On May 18, 2009, the School of Social Policy & Practice honored the accomplishments of 183 graduates at the School's Commencement. Recognized at the ceremony were 5 Ph.D. in social welfare graduates, 148 Master of Social Work graduates, 13 Nonprofit/NGO Leadership graduates, and 17 Social Policy students who will complete coursework in August. Ms. Deborah Brooks, co-founder of The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research, delivered the Commencement address (pictured at left, courtesy of Legacy Photographics). Student speakers for each of the programs were Kerry Dunn (Ph.D.), Tanisha Walcott (Social Policy), Patience Ajoff-Foster (NPL), and Elizabeth Dailey (MSW).
Question: How is the School doing in terms of student enrollment?
Reappointment of Richard Gelles as Dean of the School
On May 14, President Amy Gutmann announced to the Penn community the reappointment of Dean Richard Gelles: We have received the report of the Consultative Review Committee on the Reappointment of Richard Gelles as Dean of the School of Social Policy & Practice, and we are delighted to recommend to the Trustees at their June meeting the reappointment of Dean Gelles for a second term, to run through June 30, 2014 ... Read more>
WINNER OF SP2 CAMP REVEILLE CONTEST ANNOUNCED
Congratulations to Katie Smeltz, MSW'96, the winner of the SP2 Camp Reveille contest. The contest, which was held in honor of both Women's History Month and Social Work Awareness Month in March, invited alumnae to identify the woman leader whom they most admire. Alumni then had the opportunity to vote for the winner. Katie wrote: "I now use my interviewing skills that I so cherish in Barbara Walters to find better treatments, schools, alternative therapies for my son..." Read more >
The Field Center Celebrates Five Years of Making a Difference
(Photo at right by Candace DiCarlo)
The University of Pennsylvania’s Field Center for Children’s Policy, Practice & Research celebrated its fifth anniversary with a reception on Thursday, April 23 at the Please Touch Museum in Philadelphia. Guest speakers included Penn President Amy Gutmann, the Montgomery County District Attorney, Risa Vetri Ferman, and Administrative Judge Kevin Dougherty from Philadelphia Family Court.
The Field Center’s fifth anniversary reception honored Joseph and Marie Field, the Center’s founding benefactors ... Read more >
SP2 Announces the Creation of a Specialized Gerontology Program
The School of Social Policy & Practice has been awarded a 2-year grant from the John A. Hartford Foundation to develop an advanced competency-based, aging-specific curriculum and to develop a vibrant Field Agency-Internship partnership via the Specialized Gerontology Program, which will be known as the Penn Aging Concentration (PAC) ... Read more >
Death of Professor Arthur Schwartz
Professor Arthur Schwartz, 81, who was a lecturer at the School of Social Policy & Practice since 1998, died April 17 at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania of complications from a blood disorder. In a message to the Dean, Arthur's wife wrote, "I have received quite a few emails from Arthur's present and former students, sending consolations and writing personal statements about his very great personal influence, both on their professional and private lives ... Read more >
Read the full obituary >
Social Work Legislative Advocacy Day
Demonstrating their commitment to the social work profession, members of Black Men at Penn School of Social Work Inc. attended the Pennsylvania Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers Legislative Advocacy Day on March 31, 2009. Attending members joined over 450 social workers to express their support for key legislation within the Capitol Rotunda ... Read more >
FACULTY ACCOMPLISHMENTS
SP2 Teaching Award Winners
Roberta Rehner Iversen and David Wohslifer are the recipients of the 2009 Excellence in Teaching Awards in the MSW Program for Standing Faculty and Part-time Faculty, respectively. This award is presented to both a standing and part-time faculty member in recognition by the MSW student body of excellence in teaching ...
Read more >
Dennis Culhane, Ph.D., was awarded a grant by The Hilton Foundation to study the young adult trajectories of youth who have "aged out" of foster care and juvenile justice programs in Los Angeles County. The study will follow young adults through their earnings, health and mental health services use, receipt of public assistance, homelessness, and criminal ... Read more >
Joan Davitt, Ph.D., was invited to present her research on "Understanding Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Home Health Outcomes: The Clinical Practice Factors" at the annual meeting of the Resource Centers for Minority Aging Research (RCMAR) in Birmingham, AL in April. There currently are 6 RCMARs across the country (including our very own UPENN, MARCH Center) ... Read more >
Ezekiel Dixon-Román, Ph.D., presented a paper, “Deviance as Pedagogy: A Critical Perspective on Indigenous Cultural Capital”, and was an instructor for the American Educational Research Association Division G Social Context of Education Pre-conference Graduate Student Seminar on “Culturally Rooted Research Methods for Examining Social Contexts of Learning and ... Read more >
Andrea Doyle, Ph.D., was awarded a scholarship from the NIH/CDC to attend a workshop on Behavioral and Social Science in HIV Vaccine Clinical Research and HIV Vaccine Trials Network Full Group Meeting held in Washington, DC from May 10 to 14.
