SUMMER 2009
in this issue News 4 HBSSW awards ceremony 7 Southeast Wisconsin’s best social workers honored 8 Women and addiction 9 Alpha Delta Mu turns 30 12 What it takes to be a field partner Department Updates 10 Criminal Justice 11 Social Work Alumni 11 Connect to alumni events 13 Meet our graduate of the last decade 14 Alumni notes Development 3 Meet Don and Helen Banta 15 Scholarships make incredible impact on students
interactions UW–milwaukee | helen bader School of Social Welfare
Our graduates are working to make a difference Shep Crumrine (MSW ’99) brought the VA Jam Band to Summerfest’s M&I Classic Rock stage this summer. Crumrine (top left), a boardcertified music therapist at the Zablocki VA Medical Center, facilitates the VA Jam Band program, which travels around the city performing a variety of musical genres. At the hospital, he coordinates a monthly coffeehouse (in which veterans prepare and present a stage show for other veterans, family and VA staff), outpatient chronic pain groups, outpatient harm reduction groups, and inpatient psych/detox groups. Performance music therapy, he says, encompasses all the stages of any group therapy, including conflict resolution, discipline and communication.
Lynne Oehlke (MSW ’78), president and CEO of St. Catherine Residence, shows off a newly renovated bedroom at the downtown Milwaukee agency. Oehlke recently helped to raise $7.1 million in private funding that enabled the agency, which annually serves 250 women in transition, to remodel their 80,000-square-foot main residence and build the larger, 46-unit McAuley Apartments next door. All remodeling will be completed and paid for in March 2010. “No one thought it was possible,” Oehlke says of the fundraising. “St. Catherine is small compared to many agencies.”
Do you have professional or personal news you’d like to share? Email bucior@uwm.edu; in the subject line, type “InterActions.” Please include your full name, year of graduation, and degree earned.
From the Dean
Moving forward during a time of fiscal retrenchment
“T
he students you see here are going to make the world a better place. On the way back to the car, our spirits will be higher, our step will be lighter, we’ll be happier about the future.” Those were the words of Don Banta, scholarship donor, at the First Annual Awards Ceremony of the Helen Bader School of Social Welfare. Don (MSW ’69) and his wife Helen Banta told the crowd that they had reached a point in life where they didn’t have to worry about bills. “The first choice was offering a scholarship to someone who was choosing the same path as I did 40 years ago,” Don said. Donors like Don and Helen are ensuring that the school continues to move forward, despite a nationwide recession and decreasing state funding for higher education. Our school has made tremendous progress in the past five years and will continue to move forward in this new era. It has always been a group effort and can be nothing other than that now.
Dean Stan Stojkovic
How campus-wide changes will impact HBSSW
The University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee is headed into a significant era, proceeding with more initiatives than in any other time. These include: • creating a new school of public health • creating a new school of freshwater science • forming a collaboration between the UWM School of Engineering and the Medical College of Wisconsin • implementing a comprehensive master plan that will change UWM’s footprint. InterActions is produced by the Helen Bader School of Social Welfare, University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee. P.O. Box 786, Milwaukee, WI 53201 www.hbssw.uwm.edu Dean: Stan Stojkovic Editor: Carolyn Bucior Graphic Design: Duality CMYK Photography: Peter Jakubowski, UWM Photo Services; Carolyn Bucior; Ellen LaFouge Helen Bader School of Social Welfare Alumni Association, 2009-10 Board of Directors Sandra Chavez, President, MSW ’91 Angie Brunhart, MSW ’97 Gwendolyn Gehl, MSW ’91 Rachele Klassy, MSW ’07 Raymond Konz-Krzyminski, BS Ed ’89, MSW ’91 Tobias Libber, BA Poli Sci ’74, MSW Greg Peterson, BS CJ ’80, MS CJ ’82
What does this mean for the school?
Because so much of our work affects the communities in which we live, we are expected to play a significant role in the new school of public health. Our faculty’s depth of research into human behavior and addictions, gerontology, community aspects of aging, and school violence, for example, are critical to the development and evolution of this important school in Milwaukee.
Dealing with economic realities
But we still must also face economic realities. As with other schools and colleges on campus, we have been asked to give back a portion of our permanent budget to address the state deficit. We have responded to this challenge while finding new ways to meet our mission of improving lives and strengthening communities through research, education and community partnerships. In that regard, look for these exciting additions to the school during the 2009-10 academic year. • more on-line education courses • a wider range of international experiences for students • new faculty research projects • more research opportunities for students • new and innovative community service projects. Our financial concerns are being addressed in part by new development efforts and a vibrant alumni group. (We’ve had more than 30 requests this year to serve on our alumni board.) But to succeed in our quest to be the nation’s premier school of social welfare, we need your input today, more than ever. Please contact me to see how you can help, financially or otherwise, at 414-229-4400 or stojkovi@uwm.edu. I welcome your comments and thoughts. Sincerely,
Stan Stojkovic, Ph.D. Dean and Professor
Donor Profile: Don and Helen Banta of Grafton
T
welve clinical social workers have Don and Helen Banta to thank for helping them achieve their career goals. Since 1997, the Grafton couple has donated money to create an annual scholarship, which is then awarded to students pursuing their MSWs at the Helen Bader School of Social Welfare.
salaries and Don made a leap of faith to a new career: investments and securities. The gamble paid off, in large part, Don believes, because of the communication skills he honed as a social worker. “I listened to my clients and was interested in problem solving, not just telling them about a hot stock,” he says. Life settled down. “We started to be well off enough financially, and all the kids were almost done with college,” Helen says. “Our pressing need for money was gone. We had built assets and wanted to give back. We both knew how difficult finances could be during college.”
