Strategic Directions: 2019–2024

Strategic Directions 2019–2024

improving the lives people live The Boston College School of Social Work (BCSSW) is a global leader in social work education, resolute in solving longstanding and emerging social challenges.

Part of a Jesuit, Catholic university, BCSSW pursues the highest standards of intellectual rigor, as well as a deep commitment to social justice, to develop practitioners and scholars who think in new ways to improve life for others.

Photo: Mark Katzman

Here we present our vision, priorities, and future directions distilled from our strategic planning process. The school’s strategic initiatives locate their value and motivation in the University’s strategic plan, “Ever to Excel: Advancing Boston College’s Mission.” We amplify the four strategic directions of “Ever to Excel,” from developing new and innovative curricular options for undergraduates, designing new formation options for professional students, and advancing transdisciplinary education and research to address complex societal problems in Boston and around the globe.

BCSSW endeavors to

improve vulnerable lives

through pioneering social work education,

research, scholarship, and practice

at home and in the world.

Photo: Mark Katzman

At BCSSW, we are drawing on the foundations of the profession and others to prepare students for social work practice and research to advance the common good. Our faculty is intentional in training MSW students and doctoral scholars to focus on people facing compound needs. We are innovating in research and practice in collaboration with relevant disciplines and professions, social work practice partners, and communities. These networks leverage the strength of diverse fields and draw on the perspectives of communities who are experiencing the social problems of concern to us in Boston and around the globe.�

gautam n. yadama Dean and Professor, Boston College School of Social Work

Five-year goals In the next five years, BCSSW will commit knowledge and resources to: • Prepare social work students and practitioners to be innovative and effective in responding to challenges and opportunities in a diverse and ever-changing world; • Create vibrant exchanges, identify social problems and emerging trends, and stimulate translational research and scholarship that informs practice interventions; and • Generate a deeper understanding of, and robust solutions to, complex social problems.

our path forward BCSSW is pursuing strategies to reimagine social work education and training; to develop partnerships in research and practice; and to draw upon and work across disciplines.

Our school will focus on five interrelated and reinforcing strategic areas: • Social Work Education • Equity, Justice, and Inclusion • Interventions with Diverse Populations • Global Social Work Practice • Innovations in Practice and Research

social work education

We will work to ensure that our curriculum is competitive, relevant, and distinct, and prepares students and practitioners with the tools they need for clinical and macro practice in all communities.

We are committed to training students who apply systems thinking to adapt and implement clinical and macro interventions for better lives and social progress.

Photo: Caitlin Cunningham

Key initiatives • Examine structures of concentrations and certificate programs and explore new models of delivery for core courses in the MSW program • Develop coursework at both the graduate and undergraduate levels and certificates at the graduate level with other schools at Boston College • Integrate trauma-informed/responsive theory, principles, and practices into all aspects of education, including curriculum, field education, research, and professional development • Continue to develop programming for student formation • Build capacity of students to use new concepts, tools, and methods from systems science and design thinking for better practice and sound research

Equity, Justice, and Inclusion

We will expand our pioneering work to train leaders who develop policies, practices, and interventions that advance equity, justice, and inclusion across the University and in diverse communities.

At the school, we will continue to build a caring, respectful, and inclusive community that prospers and flourishes because of diversity.

Photo: Caitlin Cunningham

Key initiatives • Conduct an assessment of BCSSW’s implicit and explicit curricula with regard to equity, justice, and inclusion • Create trainings and events for the BCSSW community • Increase the investment in the Latinx Leadership Initiative and develop a social work leadership initiative responsive to our Black communities • Create certificate programs in leadership for diversity and inclusion in organizations • Design and implement studies about equity, justice, and inclusion to understand the experiences of inclusion/ marginalization of underrepresented groups at the workplace and the steps that organizations are taking to address issues related to equity, justice, and inclusion

interventions with diverse populations

We will tailor and offer evidence-based clinical and policy interventions to diverse populations.

Over time, we will strengthen existing partnerships and develop new alliances with communities, government agencies, NGOs, and for-profit organizations to develop, adapt, and implement evidence-based interventions and to build and disseminate research expertise and knowledge.

Photo: Karim Rateb

Key initiatives • Continue and expand family-strengthening interventions with diverse populations • Lay the groundwork for new interventions, including clinical and behavioral interventions for diverse populations • Create resources for diverse populations, such as solutionfocused therapy videos in Spanish for Latinx communities • Create a database for the systematic review of evidence-based clinical interventions • Hire faculty and post-doctoral fellows with expertise in clinical and behavioral interventions with diverse populations

global social work practice

We will expand current work in clinical and behavioral interventions in low- and middle-income countries with a particular emphasis on children, youth, and women in conflict and crises.

We will also deepen our commitment to sustainable development and address the impact of poverty and exclusion on social, health, environmental, and gender inequities.

Photo: Solar Urja through Localization for Sustainability and IIT Bombay

Key initiatives • Establish a Global and Local Sustainable Development Hub at BCSSW to track, train, and impact health and social development at the global level, including facilitating direct interactions between BCSSW’s faculty and students and its global partners • Strengthen our collaborations and relationships with Catholic Relief Services, the Jesuit Refugee Service, and UNICEF • Hold a Global Migration Conference • Continue research at the intersection of energy, environment, and health on rural poor in India in partnership with the Schiller Institute for Integrated Science and Society • Develop a mid-career program in global humanitarian practice • Adapt, test, and scale evidence-based interventions with children and families facing acute disruptions around the world

innovations in practice and research

We will build a platform of innovative practices and approaches to help improve life in diverse and vulnerable communities in Boston and abroad.

