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Congratulations to the winner of the May Penn Matters Readership Raffle: Christy Sanders Girard, MSW’02.
Being a Penn alum has many benefits. Each month, we highlight a benefit available to the SP2 alumni community. A full list of alumni benefits can be found on the Penn Alumni site.
Printed Alumni Directory
We’re making progress on the SP2 printed Centennial Edition Alumni Directory! If you haven’t already updated your information with Harris Connect, Inc., please to do so today to ensure that your directory listing is correct. Note that when you call in to Harris to update your information, you will be offered the opportunity to purchase the Directory (available in the Standard or Deluxe edition). All orders for a copy of the directory must be placed with Harris by the beginning of June 2008. Please contact Emily Brueckner if you have any questions about this project.
Become an Alumni Ambassador!
The Alumni Ambassadors program offers alumni opportunities to volunteer at the School. This flexible program allows you to choose which activities and opportunities best match your interests and your schedule. For more information, or to become an Alumni Ambassador, click here.
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 please email the information to Alumni Relations. To sign up for the Career Services listserv, click here.
Join QuakerNet – Penn’s 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.
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
SP2 Review
The annual publication of the School of Social Policy & Practice is available online in PDF format. Click here to access it.
Dean's Welcome-New Beginnings
In her May 19 Commencement address at the SP2 graduation ceremony, Mrs. Bettie Bassett Roundtree, SW’57, told the Class of 2008, “Never underestimate your ability to make impressionable and lasting positive impact upon those you serve.” I totally agree with her. Before they even walked across stage to receive their diplomas, the extremely talented members of the Class of 2008 had already made a lasting positive impression on me, the School, and their communities. Through their dedication to their field placements and student groups, to their extracurricular volunteer work and academic accomplishments, this accomplished group has made it clear that they are going to be leaders in the fields of social welfare, social policy, social work and nonprofit/NGO leadership.
As they create “lasting positive impact” in the world, this year’s graduates will join the distinguished ranks of the Social Work and Social Policy & Practice alumni who precede them. More than 100 of these alumni returned to campus to celebrate Reunion and Alumni Weekend three weeks ago and serve the School as Alumni Ambassadors or in other volunteer capacities. As we wrap up this academic year, thank you for everything that you do to make a “lasting impact upon those you serve.” I could not be more proud of our students and alumni.
Best wishes for a safe, relaxing, and enjoyable summer. The next issue of Penn Matters will be published in September with the start of the fall semester and the start of our Centennial Campaign.
Sincerely,
Richard J. Gelles, PhD
Dean
Feature Article
Alumni Weekend and Reunion 2008
With the School’s Centennial on our doorstep, we’re celebrating 100 years of social work education. So what better time than Alumni Weekend for alumni spanning sixty years—from the classes of 1948 to 2008—to celebrate together? Ernest Goldsborough, MSW’48, celebrated his sixtieth reunion at the Reunion Reception at the Union League on Friday, May 16. All reunion classes were recognized at the Reception, and Sidney Moss and Mary Sewell Smith, graduates of the class of 1958 celebrating their fiftieth reunion, received special recognition.
Click here for complete article
School News
SP2 graduates 158 students
On May 19, 2008, the School of Social Policy & Practice graduated 158 students from four programs. The Ceremony, held in Irvine Auditorium on Penn’s campus, included a Commencement address by Mrs. Bettie Bassett Roundtree, SW’57, and addresses by graduating students from each program: Beverly Frazier (PhD), Rachel Blanchard (Social Policy), Kimmie Weeks (Nonprofit/Nongovernmental Leadership), and Tiffany Southerland (MSW). The ceremony also included the presentation of the Excellence in Teaching Awards and Student Prizes. After the ceremony, graduates, faculty, staff, and guests celebrated at the reception in Houston Hall. Congratulations to the Class of 2008!
Connect211.org: “A bridge between people who need services and the agencies who provide them”
Last month marked the public launch of Connect 211, an online, GIS (Geographic Information System)-based application that allows users to search a database of over 12,000 organizations in Philadelphia and the surrounding counties. The website, www.connect211.org, is hosted by the Cartographic Modeling Lab (CML) at the University of Pennsylvania. “The CONNECT211.org website displays a logical, visually-coherent arrangement of our region’s social services. It displays not only maps, but informational graphics and text that can enable citizens to determine what programs they are enrolled in, and how to manage those claims on their own.” Connect211.org—available to case managers and citizens-in-need—is a partnership between The United Way of Southeastern Pennsylvania, The Delaware Valley Association for the Education of Young Children (DVAEYC), and Pennsylvania’s 211 system. In the fall, the CML will host an informational demonstration of the site.
Joanna Bisgaier wins the SP2 Virginia P. Robinson Publication Prize
Joanna Bisgaier, MSW’08, is the winner of the 2008 SP2 Virigina P. Robinson Publication Prize for her essay, Autism Diagnoses: Identifying and Understanding Loss. The essay contest, which is a partnership between the School of Social Policy & Practice and Social Work Today, is designed to encourage creative writing in the field of social work in honor of Virginia P. Robinson as recognition of the great contribution she made to social work theory and practice by distinguished, creative teaching and writing. Virginia Robinson was instrumental in determining the theoretical orientation of the School of Social Work, and developed the Functional Approach to social work practice with Jessie Taft. She was appointed to the faculty in the 1920s and served as the director of field instruction. The prize includes a cash award, and Ms. Bisgaier’s essay was published on the Social Work Today website.