“This scholarship is probably the most rewarding cause for us, of the different causes we support,” says Don, who worked 15 years as a family therapist for Lutheran Social Services after earning his MSW from UWM in 1969. “The students who receive them are striving for something bigger than themselves,” says Helen. “We’re very impressed with the recipients.” A simple manila folder, labeled “UWM,” sums up the personal reward of scholarship donation for the Bantas. The folder sits in Don’s office in the couple’s Colorado winter home, and contains the thank-you letters penned by the students who’ve received the scholarship. “We get heartwarming letters from recipients,” says Don. “When we get one, we read it. Put it away. Pull it out and read it again.”
For the Bantas, the biggest benefit from giving student scholarships has come not from easing the financial burden of an anonymous student, but from meeting the students, face to face, often over a relaxed lunch. “Meeting them makes it all come alive,” says Don. “I feel reaffirmed in the goodness of human nature when I meet these folks. They’re young and going after noble goods. They’re out to make the world a better place because of their efforts. It rekindles my faith in human nature.”
The Bantas were not always financially able to do for students what they do today. In the ’60s, Don was a master’s-level college student, Helen was working half time as a medical transcriptionist, and they were parents to two boys. They would soon add two more children and, as the family grew, set the goal for all four children to obtain college degrees. Meanwhile, the runaway inflation of the ’80s outpaced social workers’
Don and Helen Banta offer their scholarship on a year-to-year basis. To learn more about the different ways you can offer student scholarships, contact HBSSW Director of Development Jennifer Clearwater at 414-229-2415 or jenwater@uwm.edu.
Students expand horizons in three exchange programs Through student exchange programs, HBSSW students can earn credits comparing social welfare policies in other countries with those of the United States. This summer, the first group of students enrolled in Intensive Spanish for Social Work Practice spent three weeks in Costa Rica, where they took Spanish conversation classes and did service learning at a large children’s home. The school has growing student exchange programs with Central American Spanish Academy in Grecia, Costa Rica, the University of Bristol, England and Upper Austria University of Applied Science, in Linz.
Pictured on the steps of Grecia’s historic steel church (made of pre-fabricated steel plates) are: Back row: Kelsey Ward, Sarah Jablonski, Lisa Portman. Front row: Christine Foy, Maxine Webb, Cylene Padley, Professor Sharon Keigher
Summer 2009
interactions 3
First awards ceremony recognizes 64 donors, partners, faculty and staff
A
celebratory mood. Delectable food. A delightful emcee. A powerful keynote speaker.
If anyone in the crowd of 151 people came expecting to sit through a monotonous awards ceremony, they were in for a treat. Sixty-four donors, partners, faculty and staff were honored at the school’s first awards ceremony, held May 1st at the Zelazo Center for the Performing Arts. “Our school boasts 10,000 graduates and 80 percent live in southeast Wisconsin. We’re here to celebrate the strength of those graduates and to affirm the existence of our school, faculty, students and donors,” Stan Stojkovic, Dean of the Helen Bader School of Social Welfare, told the crowd. Mistress of Ceremonies Tanya Atkinson – a social work instructor and professional comedienne who donated her time for this event -- set the tone for award recipients to relax and enjoy the spotlight. “I’m embarrassed to admit why I got into social work in the first place,” she said, opening the ceremony. “It was for the money.” The awards ceremony was made possible by a $5,000 earmarked gift from the Helen Bader Foundation. (Helen Bader earned her MSW from the school before it bore her name.) These funds were all awarded to students in the form of scholarships.
4
interactions
Summer 2009
“I would never have guessed in a million years – growing up on Milwaukee’s north side, in a family of 10 in a condemned home -- that I would be getting this honor,” said keynote speaker Noble Wray (BS CJ ’93), Chief of Police, Madison Police Department. “When I think about the future of professionals in social work and criminal justice, three words resonate: justice, humanity and trust.”
“The word ‘lifetime’ was a little troubling for me!” said Al Cimperman (MSW ’70), recipient of the School Social Work Lifetime Meritorious Achievement Award. “Seriously, it’s been an honor and a pleasure to work with students from UWM. It’s often said that teachers learn as much from their students as the students learn from them, and this has certainly been true for me.”
Mistress of Ceremonies Tanya Atkinson set the evening’s fun and relaxed tone.
Scholarship donors Don Banta (MSW ’69) and Helen Banta, with scholarship recipient Amanda O’Donnell (graduate student in social work) “Money is a major obstacle for a lot of people to get to their goal,” said Don. “If we can lighten the load a bit, we’re happy to do that. But the real bonus is meeting a recipient in person. We’re so impressed with the quality of the people who are getting these scholarships and who are entering the school.”
,L
“Today, it does my heart good to be among friends. It’s like a big family,” said David Tucker (MSW ’79), recipient of the Distinguished Alumni Award. “A person who was a student of mine in 1978 is now a faculty member! To those who are graduating – express your sense of volunteerism to make our community better.”
,R
“Not too long ago, I was a field placement student myself with Joanne Barndt,” said Todd Witt (BS SW ’96; MSW ’01), who accepted the Social Work Outstanding Field Agency of the Year award on behalf of Walker’s Point Youth and Family Services. “I understand the importance of field placement and a great field instructor. Thank you UWM for getting me to where I am. Thank you for sending us such fantastic undergraduate and graduate students.”
