Dean's message: Celebrating 80 years of impact
This fall, we kick off celebrations for the School of Social Work’s 80th anniversary.
Founded in 1934 during the height of the Great Depression, the School
quickly filled a critical need for social workers and administrators to
deliver on the promise of New Deal programs.
Over
the next eight decades, the School expanded academic offerings,
recruited a renowned faculty, engaged diverse communities, and sparked
social innovation with groundbreaking research. As we look toward the
future, we will build on this platform for innovation to achieve social
impact that is significant, scalable and sustainable.
Your unwavering commitment to create lasting social change motivates and
inspires us each and every day. Thanks to your support, the School is
ranked third among the nearly 220 advanced social work degree programs
in the nation and offers an array of scholarships for immensely talented
students—many the first in their families to obtain a university
degree.
As a laboratory for change, we must think deeply and differently
about our future as we continue to formulate a powerful set of proven
and practical tools to foster social change and transformation.
Thank you for being a part of this journey. We couldn’t do it without you.
Eddie Uehara Professor and Ballmer Endowed Dean in Social Work
Spotlight on giving
Major gift establishes professorship in healthy aging
Karen Fredriksen-Goldsen has
been named the School's Lynn Pigott-Mowe Healthy Generations Term
Professor—a five-year appointment created by longtime University and
School of Social Work friend Lynn Pigott-Mowe (right). This generous
gift recognizes Fredriksen-Goldsen's many contributions to innovation,
science, education and practice in the field of social work and aging,
as well as her leadership of the School's Healthy Generations Hartford Center of Excellence—one of only five such centers in the nation.
Howard and Lynn Behar augment support for oncology social work
With the sustained support of Howard and Lynn Behar (MSW '86, PhD
'99), the School has grown one of the country’s leading medical social
work programs, the Carol LaMare Initiative, with Taryn Lindhorst as
its faculty director. A recent and substantial gift from the Behars
will make it possible to extend more scholarships to social work
students building careers in oncology care—working with people living
with cancer or in need of compassionate and effective palliative care.
Endowed professorship in direct practice honors Sidney Miller
A new endowed professorship honoring emeritus faculty member Sidney
Miller, who passed away in February, was created recently by members of
his family. The Sidney Miller Endowed Professorship in Direct Practice
will enhance the School’s ability to recruit and retain faculty
specializing in serving individuals, couples, families and small groups.
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., in 1922, Miller attended Brooklyn
College before his education was interrupted by World War II. After the
war, Miller transferred to Columbia University, where he earned a
bachelor’s degree in psychology and, later, a master’s degree in
psychiatric social work. In 1953, Miller and his wife, Janet, moved to
Seattle where he worked at the King County Juvenile Court and later at
Ryther Child Center. He was an associate professor at the School until
1988.
Throughout his lifetime, Miller was a voracious reader, a
follower of current events and a strong supporter of progressive
political and human rights causes. The Miller endowed professorship will
help bring clinical work to life by integrating theory and direct
practice, a professional skill Miller demonstrated daily.
School and alumni updates
Kevin Haggerty appointed director of Social Development Research Group
Following a national search, Kevin P. Haggerty was selected as the new director of the School’s Social Development Research Group, an interdisciplinary team that specializes
in prevention science and youth development. For more than 25 years,
Haggerty has focused on developing innovative ways to help parents,
communities and schools better assess and implement prevention-based
interventions targeted at youth.
Haggerty has been with the School of Social Work since 1985,
previously serving as its director of research as well as assistant
director and associate director of SDRG. He is a popular speaker on
substance abuse and delinquency prevention and has written extensively
in the field. The group’s previous director, Richard F. Catalano, will
continue with SDRG as a researcher.
HR Director Lorre Allen co-chairs event celebrating Civil Rights Act anniversary
The Civil Rights Act of 1964, considered one of the most important
pieces of legislation in American history, was signed into law 50 years
ago. The anniversary was recognized by Gov. Jay Inslee with a
proclamation and speech at the State Capitol in Olympia, with
representatives from government, business and the community attending.
