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School briefs

Professor Kim Strom-Gottfried presented workshops on “Authentic Academic Leadership” and “Developing and Supporting Academic Leaders” to 65 female higher education leaders in Qassim and Ha’il, Saudi Arabia. Strom-Gottfriend also presented two refereed presentations at the 7th annual European Social Work Research Conference in April in Aalborg, Denmark. She presented “Ethics in Social Work Research” with Teresa Bertotti (Italy) and Ana Sobocan (Slovenia) and “Ethics and Professional Identity: A Systematic Literature Review” with international colleagues as part of a symposium. MSW/MSPH dual degree student Aileen Aylward and doctoral student Premela Deck also contributed to this research.

Clinical associate professor Lisa Zerden, Ph.D. candidate Brianna Lombardi and Ph.D. grad and Sheps Center researcher Erica Richman attended the 13th Annual AAMC Health Workforce Research Conference in Arlington, Va. The colleagues presented on an integrated practice session, titled “Social Work in Integrated Primary Care: A Systematic Review.”

Clinical associate professor Deborah Barrett served as a panelist for a discussion on, “Responding to the Opioid Challenge: Guidance for Healthcare Providers,” which was co-hosted by Community Care of Wake and Johnston Counties, Wake County Medical Society Community Health Foundation, The Governors Institute, Wake County Human Services, Department of Public Health, and Wake AHEC. Barrett also presented, “Effective Chronic Pain Management,” for UNC Wakebrook and Wake AHEC, in Greensboro, N.C.; and “Third Wave CBT for Pain Management,” for the UNC Center for Pain Research and Innovation (CPRI) Seminar in Chapel Hill, N.C.

Clinical assistant professor Travis Albritton co-presented the paper, “Unburdened from ‘Acting White’: Black Males’ Discussions of Race and Academic Identity,” at the American Educational Research Association’s annual conference in San Antonio.

Laura Phipps, clinical assistant professor with the Family and Children’s Resource Program, is part of a team of UNC faculty members that has been selected to receive funding from the 2016 C. Felix Harvey Award, which recognizes exemplary faculty scholarship that addresses real-world challenges and reflects the University’s commitment to entrepreneurship and innovation. The team, which includes Molly Berkoff, associate professor of pediatrics and medical director of the Child Medical Evaluation Program and Child Protection Team at the School of Medicine, and Robert Martinez Jr., assistant professor at the School of Education, are working to develop a program to meet the academic needs of children in foster care. Together, they will develop an online training toolkit to guide child welfare social workers as they assist foster care children and advocate for their academic needs. Some studies show that less than 60 percent of students in foster care finish high school, and among those who do, only 3 percent pursue post-secondary education. Though North Carolina currently has a strong child welfare system, there are no training tools focused on the specific academic needs of foster children. This project will assist with development of resources for both child welfare and the North Carolina school system to use in local districts.

Reiss Powell, MSW ’13, Regina Taggart and Jeffrey Laner – all members of the UNC Satir team – co-presented “Using the Creating Self-Esteem and Resiliency Satir Growth Model,” at the Clinical Social Work Institute in May at Wrightsville Beach. The institute is sponsored by the North Carolina Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers.

Doctoral student Laurie Graham, MSW ’11, and Nick Lemmon, MSW ’12, welcomed baby girl Eva (pronounced “ay-vuh”) Michelle Lemmon on Thursday, May 4. Eva was 5lbs, 15.4 oz and 19.25 inches long.

Congratulations to the recipients of the 2017 Dean’s Award for Teaching Excellence! This year’s winners are: clinical assistant professor Tonya VanDeinse; clinical associate professor Tina Souders; clinical assistant professor Josh Hinson; clinical assistant professor Marilyn Ghezzi; clinical assistant professor Laurie Selz Campbell; professor Matthew Howard; clinical instructor Amy Levine and clinical assistant professor Theresa Palmer. Dean Gary Bowen and senior associate dean for MSW education Lisa Zerden honored the faculty members in April during the last faculty meeting of the academic year.

Kim Whitfield, accounting technician; Beth Sauer, registrar; and Cindy Justice, executive assistant, were each recently honored for their years of service to the University. Whitfield and Justice have been employed with UNC for 25 years and Sauer has 30 years of service. Congratulations!

Congratulations to Kelly Smith, our assistant dean for administration! Kelly received the University’s “2017 Manager of the Year Award.” Chris Meinecke of the University Managers Association presented the award to Kelly.