Thinking about a career in child welfare? Social work alumni separate fact from fiction
The VCU School of Social Work has been a leader in developing future social workers who go on to work in Department of Social Services settings, and part of that leadership has included taking a critical look at areas where the public welfare system needs to evolve – and also where the school’s educational practices […]
Child Welfare Stipend Program at VCU: A strong social work legacy supporting the commonwealth
As a newly minted VCU M.S.W. graduate in 2003, Danika Briggs signed on for 18 months with a local Virginia Department of Social Services office. Now, nearly 19 years later, she’s still with DSS, currently assistant director for family services with the Chesterfield-Colonial Heights Department of Social Services. Briggs, a licensed clinical social worker, is […]
Ph.D. student Leah Bouchard earns prestigious rural health fellowship
Growing up in rural western North Carolina, Leah Bouchard saw the impact of methamphetamine and opioids on the members of her small community. First as a multi-systemic therapist in eastern Tennessee and then as a doctoral student and candidate at the VCU School of Social Work, she has dedicated both practice and research to serving […]
Ph.D. to EMT: A social work fixture for 40 years, Dattalo finds his niche as volunteer
Professor Pat Dattalo, Ph.D., has been teaching since the early 1980s, and even in retirement from the VCU School of Social Work, he’s got another group with which he can listen and learn. Dattalo, who joined the school full time in 1986, made his retirement official in October. Having started about four years ago as […]
Social work doctoral education organization recognizes professors Bentley, Burnette
The international organization of directors of social work doctoral programs has recognized two influential VCU professors for their work, continuing a legacy of national leadership by the School of Social Work. The Group for the Advancement of Doctoral Education in Social Work (GADE) has selected Professor Kia J. Bentley, Ph.D., LCSW, as the recipient of […]
Collective 365, with 3 social work alumnae, empowers Black, Brown communities with grants
With three VCU School of Social Work alumni among its 11 founders, it’s no wonder that the nonprofit Collective 365 has ambitious plans after selecting recipients for its inaugural grant cycle of $17,500 earlier this year. Next in their sights: doubling their awards with a $35,000 grant cycle in February. “With $35,000 as our goal, […]
Lineberry’s Champions of Accessibility Award highlights a banner year for Ph.D. Program
The news that Ph.D. student Sarah Lineberry has been named a winner of VCU’s Champions of Accessibility Award for 2021 capped a notable academic year for her and her colleagues in the School of Social Work doctoral program. Lineberry was one of nine winners university-wide and one of only two students to earn the champions […]
M.S.W. Program Director Melissa Stewart retiring after 21 years with school
Melissa Stewart, Ph.D., is happy she will get a chance to participate in one final VCU School of Social Work Commencement ceremony, after the 2020 event was switched from in-person to virtual because of COVID-19. With the return of an in-person ceremony in 2021, Stewart will be able to say one last goodbye – albeit […]
Substance and style: You can expect one – or more – VCU social work alumni to be on this list almost every year
Style Weekly’s Top 40 Under 40 awards is not only an annual cover-story edition for the Richmond magazine, it has also served as a kind of reunion for VCU School of Social Work alumni. From the origins of the award in 2004 to the most recent honors last fall, VCU social work graduates have been […]
Meet the Smiths: An oft-delayed college experience puts mother, daughter in same M.S.W. cohort
Two-and-a-half decades after problems with her pregnancy delayed Felicia Smith’s second attempt at college, she is in the second semester of the M.S.W. Program at VCU’s School of Social Work. She graduated from the B.S.W. Program in May 2020, serving as the program’s student speaker at Commencement. She is the current president of the Association […]