Policy at Work
The first cohort of students in the SP2 Master of Science in Social Policy degree graduated last summer, and the second class just embarked on their summer-long internships that are the cornerstone of their capstone project. Click here to find out how some of our graduates are putting their degree to work.
Connie Hoe Receives the Robert E. Davies Award
Connie Hoe, MSW’07 and Program Coordinator for the SP2 Penn in the Gulf - Feldman Initiative, received the Robert E. Davies Award on Thursday April 24th at the Alice Paul Awards Breakfast. The award, which is one of five awards sponsored by the Penn Professional Women’s Network and the Penn Women’s Center, is given to an individual who has had remarkable achievements in social change.
Alumni News
Bill Dinwiddie, MSW’75, accepted the position of Chief Executive Officer of the Mental Health Association of Southeastern Pennsylvania (MHASP). The Mental Health Association of Southeastern Pennsylvania is a non-profit citizens’ advocacy and service organization that develops, maintains, and promotes innovative education and advocacy programs and mental health services in a culturally competent manner, and serves as a role model and technical assistance resource for local, regional, state and national organizations and constituencies. MHASP serves adults, children and family members through its programs and advocacy efforts. Prior to assuming this position, he was Vice President of Behavioral Health Services of Horizon House, Inc.
Darlene Marshall-Lee, MSW’05, received the “Women of Courage: Women of Inspiration” Dignity Award at a ceremony on Thursday, May 22. Established by Lutheran Settlement House in 2005, the Women of Courage: Women of Inspiration Awards recognize Philadelphia-area women who have courageously overcome difficult situations, made important achievements to improve their lives, and have found the spirit to change the lives of others and make a difference in our communities.
Kara Mergl, MSW’07, MSSP’07, is participating in the AVON Walk for Breast Cancer in New York City this October. For more information about the walk, visit Ms. Mergl’s personal page.
Scott Provost, MSW’94, and his wife Lori announce the birth of our first child, Ethan Matthew Provost, born April 18, 2008. Also, Mr. Provost’s article “Federal Mental Health Parity: What Social Workers Can Do” was published in the Massachusetts NASW chapter newsletter “Focus” in May 2008 in recognition of National Mental Health Awareness Month.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.
Roberta Iversen, PhD, was interviewed and quoted in a frontpage article in the Philadelphia Inquirer on Saturday, May 3, entitled “‘Underemployed’ not always counted.” For the full article, click here.
Joseph McBride, MSW, LCSW, BCD, part-time faculty and Director of Continuing Education and Professional Development, published an Op-Ed article in the Trenton Times on May 21, 2008 entitled “Racism lives in a town near you” in which he commented on an issue in his hometown of Ewing, NJ. To read the full piece, click here.
Susan Sorenson, PhD, has several recent articles on firearms policy. Three articles, all of which were co-authored with post-doc Kate Vittes, will be published in May or June 2008 journal issues: Keeping guns out of the hands of abusers: Handgun purchases and domestic violence restraining orders (American Journal of Public Health), Restraining orders among victims of intimate partner homicide (Injury Prevention), and Mental health and firearms in community-based surveys: Implications for suicide prevention (Evaluation Review).
Excellence in Teaching Awards in the MSW Program
The 2008 recipients of the School of Social Policy & Practice Excellence in Teaching Awards in the MSW Program are Mark Stern, Ph.D. (standing faculty) and Andrew Fussner, MSW (part-time faculty). Recipients of these awards are selected by all 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 19. Click here for details of the 2008 Excellence in Teaching Awards and the recipients.
Alumni in the Field
Left: Gail Williams, MSW'78
Right: JoeAnn Dupard, MSW'76
In March, Nadina Deigh, Director of Development and Alumni Relations, and Tim Wortham, Annual Giving Officer, visited New Orleans on their way to support the Feldman Initiative in Hancock County, MS. While there, they visited two SP2 alumni in the area—JoeAnn Dupard, MSW’76 and Gail Williams, MSW’78—and with these graduates as guides, saw firsthand the devastation and destruction that still remains from Hurricane Katrina. Ms. Williams is highlighted in this issue’s spotlight on Alumni in the Field; click here to read Gail Williams' interview.
Future Leaders
Saida Agostini, MSW candidate ‘09, was recently awarded a Roothbert Fund Scholarship. The Roothbert Fund is a small group that awards 20 scholarships each year to undergraduate and graduate students on the East Coast "who consider it their responsibility to fulfill their spirituality in thought and action." To be chosen, students must submit an essay and recommendation letters followed by a personal interview in New York. She also won the Carl T. Solberg Award, which is given to exceptional applicants to supplement their scholarship.
Graduation Student Prizes and Awards
Click here for a list of 2008 student awards and recipients.
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