OutReach 2015-2016 Annual Report

THE UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA SCHOOL OF SOCIAL WORK

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ANNUAL REPORT

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2015–2016

Collaborative Partnerships: Bridging Social Work and Communities UA social work faculty and students are forming innovative partnerships and doing work that impacts communities and drives social change.

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INSIDE

04 STUDENTS

BSW student Madison Darling overcame a rare brain condition to tackle social justice causes

26 STAFF/FACULTY

Student Services Coordinator Amanda Moore finds niche in helping others

38 ALUMNI

Social work alumna Mary Partlow improves lives as integrative health professional and certified yoga therapist

16 Editor

Writers

Designer

Copy Editor

Dean and Professor

Adrienne Nettles

Barbara Trainin Blank David Miller Peter Mullins Adrienne Nettles Leslie Zganjar

Tom Ensey ('79)

Dr. Vikki L. Vandiver

Sam Lober

OutReach is published by The University of Alabama School of Social Work, Box 870314, Tuscaloosa, AL 35487-0314 © 2016 The University of Alabama School of Social Work All rights reserved. Information contained in this publication is gathered from sources considered reliable. The School of Social Work cannot accept responsibility for errors or omissions in this publication. The University of Alabama is an equal opportunity educational institution/employer.

INSIDE 38

2015-16 OutReach FEATURES 04 Finding the Ability to Soar BSW student Madison Darling overcame a rare brain condition to pursue a degree in social work.

16 Cover: Collaborative Partnerships:

Bridging Social Work and Communities

Social work students and faculty are creating new partnerships to make big impacts in communities.

26 Student Services Coordinator Finds Niche in Helping Others

Amanda Moore’s welcoming presence and leadership style helped her to land her dream job in UA’s School of Social Work.

42 Little Hall Permanent Naming LEGACY FAMILY A leading expert in integrative health and yoga therapy, UA social work alumna Mary Partlow found her calling as a student in the School of Social Work.

By Adrienne Nettles

Recognitions Support Students

Every gift pledged toward a naming recognition will go to support student scholarships.

SECTIONS MESSAGE FROM THE DEAN | 02 STUDENT NEWS | 04 SCHOOL NEWS | 11 FIELD HAPPENINGS | 20 FACULTY AND STAFF NEWS | 26 ALUMNI NEWS | 38

School of Social Work |

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Message From the Dean

A Year of Collaboration Cultivating New Partnerships And Relationships

Alone we can do so little.

Together we can do so much.

— Helen Keller (1880-1968)

Together is a word that defines the legacy of native Alabamian Helen Keller. She defied great odds as a southern woman who was deaf and blind and became a celebrated political activist, educator, suffragist and journalist. She, more than most, understood the need

Dr. Vikki L. Vandiver Dean and Professor

to work together — in collaboration, solidarity and partnership — for the rights of women, workers and the differently abled.

In the School of Social Work at the University of Alabama, we understand the importance of working together on behalf of individuals, families and communities. Like Keller, our stories this past academic year reflect the great work that emerges when students, faculty, staff and alumni come together to collaborate on solutions to promote individual and social change, address social and economic injustice, and campaign against human rights abuses, both locally and abroad.

20), Korea and Washington, D.C. For 37 years, our Washington, D.C. Internship Program has been transforming the lives and careers of BSW and MSW students and helping them gain real-world experience in implementing policy analysis, practice and advocacy while working with state senators and legislators (page 23). With each of these experiences, we’re helping prepare our students to be tomorrow’s change agents and global leaders.

In this year’s Outreach, you’ll learn about our students’ inspiring, bold efforts to change the world around them through international internships, research projects and by forming partnerships in our communities. Our field students traveled far and near to explore social conditions in places like Ghana (page

The success of our students would not be possible without our dedicated faculty and staff members and their steadfast committment to academic excellence. Our faculty members continually form meaningful partnerships in our communities, share their expertise as leaders in state and national

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organizations, and cultivate new opportunities with local, regional and national research partners to expand our reach in the state and nation. In return, their dedication is rewarded through distinguished university and national awards that shine a spotlight on our school and the University (page 30).

Our progress also is tied to our staff members who this past year showed again that they form the foundation of our school. Through partnerships with agencies like the Alabama Department of Human Resources, our staff members offered training opportunities and conferences for state workers and social work professionals, helping to bring enormous resources to the school and our communities (page 11). Their commitment to supporting our students, faculty and

Collaborate. Innovate. Transform.

programs is reflected in the many awards and recognitions bestowed to them by student groups and the University year after year.

Lastly, we could not grow as a school without the support of our two alumni groups, the Board of Friends and Social Work Society.

Both groups remain strong supporters of our mission and school-wide initiatives. In this issue, we’ve highlighted the many ways we celebrate our outstanding alumni and supporters. Our 2016 Alabama Social Work Hall of Fame inductees, who by their long and illustrious careers, illustrate the very meaning of collaboration (page 44). This year’s report also features a new alumni section highlighting the achievements of social work alumni with long, rich family ties to our school and the University. This year, we honor alumna Mary Partlow, who is using the skills she gained as a student to merge the fields of social work and integrative health (page 38).

We’re growing and transforming in exciting ways. We’ll honor our growth and legacy by commemorating the 50th anniversary of our school’s first graduating class (1967) with a school-wide celebration in 2018. As part of our anniversary, we’ll also celebrate the transformation of our 102-year-old building, Little Hall, into a modern, state-of-the-art facility with more space for collaborative learning and gathering. Read page 42 to learn about the Little Hall renovation project and how it became the impetus for our Restoring Our Past, Building Our Future initiative.

Our commitment to investing in our future and to giving our students the best educational experience helped us land among U.S. News & World Report’s Top 50 Best Grad Schools for social work nationally in 2016. Our top-ranked MSW program also hit a new milestone. The program saw an increase in enrollment, with more than

half of our MSW student population now pursuing their degrees through distance education. Our BSW and PhD programs also remain strong. Using an array of talented instructors and faculty who are committed to instructional excellence, we’re ensuring our students receive a world-class education. And we remain No. 1 among the University’s other 12 colleges and schools in terms of bringing in the highest amount of research dollars proportionate to our faculty.

Throughout all of these exciting accomplishments and events, we remain loyal to the humble words of Helen Keller, who, again, reminds us that whatever we do, we must do it together. And together, we thank you for your support and hope you enjoy the stories that follow.

Vikki L. Vandiver Dean and Professor

Read about Little Hall's renovation and how you can support bright and talented social work students through the project on page 42.

School of Social Work |

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Student News

FINDING THE ABILITY TO SOAR Madison Darling overcame a rare brain condition to tackle social justice causes as a BSW student.

By David Miller

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| The University of Alabama

As her doctor calmly delivered the diagnosis, Madison Darling began to understand the seriousness of her situation.

She now knew what was causing her headaches and numbness in her arm.

The doctor called it Chiari malformation — a structural defect in the cerebellum that affects the balance, and which can block the flow of spinal fluid.

She had to have brain surgery, and she was afraid.

It didn’t make sense. She had just completed her freshman year at The University of Alabama. She was young and healthy. No one in her family had experienced the defect. The condition is rare, diagnosed only 200,000 times each year in the U.S. “My skull didn’t grow enough for my brain,” said Darling, who was an education major and a member of the forensics team in 2013, when she got the news. “It pushed my brain past the skull by 15 millimeters, cut off spinal fluid to my brain and collected in the middle.

“If they wouldn’t have found it, I would have been a quadriplegic or dead by Christmas.”

Collaborate. Innovate. Transform.

The surgery was successful but required a long convalescence. While Darling spent the fall of 2014 recuperating at her parents’ home in Montgomery, she began to research a new major.

Her condition inspired her to devote herself to her passions, to helping others and to making a difference in the world.

“I literally googled ‘majors where you can help people,’” she said. “And social work came up.”

When she returned to the classroom in fall 2015, she had a new major, a new mission and outlook on life. And helping others is exactly what she is doing now.

Her first year, she was awarded the Howard B. Gundy Scholarship, which is given to an outstanding entering freshman in the School of Social Work. It is named for the school’s first dean.

In her sophomore year, she and her classmates were assigned to produce a video to raise awareness about teen suicide.

They wanted to do more, so they started an organization to carry on the work.

Darling went a step further and authored suicide prevention curriculum for schools, which was adopted by the Alabama Department of Health. She toured the state as a keynote speaker and addressed more than 100 schools and organizations.

“The curriculum is still being used,” she said.

Blanket for Hope, a nonprofit that combats human trafficking, approached her about writing a curriculum to guide training sessions for businesses and organizations across the state.

She spent 20 hours a week at the organization’s offices, administering the training curriculum to schools, police departments and church groups.

She had to battle cruel stereotypes and preconceptions about victims of sex trafficking, she said. She tailored the curriculum for different classes, focusing on different aspects of human trafficking that would foster empathy in children.

“The popular perception is that if someone is in sex trafficking, ‘Oh, that person wants to be in it.’ It’s breaking that idea instead of blaming the victim,” she said.

In March 2016, she shared her research with the campus community through the webinar: “Human Trafficking: What It Is and Why It matters.”

Hosted by the Center for Financial Social Work, the event allowed her to bring her message to more than 1,000 people on how to recognize and report the signs of Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking (DMST).

Her passion for combating the global issue of human trafficking led to her developing a “Tattoo Parlor Intervention Program” to train tattoo artists to recognize trafficking victims.

“Pimps often brand their victims, so we’ve been to tattoo shops to share information on what kinds of tattoos to look for and how to read the body language of someone who is being trafficked,” she said.

As a student, Darling has worked with Alabama government departments as an independent consultant on program development. On behalf of UA’s speech team, she coordinated and ran the Alabama Forensic Institute, a summer camp for high school students. Darling also has discovered that pernicious anemia was the cause of weakness and loss of feeling in her legs following her surgeries. She takes monthly injections of the B12 vitamin to keep it and other symptoms at bay.

In December, Madison will graduate with her bachelor’s degree in social work from UA. She is currently working full-time as an executive assistant at the National Center on Sexual Exploitation in Washington, D.C., a job she landed after completing her internship through the school’s BSW Washington D.C. Field program. Her work includes planning congressional and fundraising events, coordinating partnerships with other nonprofits, and ensuring the office runs efficiently and smoothly. She is finishing her social work degree online.

“I’m not saying that what I did or how I’ve responded to illness wasn’t impressive, but I didn’t see any alternative,” Darling said. “I hope my journey shows people that a diagnosis isn’t a life expiration label. I look at my diagnosis as the wings that give me the ability to soar above expectations that anyone has of me.”

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Student News

BSW Program

BSW Student Earns Top Award for Research Poster B SW student Cho Rong “Claudia” Won is at the top of her game. She took home the award for “Best Undergraduate Student Poster” at the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) - Alabama Chapter 2016 Annual State Conference and Advocacy Day. Her poster, titled “Get your Game On: A Review of Mental Health Intervention Games,” highlighted a literature review of prior research on mental health intervention games — specifically those dealing with people experiencing depression, anxiety and stress. The posters were judged on content, the quality of visual presentation and the creator’s knowledge of their research.

Won credits her faculty mentor Avani Shah, assistant professor of social work, for helping her excel as a student.

“Dr. Shah is such a positive influence,” Won said. “I really love working with her.”

In addition to her poster award, Won received a monetary gift. The 2016 NASWAlabama Conference was held Feb. 10-12, 2016 in Montgomery.

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Emerging Scholar Before her freshman year at The University of Alabama, BSW student Caroline Prichard received an email advertising UA's Emerging Scholars Program. The program offers the opportunity for freshmen, sophomore, and junior students at UA to engage in research early in their college experience.

Prichard applied and was accepted in 2015.

“Research should be used as an opportunity to build connections, specifically in your college,” said Prichard, who is double majoring in social work and international studies. “The Emerging Scholars Program gives you a reason to reach out to faculty and start your network.”

Now a junior, Prichard is applying her research skills with the help of Brenda Smith, associate professor of social work.

Working with Smith, Prichard researched how child welfare workers are recruited and their retention rates using publicly available, realistic job preview videos across the U.S. She analyzed and coded each video with positive and negative key words. She concluded that the challenges presented by bureaucratic child welfare organizations led to a lack of retention rather than a

Laura Hopson, Associate Professor and Director of BSW Program

willingness to accept the challenges employees’ faced working with families.

Prichard hopes her research will provide insight on how the expectations of prospective employees might play a role in attracting child welfare professionals who will be willing to embrace the challenge of their job and stick with it. She presented her findings at the 2016 Undergraduate Research and Creative Activitiy Conference held in March at UA, placing third in the competition’s Emerging Scholars category. She was recognized for her oral presentation “How Realistic Are Job Previews in Child Welfare?: Implications for Employee Retention and Turnover.”

After graduation, Prichard plans to attend graduate school to pursue a master’s degree in social work. She hopes to use her education to work in not-for-profit development.

CONNECT WITH UA SSW ON: Twitter @UA_Social Work Faceobook @SocialWorkatUA

Collaborate. Innovate. Transform.

Research and Creativity Conference B SW students took top prizes at UA’s 2016 Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity Conference last March.

Every year, students from colleges and schools at The University of Alabama converge to gain valuable experience in the presentation of research as they compete for cash prizes and forge relationships with faculty mentors and fellow conference presenters.

During the 2016 conference in the Social Work category, recent graduate Elie Allen and BSW students Bailey Reese, Shelby Smithson and Rachel Thompson won first place for their research project: “Living Memories: An App for Family Matters.” Students Miranda Casey, Madison Darling, Molly Fitch, Rachael Hartley and Cho Rong “Claudia” Won captured second place for their research project: “HealthU: An App for Collegiate Health Month.” Allen, Reese, Smithson, Thompson, Casey, Darling, Hartley and Won along with BSW students Molly Moran and Molly Finch placed third for the research project: “USDA Nutrition Guidelines: Do They Make A Difference?” Kevin Corcoran, professor of social work, served as faculty mentor to each student group.

The Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity Conference is a premier event held on UA’s campus to provide undergraduates an opportunity to highlight their research and creative activity. The 2017 Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity Conference was held March 29-30 in the Ferguson Student Center.

From left, social work students Cho Rong Won, Miranda Casey, Molly Finch and Rachel Hartley at the 2016 Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity Conference.

From left, social work students Bailey Reese and Elie Allean with their group poster.

From left, social work students Molly Moran and Shelby Smithson with their group poster titled “Living Memories.”

