May 2007—Volume Two, Issue Eight     |    Penn Matters Archive

Message from the Dean

Dear Alumni,

In May, as I ushered the class of 2007 graduates into alumni status, my heart swelled up with pride. The students marched grandly into our new venue for graduation – Irvine Auditorium – as their family and friends cheered them on. Meanwhile, my mind reminisced on the past few years. Each of the graduates standing before me had blossomed and grown since their first day in the Caster Building. And I believe they all are better prepared to make vital contributions to society. Whether you are a recent alum, or are a more seasoned graduate, I hope the School of Social Work or Social Policy & Practice served you well. As a School, we certainly have benefited from and built our reputation on your stellar accomplishments.

With the closing of this academic year, I’ve become a bit sentimental. It won’t be long before we welcome the next classes to the School (we now offer five degree programs, including our newest degree, the Doctor of Social Work (DSW) in Advanced Clinical Studies). Soon these new students will join you as distinguished alumni. This “circle” – students who come in eager to learn and emerge as alumni ready to fly – could be likened to the theme song from the Broadway play, The Lion King:

From the day we arrive on the planet (students at Caster!)
And blinking, step into the sun
There's more to see than can ever be seen
More to do than can ever be done
There's far too much to take in here
More to find than can ever be found
But the sun rolling high
Through the sapphire sky
Keeps great and small on the endless round
It's the Circle of Life
And it moves us all
Through despair and hope
Through faith and love
Till we find our place
On the path unwinding
In the Circle
The Circle of Life

Each year as the ranks of our alumni swell with a cadre of new graduates, our own unique “circle of life” is perpetuated in marvelous ways.  Thank you for all that you do and for the wonderful people that you are. 

On that note, this is the final issue of Penn Matters until September 2007. Read on to enjoy highlights of 2007 alumni activities, as well as Alumni Weekend 2007 and Commencement. Watch your mail in the fall to receive our second annual publication. If you’ve moved and need to update your mailing address, you can do so here.

Please remember to stay connected. You can reach the Alumni Relations Office directly at alumnirelations@sp2.upenn.edu. Enjoy your summer and we’ll see you again in the fall!

Richard J. Gelles
Dean

Feature Article
Alumni Weekend and Reunion 2007

Alumni Weekend and Reunion 2007 had something for everyone. Expert insight into the foster care crisis from child welfare leaders in the fields of social work, law, medicine, and social policy, combined with free continuing education credits for licensed social workers attracted many to the Friday morning educational component. Dean Richard Gelles served as moderator for the panel, which was comprised of Carol Wilson Spigner, DSW, David Rubin, MD, and Alan Lerner, JD. With panel members answering audience questions for more than an hour, this session was interactive, informative, and inspiring. The inclusion of Jigu! Thunder Drums of China was a new element in SP²’s Alumni Weekend programming. Those who attended this world-class performance at the Annenberg Center on Friday evening reported that it was spectacular. Saturday’s Alumni Weekend picnic on Hill Square was a blend of tradition (the popular Alumni Weekend parade concluded outside of the SP² tent) and exciting new activities (the carnival-style photo booth was enjoyed by picnic-goers young and old).
read more >>

School News

SP² Graduated 172 on May 14
Congratulations to the Class of 2007! The School’s Commencement Ceremony was held on Monday, May 14 in the University’s beautiful Irvine Auditorium. Recent graduates will recall their graduation ceremonies in Harrison Auditorium at the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, but the School’s continued growth necessitated a move to a larger venue. This year’s evening ceremony honored five PhD graduates, 147 MSW graduates, and 20 Nonprofit/Non-governmental Leadership graduates, as well as the eight students in the first graduating class of the Master of Science in Social Policy degree program.  
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SP² Launches Pipeline for Promise Program
For many students, a transition from the Community College of Philadelphia to the University of Pennsylvania means much more than simply crossing the Schuylkill River. This summer, SP² is bridging the two in order to open doors to graduate education, social work, and other helping professions. Through the new Pipeline for Promise program, ten Community College of Philadelphia (CCP) students are enrolled in a tuition-free University undergraduate course on social welfare.
read more >>

One Child, Many Hands: A Multidisciplinary Conference on Child Welfare
There is only one One Child, Many Hands conference, but it included many outstanding presentations. Presented by the Field Center for Children’s Policy, Practice and Research, with the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia as the Lead Sponsor, One Child, Many Hands provided a sampling of “cutting edge work from the multiple disciplines that touch the lives of children, youth and families.”
read more >>

Funding for Out-of-School Time Resource Center
The Out-of-School Time Resource Center (OSTRC) has received funding from the William Penn Foundation for (at least) three more years. Beginning in June 2007, the OSTRC will adopt a more regional approach: using the activities and research it has implemented in the past to more rigorously support and enhance professional development in the Philadelphia area. That said, the Center will still continue to build its relationships and exchanges with national colleagues.

