University of Georgia School of Social Work Magazine Fall 2010

L e t t e r

f r o m

t h e

D e a n

Greetings Alumni, Colleagues and Friends!

D

espite the budget cuts and difficult economic climate, it is a real pleasure to share with you good news from the School of Social Work—we have much to celebrate! We are one of a handful of schools at UGA with increased enrollment this fall and our study abroad programs continued to flourish. We are recruiting three new faculty members, including a distinguished professor. I am delighted to report that our development achievements include three new endowments. Our faculty, students, alumni, staff and friends have sustained the School through these economically trying times and have continued to garner recognition within the University and beyond. I thank each of you for your dedication and support!

In April, we celebrated the completion of the endowment of the Donald L. Hollowell Distinguished Professorship of Social Justice and Civil Rights Studies. Vernon E. Jordan, Jr., made the announcement at the world premiere of the documentary Donald L. Hollowell: Foot Soldier for Equal Justice at the Woodruff Fine Arts Center in Atlanta. I hope you will enjoy our feature story on a behind the scenes look at the making of the film with alumnae Michelle Estile (MSW ’07) and Laurie Reyman (MSW ’09) and a recap of the premiere event.

Special thanks to President Michael Adams for providing funds through the President’s Venture Fund for our world premiere event.

The University of Georgia Board of Regents approved the establishment of the Donald L. Hollowell Distinguished Professorship of Social Justice and Civil Rights Studies in August and we currently are inviting applications for the position.

I’d like to thank President Adams and Provost Jere Morehead for approving the faculty line for the Hollowell Distinguished Professorship funded by the president’s faculty hiring initiative.

We also celebrated the completion of the endowment for the Tisha Abolt Graduate Assistantship at St. Joseph’s/Candler Hospital in Savannah in March. We are thrilled to have Tisha’s legacy preserved in the School of Social Work at UGA. It was a delight to join Russ and Diane Abolt; Paul Hinchey, president and CEO of St. Joseph’s/Candler Hospital; Otis Johnson, mayor of Savannah; Pete Liakakis, chairman of the Chatham County Commission; Larry Dane-Kellogg, president of the Clinical Social Work Association of Savannah; and other friends of our School for the historic celebratory event in Savannah.

The School also is pleased to award the inaugural Pauline Berger Memorial Graduate Assistantship in Child and Family Welfare and the Elizabeth Loyd Scholarship this year. We also are delighted to announce that Leigh Engen (M.A. in Nonprofit Organizations ’08) made possible a major gift from the Twenty-Seven Foundation.

The Ghana Study Abroad Program commemorated 10 years of global learning opportunities and celebrations were held in Ghana and at the University of Georgia. The Social Issues in Northern Ireland program took its 4th trip over the Maymester. In the spring, the School plans to revive an exchange program with the University of Veracruz in Halapa, Mexico. Students will have the opportunity to travel to Mexico during the spring 2011 Maymester.

Our Ph.D. program celebrated its 20th anniversary in April. Over 100 students have graduated from the program since its inception. We also kicked off a Doctoral Support Fund, which provides financial assistance to doctoral students for dissertation research, travel expenses, supplies and conference presentations.

We had excellent representation at the CSWE Annual Program meeting in October. Associate Professor Bert Ellett was honored with the 2010 Distinguished Recent Contributions in Social Work Education Award. Our School had an impressive array of colleagues to present creative and innovative scholarship at the conference including eleven faculty, 4 graduate students and an alumnus.

Our beloved alumni director, Laura Ciucevich retired in June after serving 14 years with the School of Social Work. She is dearly missed. Please send any alumni updates to sswalum@uga.edu or call our director of development, Jennifer Abbott, at (706) 542-9093. I encourage you to keep us informed of your accomplishments and contact information. We love to hear from you and we want to inform you of accomplishments and events at your alma mater.

In April, we hired Emily Williams as our new director of communications. Emily’s parents have a background in social work and she previously worked in communications at the University of Virginia School of Law. She has brought a wealth of expertise and ideas to our communications office including social networking. I hope you will connect with us on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. Also, be on the lookout for School of Social Work news and events on iTunes and YouTube.

Enjoy reading about our many accomplishments from the past year. Your support has been invaluable and vital to our continued success.

Sincerely,

Maurice C. Daniels, Dean

The University of Georgia School of Social Work

Advocates for Positive Social Change

F

A

L

L

2

0

1

0

C o n t e n t s The Magazine of the School of Social Work at the University of Georgia

Letter from the Dean . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . IFC SSW Announces the Endowment of the Donald L. Hollowell Distinguished Professorship of Social Justice and Civil Rights Studies . . 2

P U B L I S H E R

the university of georgia E D I TO R

emily w i llia ms EDITORIAL OFFICES

the school of social work tucker hall athens, ga 30602

% (706) 542-1222 FAX

(706) 542-3845 E - MA I L

The Making of Donald L. Hollowell: Foot Soldier for Equal Justice . . . . 4 Postcard from Liberia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Endowment Completion of the Tisha Abolt Graduate Assistantship Celebrated in Savannah . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Study Abroad in Ghana Program Celebrates 10 Years . . . . . . . . . 8

Service-Learning Impacts Social Workers: Eleven Summers of Burn Camp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Nackerud, Risler Research Trauma in Post-Earthquake Haiti . . . . . . 15 Ph.D. Program Celebrates 20th Anniversary . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

W E B S I T E

2010 Graduation – Follow Your Dreams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

D E S I G N

university printing P H OTO G R A P HY

Michelle Estile Dot Paul Laurie Reyman Cliff Robinson Emily Williams UGA Photographic Services

school of social work faculty and staff

©2010 The University of Georgia

8

History Comes to Life for Northern Ireland Study Abroad Students . . 10

emwi@uga.edu www.ssw.uga.edu

2

10

Donor Honor Roll . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Happy Trails: SSW Celebrates Ciucevich’s Career . . . . . . . . . . 25 Alumni News & Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

12

SSW Notebook . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Cover Photo Captions: (Left) Hamilton Holmes (foreground) leaving UGA after attempting to register in 1961 accompanied by Hollowell (right) and Rev. Samuel Williams (left), president of the Atlanta Branch of the NAACP and pastor of Friendship Baptist Church in Atlanta. (Louise T. Hollowell Personal Archives)

25

(Top) Hollowell with Charlayne Hunter, Hamilton Holmes and Althea Hunter, Charlayne’s mother (1961). Hollowell represented Holmes and Hunter in a landmark lawsuit (Holmes v. Danner) that opened the doors of the University of Georgia to black students in 1961.

(Marilyn Holmes Personal Archives)

The University of Georgia is committed

(Middle) Hollowell with Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., after King’s release from Reidsville (GA) State Prison in 1960. (Louise T. Hollowell Personal Archives)

to principles of equal opportunity and

(Bottom) Hollowell receives an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from UGA in 2002.

affirmative action. fall

2 0 1 0

•

1

c o v e r

s t o r y

SSW Announces the Endowment of the

Donald L. Hollowell Distinguished Professorship of Social Justice and Civil Rights Studies

By Wendy Jones

(L to R) Panelists Vernon E. Jordan, Jr., Horace T. Ward, Mary Frances Early and moderator, Glenda Hatchett.

2

•

S o c i a l W o r k

A

t the April 15 premiere of the documentary Donald L. Hollowell: Foot Soldier for Equal Justice, the University of Georgia School of Social Work announced that the Donald L. Hollowell Professorship of Social Justice and Civil Rights Studies has been fully endowed.

The professorship, the first distinguished professorship named for an African American at UGA, has been endowed through the UGA faculty-hiring initiative, donations and ticket sales from the documentary premiere.

“The person chosen for this distinguished professorship will advocate for social and economic justice for individuals, families and communities and collaborate with the Foot Soldier Project to advance civil rights scholarship,” said Maurice C. Daniels, dean of the School of Social Work and director of the Foot Soldier Project for Civil Rights Studies.

Vernon E. Jordan Jr., chair of the Hollowell Professorship endowment committee, made the endowment announcement following the film’s premiere and a panel discussion in which he participated moderated by Judge Glenda Hatchett, star of the television courtroom series Judge Hatchett. In addition to Jordan, other panelists included Mary Frances Early, the first African-American UGA graduate and Federal Judge Horace T. Ward, a member of the law team that sought to desegregate UGA. “It was my special honor to work with the University of Georgia, School of Social Work, and the university community while serving as chairman of the Donald L. Hollowell Professorship Endowment Committee,” said Jordan. “Mr. Hollowell was one of the most prominent attorneys and social justice advocates during the Civil Rights era. It is a fitting tribute that the University of Georgia establishes the first distinguished professorship named for an African American in his honor.”

Donald L. Hollowell: Foot Soldier for Equal Justice is a production of the Foot Soldier Project for Civil Rights Studies, an interdisciplinary documentary and research program at UGA dedicated to chronicling Georgia’s history in the civil rights movement.

The documentary chronicles the life of Hollowell, one of the movement’s legendary advocates for social justice.

m a g a z i n e

Born and raised in Wichita, Kan., Hollowell did not encounter the Jim Crow restrictions of the South. But he did face racial discrimination while serving in the U.S. Army during World War II. Hollowell’s experiences with segregation and his involvement with the Southern Negro Youth Congress after the war inspired him to study law, which ultimately became his weapon of choice in the fight for social justice in the South and across the nation, according to Daniels.

In 1959, Hollowell was among a group of black Atlanta leaders who tapped Hamilton Holmes and Charlayne Hunter to apply for admission to the then segregated University of Georgia. Over the next two years, Hollowell and Constance Baker Motley, assisted

by Ward and Jordan, fought numerous courtroom battles that ended with a federal judge ordering UGA to admit Holmes and Hunter in 1961.

“His dedication and sacrifice for the ideals of equal opportunity and social justice changed the course of our nation’s history and will continue to open doors of opportunity for generations to come,” said Daniels.

Hollowell died of heart failure on Dec. 27, 2004, at the age of 87.

Louise Hollowell accepts flowers from special guest host Jasmine Guy after the premiere screening.

Louise Hollowell (center, seated) is congratulated on the endowment of the Donald L. Hollowell Professorship of Social Justice and Civil Rights Studies in the School of Social Work at the University of Georgia. (Left to right) Derrick Alridge, Jasmine Guy, Vernon E. Jordan, Jr., Mary Frances Early, Horace T. Ward, Glenda Hatchett and Maurice Daniels.

Photos by Cliff Robinson

fall

2 0 1 0

•

3

T he M a k ing o f

Donald L. HollOwell: Foot Soldier for Equal Justice Behind the Scenes with Co-Producers Michelle Estile (MSW ’06) and Laurie Reyman (MSW ’09)

By Emily Williams

chool of Social Work alumnae Michelle Estile (MSW ’07) and Laurie Reyman (MSW ’09) both received interesting assignments when they started the master’s program. Their graduate assistantships were with Dean Maurice C. Daniels who asked them to help the Foot Soldier Project for Civil Rights Studies (FSP) with a documentary on Donald L. Hollowell, the leading civil rights lawyer in Georgia in the 1950s and 1960s and chief architect of the legal work that led to the desegregation of the University of Georgia.

“I got the title of producer and I love it when people ask what that means because I’m still a bit confused,” Estile joked.

Estile and Reyman spent countless hours in libraries and archives researching leads and collecting archival photographs, footage and visuals to help tell Hollowell’s story.

“I dug around in some of the research done from the other [FSP] documentaries and then branched out from there. It was everything from the Peabody archives at the University to other universities in the state,” Estile said.

The research was eye-opening for both students. “Looking at old footage of the [Ku Klux Klan] in downtown Atlanta or the Klan in Athens, Georgia—there was a riot on campus when Hollowell, Holmes and Hunter came to UGA—it makes it much more vivid, much more real, much more personal,” Estile said.

“I learned about the Civil Rights movement in Georgia and the South. Not being from the South, I didn’t know very much about it,” said Reyman, who grew up in Zimbabwe. “In the fight for social justice, it is nothing but encouraging to see where we were and how far we’ve come.”

Piece by piece the documentary came together over the span of their 2-year degree programs, Estile in ’05-’07 and Reyman ’07-’09. Estile described those years as a juggling act, especially considering that they also had to complete an internship and their other course work and projects as well. “Despite the juggling, it was a great honor to be involved in the project,” Estile added.

“The FSP, in large measure, owes the completion of the documentary to the extraordinary research that Laurie and Michelle contributed to the project,” said Daniels.

Selected for their strong research and social work skills as well as their deep commitment to social justice and appreciation for history, the pair did not disappoint. “My overall evaluation of their work would be superior with respect to both the energy they brought to the project and their exceptional research as well as their desire to do their very best to make the project a success,” Daniels said.