In Memoriam Jessica R. Phillips was a wife and mother who

Kenneth L. Ulmer, Sr. was a 2008 PhD cohort

was devoted to her faith and family. She was

in the School of Social Work. He passed away

pursing a degree in social work. She passed

on Feb. 15, 2016.

away Sept. 3, 2015.

School of Social Work |

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Student News

MSW Program School Welcomes First Social Work, Law Major J ilisa Milton (’12) is working to combine her love for social work with practicing law.

This fall, she enrolled in the school’s MSW/Juris Doctorate coordinated degree program. The program aims to prepare students to become leaders in their communities, their state, or the nation, as well as leaders in promoting and enhancing social justice and individual well-being through interventions, advocacy, organizational management, and public policy. Milton is the school’s first student to enroll in the program.

Milton plans to use her degrees to continue helping others and her community. She’s

Human Trafficking Research MSW student Dusty Murphy is working to raise awareness and to find a solution to the global epidemic of human trafficking.

In 2015, Murphy brought together key leaders to develop strategies to combat the

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already made big impacts.

She has been an AmeriCorps volunteer and Fulbright Scholar, a prestigious honor from the U.S. State Department that allowed her to study abroad as a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant in Indonesia. This summer, she will intern at the Center for Constitutional Rights, a New York-based nonprofit legal and education organization dedicated to advancing and protecting the rights guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

She is expected to complete both her master’s in social work and juris doctorate in May 2019.

problem and published the group’s work in the article titled “Groups Discuss Anti-trafficking Strategies.” Her article is featured in Children’s Monitor, a public policy online publication of the Child Welfare League of America. She discusses the work of U.S. Rep. Dave Reichert (R-WA) and U.S. Rep. Tony Cárdenas (D-CA); Tim Matsui, director of “The Long Night,” a documentary film about youth in the American sex trade; Alisa Bernard, a human trafficking survivor who has dedicated her time to helping others escape the sex trade; and Judge Barbara Mack, the chair of the King County Commercially Sexually Exploited Children (CSEC) Task Force. The group’s goal is to spread awareness about diversion and treatment programs in communities and to increase and support Safe Harbor laws for victims of violence and trafficking.

Read Dusty’s full article at cwla.org/ groups-discuss-anti-trafficking-strategies.

Sebrena Jackson, Assistant Professor and Director of MSW Program

HIV Research Takes Top Poster Award As an MSW student, Melanie Brunner researched HIV in older adults and the challenges they face. The importance of her work helped the May 2016 graduate earn “Best Graduate Student Poster” at the NASW-Alabama Chapter 2016 Annual State Conference and Advocacy Day. Her poster, titled “HIV and Older Adults: The Need for Preventive Education,” showcased issues facing the aging population with regards to HIV prevention, testing, care and treatment. She was evaluated on her poster’s content and the quality of her visual presentation, along with her knowledge of her research. She also was recognized with a monetary gift.

“I received a lot of positive feedback about the importance of my topic and the amount of knowledge I had about the topic,” said Brunner, who credits her faculty mentor Ellen Csikai, professor of social work, for encouraging her to be a conference presenter.

Collaborate. Innovate. Transform.

PhD Program Phi Alpha Poster Presentation

J essica Bertram, a doctoral student, along with her colleagues won first place for their poster presentation at the 2015 Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) Annual Program Meeting conference.

The team’s poster, titled “Western Kentucky University Phi Alpha Delta Mu Chapter,” won $500 for their organization.

The conference was held Oct. 11-15, 2016, in Denver, Colorado.

Bertram began the PhD program in August 2015 and is expected to graduate in May 2019. She earned her master’s degree in social work from Western Kentucky University.

Gerontology Award

Yuqi Guo, a doctoral student, received the 2015 Association for Gerontology Education in Social Work Pre-Dissertation Initiative Award.

The association, with support from the Gerontological Society of America and the New York Community Trust, provided support for a cohort of 12 social work doctoral students who had completed their first year of doctoral studies. The program’s goal is to provide students with support for their dissertation process and to prepare them for

an academic career in gerontological social work research and education.

As part of the award, Guo, a native of China, received more than 10 hours of programming delivered by nationally recognized faculty who are experts in the field of gerontological social work. She also was invited to attend the 2015 Gerontological Society of America conference in Orlando, Florida.

The American Public Health Association (APHA) also honored Guo, along with coauthors Fan Yang, a doctoral student, and Laura Hopson, associate professor of social work and director of the BSW Program, for their paper titled “General Health Status Among Economically Disadvantaged Adolescents: A Multilinear Analysis.” The group received Honorable Mention for APHA’s School Health Education and Services (SHES) Outstanding Student Research Abstract Award. SHES promotes the health and wellbeing of students in preschool, K-12 school, and college settings.

Guo, Yang and Hopson were honored at APHA’s 2016 Annual Meeting held Oct. 29Nov. 2 in Denver, Colorado.

Brenda Smith, Associate Professor and Director of PhD Program

Evaluating Social Work

Doctoral student Taylor Ellis researches program evaluation, trauma, substance abuse, and cultural competence in the field of social work.

With Debra Nelson-Gardell, associate professor of social work, he presented the talk: “Program Evaluation: Sink or Swim” at the Southeastern Evaluation Association Annual Workshop held Feb. 22-23, 2016, in Tallahassee, Florida. The talk adds to Ellis’ long list of research projects as an undergraduate and graduate student.

A native of Douglasville, Georgia, Ellis earned his bachelor’s degree in human services from Kennesaw State University and he holds a master of social work from UA.

School of Social Work |

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Student News

PhD Program (continued) Preventing HIV Doctoral candidate Emma Sophia Kay was selected as one of 25 participants from across the nation for the National Addiction & HIV Data Archive Program’s summer workshop in 2016. The three-day seminar, which is called “Secondary Data Analysis and NAHDAP,” helps participants plan and conduct secondary data analysis using data sets provided by the host organization. Selection for the workshop is competitive nationally across academic disciplines.

Participants must have a substantive interest in addiction, HIV research, or both, and provide a data set to work with during the workshop.

They also develop a research question and use the data set’s codebook to identify variables they will use to answer their research question.

Kay, a native of Huntsville, was awarded a Board of Friends’ Summer Education Scholarship to attend the workshop, which was held as part of the University of Michigan’s Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research. The Board of Friends is one of two School of Social Work alumni groups that work to support and advance the school.

Kay is expected to graduate from the PhD Program in December 2017 and plans to complete her postdoctoral work at a Center for AIDS Research (CFAR)-related institution, with a long-term goal of working in health policy and research.

Alcohol Research Doctoral student Quentin Maynard, Omar T. Sims, assistant professor of social work at The University of Alabama at Birmingham, and Pamela Melton, UA instructor of social work, collaborated on a study looking at the use of alcohol among patients with hepatitis C. In October, the group’s research article, “Behavioral Interventions to Reduce Alcohol Use Among Patients with Hepatitis

C: A Systematic Review,” was published by the National Center for Biotechnology Information. The center is a U.S. governmentfunded, national resource for advancing science and health by providing access to biomedical and genomic information. The center is part of the U.S. National Library of Medicine, a branch of the National Institutes of Health.

White House Roundtable

Quentin Maynard

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Omar T. Sims

Pamela Melton

I n spring 2015, doctoral student Sarah Young was invited to the White House for a roundtable discussion about issues facing the bisexual community. The event coincided with international Bisexual Visibility Day, Sept. 23, 2015.

This was the third time Young, a McGraw, New York native, visited the White House as a student. In 2012, she attended a dinner with Vice President Joe Biden honoring the nation’s emerging LGBT leaders.

School News

Collaborate. Innovate. Transform.

Allan V. Kaufman Phi Alpha Symposium

By David Miller

The 2016 Allan V. Kaufman Phi Alpha Symposium brought together a panel of community leaders to discuss ways to better serve senior populations. The event Allan V. Kaufman is named for Allan V. Kaufman, Professor Emeritus of social work, whose research interests included caregiving of older adults.

The symposium, “Aspects of Caregiving for the Elderly: Legal, Protective, Wholesome Living,” was hosted by the Phi Alpha Honor Society in January 2016 and covered caregiving for older adults, legal and protective services, and wholesome living issues dear to Kaufman.

“Phi Alpha strives to inspire all people to be involved and knowledgeable about social work and what is happening in the world,” said Emily Dumas, a MSW student and then Phi Alpha president. “Inspiring passion for elder care is a wonderful cause that many of our students are drawn to. With an aging population, it is more important now than ever to encourage students toward elder care, which can, ultimately, benefit students.”

Matthew Talley ('94, '96 MSW), an attorney at Nolan Stewart, PC in Birmingham, served as one of three panelists at the symposium. Talley also has experience working as a coordinator of mental health services in hospitals. He discussed the legal aspects of care for the elderly, such as having a power of attorney document.

“At our firm, we have two powers of attorney documents, one for medical care and one for finances,” Talley said. “A lot of people don’t do these before there’s a problem. We try to preach to the community to do estate planning before a problem or crisis arises. People are shocked at the

money and time involved if proper planning is not done.”

Other panelists included Ginger Roberts McGaughy ('00, '07 MSW), a social worker at the Alabama Department of Human Resources, who discussed issues associated with adult protective services, and Elizabeth Espy, of Crimson Village, who shared her experience in assisted living and long-term care.

Kaufman, who was honored at the symposium, retired in 2009 as a full professor and resides in Northport. He is one of the original faculty advisers for Phi Alpha and helped the group organize its first symposium in the 1980s. Kaufman said one of the greater issues facing aging adults and their families is the distance between them. While he lived in New York and even in Tuscaloosa, meeting the needs of his parents, who lived in Florida, was challenging, he said.

“Here in Tuscaloosa, my experience has been that many families stay here when their kids get older, educated and get jobs,” he said. “But people who have come here from other places — like faculty — when they retire, they tend to be separated. And if caregiving needs arise, that’s difficult to handle long-distance. That’s what I was focused on the last couple of years. As the population continues to age, that’s a growing concern.”

Kaufman said he was particularly honored that Phi Alpha named the symposium in his honor due to his past involvement with the group and the former students involved.

“I don’t know that I deserve to have it named after me, but I’m honored to accept that,” Kaufman said. “I’ve always stressed academics over practice. It’s a practice profession, but you have to have a good academic footing to be a good practitioner.

I’ve always enjoyed working with students who were serious about it. The Phi Alpha people were.”

Carol Drolen, associate professor of social work, addresses the audience at the 2016 Allan V. Kaufman Phi Alpha Symposium on Aging Adults.

Phi Alpha strives to inspire all people to be involved and knowledgeable about social work and what is happening in the world. Inspiring passion for elder care is a wonderful cause that many of our students are drawn to.

With an aging population, it is more important now than ever to encourage students toward elder care, which can, ultimately, benefit students.

School of Social Work |

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School News

Fall Social Work Conference

Carl M. Price

C arl Price was 14 years old and suffering from cancer when he moved into foster care. He went from a group home to being moved around to multiple placements, which was as traumatic as the abuse and neglect that landed him in foster care.

He was finally placed into therapeutic foster care, where social workers understood the problems of a child with Price’s particular needs. Caregivers taught his foster parents how to care for a child with cancer. At last, he didn’t have to explain his own illness to the hospital workers when he was taken in for care.

He began to recover, and his cancer went into remission. He documented his experiences with trauma and road to triumph in his book titled “Tell Me Where Home Is.” In August 2016, he shared his story as a guest speaker at the 15th annual Fall Social Work Conference hosted by the School of Social Work and Alabama Department of Human Resources.

The two-day conference, “Trauma to Triumph,” brought together social workers from across the U.S. as guest speakers and for research presentations.

Price went to college, joined the U.S. Navy, worked in corporate America and founded many successful businesses. Today, he’s a father, the founder of carlmprice.com, and he is passionate about sharing his life story with others. In 2011, he spoke at a U.S. Senate hearing about his experience in foster care. The talk led Price to travel

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around the country to share his inspiring story of overcoming tragedy, and how he recognizes the many hands that helped him along the way.

“Every year, we’re proud to host this unique opportunity for social work professionals to share their experiences and expertise with our students and faculty,” said Vikki Vandiver, dean of the School of Social Work.

Chris Newlin, executive director of the National Children’s Advocacy Center, gave the conference’s keynote address, “The Road to Recovery for Traumatized Children: The Critical Interactions Between System and Individual.” A graduate of the Harvard Business School Executive Education Program, Newlin oversees the center’s efforts to provide prevention and intervention services for child abuse victims in Huntsville/ Chris Newlin Madison County. The center also serves as a model for more than 1,000 Children’s Advocacy centers operating throughout the world.

“We’re always excited to have social work professionals like Mr. Newlin visit our campus. It’s important for them to share their expertise with others in our field,” said Kristy Holt, conference organizer and Title IV-E Coordinator for the School of Social Work.

Every year, we’re proud to host this unique opportunity for social work professionals to share their experiences and expertise with our students and faculty.

UPCOMING CONFERENCES: 16th Annual Fall Social Work Conference: Hosted by UA's School of Social Work and the Alabama Department of Human Resources, this year's conference, “Well-being: Seeing the Big Picture,” will be held Oct. 5-6, 2017, in Birmingham, Alabama.

Health and Child Welfare Summit:

The summit for social work professionals is set for July 28, 2017, at the Bryant Conference Center in Tuscaloosa.

Collaborate. Innovate. Transform.

Clinicians Trained in Prescribing Opioid Medications

by Leslie Zganjar

As the use of prescription pain-killing opioids and problems associated with their use has increased, clinicians now have the difficult task of balancing patient pain relief with the need to prevent adverse outcomes.

That was the theme of an opioid prescribing training course for clinicians held in May 2016 at The University of Alabama.

The course, “Clinical Challenges in Opioid Management: Balancing Safety and Efficacy,” was funded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMSHA) and conducted by two physicians selected by SAMSHA, Dr. Jacqueline Tulsky and Dr. Stephen Wyatt. The course was hosted by UA’s College of Community Health Sciences, Capstone College of Nursing and School of Social Work.

Tulsky is Professor Emeritus of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, in the HIV/AIDS Division at San Francisco General Hospital. Wyatt is medical director of Addiction Medicine/Behavioral Health Service Line at Carolinas HealthCare System in Charlotte, North Carolina.

“The course will address the balance between providing pain relief and preventing inappropriate use of opioids,” Tulsky said as she welcomed the more than 100 physicians, nurses, social workers, medical students and resident physicians to the training session.

“This is as much of an art as a science.”

