Feb 2007—Volume Two, Issue Five     |    Penn Matters Archive

Message from the Dean

“We should emphasize not Negro History, but the Negro in history. What we need is not a history of selected races or nations, but the history of the world void of national bias, race hate, and religious prejudice.”

--Carter G. Woodson

The above quote circulated by the Association of Black Social Workers (ABSW) at Penn might best epitomize the School’s position on Black History Month. Although we are pleased to celebrate the accomplishments of African Americans throughout history, we also recognize the need to abolish the global prejudice and discrimination that make such a month a necessity.

Our feature story highlights the talented and dedicated ABSW members of the School of Social Policy & Practice. Read about the important initiatives the chapter has launched to support its national organization’s mission: “enhancing the quality of life and empowering people of African ancestry through advocacy, human services delivery, and research.”

“Alumni in the Field” features Chad Dion Lassiter, MSW’01, President and co-founder of Black Men at Penn School of Social Work, Inc. Learn how this dynamic group fills a unique niche and plays a vital role at Penn and in the larger Philadelphia community. 

Finally, the Alumni Relations Office continually is rolling out new services just for you.  Send your comments, ideas or questions to alumnirelations@sp2.upenn.edu for immediate attention. Also, watch your snail mail for your Super Packet, which contains information on our new Alumni Ambassadors Program (also featured in next month’s Penn Matters).

As always, I encourage you to stay connected to Penn! Enjoy this month in which we acknowledge some great contributions to our country’s rich history and heritage.

Richard J. Gelles
Dean

Feature Article
ABSW – Association of Black Social Workers

Often, student groups and organizations enhance a student’s time in graduate school, providing extracurricular activities and social gatherings. But ABSW – the Association of Black Social Workers - is one student organization at SP² that goes above and beyond “enhancing” a student’s education: for many ABSW members, the group forms the foundation of their academic and professional experiences. As former ABSW President Chasity Gary, SW’07, explains, “it is through the relationships that I have developed [through ABSW] … that I am able to influence positive change.”
[read more about ABSW]

Alumni in the Field
Chad Dion Lassiter, MSW’01

For Chad Lassiter, MSW’01, jumping rope with a diabetic teenager, organizing a lecture series for Black History Month, teaching Social Work 603 in Penn’s Racism Sequence, and mentoring an accomplished group of Philadelphia high school students are all part of a normal day’s work.

Chad holds the multi-faceted title of social worker, behavioral interventionist, and researcher at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) in the Division of Endocrinology/Diabetes. His work is part of the TODAY study (Treatment Options for Type 2 Diabetes in Adolescents and Youth), funded by the National Institutes of Health to evaluate effective treatment options for children and adolescents with Type II diabetes. As a social worker in this position, he works with patients and their families to develop healthy behaviors, like becoming active, eating nutritious foods, taking medications as prescribed, and checking blood sugar levels. Because the study aims to determine the most effective combination of behavioral therapy and medication, Chad points out that his position offers a unique combination of social work practice and research. The nationwide TODAY study continues through 2010, but Chad has already seen some overwhelming successes among his patients.
[read more about Chad Dion Lassiter]

School News

The School of Social Policy & Practice is a vibrant community on Penn’s campus. On a daily basis, our faculty, staff, students, and alumni engage in research, discussions, social activities, mentoring, and professional development.  Below are some of the most recent pieces of news from the SP² community.

"100 for 100" Annual Fund Centennial Campaign
In honor of the School’s upcoming Centennial in 2008, alumni are invited to celebrate 100 years of social work education with a special gift to the Annual Fund. Donors who give outright or pledge at least $400 ($100 each year until 2010) will have their names listed in perpetuity on the School's Centennial Wall.
[read more about the "100 for 100" Annual Fund Centennial Campaign]

Field Center Breakfast Symposium Sets Record Attendance
The Field Center for Children’s Policy, Practice & Research hosted a standing room only audience for its most recent Breakfast Symposium, Parents’ Rights vs. Children’s Rights. Over 200 professionals filled the Levy Conference Center at Penn’s Law School on January 31st to hear Richard Gelles and Martin Guggenheim in a thoughtful and at times controversial discussion of the issues, moderated by Penn Law Professor Alan Lerner.
[read more about the Field Center Breakfast Symposium]

