Spotlight on INAUGURAL REUNION
Reconnect Oct. 23 — It's the first all-class alumni reunion
With a rich history reaching back more than 80 years, the School of
Social Work has touched the lives of some 9,000 students. Now, an
inaugural all-class alumni reunion, scheduled for Sunday, Oct. 23,
provides an opportunity for classmates to come together, network, make
new friends, and see what’s new in the UW social work community. RSVP here.
The idea was first proposed by School alumni themselves, according to Marzette Mondin,
associate director for advancement. “We discovered that many alumni who
had retired or were close to retirement wanted to re-engage with the
School and past classmates,” she says. “Initially, we thought about a
reunion for graduates from the late 1960s and early 1970s but then
realized this idea had broader appeal—so it quickly grew. The October 23
event will be a great opportunity to bring all our amazing social work
alums together.”
A kickoff lunch will begin at 11:30 a.m. in the Hotel Deca Grand
Ballroom, near campus. There, Dean Eddie Uehara will report on
“Igniting Social Change,” followed by the presentation of two alumni
awards: one for early career achievement and one for exceptional
service, leadership and innovation. The inaugural recipient of the Early
Career Achievement Award, Michael T. Kilmer (MSW '04), who is now chief
consultant for care management and social work services at the Veterans
Administration, will attend. For a full list of attendees, please visit our reunion website.
Following the luncheon, alumni can take a stroll to the School for an
informal open house from 1:30 to 4 p.m. There, you can enjoy coffee, tea
and dessert; listen to live music; tour the building; and learn more
about current research and other innovative projects by connecting with
students and faculty who will be on hand.
Awards and accolades
Ninety students receive first-ever Social Impact Scholarships, announces Dean Uehara
In
July, the School awarded 90 scholarships to social work students under
the newly created Excellence in Social Impact Scholarship endowment.
“This is just the beginning,“ said Dean Eddie Uehara.
"Our goal over the next five years is to triple the amount of funding
for students and to cut tuition burden by 40 percent for those students
with the greatest need.” Established in 2016, the scholarship fund is
transforming the School’s ability to prepare highly gifted individuals
to lead, innovate and serve in local, national and global communities.
The scholarships support students in all degree tracks. Individual
amounts vary and are based on criteria set by the Office of Student
Financial Assistance and by the fund’s own goal to support students in
the greatest need within their program cohort. To qualify, individuals
must not be receiving additional financial support from their families.
Both in-state and out-of-state students are eligible, with the higher
tuition rate paid by non-residents taken into account.
Upcoming events
Hold the date: University-wide celebration gets underway Oct. 21
The University of Washington launches a historic fundraising campaign, Together,
on Friday, Oct. 21, advertised to be one of the most expansive
celebrations in UW history. Alumni, faculty, staff, students and
community members are invited to come together for this one-of-a-kind
event, held immediately after the UW Homecoming rally. Doors to the
Alaska Airlines Arena open at 6:30 p.m. Although the celebration event
is free, registration is required.
School art exhibit on traumatic brain injury runs through mid-September
“Breaking
the Silence,” currently on view in the School’s First Floor Gallery,
ends Sept. 30. Now in its eighth year, this annual art show focused on
brain injury is co-sponsored by the Brain Injury Alliance of Washington.
Each featured artist has suffered some form of brain injury—the leading
cause of death and disability for most age groups, including children.
Creating art was used as a therapeutic tool in the recovery process.
Read the personal story of Shanda Taylor-Boyd, traumatic-brain injury survivor and artist, whose work appears in this exhibit.
In the news
Finding affordable ways to combat homelessness through technology
People
who are homeless often have many issues that need attention: physical
and mental health problems, substance-abuse issues or domestic violence,
to name a few. The services they require are fulfilled through a
variety of government agencies and nonprofit groups, and tracking this
information often creates unwieldy data-management challenges. In a June 29 article in Geekwire that explored how organizations are adapting and building new technology to serve the social services sector, Ben de Haan, executive director of Partners for Our Children,
a School research and innovation center, discusses Oliver, a new
POC-developed tool that focuses on young homeless adults. Oliver will
collect data to help determine which programs are most effective,
bringing modern technology to providers so they can better understand
and measure what's working for this vulnerable population.
School expert on prenatal environment featured in documentary In Utero
Amelia Gavin, associate professor of social work, was interviewed as a featured expert in the documentary In Utero,
which premiered at the Seattle International Film Festival last year.