According to SAMSHA, chronic pain affects about 100 million Americans, approximately one-third of the population. The agency said pain is the most common reason for medical visits, and there are 40 million pain-related doctor visits each year. An estimated five million to eight million individuals are on opioids long term, and the number of opioid prescriptions written for pain treatment grew from 76 million in 1991 to 219 million in 2011, according to SAMSHA. “The prevalence of chronic pain and the increasing use of opioids have created a silent

epidemic of distress, disability and danger,” Tulsky said.

Efforts are underway nationwide to stem opioid abuse. Unintentional overdose deaths from prescription painkillers nearly quadrupled from 1999 to 2013, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

During the training course, information was provided about preventing adverse patient outcomes by teaching clinicians how to identify candidates for opioid therapy, how to monitor patient responses and how to better recognize problematic behaviors.

Opioids are effective in providing relief from pain, but there are side effects – nausea and vomiting, constipation, insomnia, respiratory depression, cognitive impairment and psychomotor dysfunction, and in rare cases organ toxicity. There’s also misuse, overuse and abuse of opioids, and even overdose deaths when opioids are combined with other medications or sedatives, Tulsky said.

A relatively new, unintended consequence has emerged – the shift from opioids to heroin.

As access to opioids has tightened, more people are turning to heroin for pain relief and death rates from heroin use are increasing, Tulsky said.

“There has been a rise in heroin use since 1999. Heroin is cheap and easy to get,” she said. “No one will take care of you like your dealer will.”

Tulsky and Wyatt said the goal for clinicians is to “have a reasonable balance” and to “give opioids with some counseling to make it safer.”

“Pain is a complex problem. It’s not a single item,” Wyatt said. “As health care providers, we need to listen to patient experiences. Pay attention to depression, anxiety and other things they are experiencing.

If we listen to patents we can start to care for them more effectively.”

School of Social Work |

13

School News

Honors Day Convocation

Fall Colloquium Series

by David Miller

by David Miller

Barry Ackerson

School of Social Work alumnus Barry Ackerson (’78 MSW, ’98 PhD) returned to campus as keynote speaker at the school’s Honors Day Convocation last April. The annual event honors outstanding social work students.

Ackerson, Professor Emeritus of social work at the University of Illinois, spoke about his work and research. He also inspired students to pursue their dreams.

Ackerson has more than 20 years of experience as a clinician and an administrator in the mental health field.

His research interests include parents with severe and persistent mental illness, assertive community treatment, and the harm reduction and integrated treatment for mental illness and substance abuse. He also studies the effects of organizational climate on the outcomes of mental health service.

He currently serves as president of the Board of Directors for Community Elements, a behavioral health agency in Champaign, Illinois. Ackerson’s national affiliations include the Council for Social Work Education, for which he serves as a site visitor. He also is a reviewer for the Society for Social Work and Research.

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| The University of Alabama

The School of Social Work hosted its annual Hispanic Heritage Colloquium to celebrate Hispanic culture as part of its 2015 Fall Colloquium Series. The event signaled a new mission geared to connect Hispanic families with resources and agencies they may not be aware are available.

Tania Alameda-Lawson, assistant professor of social work, and Javonda Williams, associate dean of educational programs and services, enhanced the September 2015 colloquium by adding Q&A sessions with speakers, combined with an expanded celebration of Hispanic music and culture. They also organized and formed a fair to help agencies connect with one another and with Hispanic residents in the Tuscaloosa area.

Representatives from local agencies, including the Hispanic Interest Coalition of Alabama (HICA), “Somos Tuskaloosa” and “Voces de los Padres,” shared information about legal services, public education and immigration.

Providing outreach to the Hispanic community can be difficult for these agencies because there are few Spanish-speaking providers in the community, Alameda-Lawson said. To have the coalition and grassroots organizations in Tuscaloosa like Somos to participate in the fair and provide Q&A sessions was extremely helpful, she said “While there are pressing needs, like Spanish-speaking mental health counselors, there are simpler, more community memberbased activities, like organized sports for children, that many Hispanic families don’t know about,” she added.

HICA program coordinators Josh Medina and Vanessa Stevens delivered a lecture titled “Guerilla Advocacy in The South: Challenges and Triumphs in Immigrant Rights.” After the lectures and Q&A sessions, the day concluded with a celebration of Hispanic music and cuisine.

“The thing I want the most for my students is to learn more about the Hispanic culture and learn about the strengths and assets that the culture has, and to learn about the resiliency,” Alameda-Lawson Bruce Thyer said. “For many people that don’t know the culture, they know perhaps what they see in the news, and that’s not generally uplifting. The great majority of the people are very resourceful and entrepreneurial. I want my students to learn that.”

Bruce Thyer, professor and former dean of the College of Social Work at Florida State University, hosted a lecture on campus also as part of the School of Social Work’s 2015 Fall Colloquium Series. His forum was held in October.

For his lecture titled “Evidence-based Practice: Myths and Misconceptions,” Thyer spoke about his contributions to social work research, practice and education. His work has received national and international recognition.

Thyer is a licensed clinical social worker and a board-certified behavior analyst.

His career accomplishments include being elected a fellow of the Society for Social Work and Research, the Association for Psychological Science, and the American Psychological Association.

The School of Social Work’s Fall Colloquium Series brings speakers to campus to share their expertise with UA faculty, staff, students and guests.

SSW By the Numbers 2015-16

35

649

Total number of

Total number of

Full-Time Faculty

Students Enrolled

19

26%

are African American

Total number of

9%

are Male

Full-Time Staff

16:1 Student/Faculty Ratio

250

BSW MSW PhD 224

50%

395

30

of MSW Students are

Distance Learners

Affiliated Field Agencies

$5

million

in total endowments, of which $2.7 million is in scholarship endowments

184,230 Hours of Annual Community Service Calculated at the beginning pay rate for state of Alabama social workers, these hours represent service worth in excess of $3 million.

School of Social Work |

15

Collaborative Partnerships: Bridging Social Work and Communities UA social work faculty and students are forming innovative partnerships and doing work that impacts communities and drives social change.

by David Miller and Peter Mullins

Growing up in Hebei, China, doctoral student Fan Yang (’13 MSW), was surrounded by family, had no trouble making friends and embraced her Chinese heritage.

“I spent the first 18 years of my life there,” she said.

As an international student at The University of Alabama, Yang said she struggled to adjust to her new surroundings and barely knew American culture when she arrived at UA in 2011.

She found most international students had the same problems.

During her MSW field placement at Tuscaloosa’s One Place, a resource center that serves families and children, Yang said she realized that many American students also had limited access to other cultures.

“I was working in the center’s after-school program and met a lot of children who were asking me ‘Is China a state in the U.S.?’ It made me realize that there is a big gap between American students and international students,” she said. “Both

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populations needed to know the other’s cultures very much, but they didn’t have access to them.”

In 2012, Yang turned her experience into UA’s award-winning cultural enrichment program Heart Touch, which collaborates with Tuscaloosa’s One Place to help young Americans and international students understand and share each other’s cultures. Yang, like so many other UA social work students and faculty, takes an entrepreneurial approach toward sparking change in Tuscaloosa and other communities.

That’s the spirit of the University in general and the School of Social Work in particular, Dean Vikki Vandiver said.

“Our school has a long, rich history in fostering collaborative relationships in our communities and social service agencies to improve quality of life,” Vandiver said. “I’m proud to see our students and faculty building on this culture of engagement to break social barriers.”

Photo by: Jialong Yang

From left, Fan Yang, the founder and leader of Heart Touch Program, and Ping Shi, Tai Chi instructor, pause during a break at Holt Elementary School.

Photo by: Jialong Yang

Taking Chinese Culture to Schools Yang, who earned a master of social work from UA in 2013, came up with the idea for Heart Touch while working as a graduate assistant in the Division of Community Affairs at UA. Samory Pruitt, vice president for the Division of Community Affairs, helped Yang land the position and launch Heart Touch in UA’s Crossroads Community Center. Through the center, Heart Touch offers culture lessons, hands-on activities, field trips and other programs to provide multicultural learning experiences to elementary-aged children whose schools likely don’t have the resources to provide such enrichment opportunities.

The vision for the Heart Touch program and its success can be directly attributed to Yang’s keen intellect, her compassion for others, and her genuine desire to make the world a better place for us all, Pruitt said.

“What's even more impressive about Fan is that rather than succumb to the problems presented by a new language and culture she chose to turn them into blessings for others,” he said. “Every nation needs more of that kind of spirit and intelligence.”

Since Heart Touch launched, Yang said the program has served more than 360 students in city and county schools, including nine elementary schools in Tuscaloosa County. The program relies on international student volunteers from different majors, American students mainly from UA’s College of Education and volunteers from the local community to teach students in the classroom.

Peng Shi, a tai chi instructor in Tuscaloosa, is among volunteers who have helped to make the program a success. In 2015, she volunteered

Ping Shi teaches Tai Chi to Holt Elementary School students for Heart Touch Program.

Fan Yang, founder of Heart Touch, works with students in Tuscaloosa's One Place after-school program.

to demonstrate the art to 30 fourth- and fifthgrade students at Holt Elementary School in Tuscaloosa County.

Heart Touch continues to grow and was recently unveiled to 103 students at Paramount Junior High in rural Greene County.

Students covered six topics from Heart Touch instructors — martial arts, food, music, calligraphy, clothing and school life, and they had a chance to try Chinese dumplings.

“The venture opens the door for Heart Touch to bring its work to rural students and other locations outside the immediate

University area,” Yang said.

Back in China, Yang said she is working on her dissertation and honored by the support she continues to receive to expand the program’s reach. Her work in community engagement earned her the UA Center for Community Based Partnership’s 2016 Outstanding Student-Initiated Engagement Effort Award. She also received UA’s 2017 Horizon Award, a university Legacy award given as part of the annual Realizing the Dream celebration held at UA. The Legacy honor, she said, helped reinforce her commitment to

School of Social Work |

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Collaborative Partnerships: Bridging Social Work and Communities unity, social justice and to following the dream of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to instill a “more culturally sensitive and inclusive mindset in our children.”

Yang also researches bullying experienced by immigrant children and the health conditions of low-income children and youth with Associate Professor of Social Work Laura Hopson. She is expected to graduate with her PhD in December 2017. She plans to continue to devote her time to Heart Touch, communitybased work and social justice causes.

“Social workers work against humans’ internal weaknesses to promote social justice,” she said. “I am very inspired by the mission of social work as a profession.”

Cultivating Future Social Workers That passion for youth and community is shared by M. Sebrena Jackson, assistant professor of social work and director of the school’s MSW program. In 2008, Jackson founded the National Social Work Enrichment Program, a nonprofit in McDonough, Georgia.

The summer camp program teaches high school students in foster care about social work as a potential college major and career choice.

The field of social work is a profession that Jackson has spent more than 15 years in as an educator and mentor. In 2011, she brought the NSEP Program to UA’s campus. NSEP is

highly regarded by its university host sites for using innovative programming to help foster students find purpose while building strong community partnerships in Tuscaloosa and across the state.

Javonda Williams, associate dean for educational programs and student services, learned about NSEP when she attended an end-of-camp awards luncheon for the program at Alabama A&M in 2010.

“The program is vital to future college students looking to major in social work, as most students aren’t aware of the many professions for licensed social workers,” she said. “This valuable information is usually not compiled and clearly presented to students until they take an introduction to social work course at a university.”

NSEP summer camps allow students to spend six weeks at UA and other Alabama universities to learn about leadership, public speaking, personal finance and what it’s like to work at a social service agency. Students take a course called “Careers in Social Work” and are required to write a paper about their hope to make a difference in others’ lives. The camps also help UA social work faculty and staff cultivate healthy, positive relationships with youth in the foster care system. NSEP also provides UA students job opportunities as program assistants and mentors.

NSEP students pictured with the program's founder Sebrena Jackson (center), assistant professor of social work, and NSEP staff.

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| The University of Alabama

NSEP participants celebrate the completion of a fiveweek camp at UA.

“NSEP helps students to see the other side of what social workers have to do,” Jackson said. “The hope is that showing children how their social workers acquire the training and expertise to help them will inspire those who may want to join the profession themselves one day. We want students to remember when they have a great social worker to give back and help another person like themselves.”

NSEP collaborates with state departments of human resources, local social services and colleges and universities to offer students a rich learning experience. To help students get hands-on experience, NSEP has teamed with agencies like The Arc, Tuscaloosa’s One Place, the Boys and Girls Club, the YMCA, Habitat for Humanity, the Phoenix House and West Alabama AIDS Outreach.

Since the program was founded, NSEP summer camps have been held at Albany State University, Alabama A&M University, Alabama State University, and The University of Alabama. For the past six years, UA’s School of Social Work has hosted NSEP students.

Leosha Glasper, a former camp participant from Montgomery who attended Robert E. Lee High School, said NSEP helped her discover that there was more to the field of social work than she thought.

“If you get tired of one thing, you can move to another with that same degree,” she said.

“I just feel like this is a way for me to give back because my social worker gave me the opportunity to get back in school, get a job — things that my parents didn’t give me. And it’s a way for me to reach out and help kids who were in the situations I was in when I was younger.”

Collaborate. Innovate. Transform.

UA School of Social Work students participate in an innovative collaboration with the Tuscaloosa Fire and Rescue EMS Prevention Program to reduce the number of non-emergency calls.

Photo by: Jake Arthur, The Crimson White

Providing Alternative Care All too often, people call 911 for nonemergency problems simply because they don’t know what else to do.

For the past two years, the School of Social Work and the city of Tuscaloosa have partnered to strengthen the city’s EMS Prevention Program and decrease the city’s high nonemergency 911 call volume.

Working together, social workers and EMS experts teach residents how to monitor their own health conditions, which is a major step in improving their lives, said Allison Curington, director of field education.

“Many people, especially those who are elderly or disabled, sometimes have to rely on emergency services for issues that can be resolved in other ways,” she said.

Chris Williamson, deputy chief of the Tuscaloosa Fire and Rescue Service, and EMS personnel identified a number of people who call 911 for non-emergency issues, ranging from chronic shoulder pain to toothaches, sinus infections and long-term management of diabetes. The EMS Prevention Team visits those people in their homes, where they do assessments and inform residents of options that will better suit their needs. The city takes between 11,000 and 12,000 medical calls each year, a number that’s steadily growing.

At least a quarter of those calls are considered low-level emergencies from people who don’t have easy access to primary care.

The program’s goal is to identify vulnerable populations and help them learn how to access the proper community resources that can help them, Williamson said.

“We measure the program’s success by the lives we improve,” he said. “We’ve managed to resolve some issues.”