Summer 2009
interactions 5
The Helen Bader School of Social Welfare congratulates the following award recipients Graduate Student Award in Criminal Justice Bryan Bubolz
Distinguished Alumni Award David Tucker School Social Work Lifetime Meritorious Achievement Award Al Cimperman
Graduate Student Award in Social Work Janet Poff HBSSW Assistantship Award Katie Hamm Lyniece Maiden
Field Awards Social Work Outstanding Field Agency of the Year Walker’s Point Youth & Family Services, Todd Witt, Director Outstanding Field Instructors of the Year Jennifer Nowak Marlyene Pfeiffer Ann Ranfranz Julie Rothwell Robert Walker Paul Zenisek
2008-09 Student Scholarship Awards Alumni/Yolanda-Vega Will Scholarship Kara Shuman Paul Smith Helen Bader Endowed Scholarship Steve Bernfield James Brown Stephanie Bruce Stacy Ehlers Gretchen Fairweather Jennifer Fiscal Elizabeth Grimm Myounghee Jorn Joshua Lang Mark Proffitt Chia-Jung Shih Maggie Wallendal Don & Helen Banta Scholarship Amanda O’Donnell Helen C. Carey Trust Scholarship Jamie Alexander Kari Blake Sheryl Dean Center on Age & Community Scholarship Stacy Ehlers Gretchen Fairweather Jennifer Fiscal Mark Proffitt
6
interactions
Summer 2009
Faculty and Staff Awards Catherine S. Chilman Family Studies Scholarship Ka Xiong Dean’s New Freshman Scholarship Danielle Vraa GMAR Youth Foundation Scholarship Rashonda Spencer Harry & Esther Kovenock Scholarship Jamie Dax Audrey Laatsch Scholarship Jaymes Burns Brian Flynn National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives Scholarship Megan Rosa Kathleen Scheller Memorial Scholarship Joanne Anderson Social Welfare Community Organization Scholarship Ray Boettner
School Service Award Steve McMurtry Social Work Community Service Award Roberta Hanus Criminal Justice Community Service Award Rick Lovell Research Award Rhonda Montgomery Social Work Teaching Award Michael Brondino Criminal Justice Teaching Award Kimberly Hassell Random Act of Kindness Awards Al Dittman Colleen Giaimo Ellen Lafouge Andrew Muriuki Marie Savundranayagam Rachel Schneider Rachel Schorse
University Awards
Robert L. Stonek Memorial Scholarship Bryan Bubolz Stephanie Sikinger
Distinguished Undergraduate Teaching Award Christine Lowery
Laura Tice Memorial Scholarship Juana Maria Dorger
Represented Classified Staff Award Mary Heller
Student Awards
Inclusion Builds a Community Award Ellen Lafouge
Undergraduate Student Award in Criminal Justice Nicole Delvoye Undergraduate Student Award in Social Work Amileah Davis Ben Van Orsdol
Southeast Wisconsin’s best social workers honored
O
ne hundred and three social workers from across southeastern Wisconsin convened at UWM in March for the first awards ceremony to recognize some of the area’s best workers in the field. This year’s recipients included three graduates of the Helen Bader School of Social Welfare. The NASW-WI Southeast Branch and HBSSW held the 2009 Social Workers of the Year Award Ceremony & Luncheon on March 16 in the UWM Union. Planning for the event was spearheaded by: HBSSW’s Jeanne Wagner, Director of Field Education, and Linda Czernicki, Director of the school’s Continuing Education Program; and NASW’s Bevelyn Johnson, the organization’s Southeast Wisconsin Branch Chair. Keynote speaker, the Reverend Debra Trakel, who leads St. James Episcopal Church in downtown Milwaukee, verbally painted the landscape of southeastern Wisconsin as one that includes unacceptable rates of domestic violence, children living in poverty, the nation’s highest binge drinking rates, the nation’s highest driving under the influence rates and more. “We’re here today to honor the exceptional people who have made these issues their issues, who elevate service to others above self interest,” she said.
The recipients of the 2009 Social Worker of the Year awards, and their areas of specialization, were:
Dolly Grimes Johnson, domestic violence Nia Williams Harris, child and youth mental health Brenda Hoskins (MSW ’01), child welfare administration Geri McFadden, mental health services Pat Pries, gerontology Jerry Theis, mental health administration Catherine Treacy (MSW ’01), school social work.
Honorable mentions went to:
Craig Alwin, child welfare Denise Batton, child welfare Julie Bock, LGBT issues Lee Carroll, poverty issues Bonnie Jeglum, gerontology Tamara McConnell (MSW ’05), child welfare Mary Sella, mental health.
Expand your world. Do you want to expand your opportunities in social work? Do you want to work for social and economic justice, cultural diversity, empowering people and communities? At UWM’s Helen Bader School of Social Welfare you can continue your education through affordable programs, offered full- or part-time, evenings and weekends. Expand your world and your opportunities. Call 414 229-4851 or visit our web site. Doctor of Philosophy
Specializations: • Addiction & Behavioral Health • Applied Gerontology • Family & Child Welfare
Master of Social Work
Concentrations: • Behavioral & Physical Health • Child & Family Welfare • Gerontology
Certificate Programs • • • •
Applied Gerontology Marriage & Family Therapy Non-Profit Management School Social Work
Helen Bader School of Social Welfare www.hbsswsocialwork.uwm.edu
APPLICATIONS DEADLINE: JANUARY 2, 2010
Summer 2009
interactions 7
Women and addiction:
Researchers optimistic as body of knowledge grows
Working on the Resilience Project are: Laura Voith, Nicole Traxel, Laura Otto-Salaj (PI), Nicki Wooters, Daana Townsend, Patti Lee King, and Lynn Lewis-Turner.
W
omen with substance abuse problems benefit greatly from treatment programs that are specially designed to meet their needs, says Michael Fendrich, Director of the Helen Bader School of Social Welfare’s Center for Addiction and Behavioral Health Research (CABHR). CABHR is an interdisciplinary team of academic scientists who pursue epidemiological, intervention and clinical research in addictions and behavioral health. However, such programs are too rare, in part because providers don’t understand the separate needs of women or they lack resources to fund such programs. “The perception is that there are all these resources out there for women, and that is not the case,” says Susan Rose, Associate Professor and CABHR Scientist.