“It was a wonderful opportunity for the FSP faculty to work with the two of them because they consistently went beyond the call of duty in exploring archival sources that added to the richness of the documentary. Laurie and Michelle’s scholarly contributions helped to broaden the scope of the research,” he added.

Daniels was inspired to make a documentary on Hollowell shortly after interviewing him in 1994. “At the time, Mr. Hollowell actually encouraged me to do a project on Horace Michelle Estile (MSW ’07) introduced the documentary at the world premiere event.

4

•

S o c i a l W o r k

m a g a z i n e

Ward,” he said. “Mr. Hollowell was a very humble man who, in many ways, discouraged any focus or attention on his own achievements and contributions.”

Daniels worked with Derrick Alridge, director of the Institute for African American Studies and professor in the College of Education, on bringing the story of Hollowell’s social activism and civil rights work to a new generation. After interviewing Hollowell and his wife Louise, Hollowell’s law partners, and other key activists in the civil rights movement, Daniels and Alridge developed a historical overview of the story they wanted to tell. The research process included collaborating with a wide spectrum of scholars across disciplines to chronicle Hollowell’s contributions to the cause of social justice. The film was narrated by Charlayne Hunter-Gault, a Peabody and Emmy award winning journalist and, with Hollowell’s assistance, one of the first African Americans to enroll at UGA. From start to finish the documentary took 6 years to complete.

While working on the documentary, the School of Social Work developed a proposal for the establishment of a professorship to be named in honor of Hollowell, who died of heart failure in 2004. The Donald L. Hollowell Distinguished Professorship of Social Justice and Civil Rights Studies is the first distinguished professorship named for an African American at UGA. Fund raising efforts were concluded at the premiere screening of Donald L. Hollowell: Foot Soldier for Equal Justice and Vernon E. Jordan, Jr., chair of the Hollowell Endowment Committee, announced at the premiere that the professorship was fully endowed.

“It was an awe inspiring experience,” Daniels recalled. “First of all because we had such broad support and of course that support came in large measure because, I think, individuals appreciated the great debt that our society owes to a man like Donald Hollowell who literally dedicated his full life to fighting for the cause of social justice, often at risk to his personal safety and the safety of his family.”

The premiere was held at the Woodruff Fine Arts Center in Atlanta on April 15, 2010. Estile introduced the film without her colleague who was in Liberia. “The biggest thrill was seeing Mrs. Hollowell at the end of the night being honored. You could tell she was just so proud,” Estile said. “To think of her, all those years of being supportive of him when he was putting himself at risk with these dangerous cases and doing all these things—it was good to see her husband be recognized that way. I think that was one of my favorite moments.”

The documentary viewing was followed by a panel discussion featuring Vernon E. Jordan, Jr., Mary Frances Early, the first African American UGA graduate; Federal Judge Horace T. Ward, a member of the legal team that sought to desegregate UGA; and moderator, Judge Glenda Hatchett, star of the television courtroom series Judge Hatchett. Actress Jasmine Guy was the special guest host.

Reyman was disappointed to miss the premiere but she had already begun her position as project officer with the Carter Center in Liberia (see page 6). “I am very proud and feel very privileged to have been involved in the making of this documentary,” she said. “I finally got to see the finished version just a few nights ago.

The story that it tells is amazing and inspirational. Although I don’t ever see myself creating documentaries professionally, it opened my eyes to a profession I knew nothing about and I’m proud to have it on my C.V.” Estile now works for Family Counseling Service, Inc., in Athens. She is the first in her family to go to college and to get an advanced degree. She grew up on a tomato farm in Southeast Arkansas and moved to Georgia in 1994. “Working on this project made me more mindful of social justice because that’s what, specifically, Hollowell’s work was about,” she said. “I hope it makes me a more sensitive counselor to what people are going through.”

The documentary was televised on Georgia Public Broadcasting on April 18 and July 11, 2010 and will be featured at the 50th anniversary celebration of the desegregation of the University of Georgia. The premiere campus screening will be held in Masters Hall at 8 p.m. on January 10, 2011.

Hollowell with presidential candidate Jimmy Carter at the Voter Education Project. (Louise T. Hollowell Personal Archives)

Special Thanks In addition to Michelle Estile and Laurie Reyman, other social work students were involved as well as graduate students from the College of Education, Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, and other disciplines. A cadre of help from professionals from across the country also offered their expertise. It was truly a team effort to bring this project to fruition.

In the course of researching and developing this documentary, we incurred many debts. A special debt of gratitude is owed to Charlayne Hunter-Gault for narrating the documentary; Cheryl D. Dozier, associate professor of social work and chief diversity officer at UGA; Janice Reaves, director of marketing and community relations at the Georgia Department of Labor; Valerie White, assistant professor in writing and editing at Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University; Vicky Crawford, director of the Morehouse College Martin Luther King, Jr. Collection; Amy Gellins, assistant Athens-Clarke County attorney; Charles Duncan, professor of English at Clark Atlanta University; Carrin E. Daniels, Spanish teacher in Douglas County Schools; Terry Singleton, executive producer at Fulton County Government Television; Stephen Bridges, editor at the Center for Teaching and Learning at UGA; and Craig Breaden and Jill Severn from the UGA Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies. The FSP team did an awesome job in chronicling the historic achievements of Donald Hollowell and developing this civil rights documentary for public television.

—Maurice C. Daniels

fall

2 0 1 0

•

5

by Laurie Reyman MSW ‘09

Reyman with one of her civil society partners, Southeastern Women Development Association (SEWODA).

I interned at the Carter Center during my second year. I sort of wiggled my way into the Liberia program (it wasn’t my assigned intern post) and became involved in organizing a transnational dialogue on women’s rights and gender violence in post conflict societies that was hosted through the Institute for Developing Nations at Emory University by Dr. Pamela Scully. Through my involvement I went to Liberia in March 2009. There I met the Carter Center staff and learned of an open position of project officer in Harper Liberia. I applied and got the position.

I started my job in June 2009. I work closely with our partner civil society organizations and with the local communities in the Southeast. The justice system in Liberia, like everything else during the 14-year civil war, was broken.

Many Liberians do not know the laws of their country, how to navigate the court system, what their rights are or how they can gain access to justice. The Carter Center and their partners go into hundreds of rural and remote communities throughout the country to educate Liberians about the rule of law and help them with conflict resolution. The office in Harper, which I head, runs three programs: the Community Legal Advising Program (CLA), a rule of law civic education program and a chiefs program. I manage our office and work closely with three civil society organizations (CSOs) that are implementing the CLA and civic education programs in the Southeast. Most of my time is spent in capacity building for our partner CSOs and monitoring and evaluation.

This job is special because I am working at the grassroots level where I can see the faces and hear the voices of average Liberians who are struggling to put their homes, their communities and their country back together. It is also at this level where I heard from a woman who was denied a share in her father’s property by her brother, but after being educated about the inheritance law, he gave her the rightful share. I heard from a town chief who said that after receiving education about domestic violence and rape, those acts are decreasing in his town. I heard from a man who learned that his bond fee was refundable at the end of his time in court. He went to the magistrate to request his money and it was returned to him. I heard from a small community that is in a land dispute with 6

•

S o c i a l W o r k

m a g a z i n e

an international rubber corporation. They now have someone at their side helping them navigate the dispute and keeping them informed of their rights throughout the process. These changes may be minimal when compared with the enormous need of all Liberians, but to these individuals and these communities, they make all the difference in the world. I feel privileged to be involved in this and am learning and growing both personally and professionally.

I grew up in Zimbabwe and returned to the States when I finished high school. I soon realized that I wanted to be back in Africa. It took me 10 years to finally get to the point where I could get the kind of job I wanted. And this job is exactly what I was looking for. My personal and professional goals have always been closely entwined. I think it comes from growing up with parents who were missionaries because their personal was their professional too. This kind of work isn’t just a job; it’s a life. This position with the Carter Center is the first step in a profession and life that I will continue to grow in and explore.

Reyman conducting an assessment in a village in Grand Kru County.

Endowment Completion of the Tisha Abolt Graduate Assistantship Celebrated in Savannah

By Emily Williams

F

amily members and friends of Tisha Abolt gathered with donors, faculty, staff, students and alumni in Savannah to celebrate the endowment completion of the Tisha Abolt Graduate Assistantship at St. Joseph’s/Candler Hospital March 31, 2010.

The event, hosted by Paul Hinchey, president and CEO of St. Joseph’s/Candler Hospital, honored donors and supporters of the assistantship as well as recognized 4 students who have benefited from it. In addition to a major gift from St. Joseph/Candler Hospital, donors included the Clinical Social Work Association of Savannah, as well as support from corporate and civic leaders. Savannah mayor and UGA alumnus Otis Johnson (A.B. ’67) and Pete Liakakis, chairman of the Chatham County Commission, attended the event as well as steering committee members Larry DaneKellogg (MSW ’82), president of the Clinical Social Work Association of Savannah, Mary Hill (MSW ’71), and Julius “Boo” Hornstein (MSW ’72).

Abolt grew up in Savannah and planned to return to the area to work with children and families after completing her MSW degree at UGA. Abolt died in a car accident on April 8, 2000, just weeks short of graduating with her master’s degree. Abolt’s family was awarded her degree posthumously at graduation on May 13, 2000.

The idea for the assistantship originated with social workers in Chatham County who wanted to perpetually recruit social workers to Coastal Georgia as well as honor Abolt’s dream to return to Savannah to help families. Abolt’s family, in conjunction with the School of Social Work and the

Abolt with her parents, Russ and Diane.

Clinical Social Work Association of Savannah, established the assistantship, which provides a tuition waiver and a stipend to a MSW student from the Georgia Coastal area. The recipient must work with a faculty member for 13 hours a week.

“Through the endowment of this assistantship, Tisha’s memory will be honored for years to come as other MSW students are able to gain experience in family and community development in the Savannah area,” said Dean Maurice C. Daniels. “This truly establishes a legacy in Tisha’s name that will live on at the University of Georgia.” fall

2 0 1 0

•

7

Study Abroad in Ghana Program Celebrates 10 Years

N

By Emily Williams

early 160 students have made the trek to the Republic of Ghana in West Africa over the past decade through the School of Social Work’s Study Abroad in Ghana program. The 10th anniversary celebration was marked at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) in Kumasi, Ghana. The School of Social Work hosted a celebration at UGA’s campus on Sept. 20 in the Tate Student Center’s Grand Hall.

The interdisciplinary, service-learning program takes faculty and students from across campus and from other institutions. This year’s class was made up of eight students and three faculty members from the School of Social Work, the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences and the College of Education.

“To see that we’ve been able to sustain a program this long was special for us, but we didn’t know the impact we had on the [KNUST] campus,” said Cheryl D. Dozier, associate provost and chief diversity officer at UGA. Dozier has participated in the program since its inception in 2001 and became the program director in 2003. Dozier took the first group of social work students to Ghana in 2002.

KNUST Dean of International Programs Raphael Kasim Kasanga recognized that the KNUST/UGA partnership is the oldest international partnership at their university and the longest running U.S. study abroad program in Ghana. Several faculty who have been involved with the program over the years made the trip to Ghana just to attend the celebration, including Patricia Hunt-Hurst, an associate professor and department head of textiles, merchandising and interiors in the College of Family and Consumer Sciences.

Noel Fallows, associate dean of international and multidisciplinary programs in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, also made the trip to observe and evaluate the study abroad experience.

“The interdisciplinary piece adds a different feature to the program,” said Tony B. Lowe, associate professor of social work. “Having students from different disciplines—they have different ideas, different ways of thinking.

Those combinations and mixes change each year. It really adds more interest Cherelle Barton carefully hikes the skywalks in Kakun and it keeps you engaged every year,” he said.

Faculty and students pose for a picture in front of the cityscape at the University of Ghana in Accra. Back row (From L to R): Bettye Smith, Melissa Chiz, Patricia Hunt-Hurst, Cheryl Dozier, Hatidza Mulic, Morgan Carter, Noel Fallows, Raymond Phillips. Front row (From L to R): Shaniqua Smith, Karli Zuckerman, Diane Edison and Cherelle Barton.

National Forest.

8

•

S o c i a l W o r k

m a g a z i n e

Karli Zuckerman and Morgan Carter play with children on the playground at the Kumasi Children’s Home.