The program is housed in the Tuscaloosa Fire & Rescue Service, where emergency response personnel work with BSW and MSW social work students to assess needs and barriers to care. Students learn how to dispatch alternative care teams instead of

medical emergency teams, which usually require more vehicles and personnel. Social work students also create assessment tools for EMS personnel and help advertise the EMS Prevention Program throughout the community.

In-person visits to the home are one of the most efficient ways of assessing conditions and also help establish relationships with patients, according to program officials.

“The community engagement aspect of the program is vital to spreading the word and connecting people to services,” said Angela Lockhart, social work instructor and program adviser.

Last November, Lockhart, Williamson and graduate student Britt Pokuta hosted a panel discussion titled “Bridging the Social Services Gap in Emergency Medical Services” to update community members about the two-year-old program.

“I’m proud of our fire and rescue services for creating these unique, collaborative programs,” said Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox. “The partnership with the UA School of Social Work is invaluable to both the citizens of Tuscaloosa and the university in fulfilling their teaching, research and service mission.”

Photo by: David Miller From left, MSW students Britt Pokuta and Donna Benjamin, Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox, MSW student Brittnay Bradford and UA social work instructor Angela Lockhart.

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Field Happenings

GLOBAL OUTREACH

Ghana:

Gaining a global perspective Recent MSW Graduate Monica Cunningham Spent 10 Weeks in Ghana Working in HIV/AIDS Clinics and Learning Ghanaian Culture.

Monica Cunningham, a recent graduate of UA’s online MSW program, didn’t have much as a child growing up in Sulligent, Alabama.

“My grandmother reared me, and there were so many people who helped us,” she said. “I’m pretty sure that there were times that I would have gone without school supplies or Christmas presents if it weren’t for some very caring individuals.”

Cunningham decided to repay that generosity by pursuing a career in social work. She said she enrolled in the school’s MSW online program because of its “amazing reputation.” UA’s online MSW program is ranked in the top 10 nationally for online education by BestColleges.com. Students complete a field placement as part of their curriculum.

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| The University of Alabama

For her MSW field placement, Cunningham traveled to Ghana for a 10-week internship at Tema General and Ashaiman Poly, two HIV/AIDS clinics in the West African nation.

“When I heard that Ghana was a potential placement option, I just knew I had to look into it,” she said. “I started communication with the field placement supervisor, Beth Okantey, and went from there.”

In January 2016, Cunningham arrived in Ghana with the hope of fighting the stigma faced by people living with HIV/AIDS. Over the course of her internship, she discovered that Ghana is also crippled by racial and cultural stereotypes.

Collaborate. Innovate. Transform.

was unpaid. Her life experiences gave her a perspective that I could never have. She lost her husband and a young son, who died before his second birthday, to AIDS.”

A New Perspective Photo by Beth Okantey

Lake Volta near the Cape Coast in Ghana, where UA social work students travel to learn about Ghanaian culture and life.

Helping Ghana’s HIV/Aids Epidemic During her internship, Cunningham conducted individual patient counseling to educate people about free HIV/AIDS medications and Ghanaian government and social support services for those living with HIV/AIDS. “There is a huge stigma associated with the disease,” she said. “Many people, especially those in food services, lose their jobs when people find out their status.”

Her “peer support” during her visit was a woman living with HIV/AIDS who began helping others with the disease by working through nonprofits in Ghana, Cunningham said.

“Initially a grant funded the program for her work, but the money ran out,” Cunningham said. “She still did the work even though it

Working with people confronting misfortune she could not have imagined was a revelation, Cunningham said.

“I never really thought about how my race or ethnicity gave me an advantage. In Ghana, even though I was “obruni” — or a white person — I was not treated badly,” she explained. “I was a foreigner, but often I was given more respect than a local.”

The unbalanced views on race in Ghana helped her to understand “white privilege,” she said.

“In Ghana, I was seen as rich, educated and someone who was worthy of respect just because of my skin color and the fact that I was a foreigner,” she said. “That is a real eye-opening experience, and it puts into perspective the idea of white privilege.”

Cunningham, who graduated in May 2016, has returned to the United States and her job as care coordination regional supervisor for Youth Villages, a nonprofit organization working to improve the lives of youth and families. She oversees cases for about 100 youth and their

Debra Nelson-Gardell Associate Professor and Coordinator of International Programs families and heads up a staff of 16.

Through her field placement, she discovered a passion for working abroad and gained a better understanding of how race and culture impact the lives of all people, she said.

“I now realize that one truly never becomes culturally competent but … they can become culturally aware and sensitive,” she said. “I think now I’m more aware of how culture impacts my approach to working with others.”

Photo by Beth Okantey

Busua Beach along Ghana's Cape Coast, where UA social work students explore Ghanaian culture and life.

Photo by Beth Okantey

Near the Cape Coast in Ghana, where UA social work students travel to learn about Ghanaian culture and life.

School of Social Work |

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Field Happenings

Field Briefs SSW’s Field Education Program works to advance social work education through innovative and enriching field placement opportunities in Alabama, Washington, D.C and abroad. Here are some of our top 2015-16 field stories in the words of BSW and MSW students.

Field Placement:

Alabama Possible – Birmingham, Alabama

A nonprofit organization that works to remove barriers to prosperity through research, engaged learning, poverty simulations, and promoting college access and success.

New Possibilities BSW student KRYSTAL DOZIER didn’t know how to enroll in college or apply for financial aid as a high school student. Now she’s making sure that doesn’t happen to others like her. She spent her 2015 BSW field placement at Alabama Possible, working to educate high school students about the college application process and how to make the most of financial aid opportunities.

“I understand the disadvantage I had,”

she said. “Alabama Possible made me aware of the resources that are available to high school students who may face the same disadvantages. My goal is to continue to

promote a college-going culture and continue the conversation on what it means to attend college.”

Learning Opportunities Alabama Possible gave JASMINE MCKINNEY, a BSW student, her first opportunity to apply skills she acquired through social work in settings outside the discipline.

“I am extremely thankful for the opportunity

to learn what it takes to overcome educational inequity and the biases associated with poverty,” McKinney said. “I have always been

integrate my social work skills in a nonsocial work setting. Through Alabama

interested in learning how to

Possible, I have learned that it is possible to use the same social work skills — such as active listening, empathy and strengths-based From left, Jasmine McKinney, Krystal Dozier, and Field Instructor Elizabeth Parks

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| The University of Alabama

Allison Curington Instructor and Director of Field Education

perspective — in a nonprofit environment.”

Jacob Ezell with staff from Free2Be-Brimingham, which is part of a network of partnerships working to unite Alabama on LGBT issues and rights.

Field Placement:

Free2Be – Birmingham, Alabama A network of partnerships working to unite Alabama and to end violence through advocating for the human and civil rights of sexual and gender minorities.

Advocating for LGBT Rights MSW student JACOB EZELL hit the ground running as part of his internship at Free2Be-Birmingham, gaining first-hand experience in grassroots social work while building his skills in networking, advocacy, program planning, public speaking, community outreach and social justice. As part of his work with Free2Be, he served as guest speaker for an undergraduate social work class at

Collaborate. Innovate. Transform.

the University of Alabama at Birmingham, served on a panel at a True Colors Fund Youth Summit and represented Free2Be at the National Association of Social Workers Alabama Chapter 2016 Annual Conference. He also started new group therapy sessions with female youth in foster care and survivors of human trafficking.

“Interning at Free2Be allowed me to gain

valuable skills while building a client base

advocating for the rights of sexual and gender minorities,”

and

Working with Aging Adults At Iona Wellness and Arts Center, BSW student JONATHAN HARRELL gained insight into the challenges and opportunities presented by working with individuals living with dementia. Harrell had the opportunity to assist people at the center with the enrollment process, and he learned how to work effectively with individuals with different backgrounds, strengths and abilities. His most challenging experience was facilitating psychosocial group sessions, giving participants a safe space to share both positive and negative experiences and emotions.

advocacy for the rights of transgender people.

broadened my view of the aging and dementia population,” he said. “This experience

I couldn’t be happier with the good work in

has exposed me to their many wonders and

which I am getting to participate.”

ongoing importance to our society."

Ezell said. “One of my passions is working with the LGBT community, more particularly

Carroll Phelps Instructor and Field Coordinator of the Washington, D.C. Internship Program

"Iona

Gaining Clinical Practice Skills KATHERINE ROYER, an MSW student, discovered the skills she needs to contribute successfully to the social work profession during her internship at the National Institutes of Health. She worked with individuals and families going through stem cell transplant and the late effects of cancer treatment. She learned techniques for conducting thorough clinical assessments, providing psychosocial support and effectively identifying resources for patients.

working with an incredibly diverse patient population at NIH,

“In

I constantly expanded my knowledge of the intricate relationship between human behavior and the social environment.”

Jonathan Harrell, right, is pictured with a

From left, Field Instructor Jennifer Hendricks and

participant at the Iona Wellness and Arts Center

MSW student Katherine Royer

Field Placement:

Iona Wellness and Arts Center –

Washington, D.C. An organization that supports people as they experience the challenges and opportunities of aging by offering community-based services that help people age well and live well.

Field Placement:

National Institutes of Health – Washington, D.C. A U.S. Department of Health and Human Services medical research agency that is focused on making important discoveries to improve health and save lives.

CONNECT with UA SSW Field Office

on Twitter @UASWDCFlyIn.

School of Social Work |

23

Field Happenings

MSW Washington, D.C. field students visited the nation's capital and heard oral arguments for the U.S. Supreme Court case Whole Woman’s Health vs. Hellerstedt.

Members of the field team attended the NASW-AL 2016 Advocacy Day Feb. 10, 2016, in Montgomery. Members met with state legislators to discuss death penalty reform and payday loan reforms.

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| The University of Alabama

MSW Washington, D.C. field students joined more than 700 social workers and students at World Social Work Day April 4, 2016, at the United Nations in New York.

Collaborate. Innovate. Transform.

2015-16 Field Facts

1

# More than 130 field instructors attended the school’s annual Field Instructor Workshop Jan. 8, 2016, at the Embassy Suites in Tuscaloosa.

IN THE NATION for being the only social work school outside the Washington, D.C. metro area offering an internship program in the nation’s capital.

5 75

BSW students received internships in Washington, D.C. and were accepted to graduate schools.

309 Field team members helped to serve more than 225 individuals at the Tuscaloosa Community Soup Bowl.

MSW students were selected for Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, Florida, South Carolina and Tennessee field placements.

16 2

MSW students were selected for internships in Washington D.C., five of whom were new to the program.

From left, Field team members Jacqueline Jones, Shayla Smith, Keslie Fendley and Field Director Allison Curington. The group volunteered to register new applicants and deliver and distribute food at Covenant Presbyterian Church's UPC Food Pantry in October.

BSW students received field placements in Alabama.

600 OVER

VISTING SCHOLARS from Brazil and China engaged in research with distinguished social work faculty.

MSW alumni have gone through the Washington, D.C internship program.

School of Social Work |

25

Faculty and Staff News

Staff Spotlight

Student Services Coordinator Finds Niche in Helping Others

by Barbara Trainin Blank

Photo by: Neil Banchero-Smith/ University of Michigan

Helping people reach their potential is the goal of Amanda Moore, a recent MSW graduate from the University of Michigan in interpersonal practice with a concentration on children, youth, and families.

She was a practice intern at POWER Inc., a faith-based community development corporation in Ypsilanti, Michigan, that offers programs to help people do just that. Most recently, she was a graduate student staff assistant at University of Michigan’s School of Social Work Career Services. Moore attributes her helping orientation to her personality — calling herself a “nurturer and people person, and extreme extrovert”— and her background.

A native of Anniston, Alabama, she grew up with strong geographic, religious, and family roots.

“My parents love each other to death and are best friends,” she says. “Faith was important.” And, she adds laughing, “My siblings and I learned to love each other.”

Moore had no direct contact with the social work profession growing up — until high school, that is. Moore attended Westbrook Christian School, where many of the students were “ranch,” or foster, kids.

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| The University of Alabama

Westbook is part of The Big Oak Ranch, a 501(c)(3) organization that “gives hurting children a chance,” according to its website, and has social workers on staff.

“I didn’t realize many of my peers were in the system,” she says.

In her undergraduate program at Jacksonville State University, Moore did volunteer hours for her “Introduction to Social Work” course by shadowing one of those social workers. But despite a helping orientation, social work really wasn’t on Moore’s radar screen. She was considering child growth and development as a major but was wavering. Before that introductory course — which her mother, a teacher, encouraged her to take — she found nothing in her general courses to be “passionate about.”

That one course changed everything.

“I saw all the things social work could do,” Moore says.

Her mother “had always been an encourager in my education journey,” Moore said. “The more specific reason for her encouragement of the course is that she had connected professionally with some faculty and staff at Jacksonville who had

social work degrees and one who worked for the department. As mothers tend to do, she talked about her children. They suggested I look into social work.”

Her mother was also inspiring in another way. Recently, she earned a Ph.D., which Moore calls “awesome.” But right now, at least, going further with higher education doesn’t seem to be part of her own five-year plan. Her father took a different path: he has a business degree and owned his own enterprise—selling handmade items made by his mother.

Helping others has been part of Moore’s life in formal and informal ways. She volunteered for the Washtenaw Interfaith Coalition for Immigrant Rights and several causes on campus. She also participated in humanitarian missions to Haiti and Jamaica.

During the earlier mission, she was part of a group that helped build the foundation of an emergency care unit. In Jamaica, the volunteers helped construct a schoolhouse.

Her settling on working in career services for college students reflects a subset of a passion.

Collaborate. Innovate. Transform.

Amanda’s presence is one of a very open and welcoming leadership style.

“As much as I love children and youth, the age group of 18-24 really resonates with me,” she says. “The point I try to make is that there’s no shame in asking for help. Students want to make it on their own, but they’re far from home. The office of career services is a way to reach more students.”

Two of the people in Moore’s orbit speak accolades about her leadership qualities.

Michelle Woods, director of career services at the University of Michigan School of Social Work, observed the young woman helping students prepare for field placements and mock interviews.

“Amanda’s presence is one of a very open and welcoming leadership style,” says Woods.

“She’s very cooperative, and makes others feel comfortable.” At the same time, she “knows how to give clear direction. It can be sticky for a student to have oversight [over students], but she’s very tactful.”

Becky Corbett, MSW, ACSW, president and CEO of BS Corbett Consulting and Moore’s professional mentor, met her less than a year

ago at a conference of career development consultants.

“She had me at ‘hello,’” Corbett says.