Written, produced and directed by Kathleen Man Gyllenhaal and Stephen
Gyllenhaal, stepmother and father of famous sibling actors Jake and
Maggie Gyllenhaal, the film explores how the prenatal environment,
combined with maternal experiences across generations, impacts human
development. Gavin is the principal investigator on a School research
project exploring the link between risk factors in women’s lives and
adverse birth outcomes. Read more about Amelia Gavin and the In Utero documentary in UW Today.
Alumni and School Updates
Read the 2016–17 Health Sciences Common Book on homelessness
The 2016–17 Health Sciences Common Book is Catching Homelessness: A Nurse’s Story of Falling Through the Safety Net,
by UW Nursing faculty member Josephine Ensign. This memoir takes a
piercing look at the homelessness industry, nursing and our country’s
health care safety net. Ensign begins by detailing her experiences as a
young, white, Southern, Christian wife, mother and nurse who runs a
medical clinic for the homeless in the South. After losing her job,
family and home, she herself becomes homeless. The author recounts the
steps she took to reconstruct her life and how her views on homelessness
and the health care system were forever changed. The Health Sciences
Common Book is selected annually to provide a shared framework for
inter-professional dialogue across the departments and programs of the
UW Health Sciences.
Forefront leads initiative to reduce college suicide rate in Washington state
Each
year, an estimated 1,100 college students in the U.S. die by suicide.
Forefront: Innovations in Suicide, based at the School of Social Work,
partnered in May with the New York–based Jed Foundation to launch a
four-year collaborative effort to reduce suicide on Washington campuses.
The program guides participating Washington colleges and universities
in developing customized strategic plans. As part of the outreach
effort, university and college representatives will meet annually at a
conference organized by Forefront to share experiences. A separate
conference will showcase student-led projects in suicide prevention and
mental health awareness. The statewide initiative is funded by the
Jolene McCaw Family Foundation, along with grant funding from the
federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration,
administered by the Washington State Department of Health. Learn more in
this UW Today story.
Check out the new School website
On
Sept. 7, the School unveiled its new website. The revised site is
mobile friendly and ADA accessible. It also incorporates the
University’s bold new brand, which reflects the institution’s worldwide
academic stature, reputation for research, and relevance to local and
global communities. Check out the new website here!
MILESTONES
Distinguished faculty member Sue Sohng retires after 25 years
Sue Sohng,
who joined the faculty as an assistant professor in 1991 and was a
longtime force for social justice, retired at the end of June. She was
known for her collaboration with the School’s community-centered
integrated practice concentration. An active member of the Seattle/King
County Minority Executive Directors Coalition, she also took a leading
role in many other government nonprofit social service organizations in
Seattle, Tokyo and Seoul. “We will miss her keen analysis, intellectual
integrity, critical reflectivity and sheer warmth and energy,” said Dean
Eddie Uehara, “as well as the quiet kindness she always extended to
students, colleagues and friends.”
Leon Preston, Field Education Office director, retired July 31
Lecturer and field education program director Leon Preston
retired at the end of July. Preston joined the staff as lecturer in
2001, became practicum coordinator in 2005, and rose to director of
field education in 2009. With more than 40 years’ experience in human
resources and public-sector management and an extensive professional
network, he developed key partnerships with public agencies, nonprofit
organizations and private businesses to provide high-quality learning
opportunities for social work students through their practicum
placements. “Leon always underscored the importance of field educators
having deep social work practice experience,” said Emiko Tajima,
associate dean for academic affairs. “He knew the value of students
learning from seasoned professionals who understand the social work
profession and who can guide them with wisdom and confidence.”
Karl Leggett, lecturer and student mentor, retired June 30
After 40 years of service, lecturer Karl Leggett
retired at the end of June. At his retirement party, Dean Uehara
praised him for his unwavering dedication to the School, his passion for
teaching, and his willingness to mentor and support students as they
begin their social work careers. After earning two social work degrees
from the University (BA ’76, MSW ’77), Leggett began his professional
career with United Way of America, helping local chapters increase their
annual campaign results. Later, as a fundraising consultant, he
directed a number of multimillion-dollar campaigns for national
organizations in education, human services, religion, health care and
the arts. He joined the School as a guest lecturer in 1999 and taught
classes on nonprofit financial management, grant writing and fundraising
for human services.
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