The event was organized by the Washington Diversity Council and the
Northwest Industry Liaison Group and co-chaired by Lorre Allen (pictured
with Gov. Inslee), the School’s new human resources director. Allen has
more than 15 years’ experience in human resource management, employee
relations, equal opportunity, diversity and cultural competency. She was
previously with the University’s Office of the Vice Provost for
Academic Personnel, where she served as director of equal opportunity
and affirmative action.
Two alumnae serve on Seattle's minimum wage proposal committee
Nicole Vallestero Keenan (MSW ’11) and Sarah Cherin (MSW ’04) were on
Mayor Ed Murray’s Income Inequality Advisory Committee, responsible for
hammering out the $15 per hour minimum wage proposal that the Seattle
City Council passed June 2. Seattle is the first major city in the
nation to address income inequality in such a bold way. Cherin is the
political and policy director for United Food and Commercial Workers
Local 21. Keenan is the policy director at Puget Sound Sage, an
organization that focuses on creating sustainable jobs.
Two new books deal with forgiveness and letting go
A novel by Dorothy Van Soest, former dean of the School of Social Work and professor emeritus, was published by Apprentice House in August. Just Mercy explores
the complexity and difficulty of forgiveness and the true nature of
justice. The story was inspired by Van Soest’s acclaimed investigation
into the lives of 37 men executed in Texas in 1997. Reviewers have
called the family drama “compelling” and “thought-provoking.” Van Soest
is the author of nine research publications and more than 50 journal
articles; this is her first novel.
Balboa Press recently published The Body as Shadow by
Eleanor Limmer (MSW ’67), which illustrates how underlying negative
patterns can affect the body through physical symptoms such as pain and
illness. Limmer, a holistic counselor, has been in private practice for
30 years.
Awards and accolades
Forefront dinner raises $125,000 to enhance suicide prevention effort
More than 350 enthusiastic supporters attended a fundraising dinner
for Forefront,
a suicide prevention program affiliated with the School
of Social Work. Forefront recently spearheaded a successful effort to
pass a state law requiring suicide prevention training for doctors and
nurses in Washington state, the first law of its kind in the nation. In
addition to advocacy work, the group
has trained more than 1,000 mental health professionals and
graduate-level social workers in risk assessment; launched a program to
provide comfort and peer phone support for state residents recently
bereaved by suicide; and worked with news media to educate the public
about suicide.
An emotional high point of the evening was a standing ovation for
School alumna and Forefront training director Sue Eastgard (MSW '88),
pictured left with faculty director Jennifer Stuber. During the event, Eastgard received the inaugural award for suicide prevention training excellence.
School alumna selected Teacher of the Year at Seattle University
This spring, students at Seattle University’s College of Arts and
Sciences selected Amelia Derr (MSW '01, PhD '14) Teacher of the Year.
The annual award gives students the opportunity to recognize a teacher
they feel is inspirational. Derr was noted for her passion and
dedication both inside and outside the classroom, along with her
“campus-wide recognition for excellence and quality.”
IWRI awarded grants totaling $4.5 million
Karina Walters and colleagues at the Indigenous Wellness Research Institute received
nearly $3.2 million over five years from the National Institute on Drug
Abuse to implement and test the Yappalli Choctaw Road to Health, a
culturally focused risk-prevention and health-leadership program, which
targets obesity and substance abuse issues. Cynthia Pearson and her IWRI
colleagues received nearly $1.3 million
from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development to
develop and evaluate a human-subject research training curriculum with
research partners in the American Indian Alaska Native community.
Karina Walters joins national academy of social work scholars
In
recognition of Karina Walters' extraordinary record of "high-impact
work that advances social good," she has been selected to become a
fellow of the prestigious American Academy of Social Work &
Social Welfare. In addition to her role as director of the
Indigenous Wellness Research Institute, Walters is the associate dean
for research at the School of Social Work and the William P. and Ruth
Gerberding Endowed Professor. The induction ceremony for Walters and her
fellow awardees will be held Oct. 25 at the Council on Social Work Education annual conference in Tampa, Fla.
SDRG grants top $1.2 million for research on youth development
More than $1.2 million has been awarded to the School-affiliated Social Development Research Group for
research that includes the impact of marijuana legislation on youth
behavior; the feasibility of using Facebook to involve parents in teen
drug-prevention efforts; training support for a prevention system called
e-Communities That Care, recently launched in two Utah towns; and the
development of a career-and-college transition program for youth aging
out of foster care.