“She was laughing and cheery, vibrant and energetic and full of life. Amanda has a magnetic personality. I could tell she’d be an up-and-coming social work leader.”

Outside of work and school, interacting with family and friends is probably Moore’s foremost “hobby.” Moore also does Zumba with her best girlfriend and loves to read — with a special emphasis on the classics and memoirs.

“I read (Jane Austen’s) Pride and Prejudice every summer,” she says. She has a cocker spaniel-poodle mix named Indiana.

And yes, he’s not named for the state but for Indiana Jones of movie fame. Indiana is “very possessive but sweet,” Moore says.

Having long wished to return to the South to be closer to family, she has now achieved that goal. Moore found her “dream job” as coordinator of student services at the University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa School of

Social Work. It was also a dream job search process. She went to the university for an informational interview, without knowing there was a “job in the works.” Brought back for a formal interview, she was offered a position that afternoon.

“I’m thrilled,” says Moore. “I wanted to work in student services, helping develop and recruit future social workers. And I get to work in a field I’m really passionate about.”

Who would have guessed, she concludes, that because of one course her mother encouraged her to take, “it all worked out so lovely.”

Freelance writer Barbara Trainin Blank, formerly of Harrisburg, PA, lives in the greater Washington, DC, area. She writes regularly for The New Social Worker.

This is a reprint of her article “Role Model” published in the Winter 2016 issue of the New Social Worker Magazine.

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Faculty and Staff News

New Faculty Carrie Turner Education: Turner holds a bachelor’s in commerce and business administration and a master’s in social work, both from The University of Alabama.

Turner, a licensed graduate social worker, joined the School of Social Work’s Field Education Program in November 2015 as a MSW field coordinator. She has 15 years of experience in child welfare. Prior to joining the School of Social Work, she worked

at the Alabama Department of Human Resources in various roles. In her new role as field coordinator, she teaches an integrative seminar, serves as a field liaison and works to support all aspects of the school’s growing field education program.

New Staff Amanda Dobbins

Brodrick Ryans

Manager of Fiscal Affairs July 2015

Operations Coordinator February 2016

Angie Brown

Jennifer Thomas

Executive Assistant to Dean December 2015

Program Assistant, Office of Student Services and Educational Activities December 2015

Amanda Moore Coordinator of Student Services, Office of Student Services and Educational Activities January 2016

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Collaborate. Innovate. Transform.

New Appointments

Javonda Williams Javonda Williams has been promoted to associate professor with tenure and associate dean for educational programs and student services. She previously served as an assistant professor and assistant dean with the school.

In her new role, she continues to provide administrative oversight, support and assessment of educational programs and student services. She also manages the school’s Office of Student Services, which oversees scholarships and admissions. Additionally, Williams has taken on more personnel-related functions, including adjunct hiring, training and evaluation. She also conducts school and university-wide assessments, works to expand academic and community partnerships, monitors enrollment management and responds to special university administrative assignments from the Office for Academic Affairs and the university’s provost.

In 2016, Williams received the Jean B. Rayfield Award for her outstanding contributions to the wellbeing of students.

Karen Starks

Allison Curington

Karen Starks, assistant professor of social work, was elected president of the Board of Directors for the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) Georgia Chapter. She began in her new role July 1, 2016.

As president, she will work with the board to help implement the NASW Modernization and Revitalization Initiative titled “One Association.” The initiative will include addressing five social justice priorities: voting rights, criminal justice, juvenile justice, immigration reform and economic justice/equality. Starks also is founder of the Community Entrepreneurship Institute, Inc., a nonprofit organization that promotes entrepreneurship among urban residents and teens. In summer 2017, she plans to replicate the program in Georgia.

Her research interests include social policy, urban entrepreneurship and economic justice.

For the second consecutive year, Allison Curington, director of field education, was appointed to the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) Council on Field Education.

The Council on Field Education is a council of the Commission on Educational Policy, a CSWE governing body. Members of the Council on Field Education work to advance the role of field education as the signature pedagogy in social work education by promoting, collaborating with, recommending, and distributing information to social work field educators and related membership organizations.

The council also actively participates in discussions regarding educational policy and accreditation standards to ensure and strengthen the integration of theory and practice.

Curington is serving a three-year term, which runs from July 1, 2016, to June 30, 2019.

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Faculty and Staff News

Faculty Accolades

Cassandra E. Simon Engagement Scholarship Consortium Award

Cassandra E. Simon, associate professor of social work, is a champion for social justice causes, especially those impacting the AfricanAmerican community. She was honored in 2016

Kevin Corcoran Advisor Award

Hyunjin Noh University Research Honor

Hyunjin Noh, assistant professor of social work, received a 2016 President’s Faculty Research Award for her outstanding contributions to the field of social work related to gerontology.

Every year, UA holds Faculty Research Day to showcase and celebrate excellence in research and scholarship by bringing together UA faculty from across disciplines. The event is intended to increase awareness and generate enthusiasm for scholarship among faculty at UA as the university moves to advance its research enterprise. The President’s Faculty Research

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| The University of Alabama

for her scholarly works and her commitment to the field of social work.

She was recognized at the 16th Annual Engagement Scholarship Consortium Conference for her role as founding editor of the Journal of Community Engagement and Scholarship, which is published at the University of Alabama. The journal is a leading publication in the important field of engagement scholarship. During the conference, she was presented with an award in appreciation of her leadership, dedication to excellence and commitment to engagement

scholarship as founding editor of the journal, which is sponsored by the consortium and now in its ninth year. The conference was held in State College, Pennsylvania.

For the second year in a row, Simon also was named a 2016 Outstanding Black Leader in the Community by The University of Alabama College Democrats. The progressive political group is chartered through the Alabama College Democrats State Federation and the Democratic National Committee.

Simon has been a faculty member in the School of Social Work for 15 years.

Kevin Corcoran, professor of social work, is dedicated to ensuring student success. He received the School of Social Work’s 2016 Undergraduate Research Advisor of the Year Award for his commitment to serving as a faculty mentor to social work students.

Each spring, Corocran mentors social work student researchers in the university’s

Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity Conference, a premier annual event that provides undergraduates an opportunity to highlight their research or creative activity. He was presented the award at Honors Day and recognized at the school’s 2016 Academic Awards ceremony held at the Cypress Inn Pavilion in Tuscaloosa.

Award — sponsored by UA’s president and the vice president for research and economic development — is awarded to outstanding faculty researchers.

Since joining UA, Noh has conducted a qualitative study exploring hospice care staff’s communications with terminally ill minority patients and their families during hospice admissions visits. Her study was funded by the University of Alabama Research Grant Committee. She is currently conducting a pilot study titled “Understanding Perceptions of Advance Care Planning by Race and Health Status,” which is being funded by a pilot grant from the Deep South Resource Center for Minority Aging Research.

She will use the grant to study communitydwelling elders’ understanding of life-sustaining treatments and their educational needs for end-of-life care planning. In addition to her research, Noh serves as a trainee of the Health Disparities Research Training Program at the

ONLINE EXCLUSIVE: Watch a video about Hyunjin Noh’s cutting-edge research and how she’s showcasing research excellence in the School of Social Work online at osp.ua.edu/FRD_bios_Hyunjin_Noh.html.

University of Alabama at Birmingham Minority Health and Health Disparities Research Center.

She also is a Deep South Resource Center for Minority Aging Research scholar and coconvener of the Hospice, Palliative and End-ofLife Care Interest Group at the Gerontological Society of America.

Noh was honored along with 13 other UA faculty researchers at Faculty Research Day in March at the Bryant Conference Center.

Collaborate. Innovate. Transform.

Michael Parker Duke Medical Scholar

Michael Parker, professor of social work, has more than 14 years of experience in substance abuse, successful aging, eldercare, and faith and health. In 2016, he was named a nonresident scholar for the Center for Spirituality, Theology and Health at Duke Medical Center for his efforts to promote scholarly activities in the areas of religion, spirituality and health.

Parker has received numerous honors for his publications and research throughout his

David L. Albright Distinguished Alumni Award, Dean’s Honor

David L. Albright, Hill Crest Foundation Endowed Chair in Mental Health and associate professor of social work, is dedicated to helping military families and veterans through his research. In 2015 and 2016, he was recognized with several honors for his research and scholarship focusing on helping others understand the consequences of military service.

He received the Florida State University College of Social Work’s 2015 Distinguished Young Alumni Award for his outstanding leadership and exceptional contributions to social work. The award goes to an alumnus who graduated fewer than 10 years ago and who has demonstrated such qualities. He was presented with the award at the FSU College of Social Work’s Student Scholarship and Distinguished Graduate Dinner in September.

academic career. His research interests include congregations, addressing ageism in the modern church, theological perspectives, and sustainable, evidence-based programs that can be implemented through partnerships — across denominational lines — that tap into regional academic institutions. He is committed to the development of sustainable methods that translate research to enable successful aging conferences, aging in place initiatives, disaster planning, parent care readiness and life review programs for older persons and their caregivers.

Located in the Center for Aging at Duke University Medical Center, the Center for Spirituality, Theology and Health focuses on conducting research and training to support dialogue and discussion on spirituality, religion and health in public health and clinical practice.

Vikki Vandiver Outstanding Mentor Award

Albright also received the 2016 Dean’s Faculty Award for Research, Teaching and Service. The award recognizes excellence and commitment to the field of social work and the UA School of Social Work. Albright has brought national recognition to the School of Social Work through his research interests in health promotion and behavioral change among military personnel, veterans and their families.

Through his research, Albright wants to help others better understand the consequences of military service, which include social cognitive determinants and related conditions that influence the health and mental health of veterans and their dependents. In so doing, he hopes to foster a better understanding of the services that would best meet their needs.

Before coming to UA, Albright served as an assistant professor of social work at The University of Missouri. In August 2015, he joined the School of Social Work as the Hill Crest Foundation Endowed Chair in Mental Health. He received both his master’s and doctoral degrees from Florida State University.

Vikki Vandiver, dean of the School of Social Work, was honored for her role as an outstanding mentor through the Mentor Recognition Program of the Council on the Role and Status of Women in Social Work Education, also known as the Women’s Council.

The Women’s Council is one of several councils of the Council on Social Work Education’s Commission for Diversity and Social and Economic Justice.

The honor is given to mentors in the social work profession who make a significant difference in the lives of women in social work education through their contributions to feminist thought, practice, and scholarship. Mentors also are recognized for working to increase the visibility of women in the field and supporting the efforts of the Women’s Council to further women in social work education.

Vandiver was recognized, along with other mentors, at the council’s annual breakfast held Oct. 17, 2015, in Denver, Colorado.

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Faculty and Staff News

Staff Recognitions Sandra Wilson

2016 Gundy Award Recipient

Gwen Montgomery Staff Appreciation Award

Sandra “Sandy” Wilson, an executive secretary and operations coordinator for the Office of the Dean, was named the 2016 recipient of the Howard B. Gundy Award.

The award is given in recognition of a staff member’s distinguished service to the school’s students, alumni, faculty, staff and to the profession of social work. The honor is named

for Howard B. Gundy, the school’s first dean.

Wilson was recognized at the school’s 2016 Academic Awards ceremony held at the Cypress Inn in Tuscaloosa.

BSW and PhD program assistant Gwen Montgomery is always at the center of student life in the School of Social Work. She received the 2016 Doctoral Student Organization Faculty and Staff Appreciation Award for her dedication to helping students at the school’s 2016 Academic Awards ceremony.

The award is given to a one faculty or staff member in the school who has made a significant contribution to doctoral student life.

Montgomery has served as a program assistant for the school since 2007.

Faculty and Doctoral Scholarship Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles Lichtenstein, B., Barber, B. W., & Partnership, T. W. A. A. O. (2016). A partnership approach to providing on-site HIV services for probationers and parolees: A pilot study from Alabama, USA. Journal of the International AIDS Society, 19(3), 1-7.

Brad Barber Doctoral Student

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Barber, B.W. & Lichtenstein, B. (2015).

Support for HIV testing and HIV criminalization among offenders under community supervision.

Research in the Sociology of Health Care, 33(1), 253-273.

| The University of Alabama

Smith, B.D., & Womack, B. G. (2016).

Human service administrators’ attitudes toward immigration: Shaped by community and organizational context? Human Service Organizations: Management, Leadership, & Governance, 40(1), 6-21.

Brenda Smith Associate Professor

Rajendran, K., Smith, B.D., & Videka, L. (2015). Association of caregiver social support with the safety, permanency, and well-being of children in child welfare. Children and Youth Services Review, 48 (1), 150-158.

Collaborate. Innovate. Transform.

Lo, C., Hopson, L., M., Simpson, G. & Cheng, T.C., (2016).

Racial/ethnic differences in emotional health: A longitudinal study of immigrants’ adolescent children. Community Mental Health Journal, DOI 10.1007/s10597-016-0049-8.

Lo, C. C., & Cheng, T.C. (2015). Race, employment, disadvantages and heavy drinking: A multilevel model. Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, 47(3), 221-229.

Albright, D. L., Oliver, P. D., & Demiris, G. (2015). Reaction to caregiving by hospice caregivers upon enrollment. American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Medicine, 32, 641-646.

Gaynell M. Simpson

Albright, D. L., Washington, K., Oliver, P. D., Lewis, A. M., Kruse, R. L., & Demiris, G. (2016). The social convoy for family caregivers over the course of hospice. Journal of Pain and Symptom Management, 51(2), 213-219.

Assistant Professor Cheng, T.C., & Lo, C. (2015). Change in adolescents’ alcoholuse patterns, from non-drinking to non-heavy drinking or heavy drinking. Journal of Child & Adolescent Substance Abuse, 45(4), 447-459.

Cheng, T. C., & Lo, C. (2015). Racial disparities in intimate partner violence and in seeking help from mental health. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 30(18), 3283-3307.

Canada, K. E., Markway, G., & Albright, D. L. (2016).

Psychiatric symptoms and mental health court engagement.

Psychology, Crime & Law, 22(6), 1-17.

Cesnales, N. I., Thyer, B. A., Albright, D. L., & Neujahr, N. E. (2016). Health-related quality of life among people living with HIV/AIDS. Journal of HIV/AIDS and Social Services, 15(2), 202-215.

Tyrone Cheng Professor

Lo, C., Cheng, T. C., & de la Rosa, I. A. (2015). Depression and substance use: A temporal-ordered model. Substance Use and Misuse, 50(10) 1274-1283.