Damon Freeman, JD, Ph.D., successfully organized a conference on cultural and intellectual history at the History of Science Department at Harvard University, April 23-26, 2009. The conference was in honor of his graduate school advisor, Dr. Larry Friedman, who is now teaching at Harvard. He also gave a talk at the conference on his book ... Read more >
Richard Gelles, Ph.D., participated in a panel discussion, “Men Who Murder Their Families: What the Research Tells Us,” on June 2 at the National Institute of Justice, the research, development and evaluation arm of the Department of Justice. The panel was designed to share research into familicides to help the DOJ understand the psychological, social and economic ... Read more >
Joseph McBride, MSW, gave a keynote address to the National Association of Perinatal Social Workers, National Conference, in Philadelphia, PA, entitled, “Social Work on the Edge of Life,” on May 9, 2009.
Roberta Sands, MSW, Ph.D., recently published an article in the Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, entitled, “The social integration of baalei teshuvah.” Also, with Dorit Roer-Strier and Joretha Bourjolly, Ph.D., she published, "Family reactions to religious change: The case of African American women who become Muslim," in Families in Society.
ALUMNI NEWS
Dr. David Levine, MSW'43, received the Dean's Award for Social justice from the University of Georgia School of Social Work. The award recognizes that his "excellence in service to the cause of social justice has made a significant contribution to [the] School, the University, and to public service." He was honored at a luncheon on April 22, 2009. Also, Dr. Levine was honored as the Georgia Council on Aging Distinguished Older Georgian for 2009 ... Read the full article >
Christopher Lyddy, MSW'06, currently serves as a State Representative in the Connecticut General Assembly. In January of 2009, Speaker of the House, Representative Chris Donovan appointed Mr. Lyddy to the Human Services, Education, and Public Health Committees. In addition to these committee assignments, Mr. Lyddy serves on the Department of Children and Families, HUSKY Insurance, and Federal Funding workgroups. Mr. Lyddy is currently undergoing Results Based Accountability training with the House Chair of the RBA Sub-Committee, Diana Urban, and hopes to become a leading legislator in this area. Mr. Lyddy is the Program Director for the Hartford Juvenile Risk Reduction Center (JRRC) and serves on a number of boards in his area.
Donna Maglio, MSW'03, was a featured guest columnist for “Give an Hour” (www.giveanhour.org), a nonprofit organization that provides free mental health services to U.S. military personnel and families affected by the current conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. The column focused on her work using Equine Assisted Therapy (EAP) to help veterans with PTSD and depression. Read the full article >
ALUMNI OBITUARIES
Marilyn Inslicht Blum, MSW'56 (Woodbridge, CT; August 20, 2008)
When Marilyn Inslicht attended The School of Social Work, it was especially influenced by Otto Rank, and his emphasis on separation and loss. His teachings particularly influenced her early work in California, and later in Connecticut, with adoption and child placement. For then years she worked with the boys at High Meadows, a residential treatment center in Connecticut. For 22 years, she counselled adults at the Community Health Care Plan, in New Haven, CT, and then retired. Soon after, she valiantly fought cancer for five years. Her friends though she fought her illness with unbelievable courage, as she continued to live her life with grace, her love of beautiful things, and her love of people. The black eyed susans she planted continue to welcome strangers to her magnificent garden. She left her husband, Jay Blum, her sisters, Rosalind Edelstein (MSW'48) and Chedvah Margalit, and many nieces, nephews, and children of friends she took under her wing.
Jay Blum can be reached at:
1166 Old Racebrook Road
Woodbridge, CT 06525
STUDENT ACHIEVEMENTS
New DSW Student Newsletter
The students in the Clinical Doctorate in Social Work program recently published the first issue of The Clinician, the newsletter of the DSW program. To read the first issue of the publication, click here.
Kielty Turner, DSW candidate, recently published an article, entitled, "Mindfulness: The Present Moment in Clinical Social Work" in Clinical Social Work Journal. Read the article >
Rebecca Weinstein, MSW'09, is the Honorary Mention recipient from the University of Pennsylvania for the Pennsylvania Society for Clinical Social Work (PSCSW) Awards for Clinical Excellence for her paper, "Families with Holocaust Survivors: Utilizing Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to Treat Multigenerational Trauma."
RECENT STUDENT AWARDS
The 2009 Graduation Awards were presented at the Social Policy & Practice Commencement Ceremony on Monday, May 18, 2009. A total of 18 students received these awards. Read the full list of award recipients >