Women vs. Men
Consider the following: • Compared to men, women become addicted more quickly, and once addicted, suffer more negative consequences. • Women progress more quickly than men from first use of a drug to addiction. • Women entering substance abuse treatment tend to be more impaired than men. • Biology plays a role in female addiction. Factors include lower levels of a stomach enzyme involved in alcohol metabolism (called alcohol dehydrogenase), higher levels of body fat, and less total body water. In short, a woman’s stomach lining absorbs more alcohol directly and this alcohol is less 8
interactions
Summer 2009
diluted than in a man’s body. Result: if a man and woman consume equal amounts of alcohol, the woman’s blood alcohol content will be higher. • Women may face more psychosocial barriers than men to entering and staying in treatment. • Women have higher rates of co-occurring psychiatric disorders; they are about twice as likely as men to suffer from mood disorders such as depression, which affects outcomes. • Women are more likely to care for children, and to need childcare, while in treatment. • Fear of losing her children may prevent a woman from entering treatment. • Addicted women are more likely than their male counterparts to have been sexually or physically abused, which may stop some from entering mixed-gender programs. (In one research review, 55 to 99 percent of women in treatment reported physical or sexual trauma in their past.) • Addicted women face tremendous stigma; pregnant women with addictions are one of society’s most stigmatized groups.
CABHR’s Findings on Women
Substance abuse researchers who study women report feeling optimistic about the direction the field is heading. “We’ve been building the body of knowledge. We’re learning to ask better questions,” Rose says. “It’s a great time to do research in this area.” Several CABHR scientists – who together hold $1.5 million in research grants -- are working to understanding the experience of substance-abusing women. Here are just some of the past, current, and future CABHR projects aimed at contributing knowledge to this field. Women and Drug Treatment. This project examined why some addicted women receiving Temporary Assistance for Needy Families stayed in drug treatment longer than others. Researchers identified common barriers to treatment, including waiting lists and lack of transportation. They also identified strong motivators to staying in treatment: forming emotional bonds with the agency and with other women. Led by Rose. NIAAA Curriculum. This project led to the development of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism curriculum on alcohol use disorders for master’s level social work students. The curriculum includes a module that summarizes research on women and alcohol, and is available free of charge at www.niaaa.nih.gov. Led by Audrey Begun, formerly a professor at the Helen Bader School of Social Welfare and CABHR Scientist.
Heart to Heart. This federally funded study provided treatment to women with alcohol use disorders and sexual risk. More than 70 percent of the women screened to participate met criteria for other drug use disorders, and 63 percent met criteria for post-traumatic stress disorder. This suggests that when treating substance use disorders in this subset of women, practitioners have to be prepared to deal with multiple issues. Led by Laura Otto-Salaj, Assistant Professor and CABHR Scientist, and Rose. Resilience Project. This new, five-year, $2.9 million study of risk behavior among African-American women will examine which patterns lead some women to risky behaviors, such as drug use, and which helped others remain resilient and avoid those risks. Led by Otto-Salaj. Women in Jails Project. Researchers conducted motivational interviews with substance-abusing women in Milwaukee jails, preparing them to enter treatment after release. Interestingly, a lack of information proved a significant treatment barrier. Participants received a resource book containing information about local services. The women who stayed in treatment said they’ve used the resource book. Led by Begun and Rose. Women in Jails and their Families. Of the women screened in the Women in Jails Project, about 80 percent had children, and 68 percent said their children lived with them until they were incarcerated. Many said they were motivated to try to control their substance abuse in order to make better lives for their children. If funded, this project would test interventions to help maintain bonds between incarcerated women and their children, including training jail personnel and child welfare workers. Led by Rose. Mental Health Needs of Incarcerated Women with Drug Problems. CABHR is currently conducting a needs assessment with the Benedict Center—a Milwaukee agency for women involved in the criminal justice system—to identify the mental health problems their clients face and develop appropriate programs. Led by Rose. College Student Drinking Study. This study examines two interventions to reach female freshmen who violate alcohol policy in residence halls. Preliminary data shows that female students drank to roughly the same blood-alcohol concentration as male students (around .10 BAC) per drinking occasion. Led by Carol Haertlein Sells, Professor in UWM’s College of Health Sciences and CABHR Affiliated Scientist.
30
Alpha Delta Mu Turns 30
2008 marked the 30th anniversary of Alpha Delta Mu,
the Helen Bader School of Social Welfare’s social work honor society. The society was founded by David Tucker (MSW ‘79), Jim Metz (MSW ‘79) and Professor Emeritus Robert Scheurell after several meetings in the UWM Union’s Gasthaus. What seemed like a good idea after a couple of glasses of beer proved to be just that 30 years later. Alpha Delta Mu’s membership has grown to several hundred. Professor Audrey Begun was the main speaker for this year’s new-member initiation event. She noted that the profession’s “hot topics” have changed since Alpha Delta Mu began in 1978. 1978: Psychodynamic versus behavioral treatments. 2008: Trans theoretical -- the outcome matters more than the approach. 1978: Fetal alcohol syndrome. 2008: More subtle disorders resulting from substance abuse, all of which can encompass biological, psychological, sociological issues. 1978: Practice and program evaluations. 2008: Evidence based practice. 1978: People are identical and can be treated identically. 2998: Multi-culturalism and cultural competence valued in practice. “The next 30 years,” Begun said, “will give this group of students their own opportunity to make a difference.” Alpha Delta Mu welcomes the following social work students, who were initiated into the honor society on November 9, 2008: Nicole Alfaro, Nicole Amoroso, Michelle Backhaus, Alecia Corbett , Jacquelyn Cram, Jamie Dax, Stacy Ehlers, James Eiff, Angela Engel, Paul Fidlin, Laura Fleury, Lisa Fuoti, Kevin Gahagan, Alison Godar, Ingrid Gomez, Rachelle Gramann, Micheal Grindle, Heather Hanson, Lisa Havlicek, Amber Henry, Theresa Hoffman-Poeppel, Chastity Jensen, Lacey Jolly, Petra Kolo, Jessica Kurz, Kelly Mangold, Molly Marx, Jessica McBride-Fought, Michelle McKenna, Chad Meinholdt, Amy Noe, DeShell Parker, Gina Patovisti, Catherine Sheehan, Carrie Sorg, Iesha Sprewell, Erik Stenglein, Molly Swank, Marissa Tabak, Kara Theis, Stephanie Thousand, Sarah Trickle, Clarissa Winney, Alexia Wood, Ruku Young.