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.

Carol Wilson Spigner, DSW, served as Co-Chair of the Child Welfare Advisory Panel in Philadelphia. On Friday, June 1, the panel released a full report on its review of the Department of Human Services (DHS) and outlined their recommendations for change. Click here to view the full article in the Philadelphia Inquirer or click here to view the full report (PDF).

School of Social Policy & Practice Excellence in Teaching Awards
The 2007 recipients of the School of Social Policy & Practice Excellence in Teaching Awards are Dr. Mark Stern (standing faculty) and Dr. Mary Cavanaugh (part-time faculty). Recipients of these awards are selected by the graduating students and must demonstrate a high level of scholarship in courses taught; a teaching style that stimulates the students’ interest; a commitment to student learning; respect for students’ personal differences; and a significant and lasting impact on the professional development of students. The awards were presented at the School’s commencement ceremony on May 14.

Mark J. Stern, PhD, is professor of social welfare and history and co-director of the Urban Studies program.  Before joining the School of Social Work's faculty in 1980, he received his PhD in history from York University (Canada).  He collaborated with professor emeritus June Axinn in developing the required history and philosophy course in the master's of social work curriculum.  Axinn and Stern co-authored Social Welfare: A History of the American Response to Need which is now in its sixth edition. Stern has authored or co-authored five books, most recently (with Michael Katz of Penn's history department) One Nation Divisible: What America Was and What It Is Becoming (Russell Sage Foundation Press, 2006).  In addition to his work on American social history and the history of social welfare, Stern and his wife, Susan Seifert, direct the Social Impact of the Arts Project which examines the role of community arts and cultural programs in revitalizing urban neighborhoods.

Mary M. Cavanaugh, MFT, M.S., PhD, a part time faculty member, is also the Associate Director of the Ortner-Unity Program on Family Violence in the School of Social Policy & Practice. She has taught courses in research methods, intimate violence, and social policy. Her primary research focus is on the theoretical foundations of intimate partner violence, with a particular interest in examining the origins of violent behavior in male and female offenders, and in designing and testing interventions to deter violence in intimate relationships. She has authored and co-authored a number of articles and book chapters on intimate partner violence, a text with Richard J. Gelles, Current controversies on family violence, and currently has two texts under contract with Oxford University Press: Intimate violence and abuse in families with Richard J. Gelles, and Designing, developing, and implementing randomized control trials for Social Work, with Phyllis Solomon. She was also the recipient of the School of Social Policy & Practice 2004 Excellence in Teaching Award. She has recently completed a joint doctoral degree in Social Welfare and Criminology at the University of Pennsylvania and has accepted a faculty position at UC, Berkeley for fall 2007. 

Student News
Commencement Awards

Each year at Commencement, the School of Social Policy & Practice recognizes the recipients of the student awards.

Click here for the winners of the 2007 awards.

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.

Edward Allan Brawley, DSW ‘73, professor emeritus of Social Work at Arizona State University, is the author a new book, Speaking Out for America's Poor: A Millionaire Socialist in the Progressive Era. It is the first book-length biography of Robert Hunter, a pioneering social worker and social reformer, whose contributions to the early battles against poverty, child labor, industrial injury and slum housing have been largely forgotten. It was published in May 2007 by Humanity Books, an imprint of Prometheus Books.

Robert Constable, DSW ‘71, professor emeritus Loyola University Chicago, is currently working on the 7th edition of School Social Work: Practice, Policy and Research (Chicago: Lyceum Books). The book, which originally came out in 1982, has developed with the school social work specialization, so that each succeeding edition includes substantially new material from previous editions. The book has remained a basic reference in its field, now adopted by approximately 150 universities. Additionally, Constable has more than 100 publications, including, Social Work with Families: Content and Process (2004), which he co-authored with Dan Lee. Most recently, Dr. Constable presented in Singapore and Chicago, giving keynote addresses on school social work and evidence-based practice. He also recently taught a course on family intervention at Jagiellonian University in Crakow, Poland. An article on "Catholic Social Thought and the Caring Professions: Social Work", based on a paper given at Universita Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Milan in September 2006, is slated to appear in the Spring-Summer 2007 issue of the Journal of Religion, Spirituality and Social Work.

Upcoming Events

Homecoming 2007 - Save the Date!
Homecoming is Saturday, October 20, 2007.
Stay tuned for more information about exciting Social Policy & Practice and University events.

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

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