We will strategically strengthen our capability in novel problem-solving and engage in inter- and transdisciplinary approaches to adapt, test, and scale evidence-based interventions to address pressing complex social problems.

Photo: Gautam N. Yadama

Key initiatives • Build and leverage our expertise and capacity in systems science, implementation science, data science, and design thinking to adapt, test, and scale evidence-based interventions with communities and practice partners • Broaden the scope of the Center for Social Innovation and strengthen its focus to address complex social challenges through innovative problem-solving approaches and interdisciplinary collaborations with practitioners and communities • Contribute to and partner with the Schiller Institute for Integrated Science and Society in curricular and research innovations addressing complex social challenges • Create response processes that address evolving needs of practitioners and community organizations

acknowledgments

BCSSW would like to thank the members of our community who contributed to the development of this strategic plan. Our strategic planning process included an examination of the external environment and trends affecting schools of social work; an internal assessment; outreach to students, faculty, alumni, staff, University administrators, and leaders in the field.

steering committee Gautam N. Yadama, Dean and Professor, Co-Chair

Summer Sherburne Hawkins, Associate Professor

Ximena Soto, Assistant Director, Field Education

Marcie Pitt-Catsouphes, Professor, Associate Dean, Faculty Development and Academic Affairs, Co-Chair

Margaret Lombe, Associate Professor

Susan Tohn, Associate Professor

Ruth McRoy, Donahue and DiFelice Professor of Social 3 Work, Co-Director, RISE

Thomas Walsh, Professor, Associate Dean and MSW Program Director

Sveta Emery, Associate Dean, Finance, Research & Administration Robert Hasson, III, Doctoral Student

Kelsey Oakes, MSW Student Jessica Shaw, Assistant Professor

University and External Stakeholder Interviews Joan Wallace Benjamin, President and Chief Executive Officer, The Home for Little Wanderers

Darla Spence Coffey, President and Chief Executive Officer, Council for Social Work Education

Thomas Chiles, Professor and Deluca Chair of Biology, Vice Provost for Research & Academic Planning, Boston College

David Quigley, Provost and Dean of Faculties, Boston College

Marylou Sudders, Secretary, Executive Office of Health and Human Services Anne Williams-Isom, Chief Executive Officer, Harlem Children’s Zone

Strategic Planning Support Suzanne Liola Matus, Associate Dean, Strategic Initiatives and External Affairs

Kelsey Werner, International Project Development Manager

With assistance from Huron Consulting Group, Inc.

working groups Differences, Disparities, and Systems of Oppression

Immigration and Global Migration

Local and Global Sustainable Development

Summer Sherburne Hawkins, Associate Professor, Co-Leader

Theresa Betancourt, Salem Professor in Global Practice, Director, Research Program on Children and Adversity, Co-Leader

Tiziana Dearing, Professor, Co-Director, Center for Social 3 Innovation, Co-Director, RISE , Co-Leader

David Takeuchi, Dorothy Book Scholar, Professor, Associate Dean for Research, Co-Director, 3 RISE , Co-Leader Susan Tohn, Associate Professor, Co-Leader Christina Matz, Associate Professor Erika Sabbath, Assistant Professor Teresa Schirmer, Associate Dean, Student Experience Jessica Shaw, Assistant Professor Equity, Justice, and Inclusion RocĂ­o Calvo, Associate Professor, Founding Director, Latinx Leadership Initiative, Co-Leader Sarah Hood, Assistant Director, Field Education, Co-Leader Paul Kline, Professor, Co-Leader

Thomas Crea, Associate Professor, Assistant Dean, Global Programs, Co-Leader Westy Egmont, Associate Professor, Director, Immigrant Integration Lab, Co-Leader Saida Abdi, MSW Candidate Jenna Berent, Refugee Project Program Manager, Research Program on Children and Adversity Susan Coleman, Assistant Dean, Field Education Scott Easton, Associate Professor, Chair, Health and Mental Health Robert Hasson, III, Doctoral Candidate Maryanne Loughry, Part-Time Faculty

Patty Birch, Assistant Director, Field Education

Dan Young, Associate Director of Administration, Research Program on Children and Adversity

Liz Cinquino, Director, Student Services and Advising

Innovation and Technology

Francois Exilhomme, Assistant Director, Admissions Teresa Schirmer, Associate Dean, Student Experience Ximena Soto, Assistant Director, Field Education

Stephanie Berzin, Associate Professor, Co-Director, Center for Social Innovation, Assistant Dean, Doctoral Program, Co-Leader Praveen Kumar, Assistant Professor, Co-Leader

Photography on pages 5–6: Caitlin Cunningham, Judith Gibson-Okunieff, and Karim Rateb

Margaret Lombe, Associate Professor, Co-Leader Shanta Pandey, Professor, CoLeader Stephanie Berzin, Associate Professor, Co-Director, Center for Social Innovation, Assistant Dean, Doctoral Program Susan Coleman, Assistant Dean, Field Education Westy Egmont, Associate Professor, Director, Immigrant Integration Lab Sveta Emery, Associate Dean, Finance, Research & Administration Vincent Fusaro, Assistant Professor Praveen Kumar, Assistant Professor James Lubben, Professor and Louise McMahon Ahearn Chair, Program Director, PhD in Social Welfare, Director, Institute on Aging Raymond Pillidge, Associate Dean for Enrollment Management Samantha Teixeira, Assistant Professor

Boston College School of Social Work 140 Commonwealth Avenue Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts 02467 617–552–4020 • socialwork@bc.edu www.bc.edu/ssw