Alexandra Schepens

Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (F31), National Institutes of Health, 9/1/2014 – 8/31/2017, $105,409
Yoga Intervention for Substance Use and ART Adherence in Community Reentry.

Stacey Barrenger

Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (F31), National Institutes of Health, 1/1/2012-12/31/2013, $83,600
Mental illness and prison reentry intervention in a high risk context

Kristie Thomas (PI: Dennis Culhane)

The Early Doctoral Student Research Grant Program and Doctoral Dissertation Research Grant Program, Department of Housing and Urban Development, 9/30/2008-9/30/2010, $25,000
Homelessness and domestic violence: Examining patterns of shelter use and barriers to permanent housing

Sara Wiesel Cullen

Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (F31), National Institutes of Health, $109,218, 9/1/07-8/31/10
Impact of maternal psychotic disorders on pediatric health care utilization

Rosemary Frasso

AHRQ Grants for Health Services Research Dissertation (R36), Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), 2/1/08-1/31/10, $33,484
Low maternal health literacy: An obstacle to pediatric health care utilization

Michael L. Shier, PhD’15

Michael L. Shier, PhD’15, received the Northeastern Association of Graduate Schools (NAGS) for the Doctoral Dissertation Award for 2015-2016. Each year NAGS recognizes an outstanding dissertation that has been produced by a PhD candidate at one of its member institutions. The $1,000 award is presented at the annual meeting.

Staci Perlman, MSW’01, PhD’10

Staci Perlman, MSW’01, PhD’10, was selected by the the American Psychological Association Section on Child Maltreatment to receive the Early Career Award in the Field of Child Maltreatment. The award recognizes individuals who have made substantial contributions to the field within eight years of receiving a terminal degree and who have demonstrated the potential to continue such contributions. One award is made each year to a practitioner or researcher whose work has demonstrated an influence on the field of child maltreatment.

Sara Wiesel-Cullen, PhD ‘11

Sara Wiesel-Cullen, PhD ‘11, and her award (honorable mention for the best dissertation) from the Society for Social Work Research. Her dissertation chair was Professor Phyllis Solomon. Washington, DC: January 2012.

Joanna Bisgaier, PhD ’11

Joanna Bisgaier, PhD ’11, received the 2012 Student Research Award for Social Work Research from GADE (Group for the Advancement of Doctoral Education). Shown are Jill Duerr Berrick, awards committee chair; Joanna Bisgaier; Karin Rhodes, Joanna’s dissertation chair; and Kia Bentley, Chair Elect of GADE. Washington, DC: January 2012.

GAPSA-Provost Fellowship for Interdisciplinary Innovation

The award program enables graduate and professional students to engage in a project of their own design to explore, research, and act on critical societal issues. Six are chosen from across the university each year; each receives $6,000 for project work during the summer.

• 2011 Michelle Evans-Chase: Mindfulness meditation with incarcerated youth: A randomized controlled trial informed by neuropsychosocial and cultural theories of adolescence
• 2011 Minseop Kim: Maternal work and risk behavior of adolescents: A mediation effect of mother-child communication
• 2009 Manisha Joshi: Attitudes towards wife-beating among women in Tajikistan: An empirical investigation using Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey 2005
• 2009 Huiquan Zhou: Exploring the experiences of volunteer teachers in rural China
• 2008 Kristie Thomas: Patterns of shelter use among women victims of intimate partner violence: Analysis of an integrated database of domestic violence and emergency homeless shelters
• 2008 Itay Greenspan: How big is my backyard? Donating time and money to environmental organizations as reflections of environmental concern
• 2007 Jason Matejkowski: Validation of the personal norm of reciprocity measure for persons with mental illness
• 2006 Joel Kaplan: Effects of victim input on parole release decisions

Center for Teaching and Learning Graduate Fellowship for Teaching Excellence

• Rosemary Frasso, 2009-2010

Department of Education Foreign Language and Area Studies Scholarship Recipient, Tuition and Stipend

• Samira Ali, 2009-2010

Goldfein Research Award, Jewish Studies Program, $500

• Itay Greenspan, 2010

The Hal Levin Award

The Hal Levin Award is presented to a meritorious doctoral student who is continuing the process of completing coursework. All students who are enrolled in classes at the time of award nominations and who have passed their preliminary exams are eligible to be nominated for the award. The recipient is chosen by nomination and voting of the SP2 faculty. Dr. Herman (Hal) Levin was a professor in the School of Social Work.

Recent Recipients

2019-2020: Michelle Mullen
2018-2019: Viviana Chiu-Sik Wu
2017-2018: Allison Russell
2015-2016: Kalen Flynn
2014-2015: Dan Treglia

Chai Doctoral Fellowship

The Chai Doctoral Fellowship is awarded to an outstanding student who shows promise for a successful academic career. A fellowship is awarded each year to a PhD student or students at the School of Social Policy & Practice. The donors of this award are Jung Chai W’88 and Nelson Chai C’87.