CABHR publishes in-depth newsletters and hosts several affordable workshops and training sessions each year in the field of addictions and behavioral health. To receive the newsletter or for information about workshops: contact Mary Heller, 414-229-5008, mheller@uwm.edu or visit www.uwm.edu.cabhr.
Summer 2009
interactions 9
Department update
Criminal Justice
I
Assistant Professor Tom LeBel is researching substance abuse services for women in jail and the reintegration process for formally incarcerated persons.
t has been another productive year for the Department of Criminal Justice. Below are our highlights.
Research
Assistant Professor Tina Freiburger is researching Our faculty continues to be heavily involved in the effects of race and ethnicity on the sentencing significant research activities. Associate of juvenile offenders who have been transferred Professors Rick Lovell, Steve Brandl, and Will to adult court. Her research also examines how Pelfrey are continuing their work with the legal and extralegal variables differentially affect Safe Schools Healthy Students project with the the criminal sentences of these offenders. Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS). This research project is supported by a four-year, $520,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Career Day Education, U.S. Department of Health and The department hosted its 21st Career Day this Human Services, and the U.S. Department of Steve Brandl, spring, helping our students link with potential Chair, Department Justice and is designed to evaluate numerous employers. More than 50 federal, state, local, and of Criminal Justice anti-violence strategies implemented in MPS. private agencies were on hand to talk with the The project involves partnerships with MPS, 350 current and potential students who attended. the Milwaukee Police Department, Milwaukee The department thanks Theresa Payton Myrick, Fire Department, Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office Criminal Justice Academic Department Specialist, for planning and the Milwaukee County Behavioral Health Division. and organizing the event. Assistant Professor Kimberly Hassell is working with Custer High School in Milwaukee to create a social welfare curriculum at the school. Hassell also is evaluating the Weed and Seed initiative in Racine, a nationwide neighborhood improvement project to help selected communities reduce violent crime, drug abuse and gang activity. Finally, she is continuing her research on the workplace experiences of police officers in several departments.
In Memory: Carl
Pope, Professor Emeritus
Carl Pope, Professor Emeritus of Criminal Justice, died July 25 at age 65. When he joined the UWM faculty in 1975, Pope was one of two academically trained faculty members in criminal justice. When he retired 33 years later, he was one of seven faculty members in the now solid department. Pope’s many contributions to the school included helping to create a master’s program and serving as program chair. “He was the architect of what became a nationally recognized department,” says Dean Stan Stojkovic. “His efforts put the department on the map.” His vast research projects brought significant funds to UWM and HBSSW. Collaborating with other faculty members, Pope helped to: develop Milwaukee’s Volunteer Role Model Program; evaluate the public housing programming efforts of the Boys and Girls Club of America; evaluate the U.S. Justice Department’s Operation Weed and Seed Program, across 22 cities; found the Hamilton Fish National Institute on School and Community Violence and more. He co-authored four books on criminal justice, including Voices from the Field: Readings in Criminal Justice Research, written with fellow faculty members Steve Brandl and Rick Lovell. He is survived by his wife, Jane Pope, and son, Brendan Pope. 10
interactions
Summer 2009
On-line Education
With funding from the A.P. Sloan Foundation, the Criminal Justice Department continues to develop and offer a hybrid learning program where courses provide face-to-face and on-line instruction. Next year, two graduate courses, Analysis of Criminal Justice Research, to be taught by Associate Professor Will Pelfrey, and Perspectives on Crime and the Criminal Justice System, to be taught by Assistant Professor Tina Freiburger, will be offered. The department is exploring the development of a fully on-line graduate program.
Kudos!
The department congratulates Assistant Professor Kimberly Hassell on being the recipient of the 2008-2009 Criminal Justice Teaching Award, Bryan Bubolz, who received the Graduate Student Award in Criminal Justice, Nicole Delvoye, who received the Undergraduate Student Award in Criminal Justice, and Bubolz and Stephanie Sikinger, who received the Robert L. Stonek Memorial Scholarship Award. Recipients were recognized for their accomplishments at the school’s awards ceremony in May.
Farewell
Finally, we bid farewell to Senior Lecturer Michael Harrington, a former UWM Criminal Justice student (BS CJ ’91; MS CJ ’95). Michael is moving on to an assistant professor position at Texas A&M International University. Good luck Michael, and we very much appreciate your contributions to the department!