Recommend an Applicant!
Do you know a potential leader in the field of social work, nonprofit/non-governmental leadership, or social policy? For almost one hundred years, the University of Pennsylvania School of Social Policy & Practice has been committed to educating leaders committed to confronting societal problems. Today, thousands of SSW/SP² alumni have put their social work education into practice to impact change at individual, community, national and global levels. We are certain that every day our alumni meet talented individuals committed to social justice and social welfare who are ideal candidates for our Masters or Doctoral degree programs.
[read more about recommending an applicant]

New Staff at CHIP (Center for High Impact Philanthropy)
Last summer, the School of Social Policy & Practice announced the creation of its newest center, the Center for High Impact Philanthropy. In the months following, Executive Director Katerina Rosqueta began hiring the Center’s team. Today, CHIP’s staff includes Kathleen Noonan (Associate Director), Carol A. McLaughlin (Research Director, Global Public Health), Francis H. Barchi (Senior Fellow, Global Programs), Autumn Walden (Administrative Coordinator), Mickey Jou (Research Assistant), Swapna Putcha (CHIP Wharton Fellow), and Jelena Djordjevic (Research Intern).
[read more about the new staff at CHIP]

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.

Richard Estes, DSW has just released two new books, Advancing Quality of Life in a Turbulent World (Dordrecht NL & Berlin: Springer); and Quick Reference on Child Sexual Exploration: For Health Care, Social Services, and Law Enforcement Professionals (St. LouisMO: GW Medical Publishing).  The latter volume is Estes' fifth volume on the commercial aspects of child sexual exploitation. Dr. Estes also has published two recent articles: “Development Challenges and Opportunities Confronting Economies in Transition”, in Kenneth Land (Editor-in-Chief) Encyclopedia of Quality of Life Research  (Dordrecht NL & Berlin: Springer­in press, 2007); and "Asia and the New Century: Challenges and Opportunities”,  Social Indicators Research, 2007. His previous article entitled “Education for Social Development: Curricular Issues and Models" (Social Development Issues,1994)  will be included in the School's special Centennial Collection of Papers of the University of Pennsylvania School of Social Policy & Practice being edited by Ram Cnaan, Jeffrey Draine and Melissa Dichter. In October, 2006 Dr. Estes gave the keynote address on "'Social Capital', 'Social Exclusion' and 'Social Cohesion' " in honor of the 50th Anniversary of United College of the Chinese University of Hong Kong in Hong Kong, China.

Femida Handy, PhD, has published a new book, Grassroots NGOs by Women for Women: The Driving Force of Development in India (Femida Handy, Meenaz Kassam, Suzanne Feeney, and Bhagyashree Ranade; Sage Publications, 2006). Based on empirical evidence from first-hand interactions with 20 Indian women founders of NGOs, this book presents a theoretical understanding of the role and impact of NGOs, the structures that evolve based on their feminist ideologies, the services the provide and the social impact of these NGOs in promoting the empowerment of women.

Alumni News

Graduates of the School of Social Work and the School of Social Policy & Practice are leaders in the field, doing extraordinary things everyday as they fight for social justice and advocate for others. This section enables alumni to share their professional updates with their classmates and other alumni.

Alumni wishing to share professional accomplishments or announcements in the Alumni News section of Penn Matters can email submissions in paragraph format to alumnirelations@sp2.upenn.edu.

Delfin Bautista, MSW’06, was recently selected to take part in Soulforce’s Equality Ride. Soulforce is an organization that works towards stopping the oppression of the LGBT community, especially in the areas of religion and spirituality, and bases its activism on the principles of active non-violence exemplified by Rev. Martin Luther King and Gandhi. To read more, click here.