Cheng, T C., & Lo, C. (2015). A longitudinal causal analysis of impact made by collaborative engagement and service receipt on likelihood of substantiated re-report. Child Maltreatment, 20(4), 258-267.

Lo, C., Cheng, T. C., & Simpson, G. (2016). Marital status and health limitation: A longitudinal study of young adult and middle-aged Americans. International Journal of Public Health, 61(1), 91-100.

Ellen Csikai Professor

Leah Cheatham Assistant Professor

Washington, K. T., Albright, D. L., Parker, O. D., Gage, A., Lewis, A., & Mooney, M. J. (2016). Hospice and palliative social workers’ experiences with clients at risk of suicide.

Palliative & Supportive Care, 1-8.

Washington, K. T., Parker Oliver, D., Gage, A. L., Albright, D. L., Demiris, G. (2016). A multimethod analysis of shared decision-making in hospice interdisciplinary team meetings including family caregivers. Palliative Medicine, 30(3), 270278.

Allen, R. S., Azuero, C.B., Csikai, E.L., Parmelee, P.A., Shin, H..J., Kvale, E., Durkin, D.W., & Burgio, L.D. (2016). “It was very rewarding for me …”: Senior volunteers’ experiences with implementing a reminiscence and creative activity intervention. The Gerontologist, 56(2), 357-367.

Cheatham, L. P., Abell, N., & Kim, H. (2015). Development and validation of the Social Worker’s Attitudes Toward Disability Scale. Journal of Social Work Education, 51(2), 379-397.

Hendricks T. K., Albright, D. L., Shields, M., Kauffman, E., Michaud, C., Plummer, T.S., Taylor, S., & Hamner, K. (2016). Predictors of depression diagnoses and symptoms in female veterans: Results from a national survey and implications for programming. Journal of Military and Veterans’ Health, 24(3), 6-16.

Ratkowski, K. L., Washington, K. T., Craig, K. W., & Albright, D. L. (2015). The stress of sadness: The most stressful symptoms for hospice family caregivers. American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Medicine, 32, 745-749.

Lo, C., Cheng, T.C., & Smith, G. (2016). Racial attitudes characterizing social work students at a Southern university.

Smith College Studies on Social Work, 86(2), 156-178.

Cheng, T. C., & Tang, N. (2016). SNAP out of it: A study of low-income families’ underutilization of food stamps. Journal of Poverty, 20(2), 152-267.

Cox, J., & Albright, D. L. (2016). Can you keep a secret?

Examining military couples’ disclosure through the lens of communication privacy management theory. Journal of Military and Government Counseling, 4(1), 12-21.

David Albright Hill Crest Foundation Endowed Chair in Mental Health and Associate Professor

Washington, K. L., Pike, K. C., Demiris, G., Parker, O. D., Albright, D. L., & Lewis, A. M. (2015). Gender differences in caregiving at end of life: Implications for hospice teams.

Journal of Palliative Medicine, 18(12), 1048-1053.

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Faculty and Staff News

Noh, H., & Kwak, J. (2016). End-of-life decision making for persons with dementia: Proxies’ perception of support. Dementia: The International Journal of Social Research and Practice, 0(0), 1-16.

Hyunjin Noh Assistant Professor

Noh, H., De Sayu, R., Anderson, K., & Ford, C. (2016). Community-based participatory research on issues around palliative and end-of-life care: Literature review. Journal of Hospice & Palliative Nursing, 18(3), 249-255.

Burgio, K. L., Williams, B. R., Dionne-Odom, J. N., Redden, D. T., Noh, H., Goode, P. S., Kvale, E., Bakitas, M., & Bailey, F. A. (2016). Racial differences in processes of care at end of life in VA medical centers: Planned secondary analysis of data from the BEACON trial. Journal of Palliative Medicine. 19(2), 157-163.

Traylor, A., Williams, J., Kenney, J. & Hopson, L. (2016). Relationships between well-being and friend support and behavior. Children and Schools Journal, 38, 179-186.

Javonda Williams Associate Dean for Educational Programs and Student Services and Associate Professor

Young, T., Williams, J., Nelson-Gardell, D., Edwards, S., Thorington, V. (2016). Assessing the helpfulness of one parenting assistance helpline. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 25(7), 2236-2245.

Williams, J., Nelson-Gardell, D., Faller, K., Tishelman, A. & Cordisco-Steele, L. (2016). Perceptions of the value of extended assessments to resolve allegations of sexual abuse: It’s the performance that counts. Journal of Social Service Research, 42 (1), 57-69.

Williams, J., Simon, C., & Bell, A. (2015) Missing the mark: The image of the social work profession in an African American community.

Journal of Ethnic and Cultural Diversity in Social Work, 24(1), 56-70.

Williams, B., Amos, B., Noh, H., Woodby, L., Wittich, A., & Burgio, K. (2015). “I was ready to take him home”: Next-of-kin’s accounts of loved one’s death before planned hospice discharge in Veterans Affairs medical centers. Journal of Social Work in End-of-Life and Palliative Care, 11(1), 50-73.

Book Chapters Fletcher, K., Albright, D. L., Rorie, K. A., Lewis, A. M. Lewis, A. (2016).

Older veterans. In J. Beder (Ed.), Caring for the military: A guide for helping professionals (pp. 54-71). NY: Routledge.

Weiss, E., Hino, D., Canfield, J., and Albright, D. L., (2016). Military families: Strengths and concerns. In J. Beder (Ed.), Caring for the military: A guide for helping professionals. NY: Routledge.

Laski, S., & Albright, D. L. (2016). Sexual and gender minority veterans.

In J. Beder (Ed.), Caring for the military: A guide for helping professionals (pp. 143-154). NY: Routledge.

Weiss, E. L., Moncrief, D., DeBraber, T., and Albright, D. L. (2016). The impact of war on young military-connected children. In J. Beder (Ed.), Caring for the military: A guide for helping professionals. NY: Routledge.

Seamone, E., & Albright, D. L. Veterans in the criminal justice system.

(2016). In L. Hicks, E. Weiss, & J. Coll (Eds.), The Civilian Lives of U.S. Veterans: Issues and Identities (pp. 481-508). Praeger.

Allen, R. S., Noh, H., Beck, L. N., & Smith, L. J. (2016). Caring for individuals nearing the end of life. In L. D. Burgio, J. E. Gaugler & D. Algase (Eds.), The spectrum of family caregiving for adults and elders with chronic conditions. NY: Oxford University Press.

Van den Berk-Clark, C., and Albright, D. L. (2016). Homeless veterans. In J. Beder (Ed.), Caring for the military: A guide for helping professionals (pp. 23-33). NY: Routledge.

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Parker, M., Greenberg, J., Malick, M., M., Simpson, G., Namkung, E., & Toseland, R. W., (2016). Caregivers to older and disabled adults. In Berkman, B. (Ed.). Handbook of Social Work in Health and Aging. Oxford University Press, Inc. New York: NY.

Collaborate. Innovate. Transform.

Recently Appointed Editorial Affiliations Elle Csikai, professor of social work, was appointed to the Editorial Advisory Board for the Journal of Pain and Symptom Management. She also was appointed to the Editorial Board for Kontact Journal of Nursing and Social Sciences related to Health and Illness.

In Memoriam

Brenda D. Smith, associate professor, was appointed to the Editorial Advisory Board of the Journal for Human Service Organizations: Management, Leadership and Governance.

Retirements Alumnus Raymond O. Sumrall of Castle Rock, Colorado, Professor Emeritus of social work, died on Oct. 29, 2015, from Parkinson’s disease.

Sheila Blackshear

Cynthia Tyler

Sandra Wilson

Sheila Blackshear (’73, ’82 MSW), an instructor, retired effective Aug. 1, 2016. She began her 30-year career with the school in 1984 as an adjunct instructor. She was later hired as an instructor, a position that she held until her retirement. During her tenure, she taught courses in psychopathology, introduction to social work, aging, and mental health issues in adults. She also served as a student advisor and worked in the school’s Field Office.

Cynthia Tyler (‘82 MSW) retired effective Jan. 1, 2016, as assistant professor of social work. She also served as director of the Department of Social Sciences in the College of Community Health and Sciences and director of social services at the Capstone Medical Center. At the center, she supervised social work interns and conferred with medical students and family practice residents about their patients’ needs. She also provided counseling services in the center’s Psychiatry/Neurology Clinic.

In 1970, Sumrall began his long career at the University of Alabama and in the School of Social Work. He served the school and university in various roles for 40 years, retiring in 2010.

During his tenure, he was chair of the MSW Program, director of continuing education and the director of the Alabama Victim/ Witness Resource Network. He founded the school's Youth Services Institute and served as director of the institute.

Sumrall enjoyed helping students through the school’s Field Education Program. He spent three summers in Hong Kong teaching students at Shue Yan College and for several years he directed field placement students in the school’s Washington, D.C. field program. Additionally, he helped develop the university’s holistic treatment program, receiving several honors for his work. He received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Association of Social Workers Alabama Chapter and The Howard B. Gundy Award for his distinguished service to the School of Social Work. He also was inducted into the Alabama Social Work Hall of Fame.

The Raymond O. Sumrall Endowed Scholarship at The University of Alabama is named in his honor.

Sandra ‘Sandy’ Wilson retired Feb. 1, 2015, as executive secretary and operations coordinator in the Office of the Dean after 14 years with the school.

Wilson came to UA in 1981 and previously worked in the School of Law.

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Faculty and Staff News

Current Faculty External Research Funding Total: $6,940,003 David Albright University of Missouri, A Problem-Solving Intervention for Family Caregivers in Palliative Oncology. Project Period: August 1, 2015 – June 30, 2017. Funded by a grant to Missouri from NIHA – National Institutes of Health. $18,485

David Albright and Karl Hamner

Carol Drolen, Allison Curington, and Carroll Phelps HRSA – Health Resources and Services Administration, Transitional Age Youth – University of Alabama (TAY-UA). Project Period: September 30, 2014 – September 29, 2017. $945,337

Community Foundation of South Alabama, South Alabama Veterans Needs Assessment.

Project Period: September 15, 2015 – November 7, 2016. $33,113

Debra Nelson-Gardell

NICHD –Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Service Member to Civilian.

Project Period: April 1, 2014 – April 30, 2017. $25,000

Hyunjin Noh

Jill Beck Alabama Department of Youth Services, Youth Services Institute. Project Period: October 1, 2015 – September 30, 2016. $630,595 Alabama Department of Youth Services, Working on Womanhood. Project Period: October 1, 2015 – September 30, 2016. $2,520,429 Alabama Department of Youth Services, Accountability-Based Sex Offender Program: Continuum of Care. Project Period: October 1, 2015 – September 30, 2016. $373,446 Tuscaloosa County Schools, Evergreen School – Educational Services to Qualified Students.

Project Period: October 1, 2015 – September 30, 2016. $79,067

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| The University of Alabama

Alabama Department of Child Abuse Prevention, DCAP/CTF Evaluation. Project Period: August 1, 2014 – July 31, 2015. $86,000

The University of Alabama-Birmingham (UAB) Minority Health and Health Disparities Research Center, Understanding Perceptions of Advance Care Planning by Race and Health Status. Project Period: July 1, 2015 – May 15, 2017. Funded by a grant to UAB from NIA – National Institute on Aging. $50,000

Amy Traylor NIDA – National Institute on Drug Abuse, Developing Virtual Reality Environments for Marijuana – Using Adolescents. Project Period: April 1, 2014 – June 30, 2017. $345,425 The University of Alabama-Birmingham (UAB), Leadership Education in Adolescent Health. Project Period: July 1, 2012 – June 30, 2017. Funded by a grant to UAB from – Health Resources and Services Administration. $124,990

Vikki Vandiver Alabama Department of Mental Health, Placement of Graduate SW Students at Taylor-Hardin Secure Facility. Project Period: October 1, 2015 – September 30, 2017. $15,000

Vikki Vandiver and Kristy Holt Alabama Department of Human Services, ADHR – Title IV-E FY16. Project Period: October 1, 2015 – September 30, 2016. $1,693,116

50 C

ELEBRATING 50 YEARS OF SOCIAL WORK EXCELLENCE

Save the Date 50 TH

ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION

FRIDAY, APRIL 6, 2018

School of Social Work

Alumni News

LEGACY FAMILY

Social Work Alumna Improves Lives as Integrative Health Professional and Certified Yoga Therapist.

By Adrienne Nettles

Mary Partlow stood in the kitchen doorway at her family’s home in Tuscaloosa and watched as her mother argued with the family doctor. It was 1975. Her father had lung cancer and was in his final days.

“She wanted him to be at home and comfortable,” said Partlow (’81, MSW ’96).

“As the doctor stood on our back porch, I remember him telling my mother that he couldn’t prescribe and administer my father the high dosage of narcotic pain medicine he needed if remained at home. He would have to be admitted into the hospital.”

Partlow’s father, Tuscaloosa lawyer W. D. (Billy) Partlow Jr., spent six weeks in the hospital with his wife by his bedside.

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“I was a senior in high school at the time, and when I went to visit Daddy after school in the hospital, my mother would tell me it was important to hold his hand so that he knew he wasn’t alone. She knew he was scared,” Partlow said. “Hospice care just wasn’t something that was well-known or available to families in Alabama in the 1970s.”

Partlow never forgot any of it: Watching her father die, seeing her mother’s concern for his comfort in those final weeks, and her own fears a decade later when her mother battled oral cancer. Those hard times became the catalyst for her career in social work and subsequent work in integrative health.

Interning in Washington, D.C. Ten years later Partlow ached again with the unnecessarily prolonged loss of a parent when her mother, Rosa Earle Partlow, suffering from oral cancer, eventually needed hospice care.

“I was 28 at the time and living in Maine,” she said. “I returned to Tuscaloosa to help my family care for Mama when it became clear she was a good candidate for hospice care. I found myself looking for the same strength and courage I saw in her when she was taking care of Daddy,” she said.

Partlow was with her mother the day she told her doctor that she wanted to stop treatment for the cancer.

Alumni New

Mary Partlow is a social work professional, an entrepreneur and the founder of the Maryland University of Integrative Health’s Master of Science in Yoga Therapy program.

School of Social Work |

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Alumni News “Months later, she died in my arms on the way to an office visit,” Partlow remembered. “We made the decision to stop at the hospital, unfortunately.”

She and the family made it clear to the doctors that her mother had a DNR – a “do not resuscitate” order. Her sister was in the hospital waiting room calling relatives when the doctors informed them they had given her mother a tracheotomy. They had resuscitated her against her final wishes, Partlow said.