The program has partnered with several universities, social service agencies and communities across the country over the years, but the partnership with KNUST was the first. The two institutions swap professors and students, as well as work on service-learning projects together. Every year students from both institutions paint a mural at a nearby orphanage, led by Diane Edison, professor of art in the Lamar Dodd School of Art. Each destination was full of enriching experiences for the students. The traveling classroom meant students attended lectures from faculty at other institutions, worked on service projects in various communities and had site visits and interviews at Ghanaian social service agencies.

“I was able to see social work in action in many different arenas,” said BSW student, Melissa Chiz. Chiz, a Shaw, Mississippi, native, stayed 2 additional months in Ghana after the School of Social Work program ended. “Prior to this trip, I had spent very little time in the developing world. Cold showers, power outages, unpaved roads, poor sanitation and an incredibly inefficient government are all part of daily life for Ghanaians. I have learned to appreciate so many things we take for granted in the U.S.” The 3-week journey began in Accra where the group spent 3 days touring the capital city, visiting the University of Ghana and U.S. Embassy and immersing themselves in village life outside the city.

Students were given traditional Ghanaian names in a naming ceremony in the Torgorme Village.

They spent the next 5 days in Kumasi. After touring the city, the group travelled to a couple of villages outside the city and purchased supplies for the Kumasi Children’s Home, including paint for the mural. They spent several days at the orphanage painting and working on other projects around the home with their KNUST counterparts.

In their next destination, Tamale, the group visited the Sugashee Village where the women of the village have developed a sustainable way of life making shea butter. The

program began visiting the village on the inaugural trip and started a service-learning project to send children from the village to school through the Uniform Project. “I’ve been very proud of our faculty, staff, students and friends who have supported these efforts,” Lowe said. “We’ve bought over 600 uniforms and pairs of sandals as well as hundreds of books and other school supplies.”

The mayor of Tamale received the group in his office and thanked them for their efforts in helping children in the rural North get an education as well as for continuing to visit the continued on page 17

fall

2 0 1 0

•

9

Paige Buress, Rachel Josephson and Asia Bartlett in front of a swinging bridge in Carrick.

History Comes to Life for Northern Ireland Study Abroad Students

By Emily Williams

10

•

S o c i a l W o r k

m a g a z i n e

Within weeks of returning home from their study abroad program in Northern Ireland, students heard in the news British Prime Minister David Cameron apologize for the Bloody Sunday massacre that left 13 dead in 1972. History came to life for the students and professor who recently visited Londonderry as part of the School of Social Work Maymester study abroad program, “Social Issues in Northern Ireland.”

“We literally walked through the streets where Bloody Sunday happened,” said Jonathan Duncan, UGA’s assistant director of admissions for outreach and part-time MSW student, who took photos of the mural that would serve as the backdrop for photos and video of Cameron’s apology.

Duncan, 7 other UGA students and Associate Professor Nancy R. Williams toured Londonderry with Bloody Sunday survivor John McCourt, who was a teenager at the time of the killings.

“He was pointing out sites where he saw people who were shot, which was pretty intense. We had the opportunity to talk to someone who was involved in it, who lived it,” Duncan said.

After hearing the news of the apology, Duncan said, “I was ecstatic. Even though I wasn’t alive at the time of Bloody Sunday, I felt like I had a personal connection to the people in the story—I was rejoicing for them.”

This was the third trip led by Williams to Northern Ireland since the program’s inception in 2005. Williams spearheaded efforts to take students to Northern Ireland after attending a conference on peace and reconciliation in Northern Ireland in 2004 and subsequently volunteering at Corrymeela, a well-respected center for peace and healing in that country.

The 2010 participants spent 16-days traveling Northern Ireland learning about the historical roots of the four-decade long conflict in Northern Ireland known as the “The Troubles,” conflict resolution practices and the impact of economic injustice, oppression and discrimination.

The group began their journey in the capital city of Belfast where they toured loyalist and nationalist communities, attended lectures on the history of the conflict, and met with faculty and students in the social work school at Queen’s University.

Their next stop was Ballycastle, a village on the North Sea, where they spent 3 days at the Corrymeela retreat center, a non-denominational Christian community devoted to peace and reconciliation. There the students learned about the role of the center in the Troubles. Corrymeela served as a haven for displaced families from Belfast and continues to host families during their summer program.

The group also attended a conflict-resolution workshop facilitated by a former center director and his social worker wife, both long-time community members and social activists, before going to the historic city of Londonderry.

The group spent 3 days in Londonderry, the site of Bloody Sunday. They walked the ancient walls that segregated the city, met peace activists and visited a number of innovative nonprofit organizations devoted to healing the wounds caused by the conflict.

Next, they spent the day in Omagh, the site of the 1998 bomb that sparked the ceasefire. While in Omagh, Duncan and Williams had the opportunity to speak with Mayor Patrick McGowan. Duncan was presented with the city’s coat of arms and McGowan told Duncan something he will never forget: “He said, ‘Even though [political parties] may have different political views, when it comes to improving the lives of our citizens, we can always agree,’” Duncan recounted. “If only we could do that here in the U.S…” Duncan suggested.

Enniskillen was the group’s final destination before departing from Dublin. They stayed at the Clinton Centre, which is built on the site where a bomb devastated the area in 1987. The Centre was named for former President Bill Clinton for his administration’s significant contributions to the peace process in Northern Ireland. While there, the group met with Women of the World, a women’s group dedicated to promoting diversity. They also met a prominent councilman who works directly with families in helping them cope with trauma-related symptoms associated with the Troubles.

Although Duncan has studied abroad before, this experience was life-changing for him and has altered the way he views the world.

“One thing I learned from this trip is oppression is faceless. Coming from America it’s kind of easy to get caught up in the American way of thinking and the way we view the world,” he said. “I always viewed oppression as happening to ethnic minorities, so every time I thought about oppression I thought about Native Americans, Latinos, etc. But going over there and seeing oppression happen to someone that’s the same skin color, it made me realize oppression is oppression.”

Williams and students in front of the Peace Wall in Belfast. (From L to R): Cynthia Muite, Asia Bartlett, Rachel Josephson, Jaclyne Smith, Nancy R. Williams, Vickie Johnson, Elizabeth Butler, Paige Buress and Jonathan Duncan.

Postcard from Northern Ireland

By Jonathan Duncan Assistant Director of Admissions for Outreach, UGA Undergraduate Admissions and MSW part-time student

T

here is so much that I have learned from this trip professionally, academically, and personally. I came to Northern Ireland with no pre-judgments or expectations because I didn’t know much about the culture of Europe.

Nevertheless, the experience was one of a kind and I am eternally grateful to the School of Social Work and the country of Northern Ireland.

In terms of professional development, I took away some good ideas from government and non-profit organizations.

While visiting Omagh, I had the opportunity to meet the mayor Mr. Patrick McGowan. As we discussed the politics of Northern Ireland, he shared something with me which was very profound. He said, “Even though we may have different political views, we always agree on doing what is needed to help the people.” After he made this statement I recall myself thinking how it would be great if we could adopt this same idea in the United States.

In regards to the academic component of the trip, I learned that nothing truly compares to learning something first hand.

Reading about The Troubles before visiting Northern Ireland gave me a general idea about the historical conflict there.

However, after hearing people’s personal stories and walking through the streets of where Bloody Sunday actually occurred put everything into perspective for me.

Lastly, I believe that this trip benefited me more personally than anything. I’ve always been a free thinker and have considered myself to be an objective person. Needless to say, this trip was edifying. For instance, every time I thought about oppression I thought about it in terms of America. The first thing that would come to my mind would be ethnic minorities and how they were treated in the United States.

Furthermore, I always thought of oppression in terms of it happening to people of color. As a result of this trip, I now realize that oppression is oppression and more importantly that it’s faceless. Although it sometimes can involve one’s ethnic background, it is by far not limited to it. To that end, oppression is a harmful act no matter who it affects for whatever reason. This is probably the greatest lesson that I’ve learned through this trip and it has made me more culturally competent in every aspect of the word.

fall

2 0 1 0

•

11

Service-Learning Impacts Social Workers:

Eleven Summers of Burn Camp

By Emily Williams

W

hen Dana Dillard, MSW ’01 signed up for a course called Social Work with Burn Survivors at the end of her first year in graduate school, she was unaware that she would become an integral part of a summer camp for burn-injured children.

“I still joke with [Nancy Williams] that I can remember the day that I stood outside of her office door and had no idea what I was getting myself into when I signed up for camp,” Dillard recalled.

Now the programs director for the Georgia Firefighters Burn Foundation (GFBF), Dillard is involved in the planning and programming for Camp Oo-U-La®, which has been offered free-of-charge to Georgia children since 1992. Children between the ages of 7 and 17, who have spent at least four days in the burn unit of a Georgia hospital, are eligible.

Almost 100 campers attend the week-long camp each summer.

Dillard, like many volunteers, learned about the camp through Associate Professor Nancy R. Williams, who founded the course Social Work with Burn Survivors. She volunteered, spending summer vacations at Camp Oo-U-La® while working as a medical social worker and later as a school social worker.

“The kids get into your heart and you just fall in love with them,” she said. “Just seeing the resiliency in them—the ‘funness’ of seeing the same faces year to year and watching them grow up as well as the lasting friendships—keeps me coming back.”

Dillard was hired by GFBF in 2008 to oversee their programs and services including Camp Oo-U-La®, giving her the ability to influence and strengthen programming at the camp through her background and experience as a social worker.

When the camp was started 18 years ago, firefighters wanted burn-injured kids to have a fun-haven where they could escape stares and not have to explain what happened to them.

Now, as many former campers are returning as camp counselors, they can offer a listening ear to new campers and talk about their burn experiences.

This year for the first time, campers had formal time set aside to talk about their burn injuries with Dillard, Dennis Gardin, the executive director of the GFBF and a burn survivor, and Clay Williams, a current camp counselor and former camper. The shift in approach is due in part to the influence of social workers at the camp, Dillard said.

Social work students and alumni volunteers come equipped not only to help in various staff positions, but also to assist with the psychosocial needs of the campers. “We’ve really had a strong influence by way of having that education and background. I’m really proud of this,” she said.

Social Work Crew (Standing L to R): Danielle Kelley, Dean Maurice C. Daniels, Nancy R. Williams, Maggie Gignilliat, Mary Lee Jackson, Amanda Stephens, Jaclyne Smith, Emily Giattina, Regina Roth-Goldman, Corey Stillwell, Pia Humphreys, Amanda Mueller, McKenzy Bailey, Wendy Senior, Tiffany Domingos Brennaman, Katherine Adams, Dana Dillard and Stacey Kolomer. (Sitting L to R): Caroline Lozen, Helen Nichols, Amy Lightsley, Deedee Street, Candace Shepard, Jessica Bates and Holly Klich.

12

•

S o c i a l W o r k

m a g a z i n e

Dillard was instrumental in starting DAWGs (Dynamic Assessors and Wellness Girls) several years ago as a resource provided by social workers to ensure the emotional, physical and/or psychological wellbeing of all campers and staff at camp. The group was established after the camp director identified the need and recognized the skill-set social workers brought to camp.

This year, 14 UGA social work students volunteered for course credit as part of the burn camp class, under the leadership of Associate Professor Stacey Kolomer. Many social work students who volunteered at burn camp, like Dillard, have returned year after year. Around 20 percent of the 109 volunteers at camp this year were SSW students and alumni.

Kolomer has taught the burn camp class for the past 3 years. She is amazed each year by the life-changing transformation the students go through. “You don’t get that in other classes,” she said. “You only get it with a hands-on experience like this. It is a privilege to witness.”

The burn camp course was started by Williams in 2000 to provide a service-learning experience for social Photos by Dot Paul

Camp Oo-U-La campers gather at the pavilion on the last night of the week-long camp. Nearly 100 campers attended the camp for burn-injured children which is sponsored by the Georgia Firefighters Burn Foundation. The GFBF partners with Camp Twin Lakes to host the camp at their Will-A-Way location inside Ft. Yargo State Park.

During the camp’s “Dress Your Counselor” event, Laura Bates applies make-up to Ph.D. student and counselor Sarah Himmelheber. Himmelheber has been volunteering for eight years. fall

2 0 1 0

•

13

Photo by Dot Paul

MSW student Pia Humphreys is carried through a ropes course by campers. The camp provides opportunities for the kids to participate in normal activities without being self-conscious about their scars.

work students. “It’s a great opportunity for students to learn about themselves, to learn about the impact of a traumatic and challenging life experience, working with other professionals who may have different ideas about what is valuable in terms of work and learning, about community organizations, agency functioning and teamwork,” she said.

“I hear it over and over and over again, students saying ‘it has changed my life’.”

In the years since its inception, Williams has published several articles and a book chapter examining the impact of

the Burn Camp service-learning experience on students.