Department update
Caregivers should be treated as members of healthcare team
Farewell to Audrey Begun
Professor Rhonda Montgomery, Helen Bader Endowed Chair in Applied Gerontology, presented the Helen C. Carey Memorial Lecture “Recognizing the Family Caregiver as the Second Patient,” in September 2008 at the Milwaukee County Behavioral Health Division. Montgomery called upon the social work profession at large to recognize the needs of the nation’s 20 to 30 million caregivers by treating them not only as members of the healthcare team, but as clients, and offering them service choices to ease their burden. The annual lecture, co-sponsored by the HBSSW and the Milwaukee County Behavioral Health Division, spotlights outstanding social work values being put into practice.
Social Work
This year, a long-time faculty member, Professor Audrey Begun, and her husband left Milwaukee for Ohio State University in Columbus. Audrey Deborah Padgett, Chair, Social Work Department had been a member of our social work faculty for more than 22 years and was a core scientist with the Center for Addiction and Behavioral Health Research (CABHR). With funding from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, Audrey led the effort to write, disseminate, and evaluate a curriculum that teaches master’s level social work students about alcohol use disorders. When the curriculum was completed in 2006, Audrey and her CABHR colleagues conducted 20 training seminars for social educators across the country, reaching 590 people. Audrey’s friendship and commitment to social work education will be missed. She has now transferred that commitment to the School of Social Work at OSU and we wish her well!
Tamara Moss-Knight
This summer we were fortunate to have Tamara Moss-Knight as part of our department. Tamara is a doctoral student in social work at Howard University in Washington D.C. She was one of six people selected to be part of UWM’s new Diversity Fellowship Program, out of 90 applicants. We were delighted that Tamara was chosen as one of the fellows and that her area is social work. While she was at UWM, she taught a course on program evaluation, and got to know our department and the UWM and Milwaukee communities. Her research interests are in reproductive health, especially teen mothers.
More International Programs
We expanded our international programs and this summer sponsored programs in England, Austria, and Costa Rica. Graduate and undergraduate students in criminal justice or social work can take advantage of these foreign educational opportunities. In all three countries, faculty are forging collaborative relationships and research partnerships.
{
Students at all levels earn honors
In the 2008/9 academic year, 93 HBSSW students made the Dean’s Honor List, completing 12 or more graded credits with a grade point average of 3.75 or better. In addition, 28 students were awarded Senior Honors for having earned a grade point average of 3.5 or better.
}
You’re invited: Reconnect, get involved at alumni events
A
ttention alumni! Did you know that 30 of your HBSSW peers asked to join our alumni board this year? And now, the revitalized and energetic HBSSW Alumni Association is inviting you to join them for social and professional get-togethers. In the 2008/9 academic year, the association sponsored two such get-togethers, coupled with school events. In November 2008, the association hosted a fundraiser for student scholarships when they partnered with the photo exhibition Shall Not Be Recognized – Portraits of Same Sex Couples. The event, held at the UWM Student Union, showcased photographs and written portraits of Wisconsin same-sex couples. This event raised more than $1,000 for student scholarships. In May, the association sponsored a get-together in conjunction with a school-sponsored showing of a documentary on prison meditation. Alumni mingled and enjoyed appetizers before helping to pack the UWM Cinema for a free screening and panel discussion of The Dhamma Brothers. The film helped kick start Assistant Professor Dimitri Topitzes’ research on meditation in a social welfare setting. Would you like to be invited to alumni events? If you did not receive an email invitation to these events, and would like to be notified of such events in the future, please contact John Bartel, Student Services Coordinator, Alumni Relations, 414-906-4665, jwbartel@uwm.edu.
Summer 2009
interactions 11
Interested in providing student field placements? Our field agency of the year offers tips for beginners
H
ave you ever wondered about providing field instruction to social work or criminal justice students? What types of jobs can students do? Is it right for your agency? What would be involved on your end? We sat down with Todd Witt (BS SW ’96; MSW ’01), Program Director at Walker’s Point Youth & Family Center, to talk about field placements from an agency’s point of view. Walker’s Point provides shelter, counseling and intervention services for runaway and troubled youth and their families. This year, the agency – which provides field placements to undergraduate and graduate social work students from the UWM Helen Bader School of Social Welfare -- received the school’s Social Work Outstanding Field Agency of the Year Award.
Q
hat’s involved on your end, in W terms of time, money or paperwork?
A
It doesn’t cost the agency any money. In fact, the students provide us with a lot of in-kind hours. Still, a fair deal of time goes into supervising them. For each student, we do two, comprehensive written evaluations per semester.
Q A
How does the process of student selection work?
Our UWM liaison sends us a list of students who have expressed interest in working with Walker’s Point. We interview each student and make our selection. It’s a competitive process. Every student must be supervised by an employee with a social work degree. We have three such employees for undergraduate supervision, and three staff for graduate supervision.
12
interactions
Summer 2009
Q
Do the students shadow a Walker’s Point employee or do you write them job descriptions?
A
Both. All students have job descriptions. These are basically contracts that state what our agency will provide the students, and what the students will provide to our agency. We provide: a three-day training in which students get a comprehensive overview of the agency, services and issues they’ll encounter; formal supervision once a week; evaluation twice per semester; the opportunity to continue to shadow house staff and therapists as the student gains skills. The student provides: an hourly weekly commitment, which is five days a week for graduate students and several hours per week for UWM undergrads; a commitment to work with us all semester; and a commitment to two overnights per semester. All of our graduate students work as therapists, and they also commit to gaining the skills necessary to conduct, by themselves, therapy groups, family sessions and one-on-one therapy.
Todd Witt supervises HBSSW master’s student Crystal McClain at Walker’s Point Youth and Family Center.
Q
I n your opinion, what does it take for an agency to provide a student with a good field experience?