“My mother lived through the winter of 1986 and passed in April of that year,” Partlow said. “Had her wishes been followed she would have been able to die with the dignity she deserved.”

Partlow made up her mind to spend her life helping people in similar situations. She found her calling in the University of Alabama School of Social Work’s MSW program.

She recalls supportive UA faculty mentors Lee Badger, Phil Crunk, Madeline Hill and Gordon McNeil, who shaped her student career in medical social work and influenced her decision to apply for an internship in the school’s MSW Washington, D.C. field program.

“The way my parents died had a lot to do with the field I chose,” Partlow said. “I loved Dr. Badger’s courses and it’s because of her that I eventually began pursuing the field of medical social work. She was a remarkable professor. Whatever she taught, she brought it to life.”

As an MSW student, Partlow studied social welfare policy under Crunk. She developed an interest in healthcare policy and advocacy while she was an intern in the Washington D.C. field program, which was launched 37 years ago and now has more than 600 alumni. The program prepares students personally and professionally in direct service programs, public policy and advocacy implementation.

Partlow took an internship at the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center, where she worked in the Pediatric HIV and Oncology unit helping HIV positive children who came to the center as part of clinical trials.

“Interns gathered information on HIV positive children who were considered ‘long-term survivors’ and studied the factors and indicators that contributed to survival

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in children,” she said. The group found that patients who had a strong support system and the ability to talk about their diagnosis with a close friend were major factors in their survival.

The training helped Partlow land her first job at Howard University Hospital and Whitman-Walker, a Washington, D.C. community health center specializing in HIV/ AIDS care and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender care. She credits the school’s field program for helping her develop a passion for assisting people living with HIV/AIDS and her early advocacy work in domestic and global health supporting women and children with HIV/AIDS. Paving the way in integrative health In 2008, Partlow’s love for yoga led her into the emerging field of yoga as therapy.

She is one of the first practitioners to be certified by the International Association of Yoga Therapists.

Her cutting-edge use of yoga as a therapeutic approach to healthy living is highly regarded among academics as well

as professional yoga practitioners. In 2013, the Maryland University of Integrative Health hired her to design the country’s first and only Master of Science in yoga therapy. The program, now fully accredited, has produced 34 graduates, with more than 50 more students on track to graduate.

As Partlow learned more about the growing body of evidence supporting integrative health and well-being, she saw that treating the patient is as important as treating the disease.

“Integrative health goes a step further and looks at the whole person and how the diagnosis or treatment is impacting their life or interfering with their ability to live fully, she said.”

Each patient is an individual who has a family and is part of a community, and who should not be treated as a mere diagnosis, she said.

“Integrative disciplines, including yoga, are not about curing disease, but relieving the pain and suffering caused by the disease, the condition, or the treatment,” she said.

Legacy Family

An growing number of academic programs support the discipline and therapy that yoga provides. It’s no longer seen as an alternative to treatment, but an important part of it.

Therapeutic yoga and modern medicine now go hand-in-hand.

Today, more physicians and other healthcare professionals are moving into practicing yoga and integrating it into care as the science increasingly supports the benefits of regular practice of yoga and meditation.

“An growing number of academic programs support the discipline and therapy that yoga provides. It’s no longer seen as an alternative to treatment, but an important part of it,” she said. “Therapeutic yoga and modern medicine now go hand-in-hand.”

Following the family name Partlow’s devotion to social causes is a family tradition. Her family has deep roots in the mental health field and the Partlow name has a long, rich history in Tuscaloosa and Alabama. Her grandfather, William Dempsey Partlow Sr., was a physician and psychiatrist and from 1919 until 1950 served as a superintendent at Bryce Hospital — also known as the Alabama Hospital for the Insane.

Her grandfather went on to open the Alabama Home for Mental Defectives near Bryce in 1923. In 1927, the facility was renamed Partlow State School, and later the W.D. Partlow Developmental Center. For 88 years, the school and center served as Alabama’s only residential facility and school for people with intellectual disabilities.

In 2010, UA bought the historic Bryce building and property. The facility is undergoing a $40 million restoration to house a welcome center and a museum of mental health and UA history. There also will be

event space and classrooms for performing arts students. The university’s purchase of Bryce was followed by the closure of the W.D. Partlow center in 2011 after the last of the center’s 150 residents were moved to a community home.

The Partlow family shaped mental health care throughout the state, and has always seen patients as more than a mental health diagnosis, Partlow said.

“He saw them as people with worth and dignity, who could do work that had value.

This was intended to be therapeutic and gave patients a purpose,” she said.

Choosing the political spotlight As a student at UA, Partlow became involved in campus politics early on. She was involved in a historic time in race relations, and worked alongside student leaders who pioneered a new atmosphere of tolerance.

“During my freshman year, I had the opportunity to work on the campaign for Cleophus “Cleo” Thomas Jr. (’77), who was running for Student Government Association president,” Partlow said. “I wasn’t initially interested in getting involved in campus politics, but I saw this as a great opportunity to support very positive change as he would eventually become the first African American student government president.”

While working on the campaign, Partlow met campaign manager Sylvester Jones ('75, '78 MA), another African American student with whom she worked closely and developed

a lasting friendship. The UA Sylvester Jones Leadership and Career Resource Center is named in his honor to recognize his “special gift to establish friendships across the boundaries of race, religion, and philosophy.”

He was always a person who could unite diverse people, Partlow said.

“He built a coalition of students to work on the campaign — women, whites and blacks,” she said. “It really was very much an extension of the civil rights movement within itself.”

At one point, Partlow said she and other campaign workers became targets of threats and violence, including one evening when someone threw rocks through the window of a room where campaign staff was meeting. The night of the election, crosses blazed on the front lawns of Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority and a Jewish fraternity house, she said.

“You have to remember that at that time every other SGA president elected had been a member of The Machine,” said Partlow, referring to the university’s100-year-old, allwhite society that was known for methodically electing its own candidate as SGA president.

In spite of everything, in 1976, Thomas was elected SGA president when he won a runoff election against student Joe Williamson.

It would take nearly 40 years before the university’s second African American SGA president, Elliot Spillers, was elected in 2015.

After working on the campaign, Partlow went on to become the first female student representative on the University of Alabama Board of Trustees, serving from 1977 to 1978.

Throughout her life and work, through all the innovation and creation, the opening of minds and developing new ways to ease suffering, Partlow hearkens back to UA as her touchstone, the place where her driven life took form.

“Social justice and social welfare drove my decision to pursue my master’s in social work, and I’m driven to these areas even more these days,” Partlow said.

The School of Social Work is proud of Mary and her legacy as a change agent for social justice policy, entrepreneur in wellness-based education and supporter and friend of social work. Email ssw@ua.edu to share the story of your own UA legacy.

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Alumni News

LITTLE HALL PERMANENT NAMING RECOGNITIONS SUPPORT STUDENTS The School of Social Work has embarked on a new journey and era in the school’s rich history with the renovation of its building, Little Hall.

With more than 600 students in training, the addition of new faculty, and expanding programs, UA’s School of Social Work is experiencing an era of tremendous growth.

The school was established in 1965 by an act of the Alabama Legislature to address the state’s critical shortage of professionally trained social workers. Today, its alumni serve clients in Alabama, the U.S. and around the world, working to improve social conditions and to promote social justice and human dignity for all people.

“Our goal is to continue to provide students with a welcoming and comfortable learning environment, and a highly qualified faculty and dedicated staff to support their academic needs,” said Dean Vikki Vandiver. “We’re also focused on growing our endowments for scholarship funds to support students.”

To accommodate the school’s growing student body and meet its academic program needs, the university has begun a $9.6 million renovation project to transform the school’s 102-year-old building, Little Hall, into a state-of-the-art-facility. In September 2015, The Board of Trustees of The University of Alabama approved Montgomery-based Payne Design Group Architects, LLC to design and oversee construction for the project. The firm

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Collaborate. Innovate. Transform.

has taken great care to preserve as much of the original architecture and design, both external and internal, while modernizing all other technological and structural aspects of the building.

“We want to give our students a competitive edge in their field by providing them with a first-class, modern facility to study, learn and grow,” Vandiver said.

In an exciting turn for the project, the school launched its Restoring Our Past, Building Our Future Initiative last fall when the board approved naming opportunities for spaces/rooms in the newly renovated building. Every gift pledged toward a naming opportunity will be used for student scholarships, which will allow the school to grow its endowments, Vandiver said.

“Due to excellent financial management by the school’s former administration, funds are available to pay for this renovation in full,” Vandiver said. “This is such a rare occurrence that UA President Stuart Bell approved offering this unique opportunity for donors to both endow a scholarship and receive a permanent recognition in Little Hall.”

Permanent Naming Recognition Through the school’s Restoring Our Past, Building Our Future Initiative alumni and donors can establish a naming opportunity with a minimum gift of $15,000. Gifts of $25,000 and higher are eligible to both endow a scholarship and have a naming opportunity.

“This is such a wonderful way for alumni and supporters of the School of Social Work to leave their print on the school,” said Allison Leitner, the school’s development officer. “Gifts will directly impact students’ academic careers while offering alumni and supporters a permanent, visible recognition of their investment.”

Naming opportunities were created for spaces throughout the new, threelevel building. On the first floor are administrative offices, a classroom, the dean’s office, main lobby and conference room. The second floor offers a computer lab, reading room and collaboration space.

A large reception room on the third floor

is a particularly attractive opportunity and is the initiative’s largest naming opportunity at $150,000, Leitner said.

Several supporters have already chosen the spaces to bear their names, she said, but plenty of opportunities remain for others to take part in the initiative and “join us in celebrating the school’s legacy.”

Temporary Relocation, Moving Forward Architects began the thorough renovation of Little Hall in spring 2016, transforming the old building with the addition of a third floor and modern amenities.

Vandiver said that the school’s administrative offices are purposely located on the first floor to increase accessibility of students, faculty and visitors to administrative personnel. The second floor will be the primary hub of student life, she said.

The third floor is envisioned as a welcoming and beautiful space, where the school can host community events and advance its mission of superior global connectivity while offering faculty new office space, Vandiver said. It

also will feature new labs designed for collaboration, which will help students better engage in the practice of social work, she said.

“To continue to produce the best and the brightest students to serve in our communities, we must grow in new ways and invest in our future,” she said. “When the newly renovated Little Hall is complete, it will be a state-of-the-art facility with ample room and space to carry our school well into the future.”

In April 2016, the school held a Little Hall Porch Party to mark the start of the renovation and the temporary closing of the building. Students, faculty and staff have relocated to Capital Hall on campus until summer 2017, when the project is scheduled for completion.

The celebration — attended by students, faculty and staff — included music, a visit

by Big Al, comments from then-interim Provost Kevin Whitaker and a meet-andgreet with David Payne, lead architect at Payne Design Group Architects.

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Alumni News

2016 ALABAMA SOCIAL WORK HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES In a ceremony held last Little Hall’s History Constructed in 1915 as a men’s gymnasium, Little Hall is named for William “Bill” Gray Little, a transfer student who came to UA in 1892. When he arrived on campus, Gray began to teach students the game of football, which he had learned as a student at Phillips Academy-Andover. Because of this contribution to what would become a big part of UA’s legacy, Little Hall, the university’s first stand-alone gymnasium, was named in his honor. The building housed rooms for boxing, wrestling, special exercises, trophies, lockers, baths and a large main hall with galleries for spectators.

Last November, contractors completed the interior demolition of the original Little Hall. As you gaze up, you get a glimpse of how the men’s gymnasium looked back in 1915, Vandiver said.

“The progress is exciting,” she said.

Restoring Our Past, Building Our Future Initiative HOW TO GIVE: For naming opportunities through the School of Social Work’s Restoring Our Past, Building Our Future Initiative, please contact Allison Leitner, development director for the School of Social Work, at aleitner@ua.edu or (205)348-5535. Learn more at socialwork.ua.edu/littlehallnamingopportunities.

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October, three social work alums were inducted into the Class of 2016 Alabama Social Work Hall of Fame.

James Dupree Jr. (’74 MSW) Dupree, a native of Birmingham, spent more than 25 years in juvenile justice and retired in 1998 as the executive director of the Alabama Department of Youth Services.

He has taught at Miles College, Troy State University, Alabama State University and the University of Alabama Graduate School of Social Work. Since his retirement, he has worked as a contract lobbyist for the Bloom Group Inc., which is based in Montgomery.

He continues to serve on numerous boards and committees, including the River Region Red Cross and the Alabama Youth Services.

“Forty years ago, people saw social workers as just caring individuals, but not always being strategic in getting things done for groups of people,” he said.

Today, that perception is changing, Dupree said.

“There’s probably a more strategic presence and greater awareness in policymaking in the role social workers play. That’s really important,” he’s said.

Dupree resides in Montgomery.

Collaborate. Innovate. Transform.

Gayle Lees Sandlin (’77 MSW) Sandlin, of Wetmupka, began her professional career at the Department of Pensions and Securities in her hometown of Mobile and later joined the state office in Montgomery where she managed Title XX grants from the Social Security Act.

The experience identified her strength and formed the foundation for her future practice in social service administration.

She went on to have a 38-year career in social work, serving in various public and private administrative positions. As the second director of social work for the Alabama Department of Public Health, she led the expansion of an extensive network of licensed social workers and supervisors in state, regional and county health departments.

One of the most rewarding roles she played in her career was serving as co-chair of the task force that helped to create the Alabama Children’s Health Insurance Program, also known as CHIP – ALLKids. Alabama was the first state in the country to have their CHIP plan approved by the federal government. Sandlin later served as director of the program for 10 years.

“Talking nationally, I would say it’s the first thing Alabama did right … most of Alabama’s social program reforms have come through court orders,” she said. “But this was an opportunity given to the state health department to have a major impact on the health of children in the state by getting them access to good health care.”

Charlotte Hamner

Dean Vikki Vandiver is pictured with the luncheon’s keynote speaker, UA alumnus Cleo Thomas.

2016 honoree James Dupree Jr. with his award plaque.

From left, 2016 honorees Gayle Sandlin, Charlotte Hamner’s son Kevin and James Dupree Jr.

('62, ’69 MSW)

A lifelong resident of Tuscaloosa, Hamner worked nearly 50 years in psychiatric social work at both the state and federal level. She was honored posthumously for sharing her wealth of knowledge with generations of social workers as well as her many contributions to the field. Her son Kevin Hamner accepted the honor on his mother’s behalf.

