advisors and alumna of the seMA Program, retired this summer. Robdau relocated south to enjoy the next phase of her life. We will miss Veronica, but we welcome two new advisors to the Fall River campus; Karen Blanchette, who is also an alumna of the seMA Program, and Kerry Doyle, will work with our students providing academic support and serving as a field liaisons for those in the field. Chelmsford Campus At the Chelmsford Campus, there are currently 54 students enrolled. of these, 41 students are in the process of completing either their foundation or advanced year field placements. these students are placed in a variety of settings throughout a wide geographic area, reaching from as far west as springfield, MA to Keene, nH and from Beverly, MA to Dover, nH. the Chelmsford campus continues to have an active Field education Advisory committee, consisting of social work professionals from agencies interested in continuing to provide social work field placements to our students. HRSA Grant News We are in our second year of the In the Community Mental Health Training for Social Workers (ICMH) program, funded by the Health Resources and services Administration (HRsA). there are 15 students participating in the program from the Chelmsford and Fall River campuses. these students have made a two-year commitment to working with populations affected by trauma and substance use who live in the medically underserved communities of Lowell, Lawrence and new Bedford. Fourteen agencies have partnered with BUssW to provide field placement opportunities to the HRsA grant fellows. In addition to field work, students are required to attend training seminars, which are also open to the community. seminar topics include co-morbid psychiatric and substance use disorders; vulnerable populations in the military; trauma with the Latino population; and trauma and family work. to learn more about the ICMH program, please visit http://sites.bu.edu/sswhrsaseminar.
ONLINE PROGRAM there are currently 250 students enrolled in the BUssW online MsW Program. More than 100 of these students are in field internships, which are located in 31 states. some of the faculty teaching for the online Program include: Maryann Amodeo, Mark Gianino, Judith Gonyea, Luz Lopez, Donna McLaughlin, Lisa Moore, Ruth Paris, Betty Ruth and Lee staples. over the past year, we have expanded the oLP team and recently hired three new advisors: Russ Rossilini of FL, Katharine Hobart of Co, Cynthia Jirak of MA, and Cynthia Bramble-Daly of MA. We also welcome Caysie Carter as the oLP senior staff Coordinator. We congratulate Patricia Frederick, a current oLP student who has been chosen to be a student Ambassador for the nAsW-MA chapter. We hope to see our oLP students continue to be involved in community service and we anticipate our first online program cohort graduating in May 2014. We look forward to celebrating with the graduates and their families.
LOWY-GEM PROGRAM IN AGING twenty-six clinical and macro MsW students are participating in the 20132014 Lowy-GeM Program in Aging. nineteen of these students are enrolled in the basic Lowy-GeM Program consisting of a primary field placement in one agency, working with older adults, and a concurrent enrichment experience in a second agency, serving older adults in a different capacity. students also participate in a monthly seminar with expert speakers on a range of topics related to Gerontological social Work. In addition, seven students are participating in the Lowy-GeM Advanced Leadership Program. these students completed the standard Lowy-GeM Program in 2012-13 and have elected to do a second year in the program consisting of a field placement in an aging setting and an independent project related to the field of Gerontological social Work, which they will present at the last session of the Lowy-GeM seminar. Participating students receive stipends from the Louis Lowy Fund in Gerontology and social Welfare and have the option to earn the Louis Lowy Certificate in Gerontological social Work. Max Winer, Advanced Lowy-GeM and dual degree MsW/MPH student, will be presenting a paper on “elder Homelessness: outreach Workers as Catalysts and Gatekeepers,” with Kelly Melekis at the American society on Aging’s 2014 Aging in America Conference in san Diego in March 2014. erin Der McLeod, Advanced Lowy-GeM student, has received the Jordan Liebhaber scholarship award to an outstanding student in Gerontology and will also be presenting a paper with Kathy Kuhn at the nAsW-MA Conference in the spring on “enhancing Mental Wellness among older Immigrants and Refugees.”
DIVERSITY COMMITTEE the BUssW Diversity Committee was in full force this past semester, bringing different cultures and backgrounds together in celebration. earlier in the semester, the Committee organized a well-attended potluck lunch where students, faculty and staff brought in food unique to their culture. Additionally, the Committee is developing a strategic plan to integrate diversity in all aspects at BUssW; participating in the BUssW faculty search and opening dialogue about diversity in the workplace; planning panel discussions and a movie series for the spring semester; and mentoring ALAnA students to be school ambassadors for incoming students. Recently, the Committee hosted a diverse group of children between the ages of 10 and 12 years old, who came to visit the school of social Work. special thanks to scott Geron, Luz López, Caysie Carter and Phillipe Copeland, who played a large role in organizing the visit and gave inspirational messages to the young students.
a student vis ity Committee from A letter to the Divers
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