Williams was recognized for her contributions to servicelearning at the University of Georgia by the Office of Public Service and Outreach when she received the 2010 Scholarship of Engagement Award in the spring, particularly for her work with Burn Camp. She continues to contribute to the GFBF as a member of the Board of Directors.

“I didn’t realize at the time the impact service-learning would have on me,” Dillard said. “It really is powerful especially when you have students who maybe have no idea what it is that they want to do or if they can even do this kind of work. It really offers a good opportunity to test the waters and feel your way out.”

Funding for Camp Oo-U-La® is provided by GFBF’s annual Boot Drive. The GFBF offers programming year-round on prevention and education as well as support and recovery for burn survivors in the state of Georgia. To learn more, visit the GFBF Web site at www.gfbf.org.

YouTube Feature: For a multimedia production about the burn camp, please visit: www.photo.alumni.uga.edu/mulitmedia/burncamp2010.

14

•

S o c i a l W o r k

m a g a z i n e

By Emily Williams Amid the rubble and sea of blue and gray plastic tents that now cover the landscape of the capital city of Port-auPrince, Haiti, social work professors Larry Nackerud and Ed Risler canvassed tent cities that house tens of thousands of homeless Haitians for their study on the effects of trauma on people after the devastating January earthquake.

The pair spent the first week of May in Haiti assessing the trauma and conducting seminars on stress, poverty and immigration policy to Haitian young adults.

“Clearly they are traumatized,” Risler said. “The rough data certainly indicates that.” With the help of a translator, the team administered two trauma scales, one of which was developed by UGA School of Social Work Associate Professor Brian Bride, to displaced persons in Port-auPrince and Terrier-Rouge.

They didn’t have any trouble finding subjects, Nackerud explained. “People were very eager to speak with us. People wanted to fill out the scales. They wanted to talk about their experience during the earthquake,” he said.

With bodies still trapped inside collapsed buildings, family members can’t properly bury their loved ones without the heavy equipment needed to remove the wreckage.

The amount of rubble and debris that remains 4 months post-earthquake was striking, they said.

“We had been familiar with the conditions there, the poverty, and how things were, but nothing really could have prepared us for what we saw,” Risler added. “There wasn’t a place in the country that was not impacted by the earthquake.”

This was the fourth trip to Haiti for Nackerud and Risler.

After receiving a

grant from the Office of the Vice President for Public Service and Outreach 4 years ago, the team has gone every year to assess the impact of poverty on children and families. Last year, they specifically looked at the impact of the downturn in the U.S. economy on the already poverty-stricken country.

They also have been involved with a community development project, which focuses on education, healthcare and sustainable agriculture.

“This trip was really just an extension of that interest,” Nackerud said.

In an effort to maintain international attention on the recovery of Haiti, Nackerud and Risler have been in contact with former president Bill Clinton’s U.N. Special Envoy to Haiti and will share the results of their research on poverty and trauma with them. The pair would like to continue to build awareness for the recovery efforts in Haiti at the University of Georgia and team up with other departments at the University that are working in Haiti.

“The recovery of Haiti from the earthquake will not be done quickly or easily. It will take a long-term sustained interest and effort on the parts of other people for years to come,” Nackerud said.

Risler (with guide/interpreter, Moliere Elioner) in front of a tent city in Port-au-Prince. fall

2 0 1 0

•

15

2009 Ph.D. cohort with Ph.D. program director, Kevin DeWeaver.

Ph.D. Program Celebrates 20th Anniversary; Kicks Off Doctoral Support Fund

By Emily Williams

16

•

S o c i a l W o r k

The School of Social Work celebrated the 20th anniversary of the Ph.D. program at the Georgia Center on April 23, 2010. Over 100 students have completed the Ph.D. program at the School since its inception in 1990. The event also marked the kickoff of the Doctoral Support Fund, which will provide financial assistance to Ph.D. students for dissertation research, travel expenses, supplies and conference participation.

Two of the program’s first three graduates, Dorothy Carrillo ’93 and Richard Sutphen ’93, attended the celebration. Carrillo, who is now retired and serves as an adjunct faculty at Georgia State University, gave a talk on the trials and tribulations of being a graduate student and offered advice to the current Ph.D. class.

School of Social Work emeritus faculty Richard Anderson, Katheryn Davis, Jim Gaudin, Allie Kilpatrick and David Levine attended as well as Professors Tom Holland, David Kurtz, Bruce Thyer, and Betsy Vonk who previously served as Ph.D. program directors. Current Ph.D. program director, Kevin DeWeaver, highlighted the program’s recent achievements and recapped the last 20 years of the program’s history.

The 2009 Ph.D. cohort presented a video of skits lampooning the faculty and life at the School.

Dean Maurice C. Daniels welcomed the audience of current and former faculty, students and staff and formally asked those at the event to contribute to the Doctoral Support Fund, which already has raised over half of the $10,000 goal. “We are humbled and honored by the strong support for the 20th Annual Celebration of our Doctoral Program,” Daniels said. “The generous gifts from faculty and alumni will greatly enhance our ability to support academic excellence and research rigor in our Ph.D. program.”

“The campaign kickoff has been very well received by our alumni and I am confident we will reach our goal,” added Jennifer Abbott, director of development for the School of Social Work. “Because of the current economic climate, it is even more critical to attract and support the best and brightest candidates to the Ph.D. program.”

The event was dedicated to the memory of Marty Lund, the Ph.D. program’s first administrative assistant. Lund was a fixture in the program from its inauguration to 2005 when she died of cancer. A moment of silence was observed in her honor.

m a g a z i n e

Ghana . . . continued from page 9

Postcard from Ghana

T

Students at Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park, the final resting place of the first President of Ghana.

Northern part of Ghana each year because most study abroad programs primarily stay in South.

Next, the group spent several days in the Cape Coast region where they visited the University of Cape Coast, walked the sky walks under the rain forest canopy in the Kakun National Forest and toured the slave castles that housed imprisoned and kidnapped African’s before they were shipped to the western hemisphere in the trans-Atlantic slave trade.

The trip ended in Accra with a visit to Ashesi University, several free days and a closing ceremony.

“Seeing this group bond was just really, really phenomenal.

It was very, very special,” Dozier said. “I see students transform, they come alive.”

The Ghana study abroad program is the longest running study abroad program in the School of Social Work.

By Danie Cadet, MSW Student

he highlight of the trip for me was visiting the fishmonger’s project. I was truly inspired by the founder, Victoria Churchill-Koomson. In spite of the many challenges facing organizations similar to her’s, Mrs. Churchill-Koomson, through Central Region of the Fishmongers Improvement Agency (CWRFIA), has made considerable progress toward helping the women in the fishing industry with better equipment, childcare, education and increased health education and awareness in the community. Her belief in her organization is such that she has invested her personal retirement pension in the project. She, to me, is truly a hero in our midst.

I learned that I truly have no excuse. I need to be creative and work within the resources that I have. One of my goals in participating in the trip was to learn how to provide services in light of the recent cuts experienced by countless agencies. The agencies I visited have a lot less than I do here in the States. Although they are aware of what they lack, they do not allow this to hamper what they are able to do. They wait on no one, not the government, or famous personalities, in order to instill the change they aspire to construct. They simply do the best with what they have.

There is so much to be learned in developing countries. They have the ability to deliver services in spite of their overwhelming challenges. Funding, space, staff personnel, governmental support, technical support, are just a few of the challenges confronting agencies throughout the country. Nevertheless, countless agencies, universities, and NGOs are finding ways to accomplish just that. That is truly commendable.

Visiting Ghana or any developing country is an experience that should be afforded to all social work students. Having spent 21 days in Ghana, I’ve learned to be more efficient with my time. It has also taught me that I can do with a lot less and still fight and negotiate change for the poor and underprivileged. Most of all, the trip has sensitized me to the needs of the poor and needy in a manner that I couldn’t have benefited in the States. fall

2 0 1 0

•

17

Follow Your Dreams, Make a Difference Says Bush MSW ’87

By Emily Williams

Marjorie Bush (MSW ’87)

18

•

S o c i a l W o r k

S

chool of Social Work alumna and board of visitors member Marjorie Bush (MSW ’87) followed her heart into the social work profession and challenged the class of 2010 to do the same in her remarks at commencement May 8. Now president and CEO of St. Jude’s Recovery Center, Incorporated, in Atlanta, Bush offered graduates advice based on her unconventional entrance into the field of social work.

“I encourage you to dream big and to not limit yourselves,” she said. “Think for yourself and listen to your inner voice. Above all, have the courage to follow your heart. Your heart and intuition will never steer you in the wrong direction.”

Bush urged the class of 2010 to have an open mind about social work and the nonprofit sector because there are many opportunities. She pointed to her daughter Liz, an artist and MSW, as an example. Liz found herself feeling burned out by her work soon after her graduation. After switching jobs, she now works in a position where she uses her social work and art skills daily. “Don’t be afraid to challenge your assumptions. Too much certainty means too few paths for new ideas. Let your intuition be your guide and your life-long learning will be interesting and exciting.”

Bush grew up in Washington, D.C., during the civil rights movement. She was inspired by her community, which seemed to care about the poor and oppressed. As a young person, Bush toured a facility for children who had been removed from their homes. The children surrounded her and called her “mama,” which broke her heart, she said. Later that day, she toured a similar facility for the elderly, where some of the residents had to live in the hallways on stretchers. “After that day, my heart just ached for people that no one seemed to care about,” she said. “Those images have stayed with me like they were yesterday.”

As an art student in college in Alabama, she witnessed the racial discrimination that she had read about in high school. Finally, she began to listen to her heart, but “…I really didn’t know what to do about following my heart,” she said.

She spent the next 8 years of her career as a graphic designer and 3 more at a national cosmetics company, which she enjoyed, but her heart yearned for something more fulfilling.

Bush decided to go back to school. As part of her undergraduate program, she was placed in an inner city “flophouse” in downtown Atlanta for a 9-month internship. “It reminded me of a run down fraternity house, only worse,” she said. The small staff included an Episcopal priest who served as the executive director and there were no services or funds to support the residents. “For some strange reason that I’m sure I still don’t understand, I really liked the place; warts and all,” she joked.

About the time Bush completed her degree and started the MSW program at the School of Social Work, the executive director took another job. The board of directors offered the job to Bush until they could find a replacement. Bush was a single mother and needed a job; she jumped at the opportunity. “My plan was to stay until I finished my MSW and then find a ‘real job.’ Who in their right mind would want to run a ‘flophouse,’ to be perfectly honest,” she quipped.

At first, Bush was overwhelmed. “Keep in mind that I didn’t know the first thing about fundraising, but I knew that we had to pay the bills. I didn’t know about addiction treatment and I had a panic attack when I had to look at the income expense budget. What I did know is that I have 47 people that I cared about and I have to support my daughter and myself,” she said.

Twenty-eight years later, Bush is still the president and CEO of St. Jude’s Recovery Center. She started out with a $182,000 budget with one facility and has grown the agency to 7 facilities with over a $6 million budget.

“It is satisfying to know that we have helped thousands of people begin the recovery process and to see them go on to lead productive lives,” she said.