A
Three things. The agency must have employees with social work degrees whose job descriptions include supervising students. Second, the agency must be able to provide each student with quality time. Third, someone at the agency must be able to write proper evaluations. Hundreds of agencies voluntarily partner with the UWM Helen Bader School of Social Welfare to provide field placements. At each of these agencies, employees donate their time and expertise to supervise our graduate and undergraduate students as they begin working in their chosen fields. Field placements are extremely popular with students, who gain practical experience and begin to build professional relationships. If your agency is interested in learning more about field placements, please contact the appropriate person below. Soc ial work agencies: Jeanne Wagner, Director of Field Programs, 414-229-6501, jeannew@uwm.edu. Cri minal justice agencies: Tom LeBel, Assistant Professor, 414-229-2356, lebel@uwm.edu.
Social Work partner agencies critical to student education
Meet the Graduate of the Last Decade
T
Monica (Fernandez) Lozer (MS CJ ’01, BS CJ ’99) was recognized as one of 13 UWM alumni who have distinguished themselves through outstanding achievements in their careers and civic involvement. In May, Lozer received a Graduate of the Last Decade, or GOLD, award.
he Department of Social Work currently partners with more than 500 agencies, the furthest being Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. These agencies provided 111 undergraduate and 227 graduate field placements to our students in the 2008-09 academic year. In doing so, they provided more than 254,000 hours of education. We are extremely grateful to these agencies and the 257 individual field instructors who contribute countless hours to assist in what the Council on Social Work Education calls the “signature pedagogy” of social work education. Because of their generosity and commitment to this important endeavor, our students are better prepared to serve their professions. Six fabulous field instructors received Field Instructor of the Year awards from the school this year. Congratulations to the following: Robert Walker, My Home Your Home Jennifer Nowak, Lutheran Home Ann Ranfranz, DA’s Office, Sensitive Crime Victim Services Paul Zenisek, Aurora Adolescent AODA Program Marlyene Pfeiffer, Aurora Partial Hospitalization Program Julie Rothwell, United Way
Welcome new Criminal Justice field partners
T
Lozer is employed as a bilingual federal investigator with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which enforces laws that prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex, national origin, religion, retaliation, age, and disability. She distinguished herself as an outstanding employee of the federal government, including her work investigating major civil rights violations among migrant worker groups. “My parents emigrated from Mexico in 1953 to give me and my twelve brothers and sisters a better way of life,” Lozer said. “My mother says when she was a little girl growing up in Mexico, friends and family would say that in the U.S. the streets were paved with gold. While my parents realized that this was not to be taken literally, they have always believed in the notion that in the U.S. the possibilities are endless. They understood that higher education was the conduit to endless possibilities. “UWM was the only choice for me as I wanted to remain close to home. I attribute most of my success to my parents and to the support from the criminal justice faculty and staff. Also, my mentor, Stan Stojkovic, was invaluable to me as he was able to give me that extra nudge to help me realize that ‘Si Se puede,’ or ‘Yes, you can. You do belong here.’”
he department welcomes the following new field placement partners:
• Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, Madison. The department is providing a law enforcement internship position. • City of Milwaukee Fire and Police Commission. The commission is providing a policy analysis internship position.
{
}
The school now has a Facebook page.
If you’re new to Facebook, you can find the page through a Google search (“Facebook Helen Bader School”) or through the UWM Alumni Association home page.
Congratulations, Graduates! This academic year, the Helen Bader School of Social Welfare graduated more than 100 undergraduate students and 50 graduate students. Our graduates are entering their professions at a very important time. Nationwide, the demand for criminal justice majors and social work majors at all levels is high; typically, 90 percent of our grads find career jobs within three months. “We wish our graduates all the best as they move on to positions in law enforcement, the courts, child welfare agencies, family counselors, policy analysts and much more,” says Dean Stan Stojkovic. “Congratulations to each of them and to their friends and family who supported them through earning their degrees.”
Summer 2009
interactions 13
Will, estate gifts may bring economic benefits to donor
Alumni Notes Jed Dolnick (BS CJ ’78) was appointed to the board of directors of the Wisconsin Chiefs of Police Association. Dolnick is chief of police at the Jackson (WI) Police Department. Daniel Johnson (BS CJ ‘91) received the Milken National Educator Award in October. A Milwaukee police officer for 12 years, Johnson now teaches third grade at College Park Elementary School in Greendale, WI. The Milken Award has been dubbed the Oscars of teaching by Teacher Magazine and is awarded to about 80 outstanding U.S. teachers annually. Molly Koranda (BS CJ ’97) is working as a school administration consultant for the State of Wisconsin’s Milwaukee Parental Choice Program, in Madison. Do you have professional or personal news you’d like to share? Email bucior@uwm.edu; in the subject line, type “InterActions.” Please include your full name, year of graduation, and degree earned.
E
ighty percent of the U.S. population donate something from their income each year to a charity. Even so, in difficult economic times, alumni and friends of HBSSW might be wondering if they can make a philanthropic gift now. Perhaps you are asking yourself this question and have dreamt of creating a legacy at UWM. If so, perhaps it’s time for us to discuss how you can support HBSSW with an estate gift to the UWM Foundation. There are multiple ways you can impact students’ lives through your will or estate plans. Some gifts can provide you and/or your loved ones a lifetime income. Contributing retirement assets might help ease the tax on your estate and can end up providing more for your heirs. Life insurance as a gift has certain advantages as well. I f you have a passion for higher education and supporting future generations of social workers and criminal justice students achieve their dreams, please contact HBSSW’s Director of Development, Jennifer Clearwater, at 414-229-2415 or jenwater@uwm.edu.