Recent Recipients

2013-2014: Dan Treglia and Eunhae Kim
2012-2013: Jeffrey Sharlein and Megan Stanton
2011-2012: Daniel Curtis, Micheal Shier and Marlene Walk
2010-2011: Joanna Bisgaier and Minseop Kim
2009-2010: Jonathan Lukens and Huiquan Zhou

Heyer Foundation Graduate Prize Fellowship

The Heyer Foundation Graduate Prize Fellowship is awarded annually to a doctoral student. The Heyer Foundation Graduate Prize Fellowship was founded by Andrew, W’79 WG’79 and Mindy Heyer, C’79 W’79 WG’80, to provide financial support for a graduate student at the School of Social Policy & Practice. The graduate student selected must be in good academic standing and demonstrate an interest in the school or community.

Recent Recipients

2013-2014: Micheal Shier and Megan Stanton
2012-2013: Alexandra Schepens
2011-2012: Samira Ali and Michelle Evans-Chase
2010-2011: Tom Byrne
2009-2010: Maayan Schori and Casey Bohrman
2008-2009: Itay Greenspan
2007-2008: Sara Cullen

Herman Levin Scholarship

The Herman Levin Scholarship is awarded to a doctoral student annually for the purpose of assisting a doctoral candidate in their professional education. Dr. Herman Levin was a professor in the School of Social Work.

Recent Recipients

2013-2014: Dexia Kong
2012-2013: Julie Tennille
2011-2012: Stacey Barrenger
2010-2011: Julie Tennille
2009-2010: Itay Greenspan
2008-2009: Huiquan Zhou
2007-2008: Manisha Joshi

Meagan Cusack: Penn Healthcare Innovation Challenge, 2020.

Minseop Kim: Jack Kent Cooke Dissertation Fellowship, 2012, $25,000.

Minseop Kim: 2012 Employment Instability, Family Well-being, and Social Policy Network small grant, University of Chicago, $6,000.

Samira Ali: Exploring mother-child sexual health communication in the sex worker community in Kolkata, Center for Advanced Study of India – Summer Travel Award, Summer 2012.

Itay Greenspan: 2011 Annual Doctoral Research Scholarship, Israeli Center for Third Sector Research, Ben Gurion University, Israel, $1,200.

Marlene Walk: Co-Principal Investigator (with Dr. Lindsey McDougle and Dr. Femida Handy), The role of spirituality in the relationship between volunteering and health outcomes among older adults, 2011/2012 Robert Wood Johnson Health & Society Scholars Program Research and Education Fund, University of Pennsylvania, $6,000.

Samira Ali: Leboy-Davies Women’s Studies Fellowship, 2011, $2,500.

Jonathan Lukens: The willingness to engage: A factorial survey of clinical social workers’ adherence to the value of client autonomy in treating the severely mentally ill, Scattergood Program for the Applied Ethics of Behavioral Health, 2011, $2,000.

Micheal Shier: Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Doctoral Fellowship, Government of Canada, 2011-2014, $60,000.

Marlene Walk: Research Fellowship, RGK Center for Philanthropy and Community Service, University of Texas at Austin, June 2011, $3,000.

Itay Greenspan: 2010 Dissertation Grant, Center for the Study of Philanthropy in Israel, The Baerwald School of Social Work and Social Welfare, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, $1,500.

Itay Greenspan: 2010 Association for Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Action (ARNOVA) Doctoral Fellow, $1,000.

Manisha Joshi: Qualitative study on strangulation as a form of IPV. Seed Grant, The Evelyn Jacobs Ortner Center on Family Violence, School of Social Policy & Practice, 2009, $7,800.

Maayan Schori: Hoyer Award Merit Scholarship, 2009-2010.

Tae Kuen Kim: Y.H. Park Fellowship, $27,560, 2008-2009.

Itay Greenspan: 2007 ARNOVA Emerging Scholar Award, $500.

Charlene McGrew: Co-Principal Investigator (with Dr. Ram Cnaan), Urban-suburban congregational collaborations in the greater Philadelphia area, Penn Institute for Urban Research, Undergraduate Urban Research Program, 2006, $2,000.

Joel Caplan: The effect of victim input on parole release decisions, Horowitz Foundation for Social Policy, 2005, $3,300.

Charlene McGrew: Multi-Site Ethnography of urban-suburban congregational collaborations in the greater Philadelphia area, Constant H. Jacquet Research Grant, Religious Research Association, 2004, $2,500.

Charlene McGrew: Summer 2004 Civitas Scholar, Summer institute on faith and public policy sponsored by Center for Public Justice, Brookings Institute and American Enterprise Institute; funded by Pew Foundation.