Featured Alumni Benefit
of the Month
Being a Penn alum has many benefits. Each month, we highlight a benefit available to the alumni community. A full list of alumni benefits can be found on the Penn Alumni site.
Did you know? The Penn Bookstore sells Social Policy & Practice T-shirts.
They’re available online or in the store, so be sure to get yours today. Click
here for more information.
Job Announcements
Sign up for the Career Services job listserv (there are separate listservs for clinical and macro job opportunities). If you would like to advertise a job announcement to our alumni through the Career Services listserv or the new SP2 jobs postings page, please email the information to alumnirelations@sp2.upenn.edu and include "Job Announcement" in the subject line. To access the SP2 jobs postings page, click here. To sign up for the Career Services listserv click here.
Join the Online Community!
A classmate may be trying to get in touch with you! The online community is password protected and available only to registered Penn alumni. By registering, you will be able to update your own profile, as well as search the directory for the contact information of your classmates. If you haven’t yet registered for the online community, click here to do so today. If you have questions about the online community, please contact Emily Brueckner at embrueck@sp2.upenn.edu.
Alumni Clubs
The SP² Alumni Relations Office is working with alumni in different cities to form regional alumni clubs. If you would like to start a club in your city, please contact Emily Brueckner at 215.573.7133 or embrueck@sp2.upenn.edu.
Need to Contact SP2 Alumni Relations?
We have a new user-friendly email address: alumnirelations@sp2.upenn.edu. Send alumni questions, comments, and concerns to this address and we'll make sure it gets to the appropriate person.
100 for 100 Centennial Campaign
Gift Planning
With our children and grandchildren beginning another semester of school, we are reminded of the importance of a quality education. Penn’s Office of Gift Planning can help you to find the right asset, at the right time, structured in the right away to maximize the tax benefits of your support of the University’s educational mission. For more information, visit the Gift Planning website or e-mail giftplanning@dev.upenn.edu.
Message from the Dean
One year ago in February we published the School of Social Policy & Practice’s first on-line newsletter. Since then, the Development and Alumni Relations Office has provided you a bird’s eye view of SP², from school news, to alumni accomplishments, to student escapades.
As the new year begins, I wanted to reflect on past initiatives, and to highlight a few of the planned activities for the year ahead:
<< Then: Multiple mailings!
Now >>: Look for “Super Packet II,” coming soon to a mail box near you! In an effort to streamline the amount of mail alumni receive from the School, the Office of Development and Alumni Relations sent a “Super Packet” with all you need to know in one convenient package.
<< Then: Penn Connections offered an opportunity for alumni to mingle with students and share informally (as well as in a formal panel) about their current professions, how to negotiate the highest salary, dealing with “compassion fatigue” and the breadth of and depth of opportunities for MSWs.
Now >>: This year Penn Connections will feature a more “student-friendly” format, preceded by an Employment Fair held in conjunction with Career Services.
<< Then: Over 50 alumni attended Alumni Weekend 2006, beginning with an educational session on Friday morning, a dedicated Reunion reception at the Philadelphia Union League and a picnic on Hill Field.
Now >>: Never been to Alumni Weekend? Plan to come this year. Alumni Relations’ goal is to attract at least 100 alumni back to campus for educational enrichment, friendship, and fun. Click here for more details about Alumni Weekend 2007.
<< Then: In 2006, for the first time SP² participated in Homecoming and a tail-gate party before the big football game. The first ten alums to register received free, prime seats on the field!
Now >>: Fall 2007 promises to be filled with lots of exciting opportunities that will attract you back to campus.
As you can see, there were lots of ways to get involved in 2006, and new offerings await you in 2007. So what are you waiting for? There’s nothing to lose and much to gain. Make time to connect to Penn and SP², and take advantage of all that being an alum can offer.
Happy New Year!Richard J. Gelles
Dean
Feature Article
More often then not, the New Year is accompanied by both the motivation to excel in something new and the proclamation that “this will be the best year yet.” The SP² Alumni Relations Office is no exception to following that tradition, and the January issue seemed a fitting place to outline what’s “new and improved” for 2007. Read on for more information about what’s new in the New Year.
Alumni in the Field
Traci Savoy, MSW'00
Traci Savoy, MSW’00 recently summarized her work at Casey Family Programs by saying, “I don’t think it gets any better than this.” She was referring to the role she plays in helping children and families on a national level through her position as a Systems Improvement Specialist at Casey Family Programs. Traci is also quick to recognize the importance of her social work training, pointing out that we can’t underestimate the value of professionals with “this background doing this type of work.”
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.
PhD Program Ranked #2
There’s exciting news for SP²’s PhD program in Social Welfare: it was recently ranked number two among social work doctoral programs in the 2005 Faculty Scholarly Productivity Index. This index is a weighted sum of quantitative measures based on articles, citations, books, grants, and honors, and ranks 7,294 individual doctoral programs in 104 disciplines at 354 institutions. Produced by a firm that was sponsored and partially funded by SUNY Stony Brook, the index was featured as the lead article in a recent issue of The Chronicle of Higher Education. To read the full article, click here.
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.
Joretha Bourjolly, PhD, was selected by the Temple University School of Social Administration Alumni Association as a recipient of the 2007 Certificate of Honor. This award is presented annually by each of Temple’s school and college alumni associations to a graduate “for outstanding service to their school or college and to the University, as well as for having distinguished themselves in their particular field.”
Dennis Culhane, PhD, was recently quoted in a USA Today front-page article about homelessness. The article, which appeared on Friday, December 22, 2006, quotes Dr. Culhane about the lack of affordable housing and what the government should do about it. Click here to read the article.