Other grants to School of Social Work faculty: Diana Pearce ($143,000) to create a Self-Sufficiency Standard—which
measures the income needed to meet basic living requirements—for
Washington, Oregon and New York City; Shelby Langer ($142,000) for research on the impact of stem-cell transplants on patients and couples; Taryn Lindhorst ($78,000)
for research on domestic violence; and Anjulie Ganti ($32,000) to
support a social work substance-abuse prevention certificate program.
In the news
MSW program receives $1.5 million for behavioral health training
Tessa Evans-Campbell, director of the School’s MSW program, was interviewed Sept. 26 by the Puget Sound Business Journal about
a new U.S. Department of Health and Human Services grant awarded to the
School to train social workers specializing in behavioral health. The
three-year grant provides 33 MSW students (99 in all) with a stipend of
$10,000 each year to fund their training, with a focus on children,
adolescents and transition-aged youth who are at risk of developing a
behavioral health problem such as substance abuse or an eating disorder.
“That’s an area of huge need in our country,” noted Evans-Campbell in
the article. Money that does not go toward student training will be
spent on lectures, seminars and webinars.
POC’s Benjamin de Haan interviewed by Huffington Post
Child welfare advocate and Huffington Post correspondent Marquis Cabrera interviewed Benjamin de Haan, executive director of Partners for Our Children,
about POC’s data portal, which was launched last year. The Web-based
portal delivers free, detailed and timely information to paint a
comprehensive picture of Washington state’s most vulnerable children and
families. “In the year since the [data portal] launched,” de Haan said
in the article, “it's become a go-to resource….Everyone from
policymakers to family court judges to agency staff to advocacy partners
have found the tool to be valuable in helping understand how the system
is working and what areas may need improvement.”
Local media tap School experts following actor's death by suicide
Actor Robin Williams’ suicide last summer engendered much discussion
in homes and offices and in the media about suicide prevention. Sue
Eastgard, director of training at Forefront, a School-sponsored suicide prevention program, was interviewed the day after Williams’ death by KUOW-FM reporter
Marcie Sillman. Eastgard talked about the increased risk of suicide
among middle-aged white men, a population that traditionally does not
like to ask for help or be a burden to others. Eastgard also appeared on
KING-5’s popular midday program, New Day Northwest, to offer help and
hope to people who are struggling with depression.
Upcoming events
Frontline Heroines art exhibit celebrates courage and dedication
A
series of oil and watercolor paintings by local artist Judith Larsen
honors the courage of female journalists, human rights workers and
social justice advocates. The exhibit includes
portraits of Dickey Chapelle, the first female war correspondent to be
killed in action, and Anna Politkovskaya, a newspaper editor, author and
social rights activist who was assassinated in Russia. Larsen has been
an artist and designer for more than 30 years and a journalist for more
than 10 years. She has a bachelor's degree in fine arts and
communications from the University of Washington. The exhibit, located
in the School’s first floor gallery, will be on display through Dec. 12.
School-sponsored reception Oct. 24 in Tampa welcomes local alumni
As part of the 60th annual program meeting of the Council on Social Work Education, Oct. 23–26 in Tampa, Fla., the School of Social Work will hold
a reception Friday, Oct. 24, from 7:30 to 9 p.m. in the grand ballroom
at the Marriott Tampa Waterside Hotel. School alumni in the area are
encouraged to attend. There, you can meet and talk with Dean Eddie
Uehara, School of Social Work faculty, UW Tacoma Social Work Program
faculty and fellow alumni.
Milestones
Kim Isaac, assistant dean for advancement, leaves University of Washington
Kim Isaac, who has been with the School’s Advancement Office for more
than 12 years, has accepted a new position at Seattle University as associate
vice president for development. Said Eddie Uehara, Professor and
Ballmer Endowed Dean in Social Work: “It has been my great pleasure to
work with Kim for almost a decade and witness her consummate skills in
connecting, inspiring and motivating alumni and friends. Kim has been
instrumental in developing valued relationships, elevating the School’s
profile and building capacity.” Greg Ross, assistant director for
advancement, will serve as interim assistant dean until a replacement is
named.
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