Don’t get stuck without career options. What can a MS in Criminal Justice do for you? • Increase your salary • Expand your career options • Increase your job security
“
UWM allowed me to attain my educational goals while staying in the community, working and providing for my family. Crystal L. Williams
“
I was a 28-year-old father of three when I started college. Douglas Holton
Fire Chief, City of Milwaukee BS Criminal Justice, MS Urban Studies
14
interactions
Summer 2009
Learn more about earning your MS in Criminal Justice from UWM. Call Steven Brandl, Chair, Department of Criminal Justice at 414 229-5443.
Forensic Investigator, Milwaukee County Medical Examiner’s Office BS, MS Criminal Justice
Our program is . . . • Manageable • Affordable
• Convenient • Personalized
www.hbsswcriminaljustice.uwm.edu
Scholarships make significant impact on students
O
ur school’s alumni know first-hand the incredible impact a scholarship can have on a student. In many instances, scholarship recipients would not have been able to complete their degrees if not for the assistance of scholarship dollars. If you’d like to help a student achieve his or her professional dream, you can donate to a specific scholarship (listed below) or even create a new scholarship.
Criminal Justice student Katrina Frey, on the job during her internship with the UWM Police Department.
Scholarships For Social Work Students
Scholarship For Criminal Justice Students
Aileen Rockjordan Scholarship (4857.00) Awarded to: graduate students with a minimum 3.0 GPA, financial need, demonstrate commitment to promoting cultural diversity in the delivery of social services. Preference given to racial minorities.
Robert Stonek Memorial Fund (5547.00) Awarded to: undergraduate and graduate students pursuing degrees in criminal justice.
C.S. Chilman Family Studies Scholarship (6952.00) Awarded to: graduate students who have demonstrated academic achievement and financial need, and who are pursuing careers serving families.
Alumni/Yolanda Vega-Will Scholarship (5678.00) Awarded to: undergraduate or graduate students with academic merit.
Don & Helen Banta Scholarship (6950.00) Awarded to: graduate social work students who have a minimum 3.0 GPA, intend to pursue careers in clinical social work, demonstrate financial need, and have clear educational objectives and career goals. Graduate Social Work Scholars Fund (3856.00): Awarded to: high-quality MSW and Ph.D. social work students from diverse populations. Harry & Esther Kovenock Scholarship in Social Work (4854.00) Awarded to: seniors in the social work program who have demonstrated academic ability and financial need. Helen Bader Scholarship (7006.00) Awarded to: full-time juniors, seniors or graduate students with a minimum 3.0 GPA who are pursuing concentrations, certificates, or degree programs focused on gerontology or age-related studies. Kathleen Scheller Memorial Scholarship (4858.00) Awarded to: nontraditional (40 years old or older) under graduate social work students with financial needs. Laura Tice Memorial Scholarship (6953.00) Awarded to: nontraditional (30 years old or older) social work students who demonstrate academic achievement. Social Welfare Community Organization Scholarship (4855.00): Awarded to: full-time female social work graduate students who participate in a community-centered field placement program, and have a minimum 3.0 GPA. Financial need considered.
Scholarships Open To All Social Welfare Students
GMAR Youth Foundation Scholarship (7853.00) Awarded to: undergraduate and graduate students with academic merit, financial need, and the intent to pursue careers working with youth. HBSSW General Scholarship Fund (6675.00) Awarded to: graduate or undergraduate students with academic merit. Awarded as scholarship or fellowship. Financial need may be considered. N.O.B.L.E. Scholarship (4851.00) Awarded to: juniors or seniors majoring in criminal justice or social work who intend to pursue careers at correctional or criminal justice agencies. A recipient must have a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.5, demonstrate financial need, and be a member of a racial or ethnic minority group underrepresented in higher education within the UW System. Preference given to African-Americans. Student Awards Project (6954.00) Awarded to: undergraduate and graduate social work and criminal justice students.
T o make a scholarship donation: Please make checks payable to the UWM Foundation. Note the name or number of the scholarship you choose to support in the lower-left memo area of the check, or include a note. You can also donate online by clicking here. If you have any questions about giving to the school, please contact HBSSW Director of Development Jennifer Clearwater at 414-229-2415 or jenwater@uwm.edu.
Summer 2009
interactions 15
PAID
Milwaukee, WI Permit No. 864
Nonprofit org US Postage
Upcoming Continuing Education Offerings at the HBSSW Integrating Information Technology into Your Nonprofit Human Service Organization Paul-Brian McInerney, Ph.D. Friday, October 9 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. Trauma and Transcendence Workshop: A Hopeful Look at PTSD Pamela Phillips Olson, LCSW Friday, October 23 9:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Contemporary Professional Boundaries & Ethics Bobbi Prichard, LCSW Friday, October 30 8:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Social Work as a Spiritual Practice Roberta Hanus, MSW, LCSW Friday, November 20 9 a.m. – 3 p.m.
Infant Adoption Cyndie Oday-Weis, MS, LCSW Wednesday, January 13, 2010 12 – 4:30 p.m.
A Rock and a Hard Place: Mental Illness and Co-morbid Substance Abuse David Mays, M.D., Ph.D. Monday, February 15, 2010 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. For more detailed information or to register, please visit our website at www.hbssw.uwm.edu or contact Program Manager Linda Czernicki, 414-229-6329 or czernick@uwm.edu.
16
interactions
Summer 2009
P.O. Box 786 Milwaukee, WI 53201
Contemporary Approaches to Dementia Care Thomas Fritsch, Ph.D. Friday, January 22, 2010 9 a.m. – 12 p.m.
SUMMER 2009
Infant Adoption Cyndie Oday-Weis, MS, LCSW Friday, December 11 12 – 4:30 p.m.
interactions
Managing Ethics and Boundaries During the Provision of In-Home Services Jeanne Wagner, MSW, LCSW Friday, December 4 8:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.