School News
Reunion of SP² Doctoral Graduates in Korea
Seated (left to right): Associate Professor Femida Handy
of SP2; Prof. OH Heak-young of Catholic University of Korea
(Seoul, Korea); Prof. MIN, So-young of Kyonggi University
(Suwon, Korea); and Prof. SONG, Da-young of Hoseo
University (Chungnam, Korea).
Standing (left to right): Prof. PARK, Byung-hyun (Pusan
National University, Pusan, Korea); Prof. Ram Cnaan of SP2;
Prof KIM,Kyo-seong (Chung Ang University, Seoul, Korea);
Prof. Richard Estes of SP2; and Prof KANG, Chul-hee
(Yonsei University, Seoul Korea and, currently, at Penn
as a visiting scholar until late Summer 2007).
This summer, as part of the inaugural Penn-Kyung Hee University joint program in “NGOs and Global Governance in East Asia,” SP² facilitated a reunion in Seoul, Korea, of some its recent doctoral program graduates. The alumni in attendance – all eminent leaders of the social work and social welfare professions in South Korea, were joined by three members of the School’s faculty - Dr. Ram Cnaan, Dr. Richard Estes, and Dr. Femida Handy.
Representing a handful of the more than 60 MSW, DSW, and PhD South Korean Social Policy & Practice graduates, these alumni emphasized the important role that SP² can play in facilitating the development of their nations, and, in turn, the potential contributions that international graduates can (and do) make in advancing the international priorities of the School. Those who participated in this festive event at the historic Shilla Hotel in Seoul had wonderful time reuniting with one another.
The Penn-Kyung Hee program permits a number of current SP² graduate students and faculty to travel to Korea and other East Asian nations on a regular basis. The focus of these exchanges, in all cases, is a combination of course and field research work carried out under the supervision of both Penn and Kyung Hee faculty members in Korea and other East Asian nations (e.g., Japan, China, Mongolia, Taiwan, and Singapore).