A member of the School of Social Work’s first MSW graduating class in 1969, Hamner dedicated her career to helping others. She was program supervisor for Social Work in Psychiatry at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Tuscaloosa until she retired in 1997. Her retirement was brief, and she returned to her beloved profession as social work supervisor at Bryce Hospital in Tuscaloosa, where she later became director of social work. She served in this position with great dedication until her death in February 2016.

From left, Hall of Fame members Tony Walker, Gayle Sandlin, James Ware, Charlotte Hamner’s son Kevin, James Dupree and, front, Susan Barfoot.

Honoree Gayle Sandlin speaks at the 2016 Alabama Social Work Hall of Fame luncheon held at the Embassy Suites in Tuscaloosa.

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Alumni News

UA PROFESSOR RECEIVES BUFORD PEACE AWARD

By David Miller

Ellen Griffith Spears, an associate professor in the Department of American Studies in UA’s College of Arts and Sciences, was named the 2016 recipient of the School of Social Work’s Buford Peace Award.

Established in 2002 by UA School of Social Work alumnus Tony D. Walker, the award is named after Montgomery resident Lahoma Adams Buford, who served her community without desire for recognition and dedicated her life to building a better, more just and peaceful world.

Award recipients are honored for demonstrating exceptional levels of involvement in mediating human disputes, helping overcome prejudice, promoting justice and establishing peace through their teaching, research, professional practice and personal life. Spears’ research is interdisciplinary, combining environmental and civil rights history with studies of science, technology and public health. She has spoken on the social costs of pollution in the U.S. and abroad and has authored numerous essays.

“The Buford Peace Award is especially meaningful to me as the award recognizes the value of connecting research and teaching with community work for justice and peace,” Spears said. “Having institutional support for bridging between higher education and community work for justice is so valuable.”

Spears’ 2014 book, “Baptized in PCBs: Race, Pollution, and Justice in an AllAmerican Town,” explores key questions faced by communities that seek to address systemic class and race inequalities and to tackle toxic pollution. The book received the 2015 Francis B. Simkins Prize from the Southern Historical Association, the 2014 Arthur J. Viseltear Award for Outstanding Contribution to the History of Public Health from the Medical Care Section of the American Public Health Association, and the 2015 Reed Environmental Writing Award from the Southern Environmental Law Center.

Past recipients of the Buford Peace Award include Bronwen Lichtenstein, associate professor criminal justice; Mary Meares,

associate professor of communication studies; Josephine Pryce, associate professor of social work; and Norman Baldwin, associate professor and director of the master of public administration program.

“I am especially honored to be counted among the dedicated and accomplished colleagues who have received the Buford Peace Award, strong role models all,” Spears said.

The Buford Peace Award ceremony was held in April at the Cypress Inn Pavilion in Tuscaloosa.

ALUMNI NOTES Mark Fagan (’77 MSW, ’81 DSW) published his book, “The Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail: Its History and Economic Impact” with a foreword by David G. Bronner, CEO of The Retirement Systems of Alabama (RSA). His book commemorates the silver anniversary of RSA’s development of the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail.

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Kate Ball (’81 MSW) was named the 2016 Social Worker of the Year by the Alabama chapter of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW). The award, announced at the NASW– Alabama Chapter Annual State Conference in February, is given to a social work professional who has demonstrated commendable social work practice and involvement with NASW, and other professional, civic and community organizations.

Collaborate. Innovate. Transform.

Sharrie Cranford (’00 MSW), of Mobile, is an adjunct instructor in the School of Social Work. In 2016, she was appointed by Gov. Robert Bentley as the District 1 Representative to the Alabama State Board of Social Work Examiners. She is serving a three-year term.

Jay Gabbard (’04 PhD) was promoted to the rank of professor at Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green, Kentucky. A former minority research fellow with the Council on Social Work Education, he has published articles on homelessness, welfare reform, immigration, diversity pedagogy, and cross-cultural social work. He also has presented his research in Bangladesh; Mexico; Taiwan; Uganda; and Hong Kong.

Kimberly Gordon (’08 MSW) was named the 2016 Alabama Public Health Social Work Manager of the Year. In March 2016, she was recognized at the Public Health Social Work Celebration and Training event held in Montgomery during National Social Work Month. Since 2008, Gordon has worked as a social work manager at the Alabama Department of Public Health. She currently serves as vice president of the Alabama Public Health Association.

Retired Army Maj. Harold Shambley ('77) was inducted into the Norfolk State ROTC Hall of Fame on April 16, 2016, in conjunction with the Army ROTC's 100th Anniversary celebration. As a student at UA, Shambley was a cadet in the University's ROTC program. In 2015, he and his wife, retired Army Lt. Col. Joyce Hall Shambley, were inducted into Norfolk State University’s inaugural class of the Lyman Beecher Brooks Giving Society for their lifetime giving to the university.

David Gay (’82, ’82 MSW) was featured in the article “Little Known Black History Fact: Rev. David E. Gay” on blackamericaweb.com.

Cheree Tham (’01 MSW) was named the director of the Community Integration Team with America’s Warrior Partnership (AWP). A licensed clinical social worker, Tham is responsible for oversight, management, supervision and consultancy of team staff, as well as communities selected to implement AWP’s Four Step Plan through community integration. She also assists selected communities through development and maintenance of mission-driven, sustainable programs by assisting in initial start-up engagement with community program directors, finance and compliance officers.

Honor Roll Donors The School of Social Work is deeply grateful to the

Founders’ Circle

following donors, who support our academic programs.

$5,000 to $25,000 to the school or any of its academic programs

The generosity of these individuals and organizations allows

Malenna A. Sumrall Mary Partlow Lauttamus Amy Beaulieu Mansue

us to add value to our ongoing programs and to provide a high-quality education to our students. This Honor Roll lists donors who contributed to the School of Social Work

Gundy Circle $1,000 to $4,999 to the school or any of its academic programs

between May 1, 2015, and May 31, 2016. The giving levels are based on total giving during this period. If your name has been omitted or some other error exists, we apologize and ask you to please contact Allison Leitner, director of development, at aleitner@ua.edu or 205-348-5535.

Russell L. Bennett Julia Burkett Caddell Portis Cunningham Darren Dooley James Dupree Jr. William L. Gormley Jim Wayne Langley Sr. Carolyn Neiswender

J. Miller Piggott Harold Douglas Shambley Becky Schwartz Corbett Jean Brewer Rayfield James Wayne Sellers Sr. Tony D. Walker Jackie Allen Williams Ronnie Mills

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Alumni News Little Hall Circle $500 to $999 to the school or any of its academic programs

Andrea Bolland Maurice F. Kahlmus Jr.

Dean’s Circle $250 to $499 to the school or any of its academic programs

Mark H. Burge Jesse Davis Jr. Bobby James Dunn Bruce Howard Eads Dianne F. Harrison Bettye C. Pressley John L. Prewitt Sharon Chisholm Shelton Vicki Hicks Turnage Stephanie Russell Peck Madeleine M. Hill Richard T. Crow Veronica J. Elder

Social Work Advocate $100 to $249 to the school or any of its academic programs

Barry James Ackerson Cheryl Austin Josie Leeann Baker Aleta C. Beaver Derotha Williams Beck Margaret Martin Bonham Karen Phifer Brooks Philip Lee Browning Barbara Allen Brunson Sid Burgess John Galen Cagle Jerome Coakieanos Terri Oden Coley Caryn Lapidus Corenblum Phillip E. Crunk Jane Carlin Davis

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Nancy Magalin DeVaney Carol S. Drolen Daniel W. Durkin Bess Roberts Estis Bonnie Leeper Evans Kathleen Falk Rob Fischer Maryanne TP Fong Joanne Gibson Pamela Leigh Green Kathryn M. Harwood Diane Carol Holliman Bruce Murrell Hopper Sharon Voss Jay Judith Ann Johnson Leah P. Lust Natalie York Macemore Ashley Maddox Albert Manzella Gordon E. Mapley Wanda Kay Mayhall Michael Curtis McCray James E. McLean Onya Johnson Myhand Debra M. Nelson-Gardell Jason Michael Newell Jane McIntyre Nichols Nancy L. Payne Carroll Chandler Phelps Carola Barrow Pike Amanda June Redman Alvin Jerome Reed Terrie Reid Jennifer Davis Rhodes Donald Roberts Denise Schellin Brock Clinton Sellers Caro K. Shanahan Hope Rains Skelton James O. Smitherman Edd Spencer Billie Ruth Sudduth Joanne Jeffries Terrell Karen Anette Thompson Susan Craft Vickerstaff James E. Ware Philip Todd Westbrook J. Walter Wood Jr. Kathryn Winkles Wynne Teresa L. Young Francis Ki-Oi Yuen Allison Leigh Leitner

| The University of Alabama

Betty C. Glasscock Dollie Hambrick Angela S. Lockhart Dorothy Lovett Bell Anna Griffith Rose McCarthy Johnson Gina Marie McCaskill Jeff Arnold Richard Lamar Hearn Judy J. Jackson Cathy Higgins Jordan Gordon MacNeil Deborah C McElroy Lucinda L. Roff Lynn F. Tobola

Social Work Supporter Up to $99 to the school or any of its academic programs

Andrea Staffo Burns T. Michael Johnson Tracy Larkins Michelle Laverne Piper Carol Denise Raines James E. Curtis Jr. Marsha L. Stone-Bullock Tyler Thompson Sharilyn Meltzer Augins Joy Carol Elkins Mickie Wurm Smyly Lesli W. Travis Jessie A. Berkeley Martha Scott Bosworth Susan Greene Carter Andrew Lawrence Cherry David Coleman de Shazo Janet Burton Deagon Vicki Linn Durr Carolyn Woltz Ezell Charlena Moore Freeman Woodfin Tinsley Gregg Linda Kay Kicker Megan Elise Knauss SheRitha Nicole Lowe Carolyne Anderson Mann Rosemary Goodson McCraney Amy Hayes McLean

Jonta T. Moore John Edward Pinion Holly Schmitt Prewitt Suzanne Byrd Ray Barry A. Stewart Jennifer E. Story Rachel T. Waters Curtis Deette Pitts Jr. Bethany Womack Kathryn Whitcomb Ann Scheyd Beard Lisa Blanton Carroll Lawrence D. Cottle Sheryl Flavin Gloria Calloway King Jerome Edward Radka Margaret Houston Treese Carlton E. Vance Jeanne Wear Sharon Eloise Hyatt Ava Harrison Rozelle Eileen Kathryn Ackerman Jill R. Beck Bonnie Correll Bedics Mary M. Bennett Tarilton Edwards Benton Sandra Towslee Best Martha Ann Bozeman Sharon Hill Bradford Mary Phyllis Bragg Brooks Catherine Aliece Cargile Vicki H. Cargile Brenda Sullivan Causey Davey James Chastang Donna Gast Christian Randall Eugene Cleckler Ellen Glenn Copeland Kristie Chaffin Crabtree Diane W. Daffron Peggy D. Day Shuryvonne S. Dixon Shirley Maisel Eiland Jonathan Lee Elliott Audrey J. Ellis Codi Sprewell Espy L. O. Farris Jr. Kathryn Lee Farris Katharine Woollen Fitts Cynthia Foster William Foster Donald B. Gibson Kimberly Berry Gibson

Collaborate. Innovate. Transform.

Charles Edward Gleaton Margie Faye Goodwin-Nelson Lucia S. Grantham Joyce Greathouse Laura K. Gregory Leslie D. Hales Susan T. Hardekopf Glenda Sue Hays Lynn Marchetti Hazard Laura Nicole Heaven Phyllis Ann Henderson D’Andra C. Johnson April Monique’ Jones Daniel Joseph Kullen Patti S. Kulovitz Robbyn Lawson Claire Venezia Lenker John H. Marler Misty Dawn McCants Donna Grissett McCarley John B. McDowell III Julia Robinson Mitchell John Christopher Montanari Patricia D. Muscolino Barbara A. Nicol Louise Berkeley Norwood Michael W. Parker Lynn Vickery Patton Tonya E. Perry Annie M. Powell-Williams Vicki Roberson Rhodes Bonnie Sue Riley Lathesia Spencer Saulsberry Sarah Hinton Scott Vicky Darnell Sealey Henry F. Small Denise Queen Smith Barry Wayne Snider Elizabeth Fuller Stoll Lesa Huckabaa Syler Lacey Nicole Tubbs Mary Elizabeth Tucker Helen Gene Varner Susan Vaughn Carol Sue Williams Carol J. Woodcock Patsy Cook Hirschhorn Deborah Glynis Branyon

Corporation and Foundation Donors Caring Foundation Protective Life Foundation Gilead Sciences Foundation Vulcan Materials Co. Foundation Claude Bennett Family Foundation Collaborative Solutions, Inc. Burge Psychological Services Clinical Enterprises School of Social Work Doctoral Student Organization Youth Services, Inc. Home Depot

Social Work Society Board Members

Board of Friends Members

2015-16

2015-16

Margaret Bonham Vicki Cargile Misty Creel, Vice President Iris Davis Shuryvonne S. Dixon Carol Drolen Veronica J. Elder, President Taylor Ellis Codi Espy William Foster Haden Hallman Judy Jackson Ashley Jones Albert Manzella Onya J. Myhand Alvin Reed Terrie Reid Lathesia Saulsberry Brock Sellers Lesa Syler James Ware Teresa Young

Russell Bennett Julia Caddell Becky S. Corbett Lady Portis Cunningham Tim Davis Jeannie A. Duke James Dupree Jr. Laurie Faulkner Hereford Ann Langley Brenda S. McCary Maxine McCullar Amy Beaulieu Mansue Carolyn Neiswender, chair Sarah Osborn Nadine Penaskovic Carroll Phelps J. Miller Piggott J. Wayne Sellers Tony D. Walker Mark Wheat Jackie Williams

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School of Social Work Box 870314 Tuscaloosa, AL 35487-0314 www.socialwork.ua.edu

CONTINUING EDUCATION PROGRAM School of Social Work In conjunction with UA’s College of Continuing Studies, the School of Social Work will launch a Continuing Education Program dedicated to meeting the educational needs of working social work professionals in Alabama and beyond.

The program will offer online training and on-campus workshops taught by highly qualified social work faculty and workshop presenters who are recognized as leaders in their fields. A rigorous array of timely and relevant social work courses will be offered in the areas of: • License preparation • Trauma-informed practice • Psychopharmacology for social workers • Military families and ethics Check for new course offerings and program updates at socialworkceu.ua.edu.

For more information, contact Continuing Education Program Coordinator Kathleen Welker at kwelker@sw.ua.edu or 940-348-0033.

COMING SUMMER 2017