Future Leaders

Joel Caplan, M.A., SWP’08
Have you ever sorted through the stack of business cards in your Rolodex and realized you don’t remember the circumstances under which you met many of these contacts? If you answered yes, take comfort in two pieces of good news: you’re not alone, and it doesn’t have to be that way. In professional circles – social work included – networking is important, and effective networking is invaluable. Now – as a result of the ingenuity and creativity of SP² doctoral student Joel Caplan – effective networking is just a Conference Card away.
[read more about Joel Caplan and Conference Cards]

Upcoming Events

Knowledge and Black Possibilities: The Intellectual Legacies of W.E.B. DuBois

Dr. Anthony Monteiro
is the featured speaker
in the "Knowledge and
Black Possibilities"
lecture series

This lecture series explores several of the critical areas of the study of W.E.B. DuBois and the application of his intellectual legacies to the 21st century.

Hosted by Black Men at Penn School of Social Work, Inc.
Featured scholar and social activist Dr. Anthony Monteiro

Thursday, February 22: 6:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.

“By Any Means Necessary”: Malcolm X, W.E.B. DuBois and the Dialectics of 21st Century Black Liberation.

Thursday, March 1: 6:30 – 8:00 p.m.

W.E.B. DuBois on the Struggle Against War, Racism, and Imperialism: a 21st Century Explanation

Both lectures take place in Houston Hall, Griski Room (3rd floor)

Spiritual Transformation: How It Informs Our Practice: A Lunchtime Learning Session To Honor the Memory of Dr. Rivka Ausubel Danzig
Friday, March 2, 2007
12 – 2:00 p.m. at University of Pennsylvania Hillel (Steinhardt Hall, 215 S. 39th Street)

The Jewish Communal Professionals Association (JCPA) in conjunction with Penn Social Policy & Practice invite you to this special lunchtime learning session. Featured speaker Dr. Roberta Sands is a professor at SP² where she teaches clinical social work practice and qualitative research. She and Dr. Rivka Danzig, who were colleagues in the MSW program at Penn, developed and worked together on the research project, “Baalei Teshuvah’s Spiritual Transformational ‘Soul Work.’” Dr. Sands will discuss some of the findings of the study and their implications for Jewish Communal practice.

11:00 a.m. – 12:00 noon: Reflection Circle honoring Rivka’s local, national and international impact on the personal and professional lives of colleagues and friends.

Cost: $18 for JCPA members and Penn Faculty and Students; $25 for non-members

Please register by February 20th by sending check and reservation to: Beth Razin – JFGP – 2100 Arch Street – Philadelphia, PA 19103

ALUMNI WEEKEND and REUNION 2007
Save the Date!
Friday, May 11 – Sunday, May 13, 2007

Alumni needing hotel accommodations are encouraged to make hotel reservations as early as possible. The School has reserved a block of rooms at Club Quarters in Center City Philadelphia. For more information on making a Club Quarters reservation, please contact the SP² Alumni Relations Office at 215.573.7133. 

One Child Many Hands:
A Multidisciplinary Conference on Child Welfare
May 30 – June 1, 2007

Lead sponsor: Children's Hospital of Philadelphia

Organized by the Field Center for Children’s Policy, Practice, and Research at the University of Pennsylvania

This national conference on child abuse and neglect serves as a forum to disseminate timely and valuable information to an audience of social workers, attorneys, physicians, therapists, court system officials, nurses, and child welfare workers and administrators.

Registration information will be available in the spring.

Editor's Note

We are always seeking to better serve our alumni and offer a more convenient way to share news with the Social Policy & Practice community. Penn Matters Online offers a way to highlight happenings and information in a timely manner. It acts as a supplement to the printed Penn Matters , which will still be mailed to you every September. We welcome your feedback and suggestions about Penn Matters and Penn Matters Online. Please email Alumni Relations with questions, comments, feedback, and suggestions. 

Penn Matters Online is created using Cascading Style Sheets according to W3C web standards for compliance and accessibility. It is accessible for Braille, aural, and handheld readers, and the layout is fully resizable through your Internet browser preferences. For your convenience when printing, all images will be omitted and the text will be set to a 12 point Arial font. Please contact Lizza Robb with any questions or suggestions.

Emily M. Brueckner, MSW’05
Editor, Penn Matters and Penn Matters Online

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