Joan K. Davitt, PhD, Assistant Professor and Hartford Geriatric Social Work Faculty Scholar, announces the German language publication of the book "Current Practices in High-Tech Home Health Care", co-authored with Lenard Kaye, Professor & Director, Center on Aging, School of Social Work, University of Maine. (Complete citation:
Kaye, Lenard W. & Davitt, Joan K., (2006). Hoch technisierte hausliche Pflege, Verlag Hans Huber, Bern, Germany, 2006. (German language edition of Kaye, L.W. & Davitt, J.K., Current Practices in High-Tech Home Care, Springer Publishing Company, New York, NY, 1999).
Richard Estes, DSW, was the 2005-2006 president of ISQOLS (International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies). Incoming president Valerie Møller recently thanked Dr. Estes for the leadership and inspiration he provided during his two years as president of the organization.
Damon Freeman, PhD, organized and chaired a panel entitled "Black Power: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives" at the American Historical Association Annual Meeting in Atlanta, GA. The panel discussed the importance and significance of the classic 1967 book, Black Power, The Politics of Liberation by Stokely Carmichael and Charles Hamilton on the fortieth anniversary of its publication. The participants included Hamilton himself and a new generation of promising scholars of Black Power Studies such as Peniel Joseph, Martha Biondi, Rhonda Williams, and Hasan Jeffries.
Roberta Iversen, PhD, participated on a panel about evidence-based practice at the annual conference of the Society for Social Work and Research in January in San Francisco. Her paper was entitled "Saving the Profession: Epistemological and Rhetorical Choices."
Alumni News
Jed Johnson, MSW’85, Easter Seals Assistant Vice President of Adult and Senior Services, was recently honored with the Ruth Von Behren Award, created in 1992 to recognize the personal achievements and commitment of individuals in the field of Adult Day Services.
[read more about Jed Johnson and the Easter Seals]
David B. Wohlsifer, MSW’94, PhD, adjunct professor at SP², recently wrote a chapter entitled, Sexuality and Culture, in Principles and Practices of Sex Therapy (4th edition), edited by Sandra Leiblum. Dr. Wohlsifer co-authored the article with Monica McGoldrick and Robbin Loonan.
Future Leaders
Doctoral Student Steering Committee Organized Winter Essentials Drive
Fifty pairs of socks. Twenty eight winter jackets. Ten bags of toiletries. These were just a few of the things that the SP² Doctoral Student Steering Committee (DSSC) gathered as part of their “Winter Essentials Drive 2006.” For the Drive, the DSSC appealed to members of the Social Policy & Practice Community to participate in the drive by leaving winter essentials at the Caster lobby or the Research Building at 3815 Walnut. The collected items were donated to New Visions Community Services in Camden where individuals can receive emergency services and are offered showers, phones, mail service, laundry facilities, breakfast and lunch, and referrals for health and other basic services.
Profile of a Donor
Kathleen Kaye-McKean, MSW'88
The November 9, 2006 Louis H. Carter Endowed Lectureship was featured in the October/November issue of Penn Matters. Here, Kathleen Kaye-McKean, MSW’88, reflects on establishing the Lectureship.
Underscoring the adage that good things come to those who wait, the Louis H. Carter Lectureship returned November 9, 2006 following a year’s hiatus, for its 2nd annual Lecture in the series. Featured speaker, poet, activist Nikki Giovanni, kicked off her comments with political and social satire worthy of Late Night talk show hosts. Soon settling into the centerpiece of her comments, focusing on race and racism, Giovanni successfully made the unlikely metaphor of the imagined difficulties of future space travel and Middle Passage. Powerful and provocative, Giovanni belies her petite stature and packs a wallop in each carefully crafted concept. Her parting gift was a reading of an unpublished poem.
[read more about Kathleen Kaye-McKean]
Upcoming Events
Field Center for Children’s Policy, Practice, & Research Winter Breakfast Symposium
Parents’ Rights vs. Children’s Rights
A debate of the issues between Martin Guggenheim, Esq. and Richard Gelles, PhD
January 31, 2007
8:30 – 10:30am
Martin Guggenheim is the author of What’s Wrong with Children’s Rights, and is the Fiorello LaGuardia Professor of Clinical Law at NYU School of Law. Richard Gelles is a noted author and child abuse expert, is the Dean of the Penn School of Social Policy & Practice, and holds the Joanne and Raymond Welsh Chair of Child Welfare and Family Violence.
Social Work CEUs available for $20
Registration opens January 2, 2007.
To register, email fieldctr@sp2.upenn.edu or call 215.573.5442.
Space is limited.
University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology
Young Friends Program: Ancient Girls Gone Wild
Thursday, February 8, 2007
6:30pm
Free for Museum members; $5 for non-members.
The Young Friends of Penn Museum invite you to their second-annual steamy Valentine’s Day celebration. Sip cosmopolitans, mingle with friends, and be intrigued by the salacious details of the drama-filled lives and sordid affairs of the ancient world’s romantic vixens. Speakers include Dr. Jennifer Wegner, Research Scientist, Egyptian Section, Dr. Elin Danien, Research Associate, American Section, and Dr. C. Brian Rose, Curator-in-Charge, Mediterranean Section. For more information, click here or call 215/898-5093.
Penn Alumni Night at the Men’s Basketball game vs. Harvard
Saturday, February 10, 2007
7:00pm Tip off
The Palestra
The Department of Athletics and the Office of Alumni Relations have partnered together to offer all Penn alumni the opportunity to buy up to four tickets to the game at a special discounted rate of $7 per ticket. You can order tickets to this game by calling 215-898-6151 or by stopping by the Penn Athletics Ticket Office in Weightman Hall, Monday – Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. You may also fax the order form to 215-573-2161 or send it by mail to: Penn Alumni Night, Athletics Ticket Office, Weightman Hall, 235 S. 33rd Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104
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