“I have come to believe that social work and the work of the social sector is the heart of America and the rest of the world. What we do is really meaningful and often lifesaving. I believe that if you approach life committed to your own personal growth, you will gain the wisdom and understanding to lead a fulfilled life and make a real difference in this world.”

m a g a z i n e

fall

2 0 1 0

•

19

donor honor roll Corporations and Foundations AFLAC, Incorporated Alston & Bird, LLP AmericanWork, Inc. AT&T Georgia Bondurant Mixson & Elmore Committee Re-Elect Robert Benham, Inc. Concessions - Paschals Donald Hollowell Golf Classic Empowered2Change LLC Georgia Power Google Matching Gifts Program Hollowell Foster & Herring, P.C. Kilpatrick Stockton, LLP King & Spalding, LLP National Endowment for Financial Education The Ross Law Firm, LLC H J Russell & Company Richard B. Russell Foundation, Inc. St. Joseph’s/Candler Twenty-Seven Foundation

$1,000 to $9,999 Mr. Daniel Paul Amos and Mrs. Kathelen VanBlarcum Amos Dr. Richard J. Anderson and Ms. Martha B. Anderson Ms. Miranda Azzam Ms. Myra Blackmon and Dr. Thomas P. Holland Mr. Bobby Lee Cook Mrs. Renee Singleton Daniels and Dr. Maurice Daniels Mr. Dexter L. Fisher Mr. Harry H. Hollowell and Mrs. Thelma L. Hollowell Mrs. Louise T. Hollowell Mr. Vernon E. Jordan Jr. Mr. John F. McMullan and Mrs. John F. McMullan Mr. W. Ray Persons Mrs. Judith F. Ruffin Ms. Susan Carol Waltman and Mr. Thomas M. Barry Mr. Kenneth Whiddon

$500 to $999 Hon. Gregory A. Adams Mr. James Robert Bacon and Mrs. Lisa Bacon Dr. David Paschal Boyle Ms. Mary Frances Early Dr. Alberta Shelinbarger Ellett and Dr. Chad David Ellett Dr. James M. Gaudin Jr. and Mrs. Elaine M. Gaudin Mrs. Kathleen Mullin Gratzek and Dr. John B. Gratzek Mr. Edwin Alton Gregory and Mrs. Peggy J. Gregory

20

•

S o c i a l W o r k

m a g a z i n e

Mrs. Tamara Elizabeth Hurst and Dr. Philip W. Hurst Mr. William R. Jenkins Mr. Nathaniel Lee and Mrs. Carman Lee Mr. Samuel M. Matchett Mr. A. Thomas Stubbs Dr. Bruce Allen Thyer and Dr. Laura Lynn Myers Dr. Valerie Denise White

$100 to $499 Ms. Jennifer Abbott Mrs. Loveanne Bowles Addison and Mr. John Aurelius Addison Jr. Mrs. Mary Zorn Bates and Mr. Robert B. Bates Ms. Jacqueline T. Beard-Cathey Dr. Donna Leigh Bliss Mrs. Elizabeth Harris Brandes Dr. Brian Edward Bride Dr. Frederick Param Brooks III Dr. Elizabeth Brown and Mr. J. David Brown Mr. Gregory Robert Brown Ms. Marjorie Pearson Bush Ms. Lila Josephine Callaway Mr. Charles Edward Campbell and Mrs. Ann Campbell Dr. Michelle Carney Ms. Doris Jean Casey Dr. Johnnie Lee Clark and Mr. Charles E. Clark Tracy M Coker Dr. Carol Sargent Collard Mr. Patrick Connor Hon. Clarence Cooper and Mrs. Shirley Elder Cooper Ms. Lisa Dolores Cooper Ms. Sally M. Davis Dr. James F. Densler and Mrs. Mabel W. Densler Ms. Bonita Sippel DiFranco and Mr. Costantino DiFranco Mr. Donald P. Edwards Mr. George Michael Fain Ms. Kathryn Farlowe Mr. Johnny R. Finney II Mr. Stanley E. Foster Mr. Billy Vernon Galliher and Mrs. Patsy M. Galliher Mr. Moshe Gittelson Mr. Larry Neal Goodwin and Mrs. Linda Willis Goodwin Mr. Joseph Minor Gouge and Mrs. Connie N. Gouge Ms. Jolanda Evon Herring Mr. Samuel T. Hobbs Mr. Yul Dion Holloway Dr. Julius Hornstein Mr. George M. Hughes and Mrs. Evelyn B. Hughes Mr. Jerry Lee Hughes and Mrs. Barbara B. Hughes Ms. Rachelle Dinet Hutchinson and Mr. Edward Louis Hutchinson Mr. Arthur Johnson and Mrs. T’Leatha R. Suitt-Johnson

Ms. Ruth Elayne Keith Mrs. Elizabeth Riddle Kilpatrick and Dr. Dean Gaines Kilpatrick Dr. Allie Kilpatrick-Hill Ms. Barbara Jane Kleckner and Mr. Edward T. Forte Dr. P. David Kurtz and Ms. Gail L. Kurtz Dr. Min Hong Lee Mr. Walter J. Leonard and Mrs. Betty S. Leonard Dr. Denise Louise Levy Mrs. Annie Mildred Sims Lyle and Mr. Hubert Lyle, Jr. Mr. William Theodore Lynch Ms. Brenda Kay Martin Mrs. Margaret Williams McBrayer and Mr. Thomas C. McBrayer Jr. Ms. Josie D. McCauley Mr. Steven Brent McRae and Dr. Elizabeth Gillespie McRae Dr. Deana Frances Morrow and Ms. Frances E. Tack Jeanell M Muckle Mr. Bill Neugroschel and Dr. Cynthia G. Tudor Ms. Annette Maurer Phillips and Mr. Scott B. Phillips Ms. Marcella Gertrude Portewig Ms. Julie Wilson Ribaudo Mr. Bobby Charles Robbins and Ms. Janice C. Robbins Ms. Angela Rae Robinson Dr. Margaret M. Robinson Dr. Vanessa Robinson-Dooley and Mr. Travis Dooley Mr. Carl Edward Roland Jr. and Mrs. Barbara K. Roland Mr. Brian Keith Ross Mr. David L. Saussy and Mrs. Kathleen L. Saussy Dr. John R. Schramski and Ms. Holley W Schramski Mrs. Ola Lumpkin Simmons Dr. Bryce D. Smith and Mrs. Amy C. Smith Ms. Sara Stauffer and Mr. Larry L. Gordley Mr. Daniel Steven Sweitzer and Ms. Denise Carol Powers Mr. Alfredo Pastrano Tijerina Mrs. Audrey Boone Tillman and Dr. Otis E. Tillman Jr. Dr. Aisha Kamilah Tucker-Brown and Mr. Reuben T. Brown Mr. Stan Turman and Ms. Loretta Turman Dr. Sarah Elizabeth Twill Mr. Ricky Wilson Ussery Sr. and Mrs. Marsha M. Ussery Mr. Freeman Walker Jr. Ms. Josie Walls Dr. Robert Douglas Weaver Mrs. Patricia Becton Wilker and Mr. Willie Ed Wilker Ms. Beth E. Wilkinson Mr. Robert Warren Winchell Dr. Sung Hyun Yun

$99 and Under Mrs. Ann Gibson Adams Mrs. Becky Adams Ms. Christina Wilson Adams Mr. Daniel P. Ahonen Mr. H. J. A. Alexander Norma Armas I Ms. Audra Leigh Wages Arnold and Mr. Erik Christopher Arnold Mr. Joseph Arrington and Mrs. Barbara Arrington Ms. Shirley Baltimore Ashley Dr. June Averyt Ms. Katherine Bachman Honorable Anne E. Barnes Mr. James Barrow Jr. and Mrs. Sallyanne Crawford Barrow Hon. T. Jackson Bedford Jr. Honorable Robert Benham Mr. Keith Motignac Benton Mrs. Barbara Sacks Bohn and Mr. Jerry L. Bohn Ms. Rosemarie Lesch Boyd and Dr. Lynn Howard Boyd Ms. Fiona Margaret Bradford and Mr. Mark A Bradford Ms. Jamie Maria Bray and Mr. Harold D. Ehrman Mr. Marcus Chenier Britton Mr. Columbus H. Brown Mrs. Kathleen Mason Bryan Ms. Linda Cole Busby and Mr. Glen A. Busby Ms. Kimberly Floyd Butler Ms. Deidre Hardwick Carmichael Mrs. Anna Ruth Pope Cianci and Mr. Raymond A. Cianci Mrs. Lucie Majoros Coffie Mrs. Betty Jane Jackson Collins and Mr. Glynn Collins Ms. Sharon Coney and Mr. Gene P. Chandler Dr. Michelle Garfield Cook Mrs. Linda White Cooper Mrs. Wilma Mize Cooper and Mr. James Edward Cooper Ms. A.J. Coutu and Mr. Steve Coutu Ms. Santhia L. Curtis Mr. Donald M. Davis Dr. Katheryn B. Davis and Dr. John Henry Davis Ms. Sha-Rhonda Davis Dr. Denise R. Davison Mr. Richard H. Deane Jr. and Mrs. Sharon Deane Ms. Darlene W. DeLaigle and Mr. Clayton Daniel DeLaigle Ms. L. Denise Edwards Dr. Susan Lynn Fowler Ms. Deborah E. Franco Ms. Erien Wynne Fryer and Dr. Gregory Marcel Fryer Ms. Amy S. Gellins and Mr. Theodore Haff MacMillan Ms. Brooke Godwin Ms. Pamela Jones Gordon and Mr. Walter James Gordon Ms. Rachel Lea Green Mrs. Suzanne Roberts Greene and Mr. William Walter Greene Jr. Ms. Sonja Elizabeth Guillory Ms. Rebecca Ethel Hair Ms. Sandra Tatum Haisten

Ms. Grace Emmert Hance and Mr. Michael L. Hance Mrs. Sherry Buchanan Hansel and Mr. Steven E. Hansel Mr. David W. Heilmeier and Mrs. Joanne M. Heilmeier Mrs. Crystal Hodge-Lizana Ms. Kathleen Stelling Hodgson and Mr. Mac Hodgson Mr. Benjamin A. Holden and Mrs. Melanie V. Slaton Dr. John H. Hopps Jr. and Dr. June Gary Hopps Ms. Mary Ellen Hughes Ms. Erin Martin Hunter and Mr. John V. Hunter Mr. Gary Richard Hurst Ms. Brenda Louise Jackson Ms. Deanna Marie Hilton Jackson and Mr. William W. Jackson Dr. Geraldine Marie Jackson-White Ms. Madeline Adele Jefferies C. Douglas Johnson, Ph.D. Mr. Sandy Ray Johnson Mr. Dwight Mason Kelley Mr. Teddy Maurice Kemp Mrs. Sabrina Kennedy and Mr. Arre M. Kennedy Ms. Jane Marie Kerner-Mendoza Mrs. Jane Guillory Kilgo Mrs. Jennifer Karesh Knudson and Mr. Mark P. Knudson Ms. Kathryn Lynn Kyker Mrs. Sue Genaro Legacy Ms. Natasha Richards Less Ms. Joanne Lincoln Ms. Candace Eugenia Maddox Ms. Louise Owen Marshall Mrs. Emily Cravey Martinsen and Dr. Roger R. Martinsen Dr. Mary Emma McConaughey and Mr. Dan McConaughey Mr. Lyle Webster McCormick Ms. Courtney Toon McDaniel and Mr. Adam M. McDaniel Ms. Rhonda Corn McKeone and Mr. Travis Robert McKeone Mrs. Susan Melissa Middlebrooks Ms. Jayne Cecily Midura and Mr. James F. Formby Ms. Ward T. Milner and Mr. Thomas C. Milner Mr. Truman Arbin Moore Ms. Helen Tyber Morton Ms. Lynda Murray-Blair Mr. Brad W. Neathery Mrs. Elaine Turk Nell and Mr. William E. Nell Mrs. Susan F. Newton and Mr. D. W. Newton Ms. Nondi Elizabeth Orazi Ms. Bonnie James Oulman Ms. Elizabeth Langford Parker and Mr. James A. Parker Jr. Ms. Mary Ann Vollink Payne Ms. Ann Montgomery Pitts and Mr. Jason J. Pitts Mrs. Martha Dee Pollack and Dr. Robert H. Pollack Ms. Nancy Kay Porteous and Mr. David Stephen Godfrey Ms. Viveca Powell Ms. Jana Aldrich Pruett Ms. LaChandra Pye Ms. Kenyae Lynette Reese Dr. Patricia Mullins Reeves and

Dr. Thomas C. Reeves Dr. Tara Alice Richardson Ms. Martha S. Robinson Mrs. Rhonda Kay Mason Rogers Mrs. Barbara Haybert Rusk Ms. Kristin Elise Hitt Ryan Ms. Sharron Rose Sable and Mr. Leo M. Sable *Mrs. Donna Johnson Scoppa and Mr. Peter R. Scoppa Mr. Alton Lowe Scott III and Mrs. Melanie T. Scott Dr. Roger Lamar Scott and Ms. Marianne Olson Scott Mrs. Kathleen Metzger Shuford and Mr. Carlton Lamont Shuford Mrs. Cindy Lee Cohen Siegler and Mr. Dan E. Siegler Ms. Heather Counts Sims and Mr. Christopher L. Sims Terry L. Singleton Ms. Amanda Brown Sissem and Mr. Howard J. Sissem III Mr. Clarence O. Smith Ms. Mary Elizabeth Williams Smith and Mr. Russell Smith Ms. Marylynne Rukert Solomon Ms. Karen Elise Andrews Speer Mr. Thomas H. Speer Mrs. Stephanie Hemenway Spelsberg and Mr. Samuel Spelsberg Mrs. Mary Dukes Stapleton Mr. Jay Sternberg Mrs. Andrea Mills Suarez and Mr. Gustavo Antonio Suarez Mr. Victor C. Sullivan III and Mrs. Jane Anne Sullivan Mr. Anthony Szekalski Ms. Kaitlyn Elizabeth Szekalski Ms. Ann Dulac Tapman and Mr. Eric A. Tapman Mr. William H. Thomas Jr. and Mrs. Melonie Davis Thomas Miss Tamara Linette Thornton Dr. Phillip D. Tomporowski and Dr. Regina A. Smith Ms. Jane Lee Trambley and Mr. Adam T. Trambley Mr. John Phillip Tucker Mrs. Nancy Bearse Vanderlan and Mr. John H. Vanderlan Mrs. Sharon Lorraine Wade-Byrd Ms. Bridgette Germaine Walton Ms. Veronica M. West Mrs. Pamela E. George Wheeler Mr. Daniel Lee Whitaker Sr. and Mrs. Dianne Whitaker Mrs. Patricia Garin White and Dr. David R. White Ms. Candace T. Witherspoon and Mr. William A. Witherspoon Dr. Janie Hills Wolf-Smith and Mr. Richard D. Smith Ms. Leslie Grace Wuest Mrs. Hyacinth Carter Young

fall

2 0 1 0

•

21

Meet Our 2009-2010 Scholarship Recipients …

Holli Richey Pauline D. Lide Scholarship Award

Tiarra Kemp (MSW ’10) Wilbur P. Jones Scholarship Award

This scholarship was established in memory of Dr. Pauline Lide, professor emerita in the School of Social Work. Preference is given to students pursuing the MSW degree.

