MARCH 2007—Volume Two, Issue SIX     |    Penn Matters Archive

Message from the Dean

Happy Social Work Month!

Chances are you have heard that phrase more than once this month. Perhaps you have stopped to think about its importance or the role you play a role as a social worker. I will bet, however, that there is so much more you can do to truly celebrate your existence in one of the noblest professions in the world.

If you are like many social workers, you probably possess an unyielding dedication to your clients or a passion for promoting social change. Yet, how often do you take time to recharge and rejuvenate? Social Work month offers the perfect opportunity to turn the spotlight on you.  Below are ten ways to celebrate all that you do each day.  Get creative and add some of your own:

1. Visit the National Association of Social Workers website and review the NASW Code of Ethics. Share it with a colleague, family member or friend, and renew your pride in your profession.
2. Start a social workers’ networking group in your area by logging onto www.meetup.com, or join one that’s already established.
3. Peruse The New Social Worker Online – the place for social workers on the Net at www.socialworker.com. The site includes a “fun and games” page for de-stressing, and you can even sign up for a free, monthly newsletter.
4. Take a day off and treat yourself as well as you treat your clients. Acknowledge the positive impact you’re making in the world.
5. Expand your scope of interest and expertise by exploring something new that you haven’t yet experienced, e.g. if you work in child welfare, learn about gerontology. 
6. Sign up for a Continuing Education course “just because.”  Mention this Penn Matter’s issue and receive a 5% discount at our School.
7. Seek out at least one person you’ve worked with, who currently is recovering or doing well. Remind yourself that you truly are making a difference.
8. Email Emily Brueckner to request to have an “I love Social Work” button mailed to you from the office of Development and Alumni Relations. First come, first served while supplies last.
9. Attend Penn’s Alumni Weekend on May 11 and 12 and reconnect with old friends. Click here for more details.
10. Mark your calendar for the School of Social Policy & Practice Centennial Celebration – celebrating 100 years of social work education at Penn. Activities begin in January 2008.

Congratulations again, and enjoy!

Richard J. Gelles
Dean

Feature Article
Alumni Ambassadors Program

NETWORK! VOLUNTEER! GET INVOLVED!
LEARN MORE ABOUT THE NEW ALUMNI AMBASSADORS PROGRAM!

Maybe you want to welcome new social workers to the field. Perhaps you’re looking for a way to reconnect with your alma mater and give back to the School. Or maybe you’re exploring opportunities to reconnect with classmates and network with colleagues. If you found yourself nodding in agreement, you’ll be glad to know that there is a new program at SP² that encompasses all of these things: the Alumni Ambassadors Program.
[read more about the Alumni Ambassadors Program]

Alumni in the Field
Frank Brull, MSW’51

Frank Brull, MSW’51, hasn’t been back to Penn since he graduated 56 years ago, but he talks about the importance of his Penn social work education as if he earned his degree yesterday. Over the course of a career that included school social work, private practice, and publishing a host of articles, Mr. Brull’s social work skills were always central to his work.
[read more about Frank Brull, MSW]

School News

Alumni Weekend Registration Open!
Celebrate your Penn Pride and return to campus the weekend of May 11 for Alumni Weekend and Reunion 2007. The School’s schedule of events features a combination of exciting educational and social activities. Click here to learn more!

2007 Class Gift Campaign
For the third year in a row, the SP² graduating class completed an extremely successful Class Gift Campaign. This year’s Campaign, chaired by Jennifer Iorio, SW’07 and Alicia Marini, SW’07, raised $10,279 and included the participation of 75% of the graduating class. Led by Dr. Chul Hee Kang, PhD’94, a group of the School’s Korean PhD graduates generously served as the Campaign’s matching donors, and contributed $6,000 toward the Campaign total. Click here to learn more!

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.

Joan Davitt, PhD, Assistant Professor and Hartford Geriatric Social Work Faculty Scholar has been elected to the Board of Directors of the Center for Advocacy for the Rights and Interests of the Elderly (CARIE). CARIE is a Philadelphia nonprofit organization whose mission is to improve the well being, rights and autonomy or older persons through advocacy, education and action. A leader in the field of aging for 30 years, CARIE is recognized as a vital resource for a wide range of audiences, including older adults, family members and other caregivers, aging and other social service providers, policy makers, and academicians. Dr. Davitt brings over 20 years of experience and expertise in health and long term care programs for older adults to her work with CARIE.

Damon Freeman, PhD, was recently featured in a Philadelphia Daily News article that highlights his work on Kenneth Bancroft Clark, the 20th-century black psychologist. To read the full article, click here.

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.

Rich Furman, MSW’93, PhD, is an associate professor and BSW coordinator at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. He specializes in social work practice with Latinos and expressive qualitative research. He is the author of a new book, Practical Tips for Publishing Scholarly Articles: Writing and Publishing in the Helping Professions. Key features of the book include: a clear outline of the steps to publication; written exercises accompanying each chapter, and a central case study featured throughout the text.

Upcoming Events

SOCIAL SERVICES CAREER FAIR
Sponsored by the Penn Career Services Office
Thursday, March 29, 2:00 – 4:00pm
Hall of Flags, Houston Hall (3417 Spruce Street)
Alumni are invited to attend the 2007 Social Services Career Fair, featuring more than 30 employers. For more information, click here.

ALUMNI WEEKEND and REUNION 2007
Friday, May 11 – Sunday, May 13, 2007
Celebrate your Penn Pride and return to campus for Alumni Weekend and Reunion 2007! The SP² schedule of events includes events on Friday and Saturday: 
Friday, May 11:
9 – 11 am: Saving our Children: Addressing the Foster Care Crisis (Logan Hall, Room 17)
5:30 – 7:00 pm: Reunion Reception (Union League of Philadelphia, 140 S. Broad Street)
8:00 pm: Jigu! Thunder Drums of China (Annenberg Center)
Saturday, May 12:
12 – 3:00 pm: Alumni Weekend Picnic (Hill Square)
For a complete description of events and for information about registration, click here.

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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