Conversation with Abdi Nor Iftin” is scheduled for Thursday, April 8, 2021, at 6 p.m. The free event will be broadcast via Zoom, and advance registration is required. In “Call Me American,” Iftin shares the story of his survival from childhood in Mogadishu, the capital city of Somalia, during the 1990s. Through famine and war, he managed to survive recruitment by Somalian soldiers and learned English by watching action movies, fleeing to Kenya and coming to the United States through his entry in the U.S. Diversity Visa Program lottery. He has lived in Maine since 2014 and became an American citizen as a 34-year-old in 2020. Today, Iftin is a radio journalist and…
[caption id="attachment_549" align="alignleft" width="300"] Dean Gary Bowen[/caption] The UNC School of Social Work welcomed all new MSW students to the program on Friday, Aug. 7, with the launch of its annual JumpStart orientation. Unlike in previous years, the kickoff event to the fall semester began with a virtual session, with School leaders greeting students from the safe distance of their living rooms, offices and home offices via webinar. The JumpStart sessions are designed to introduce students to their new colleagues, faculty and staff; to provide opportunities for meaningful discussions with their peers and with faculty; to help foster a sense of community in the program, and to set the stage for students to develop the necessary knowledge, skills, and understanding of the profession to successfully complete the MSW program. This year’s online event was the first of many such sessions the School will host in the coming months due to…