Established in memory of respected community activist Wilbur Jones, this scholarship promotes excellence, diversity and equity in the profession of social work by diversifying the student population within the School of Social Work. The scholarship is awarded to a graduate student from a historically underrepresented group within the field of social work.

Brittany Selkregg (MSW ’10) James D. Horne Scholarship Award Established in memory of Mr. Horne, a philanthropist and friend of the school, this scholarship provides financial assistance to BSW or MSW students with a preference given to students interested in working with the homeless.

The School of Social Work is so proud of this year’s scholarship recipients and we appreciate our donors. Gifts to the SSW scholarship fund help produce outstanding social workers. Your gift can really make a difference in the lives of our students and individuals in need. Thank you for your support.

22

•

S o c i a l W o r k

m a g a z i n e

Kimberly Stennett (BSW ’10) Heather Christina Wright Memorial Undergraduate Scholarship Award Established in memory of Heather Christina Wright, a former student who died of cancer in her final year of study, these scholarships provide financial assistance to BSW and MSW students who have demonstrated a financial need and the desire to work with cancer patients and their families.

Catherine Patterson Tisha Abolt Graduate Assistantship Established in memory of Tisha Abolt, a student who died in a car accident just weeks before she was to graduate with her MSW degree. The assistantship provides a tuition waiver and a stipend to a MSW student from the Georgia Coastal area.

Arturo Ortega Mary Jane Coberth Memorial Scholarship Award Established in memory of Mary Jane Coberth, mother of MSW program advisor Katherine Adams, the purpose of this award is to provide funding to a first-year MSW student with preference given to a student with an interest in suicide awareness and prevention.

Devon Sanger and Melanie Dupont Joe and Diane Perno Scholarship Award Established in memory of Joe Perno, an alumnus of the School of Social Work, and his wife, Diane, this scholarship provides financial assistance to students pursuing the MSW degree.

fall

2 0 0 1 9 0

•

23

Dear Alumni and Friends, reetings from the School of Social Work and the University campus! I hope your summer has been enjoyable and that you’ve had time for some relaxing fun!

On May 8, 2010, we welcomed a brand new class of graduates into our family of distinguished alumni. We awarded 8 Ph.D.s, 126 MSWs, 40 BSWs and 14 M.A.s in Non-Profit Organizations degrees. Each of these graduates worked very hard to achieve their goals, and we wish them well as they venture out to a new phase of their life.

The school year of 2009-2010 was really busy and filled with activities. Our School was represented at a number of national and state conferences where we exhibited our programs and recruited students. In October 2009 we attended the NASW-Georgia conference in Atlanta. November 2009 found us in San Antonio at CSWE-APM where we welcomed many alumni and friends at a reception. Some in attendance were Mary Joanne Kraus (Ph.D. ’05), Dexter R. Freeman (MSW ’83), Denise Levy (MSW ’03, Ph.D. ’08), Alice Boateng (Ph.D. ’06), Natalie Pope (MSW ’03, Ph.D. ’10), Amy Traylor (Ph.D. ’07), Deana Morrow (MSW ’86), Jeff Yarvis (Ph.D. ’04) and present Ph.D. student Jacquelyn Lee. In November we also sponsored and exhibited at the 10th Annual Child Placement Permanency Conference in Athens. In the New Year, January 2010 we were off to San Francisco for the Society for Social Work and Research Conference, where once again we ran into a number of our alumni. In March, we helped welcome to the State of Georgia the annual conference of the Association of Baccalaureate Social Work Program Directors, which was held in Atlanta. Also in March, we sponsored and exhibited at the 24th Annual Julius Hornstein Professional Conference in Savannah, which was presented by the Clinical Social Work Association of Savannah. We were pleased to see many of our alumni there, including Mary Hill (MSW ’71) conference coordinator, Julius “Boo” Hornstein (MSW ’72), Elizabeth Brown (MSW ’74, Ph.D. ’01), Ed Parks (MSW ’98), Linda Richardson (MSW ’81), Linda Barnes (MSW ’81), Beth Wilkinson (MSW ’74), and Adrian Anderson (former faculty).

While in Savannah, I had the distinct honor of serving on a panel discussion before the Chatham County Youth Commission (made up of juniors and seniors in both public and private high schools in Chatham County) with Mayor Otis Johnson (MSW ’69 Clarke Atlanta University), Mary Hill, Pat Mooney (LCSW, Counseling and Student Support Services, Savannah College of Art and Design), and Renee Slay (Executive Director of CASA Program in Savannah). The discussion focused on the profession of social work and the Tisha Abolt Assistantship at the University of Georgia School of Social Work.

Others in attendance were Chatham County Manager Russ Abolt and his wife Diane (Tisha Abolt’s parents), Pete Liakakis (Chairman of the Chatham County Commission), Alderman Van Johnson (Savannah City councilman and director of the Junior Commission), and Dr. Priscilla Thomas (County Commissioner and individual credited with recommending the Junior Commission be formed). On March 31st, at St. Joseph’s/ Chandler Hospital in Savannah, hosted by Paul Hinchey president and CEO of the hospital, we celebrated the completion of the Endowment of the Tisha Abolt Assistantship in our School. Three of our alumnae who held the Abolt Assistantship were in attendance: Penny Zack Maggioni (MSW ’02), Meredith Swinford (MSW ’04) and Meghan Wilson (MSW ’08). We also had a great time talking with Larry (MSW ’82) and Joan (MSW ’81) Dane-Kellogg at the celebration.

On April 15th, the School hosted the Donald L. Hollowell: Foot Soldier for Equal Justice Documentary Premiere Screening at the Woodruff Arts Center in Atlanta. We would like to recognize and thank three of our alumnae, Donna Walter (MSW ’97), L.

24

•

S o c i a l W o r k

m a g a z i n e

Happy Trails...

SSW Celebrates Ciucevich’s Career Denise Edwards (MSW ’97) and Shelly Dinet Hutchinson (MSW ’00) for their help in getting the word out about the Premiere to their fellow alums.

The night of April 23rd found many Ph.D. alumni, present and former faculty, and staff at the Ph.D. Program 20th Anniversary Dinner and Doctoral Support Fund Campaign Kickoff. Please see page 16 for a full account of this marvelous evening. I would urge you to support the Doctoral Support Fund with a gift.

Board of Visitors met and welcomed four new members: Marjorie Bush (MSW ’87), President and CEO, St. Jude’s Recovery Center, Atlanta, Bomar Edmonds (MSW ’69), MECA LLC (Mediation, Education and Counseling Associates), retired from SC Department of Mental Health at Spartanburg Mental Health Center, Spartanburg, SC; Deana Morrow (MSW ’86), professor and graduate program director in the Department of Social Work, Winthrop University, Charlotte, NC; and Freeman Walker (MSW ’69), retired, U. S. Department of Veterans Affairs, McCormick, SC. I am closing this letter with mixed emotions as I want to let you know that I retired on June 30, 2010 after 27 years with the University of Georgia. The last 14 of those years have been spent in the School of Social Work. I have learned a lot, and made many long lasting friends among faculty, staff, students and especially among the wonderful alumni this School has. I thank each of you for your support over the years. I will miss you greatly! And GO DAWGS! Please stay in touch with news, both professional and personal that you would like to share. If you have an address change or employment change let us know so we can stay in touch with you. Until we see or hear from you, please take care of yourself and those you love.

My warmest and best regards,

Laura Hartman Ciucevich (UGA, ABJ ’67)

fall

2 0 1 0

•

25

alumni news & notes l 1970–1979

at Washington University in St. Louis. Sherraden was listed this year in TIME magazine’s annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world.

Julius “Boo” Hornstein, MSW ’72 – has been honored by the Clinical Social Work Association of Savannah (GA) by naming its annual professional conference the “Julius Hornstein Professional Conference.” Hornstein was instrumental in founding and sustaining CSWA-S, which has grown to a substantial membership of clinical social workers as well as other members of the helping professions. He is retired professor emeritus in the Social Sciences at Saint Leo University and also served two terms on the state Composite Board. Hornstein continues to teach on an adjunct basis at Savannah area colleges and universities. He is currently writing a second book which deals with Savannah’s sports history.

Denise Hill, MSW ’05 – obtained her LCSW in August of ’09 and is working as a therapist with children and their families with Family Intervention Specialists part-time and has recently been hired at Salus Behavioral Health (Atlanta, GA) to work with patients residing in long-term care facilities.

Zoe Minor Johnson, MSW ’04 – is the assistant director at the Disability Resource Center, Division of Student Affairs, at the University of Georgia. Zoe was married in August 2009.

Elizabeth McKinnon-Smith, MSW ’08 – is a social worker/ home visitor with Strategic Resources, Inc. in Aiken, SC. Meredith Carter Palmer, MSW ’06 – is a school counselor in the Buford City (GA) School System. In August 2009 she earned an education specialist degree in school counseling from the University of Georgia.

l 1990–1999 Debra L. Goosby, MSW ’94 – received a Ph.D. in social work from Florida State University in April 2008. She is currently an assistant professor in the social work division at Thomas University in Thomasville, GA.

Tracy Tarbutton, MSW ’08 – was recently named Mental Health Worker of the Year by Mental Health America of Northeast Georgia. Tarbutton is the court coordinator for the

l 2000–2010 Kadesha Adelakun, MSW ’04 – is working at The Journey Counseling Services, LLC located at Marietta (GA) Counseling for Children and Adults. She has worked as a school social worker; with adults with mental health issues; children and adolescents involved with the Department of Juvenile Justice, and families involved with the Department of Family and Children Services.

Alyssa Bernstein, MSW ’10 – was hired by Volunteers of America-Greater New York as a case manager supervisor in their housing division.

She works in the Regent Family Housing Shelter, the largest homeless shelter for families in Manhattan.

Sha-Rhonda M. Davis, MSW ’01 – recently opened Empowered2Change, LLC, a counseling center in Hiram, Georgia. Davis provides outpatient counseling services to clients aged 8-65 for individual, group and family therapy.

Suo Deng, MSW ’10 – accepted a post-doctoral position with Michael Sherraden, Benjamin E. Youngdahl Professor of Social Development,

26

•

S o c i a l W o r k

m a g a z i n e

Connect with us! www.facebook.com/UGASocialWork

www.twitter.com/UGASocialWork

Join our group on

We need your e-mail address!

Please update your contact information at www.ssw.uga.edu or e-mail us at sswalum@uga.edu.

IN MEMORIAM

Athens-Clarke Treatment and Accountability Court and assists individuals who become involved in the criminal justice system due to their mental illness.

Jean J. Rowe, MSW ’05 – is a LCSW and Oncology Social Worker and Counselor at the Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University in Atlanta.

Meredith Swinford, MSW ’04 – is the social worker at St. George Village, a continuing care retirement community in Roswell (GA). St. George contains independent living apartments, assisted living apartments, dementia care rooms, and a skilled nursing unit (nursing home).

Tami Lau Vinson, MNPO ’06 – is the director of annual giving at the Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Denver (CO).

Student Highlights Christopher Stokes (MSW/J.D. student) was awarded the Black Faculty and Staff Organization’s (BFSO) Founders Award Scholarship at the Annual Founders’ Award Scholarship Luncheon, Sept. 8, 2010 at the Georgia Center for Continuing Education.

