Faculty Notes
Our full- and part-time faculty are leaders in research and practice. They are experts in fields such as gerontology, child welfare, family violence, international social work, homelessness, mental health and health. This section of our newsletter will keep you up to date on the most recent research accomplishments of the School of Social Policy & Practice faculty.
Mary Cavanaugh, MFT, M.S., Associate Director of the Ortner-Unity Program on Family Violence, has accepted an invitation to become an Associate of the Firearm and Injury Center at Penn (FICAP) at Penn Surgery, University of Pennsylvania Health System.
Jeffrey Draine (PhD '95) received a grant from the National Institute of Mental Health to study Critical Time Intervention (CTI) as a service to assist reentry of men with mental illness leaving New Jersey prisons and locating in Camden. The study is a randomized field trial funded for five years. Co-investigators include Dan Herman of Columbia University, Doug Ziedonis of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, Nancy Wolff of Rutgers University, Steve Metraux of the University of the Sciences of Philadelphia and SP2's own Steven Marcus.
Walter Palmer, JD, was honored at a celebration of the naming of the new Leadership Learning Partners Charter School on Thursday, October 26. The new school has been named the Walter D. Palmer Leadership Learning Partners Charter School. It will include a library and museum housing the medals, trophies, citations, plaques and awards bestowed on Professor Palmer over the last fifty years. In addition, the museum will have the world renowned Neurosurgeon Thomas F. Langfitt collection.
Nancy Peter, M.Ed., Director of the Out-of-School Time Resource Center, co-authored an article describing Philadelphia’s 28 year old city-wide science fair. The article, “Systems of Success: The George Washington Carver Science Fair,” was published in the October 2006 issue of Science Scope (the National Science Teacher’s Middle-school journal).
IN MEMORIAM: Rivka Ausubel Danzig
It is with great sadness that I report the death of Dr. Rivka Ausubel Danzig on October 5, 2006, following a courageous struggle with illness. She was 54 years old. Rivka had been associated with Penn’s social work program since 1993. She taught a variety of courses, including social work practice, American racism, and human behavior. She created the elective, “Spirituality and Social Work Practice,” which was exceedingly well regarded by students in our program, and was active in the Society for Spirituality and Social Work during its formative years.
For three years, she worked with Dr. Ram Cnaan in the development and teaching of the course, “Practicing and Managing Social Work in Religious Contexts,” a project that was funded by the Lilly Foundation. Over the last few years, Rivka and I collaborated on the study “Baalei Teshuvah's Spiritual Transformational ‘Soul Work,’” funded by the Metanexus Institute, which examined the processes of religious and spiritual change of Jewish men and women who had become Orthodox. I feel privileged to have had the opportunity to work with Rivka whose penetrating intellect, creativity, perceptiveness, and spiritual depth were awesome. Her resilience despite multiple hospitalizations, invasive medical procedures, and tremendous suffering is truly inspirational.
Abby Stamelman Hocky, Executive Director, Interfaith Center of Greater Philadelphia, and a member of Penn’s social work field cabinet, said the following about Rivka Danzig, whom Abby has known since 1979:
Rivka had a profound influence on me. I learned many things from the way she lived and worked that I strive to carry into my professional practice and my personal life: be direct, be honest with yourself, treat everyone with dignity, and know and express what you need and want. Rivka had an extraordinary ability to see things with clarity and to focus in on the core of a problem…. She brought her full self to every relationship -- whether as a caregiver or receiver of care. One could not hide anything from Rivka--she listened deeply, had "x-ray vision" and never hesitated to call us to our true selves. I am profoundly grateful for Rivka's presence in my life and for the many sources of strength she embedded within me.
Dr. Robert Miller, who was Rivka’s MSW student at Penn and now is Assistant Professor at SUNY-Albany, described himself as one of the many “who deeply respected and loved Rivka. Her intellect was surpassed only by her compassion, courage, and love.”
Rivka Danzig had a strong impact on social work colleagues from other universities. Norma Kolko Phillips, who met Rivka when they both were doctoral students and is now a professor at Lehman College in New York, said, “Rivka was a terrific and loyal friend, as well as a brilliant colleague. Her dynamic personality, boundless energy, and her love of life, family, community and work have always been an inspiration to me. She has enriched us all.” Dr. Edward Canda, Professor at the University of Kansas, described Rivka as “an active advisor and supporter for the Society for Spirituality and Social Work while her health allowed. I very much admired her ability to combine deep commitment to Orthodox Jewish spirituality together with respect for other traditions…. I also remember her incredible resilience and good humor in dealing with adversity and illness. I am grateful to Rivka for her support of the Society and for her friendship to me and many others working on the subject of spirituality in social work.”
Rivka received her MSW and DSW from the Wurzweiler School of Social Work of Yeshiva University. Prior to coming to Penn, Rivka taught at Wurzweiler, Bar Ilan University in Ramat Gan, Israel, and Adelphi University. She received the coveted Lady Davis Post-Doctoral Fellowship for study at the Paul Baerwald School of Social Work of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem.
Rivka published articles and book chapters about spirituality, religion, and the family. In addition to teaching and writing, she worked as a clinician, administrator, and consultant for numerous social agencies and organizations in New York City and Philadelphia. She was a facilitator for the National Bi-weekly Group Teleconferences for Chai Lifeline, conducting telephone conference calls for groups of parents of children with cancer; consulted with the Auerbach Central Agency for Jewish Education and the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia and its affiliates; and was director and mentor coordinator for the Tri-State Institute for Jewish Communal Leadership. Rivka had a private practice and was a mentor to other social work clinicians. She was also active in Nefesh, an organization of mental health professionals. An integral member of the Jewish community in Philadelphia, she could cross the boundaries between the Orthodox, Conservative, Reform, and unaffiliated, while maintaining her own integrity as an Orthodox Jew. She will be deeply missed by the many students and colleagues whose lives she touched.
We extend condolences to Rivka’s husband, Dr. Neil Danzig, children David, Hayyim, and Sarah, and Rivka’s father and brothers. Donations in memory of Dr. Rivka Ausubel Danzig may be sent to Chai Lifeline, 151 West 30th Street, New York, NY 10001.
Roberta G. Sands