Stokes was one of five students chosen for demonstrating outstanding leadership and scholarship at the University.

Dione Moultrie King (Ph.D. student) was awarded the Mental Health and Substance Abuse Fellowship through the CSWE Minority Fellowship Program. The program was designed for social workers, with a social work master’s degree, who are preparing for leadership, teaching, consulting, training, policy development, and administration in mental health and substance abuse with ethnic minorities.

Student volunteers from Donna Bliss’s Clinical Practice with Addictive Disorders course launched RecoveryMacon. org on Sept. 21 in observance of National Alcohol and Drug Addiction Awareness Month. RecoveryMacon.org is the 4th in a series of Web sites that have been developed in this course over the past 4 years.

The School of Social Work lost three of our alumni during the past year.

We extend to the family of each our most sincere sympathy in the loss of their loved one.

Dr. James L. Dodd, MSW ’70, died on March 8, 2010. Dr. Dodd began his career in 1962 as Associate Professor of Social Studies at Ferrum Junior College in Ferrum, VA. In 1965, he became Associate Professor of Sociology at LaGrange College. In 1971, he served as Major Professor in Administration and Community Organization at the University of Georgia. He served as Executive Director of Northeast Georgia MHMRSA; 1973, served as the Executive Director of Northeast Georgia Comprehensive Mental Health Center, Athens, GA; 1975, served as Chief of Mental Health Department of Human Resources, Atlanta, GA; 1977, served as Deputy Superintendent of West Georgia Regional State Hospital, Columbus, GA; 1982, served as Superintendent of West Georgia Regional Hospital, Columbus, GA; 1991, served as Executive Director of North Georgia Comprehensive Center, Gainesville, GA; and from 1993 until his retirement in 1999, he served as Executive Director of Region 9 MHMRSA Board, Columbus, GA. Of all his accomplishments, Jim was proudest to have had the opportunity to serve as Pastor to his beloved congregation at Dallas Presbyterian Church in LaGrange for 42 years.

Jim was a founding member of the School of Social Work Board of Visitors and served faithfully and with total involvement until his death. We at the School are most appreciative of all the years of guidance and support that he gave the School. Jim was never afraid to jump right in when asked for help and input into making the School as great as it is.

Jim is survived by his wife Jackie, and children David, Susan and Trammell. To his family and multitude of friends, we extend our deepest sympathy and a heartfelt thanks for sharing Dr. Jim Dodd with us.

Joyce Elaine Marinich, MSW ’99, died on September 27, 2009. Ms. Marinich worked with the Lawrenceville (GA) mental health agency for almost ten years and recently had received her license in social work. She was a devoted member of Saint Marguerite’s Catholic Church and a volunteer for the St. Vincent De Paul society. She is survived by her daughters Theresa, Sarah, and Rebecca. Her greatest joy was being “grandma” to her 9 wonderful grandchildren. To Joyce’s family and friends, we extend our deepest sympathy on your loss.

Mary Ann Crawford, MSW ’82, died August 2, 2010 at the St. Mary’s Hospice House. Mrs. Crawford was a retired teacher and social worker, having worked for the Oglethorpe County School System for over 30 years.

She touched many lives during her career and through her participation in many community organizations. She enjoyed traveling and gardening and had an extreme love for birds and animals. Crawford was a longtime member of Lexington Baptist Church and the Dorothy Woods Sunday School Class.

Crawford is survived by her husband, Charles R. Crawford of Lexington; daughters, Leslie Crawford of Anchorage, AK and Kim Crawford of Atlanta, GA; and a sister, Kathy Jackson of Pawleys Island, SC. She also is survived by several nieces, nephews and cousins. In addition to her parents she was preceded in death by her brother, Norris Bost of Birmingham, AL. To Mary’s family and friends, we extend our deepest sympathy on your loss. fall

2 0 1 0

•

27

Faculty News Donna Bliss, Schnavia Smith Hatcher and Tony B. Lowe were promoted to the rank of associate professor.

Donna Bliss was appointed BSW director.

Donna Bliss and Betsy Vonk participated in the Maymester Institute: Integrating Course Design and Technology May 1013. The workshop focused on using technology to help students reach specific learning goals including blogs, wikis, podcasting, digital storytelling, online peer review, e-portfolios and UGA’s new learning management system, eLearning Commons.

Brian Bride was selected to serve on a team which will review the University of Georgia’s Center for Health and Risk Communications (CHRC) and its director.

Denise Davison served as an abstract reviewer for the 2011 SSWR Annual Conference. She also joined the Institute for Women’s Studies in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences as an affiliate faculty member.

Michael Holosko was invited to present at the 2010 Joint World Conference on Social Work and Social Development in Hong Kong, China. Holosko’s address, Challenges of Becoming an Evidence-based Practitioner: The need for a New Knowledge-based Model, evolved from his research on the creation of evidence-based practice in social work.

Around 3,000 people, representing 93 countries, attended the conference, which was held June 10-14.

28

•

UGA SSW 2010 Annual Awards Luncheon/Honors Day April 7, Trumps Ballroom, Athens BSW Program Awards BSW Teacher of the Year – Shari E. Miller, Ph.D. BSW Adviser of the Year – Trelle Baker Outstanding BSW Student – Abby Dickinson MSW Program Awards MSW Teacher of the Year – Stephanie Swann, Ph.D. Outstanding MSW Student, Concentration – Stephanie Beatty Outstanding MSW Student, Foundation – Mavish Khan Outstanding Gwinnet Part-Time MSW Student, Concentration – Carla Bauer Outstanding Gwinnet Part-Time MSW Student, Foundation – Angela L. Hughes Ph.D. Awards Ph.D. Teacher of the Year – Larry Nackerud, Ph.D. Outstanding Ph.D. Student – Ann Gowdy

Bernice W. Liddie-Hamilton was appointed to a 3-year term on the CSWE Commission for Diversity and Economic Justice. The Commission promotes inclusion, equity, social and economic justice, and the integration of knowledge of how the multiple aspects of human diversity intersect in social work education.

Outstanding Graduate Teaching Assistant

– Marcela Mellinger

Linda A. Long-Mitchell and Larry Nackerud were honored as outstanding faculty at UGA’s 2010 Professor Recognition Banquet hosted by the Academic Affairs Committee of the Student Government Association on March 4, 2010.

Students who nominated faculty for the award were required to write a statement judged by the Academic Affairs Committee of the Student Government Association. MSW student Mavish Khan nominated Nackerud and BSW student Nathaniel Thomas Hightower IV nominated Long-Mitchell.

In all, ten faculty were honored at the banquet by students from departments across campus. Sylvia Hutchinson, professor emeritus of the College of Education, was the guest speaker.

Outstanding INPO Student – Michelle Wilder

Ed Risler’s research on juvenile incarceration was cited in an Atlanta Journal Constitution op-ed piece titled “Rethink how we punish juveniles” on Aug. 17, 2010.

Cindy Roberts

S o c i a l W o r k

m a g a z i n e

Institute for Nonprofit Organizations Master of Arts Program Awards INPO Teacher of the Year – Thomas P. Holland, Ph.D.

2009-2010 Blue Key National Honor Society Initiates INPO – Raffi Andonian Ph.D. – Sarah Himmelheber Field Instructor Awards Outstanding BSW Field Instructors – Karen Lance, Annette Rainer Outstanding MSW Field Instructor – Keith Hartman Outstanding Staff Member

Distinguished Alumni Award Freeman Walker, Jr.

2010 CSWE Annual Program Meeting Presenters October 14-17, 2010 Portland, Oregon Faculty Donna Bliss Substance Abuse Screening and Brief Intervention Practice Model, Paper Presentation Alberta Ellett Student Employment Session, Panel Member Kin, Birth Families and Foster Youth, Session Chair Meet the Editors, Routledge Roundtable Maurice Daniels Developing Endowed Professorships, Deans and Directors Meeting Denise Davison Black Feminist Leadership: Voices from the Other Session Chair, Roundtable Michael Holosko, Shari Miller, Jeffrey Skinner Bridging the Implicit and Explicit Curricula: The Professional Socialization Index, Poster Session Shari Miller, David Okech, Stephanie Beatty (MSW ’10), Meredith Tetloff (Ph.D. student) A Collaborative, Action-Oriented Approach to Research Education Across the Continuum, Poster Session David Okech Savings in a Children’s Development Account Program, Paper Presentation Betsy Vonk, Sung Hyun Yun (Ph.D. ’07) How to Measure Batterers’ Responsibility: Development of the Intimate Violence Responsibility Scale, Paper Presentation Nancy Williams, Stacey Kolomer A 10-Year Retrospective of “Burn Camp”: Service and Sustainability in Action, Roundtable Nancy Williams, Stacey Kolomer, Sarah Himmelheber (Ph.D. student) Service as Self-Care: Social Work Alumni Return to Burn Camp, Poster Session

Students Jacquelyn Lee (Ph.D. student) An Innovation Program for Children Exposed to Domestic Violence: Evaluation and Implications; Poster Session Marcela Mellinger (Ph.D. student) Advocacy by Nonprofit Charitable Organizations: A Review and Critique, Poster Session

Ellett Recognized by Council on Social Work Education

By Emily Williams Associate Professor Alberta J. (Bert) Ellett (MSW ’74) received the 2010 Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) Distinguished Recent Contributions in Social Work Education Award at the 2010 Annual Program Meeting Thursday, October 14 in Portland, Oregon.

Ellett, a nationally respected expert in the field of child welfare, was selected for her significant contributions to social work education over the past 10 years. The award is given annually to one recipient who demonstrates excellence in research and scholarship, pedagogy and curriculum development, and organizational leadership.

“I am certainly humbled by this award because there are many very productive and contributing academics in social work education. I am very excited about the award—recognition by peers is the highest professional honor one can receive” Ellett said. “This is very meaningful to me personally.”

Since joining the School of Social Work faculty in 2000, Ellett’s academic and practical work in professionalizing and improving the child welfare workforce has included pioneering two child welfare special interest groups at two national academic organizations for social work, co-editing the Journal of Public Child Welfare, securing some $7.8 million in external funding for UGA’s Title IV-E Child Welfare Education Program and her own research, and publishing 27 scholarly works.

“Dr. Ellett has demonstrated exemplary performance in research, teaching and public service. Her dedication to child welfare has helped position the School as a national leader in the field,” said Dean Maurice C. Daniels. “Not only is she an effective researcher and educator; she truly cares about the welfare of children and has made a difference in enhancing child welfare programs and services. We are proud to have her on our faculty.”

Ellett directs UGA’s Title IV-E Child Welfare Education Program, which has funded nearly 400 students under her lead. The Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Reform Act of 1980 established Title IV-E to provide funding to universities to train child welfare workers.

Ellett performed the largest statewide retention and turnover study of child welfare employees in Georgia and presented the results along with 37 recommendations to improve child welfare to the Georgia Senate Children and Youth Committee in 2003. The state has implemented many of the recommendations.

Prior to joining the faculty, Ellett worked for 25 years in Georgia and Louisiana in child welfare at all organizational levels, from providing direct services to abused and neglected children and their families to the development of state child welfare policy.

CSWE is the sole national accrediting agency for social work education in North America. fall

2 0 1 0

•

29

Miller Named Lilly Teaching Fellow, Service Learning Fellow Imagine a public elementary school class where kids learn about the environment, sustainability and nutrition by growing foods in their own garden at school and then using the foods they grow in their meals, helping them to build a different kind of relationship with food, nutrition and the environment. Assistant Professor Shari Miller will be working on designing a service-learning course at UGA that could make this idea a reality. With the help of two university-wide, interdisciplinary fellowships for teaching and service-learning that she recently earned, Miller will have the opportunity to explore her idea and develop a framework for implementing a course at the School of Social Work.

“For me personally, the physical environment and environmental issues are a primary concern and a passion as well as the health and functioning of our kids,” Miller said. “As a School of Social Work, we have a responsibility and also an opportunity to connect with the community in a way that can be and should be empowering. This is a way for us to capture the passion and the skill set and strengths of our students so that our students can participate and contribute to the community in a way that also models, for the elementary school students, a way of thinking about the world—a way of being in the world.”

Beginning in the fall, Miller will be one of ten Lilly Teaching Fellows for 2010-2012 and one of eight Service Learning Fellows for 2010-2011.

“I’m hoping to be able to link the two up so that I can make the best use of all the opportunities both fellowships offer. I’m hoping to integrate them in some way or another, but with a different emphasis for the teaching fellowship than the servicelearning fellowship, “ she said.

The 2-year Lilly Teaching Fellows program, administered

by UGA’s Center for Teaching and Learning, provides the opportunity for young professors to develop as teachers and researchers and helps individuals strike a balance between the two roles. Lilly fellows attend a two-day retreat in the fall semester and continue meeting twice a month throughout the 30

•

S o c i a l W o r k

m a g a z i n e

year. Fellows work with a mentor and receive a stipend to assist in implementing new ideas or developing his or her career.

The Service Learning Fellowship is a year-long program designed to promote service-learning in the participant’s teaching, research and public service at UGA. Supported by the Office of Service-Learning, the fellowship includes the guidance of a mentor and a stipend to support the recipient’s servicelearning project. Fellows also participate in a one-day retreat and monthly meetings.

“I’m really excited about these opportunities,” Miller said. “I’m looking forward to focusing my ideas and working collaboratively to make this happen. There’s a really active local foods effort in Athens and the University, so it seems like there’s going to be either existing projects that we might be able to join and add to, or at least many opportunities to develop relationships with folks in the community who are doing these types of things, to bring this project to fruition. My hope is that the first cohort of students who participate in this class will be involved in actually getting the project off the ground.”

Social Work Alumna Presents at 22nd National Symposium on Doctoral Research in Social Work Sandra Yudilevich Espinoza, Social Work Ph.D. ’09, presented at the 22nd National Symposium on Doctoral Research in Social Work at The Ohio State University’s College of Social Work May 1. Chosen through a blind review process, Yudilevich Espinoza was one of 14 recent Ph.D. recipients from around the country to present her dissertation at the symposium.

Yudilevich Espinoza’s doctoral research on HIV/ AIDS, funded by both a Graduate Dean’s Award and a grant from the School of Social Work’s Ph.D. program, culminated in the work “Living with HIV/AIDS: Exploring Latino Women’s Narratives.”

Yudilevich Espinoza is now an assistant professor at Salem State College in Massachusetts.

Parham Academy Brings Middle School Students to UGA; Teaches Social Skills

A

group of students from W. R. Coile Middle School in the Clarke County School District visited the University of Georgia and the School of Social Work last spring as part of a pilot program developed by Parham Professor June Gary Hopps. The Parham Academy was started to bring together MSW students and at risk children in the community and provide a unique, structured learning experience for both sets of students.

“It is a special program for students, who are at an economic and educational disadvantage, to participate in an afterschool curriculum that will enhance their academic achievement as well as their social and emotional development,” said Hopps.

Selected by Principal Dwight Manzy and the school’s social worker, behavioral coach and counselor, 15 students were matched up with 3 MSW students. Principal Manzy and Dean Maurice C. Daniels signed an agreement between the School of Social Work and W. R. Coile Middle School establishing a partnership.

Participants spend time after school learning about how to set goals, how to pick a profession, how to deal with bullying, how to keep “drama” out of their lives, how to dress and speak, as well as age and grade appropriate socialization skills. The program also provides strong academic support and exposure to cultural and educational facilities. Last year the students visited the University of Georgia.

“The place they were most excited about, of course, was the Tate Center because there were so many things there they could identify with” she said.

The University is a stone’s throw from where these students live but it’s in a completely different world, Hopps explained. The students also toured the athletic facilities, libraries, and academic buildings including the School of Social Work.

The middle school students returned to school and presented to other students about the experience.

“It was astounding to see what transpired once we relayed that we believed [the students] were not confined to current conditions—that they each possessed a unique brilliance already, on their own,” said second-year MSW student Meghan Coyle-Thurman. “Once that belief was translated and cultivated, we began to see true measures of success. We saw the potential for scholastic achievement—and graduation and higher education—spinning behind their shining eyes.”

“A strong partnership with the University of Georgia is part of what makes our school district unlike any other,” wrote Philip D. Lanoue, Ph.D., superintendent of the Clarke County School District, in a letter thanking the School of Social Work for including them in the Parham Academy. “Through programs such as the Parham Academy, your school has made a positive impact in our school district.”

Hopps credits Principal Manzy for the success of the program in its first year. “He was the mover and the shaker,” she said. Melvin Rambeau, the School of Social Work’s grant specialist, recommended W. R. Coile Middle School for the pilot program. “We could not have moved ahead without Melvin’s help and guidance,” Hopps said. Hopps is planning to partner with several more schools throughout the state as the program grows.

A final component of the program offers students group counseling since many of the children have experienced a loss due to illness, death or incarceration, Hopps added.

Bernice Liddie-Hamilton, Ph.D., School of Social Work field director, provided the clinical supervision of the MSW students. Latrice Rollins, Ph.D. ’10, assisted Hopps in the design of the academy.

The program will begin again in January 2011.

Williams Receives 2010 Scholarship of Engagement Award On February 11, 2010, Nancy Williams was honored with the Scholarship of Engagement Award from UGA’s Office of the Vice President for Public Service and Outreach. Since 2008, this award has recognized tenured associate and full professors whose scholarship has made significant contributions toward identifying or addressing issues of public concern and whose work advances civic engagement through scholarship and service-learning opportunities for students.

fall

2 0 1 0

•

31

Mellinger Wins UGA’s Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award; Lands Spot in Future Faculty Program School of Social Work Ph.D. student Marcela Mellinger was a recipient of the University-wide Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award given by UGA’s Center for Teaching and Learning. She also was selected as one of 15 graduate students to participate in the Future Faculty Program at UGA. Mellinger was invited to apply for the program after winning the Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award.

“It is an honor,” Mellinger said. “It feels great to be recognized, but I think more than just being recognized, it’s a reminder that I am doing something that is impacting other people and that I need to continue to be accountable to the students I teach for 3 hours every week.”

The Outstanding Teaching Award, sponsored by the Office of the Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs is awarded annually to graduate students who have demonstrated superior teaching skills in the classroom. Mellinger was nominated for the Outstanding Teaching Award by the School of Social Work and was recognized at the awards ceremony held at UGA’s Performing Arts Center on April 7, 2010.

“I love to teach, I enjoy the interaction with students. I like to hear from them. I like to learn from them as much as I like to be able to challenge them—challenge the assumptions they have about people and society especially because they are going into the social work profession.”

School of Social Work seniors defeated the faculty in the Seniors v. Faculty kickball game on May 5, 2010.

32

•

S o c i a l W o r k

m a g a z i n e

Mellinger is the first social work student to participate in the Future Faculty Program at the University, which began in the fall. The year-long program is intended to assist graduate students in enhancing their effectiveness in the classroom now and in their careers as faculty in higher education. Participants meet bi-monthly and develop a teaching portfolio and design a course.

“I know that I still have much to learn as an educator and these awards inspire me to challenge myself to continue to do the best that I can and to not just settle,” she said. “I’m just a tiny little grain of sand in the scheme of my students’ learning, but I would like that little grain to make a difference in their lives.”

Mellinger is originally from Chile, but grew up in Venezuela. She harbored a passion for social work from an early age and often was teased for arguing with others about social inequalities. “If I saw injustice—anything I perceived, even in my very young eyes, as an injustice, a child who was being abused, even a child who was being yelled at by a parent and I thought that child didn’t do anything—it really stirred something in me,” she said.

Before starting the Ph.D. program, Mellinger worked as an advocacy and community initiatives administrator for a family services agency in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, as well as taught part-time as an adjunct faculty member at Harrisburg Area Community College for 5 years. The year before she came to UGA, she taught full-time at Millersville University in Millersville, Pennsylvania. Mellinger earned her BSW in social work from Millersville University in 1998 and her MSW with a concentration in administration and social planning from Temple University in 1999.

Mellinger’s research is focused on systems advocacy at the macro level. She was inspired to probe more deeply into what nonprofit organizations are doing beyond legislative advocacy while she was working in Pennsylvania. “There is very little research on areas such as community advocacy, administrative

advocacy and legal advocacy in the social work world,” she said.

She also is interested in domestic violence. Mellinger plans to graduate in 2011.

Mellinger received the Graduate Recruitment Opportunities Assistantship when she came to UGA. The assistantship is intended to attract incoming graduate students who are considered first generation, educationally or economically disadvantaged, or have a uniquely diverse background that contributes to their discipline of study.

Stennett Receives 2010 UGA Rotaract Dean’s Award Kimberly Stennett (BSW ’10) was one of 13 students selected to receive the 2010 Rotaract Dean’s Award given by the UGA Rotaract and the Rotary Club of Athens.

Recipients must demonstrate academic excellence and distinguish themselves as leaders in the community.

“It was truly a privilege to stand with such outstanding students and represent the School of Social Work,” Stennett said.

“The most rewarding part of the whole experience was when a fellow social work student in the Rotaract Club came up to me after the ceremony and told me that my application was an inspiration to her. This award motivates me to continue excelling in the areas of academia, leadership, and community service as I hope to leave an indelible imprint on the field of social work.”

Even with all of her extracurricular activities and community service, Stennett maintained a 3.72 GPA and will graduate Magna Cum Laude with a BSW this May. She was recognized with an E.X.C.E.L. Award, which is given to African American students with a GPA above 3.2. She also received the Heather Christina Wright Memorial Undergraduate Scholarship Award from the School of Social Work and was a member of the National Society of Collegiate Scholars and Abeneefoo Kuo Honor Society.

“Kimberly embodies the tenets of social work education and practice” said Dean Maurice C. Daniels. “Her commitment to community service and to educational excellence is inspirational.

She is an asset to our school.”

“Her intellect, talents and personality are a perfect fit for the social work profession,” added Associate Professor Schnavia Smith Hatcher, who nominated Stennett.

Stennett’s BSW internship working with older adults affected

by Alzheimer’s disease confirmed her passion for the field of gerontology. She would eventually like to earn her master’s in social work with a focus in gerontology.

As a student, Stennett served as an intern for the Athens Community Council on Aging and was community service chair for the Caribbean Student Association. She was a resident assistant in Oglethorpe House and peer mentor for the Black Educational Support Team and volunteered for Hunker Down for Housing, and Alternative Spring Break.

Sutton Earns First Honor Graduate Distinction Cathy Sue Sutton (BSW ’10) was recognized as a First Honor Graduate at the University of Georgia’s summer commencement exercises July 31. Sutton, a non-traditional student, earned the honor by maintaining a 4.0 grade point average in all of her undergraduate coursework.

“There isn’t a secret to it, I just worked really hard,” Sutton said. “I am a dedicated person and I made a commitment to do well.”

Sutton had always harbored an interest in getting a nursing degree, but soon after high school she got married and started a family. She devoted herself to raising her son, Matt, and daughter, Beth. She worked in their school district once they started school. After her youngest child completed high school, Sutton began to consider her next career move. An acquaintance had told her about the medical social work field and Sutton decided to pursue it. She started her freshman year at Parkland College in Illinois at the same time as her daughter.

“My kids really encouraged me. They said, ‘Mom, you can do this’,” she said.

On her first day of college, one of her classmates asked if she was the teacher. “It had been 30 years since I’d been out of high school, it was pretty intimidating,” she recalled.

Sutton transferred to UGA two years ago when her husband, Mark, was relocated from Illinois to Georgia for work. Sutton’s biggest challenge at UGA was having to complete her Spanish requirement, which she thought she had fulfilled at Parkland College. Spanish was the last course she completed before graduating this summer. “I was just kind of holding my breath because it was the last class I took,” she joked. She ended up with an A, of course.

Sutton was one of two students who received the First Honor Graduate distinction this summer. “The most rewarding thing was going through graduation,” she said.

Sutton was joined at the ceremony by her husband and kids.

“I felt very proud that I had achieved my goal of getting a degree at this stage in my life—my dedication and hard work had finally paid off,” she said. “It was so rewarding to be publicly honored for my accomplishments at graduation; however, the ongoing encouragement, support and praise of my family was worth more than they’ll ever know.”

Sutton returned to the School of Social Work this fall in the advanced standing MSW program.

Nonprofit Org. U.S. Postage

SocialWork Magazine School of Social Work The University of Georgia Tucker Hall Athens, Georgia 30602-7016

PAID

Athens, GA Permit No. 165

News to Share with Your Colleagues?

The Alumni Office tries to keep its records current to ensure that you continue to receive School of Social Work news. If you have an address or employment update, please send it to: Alumni Director School of Social Work The University of Georgia Tucker Hall, Athens, GA 30602 Or e-mail: sswalum@uga.edu C o n n e c t w i t h u s ONLINE :

The University of Georgia is a unit of The University System of Georgia. The University of Georgia is an Equal Employment Opportunity/Affirmative Action Institution. The University does not discriminate with respect to employment or admission on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, handicap, or veteran status.