Celebrating the 2023 Community Partnership Awards recipients
The VCU School of Social Work Office of Field Education is pleased to recognize six recipients for the 2023 Community Partnership Awards Ceremony on May 16. The awardees were: Outstanding Field Instructor Award Alum Patrick Link (M.S.W.’19), Assisting Families of Inmates Outstanding New Field Instructor Award Mary Nkengla, Chesapeake Integrated Behavioral Healthcare Outstanding Task Supervisor Award Lisa Mathews-Ailsworth, VCU […]
National fellowships support Ph.D. student Muna Saleh’s drive to improve outcomes for resettling refugees
Living in a community of Somali refugees in Rochester, Minnesota, Muna Saleh experienced the collective trauma of resettlement, though it was rarely talked about. “Growing up in a refugee household, nestled in a larger refugee community, it kind of became a norm, some of the ways that trauma presented itself,” says Saleh, a rising third-year Ph.D. […]
Farewell: Sarah K. Price, Ph.D.
Sarah Kye Price, Ph.D., M.S.W., M.S., M.Div., participated in one final Commencement celebration at VCU after 17 years watching students walk across the stage and into the world to make a real, tangible difference in the lives of clients and communities. VCU awarded Dr. Price the honorary designation of Distinguished Career Professor in May 2023. […]
With Critical Language Scholarship and Fulbright honors, B.S.W. student Kemp focused on ‘global citizenship’
The positive impact a social worker had on his family as a child helped put Oscar Kemp on a path from Danville, Virginia; to Virginia Commonwealth University; and, starting this summer, to East Africa. Kemp will earn his Bachelor of Social Work degree from the VCU School of Social Work on May 12. Earlier in […]
Statement on the death of Irvo Otieno
Dear School of Social Work community, As many of us learned Thursday about the death of Irvo Otieno, we experienced an all-too-familiar mix of anguish and trauma. We grieve for the Richmond community who lost a son, a friend, a neighbor; and we grieve for those who are unable to safely receive support for mental […]
Appreciating value: Recognizing alumni for Social Work Month 2023
Social workers are foundational to our communities, serving in a variety of fields, workplaces and roles – and often overlooked when they carry a title other than “social worker.” We value them every day of the year for their varied skill sets, their leadership and mentorship. For their adherence to the profession’s values and principles […]
Social work’s McGinnis finds outlet for ‘Rage’ in verse
The fatal shootings in Monterey Park, California, in January – less than two weeks after a 6-year-old Newport News elementary school student shot their teacher – felt personal to VCU School of Social Work Assistant Professor Hollee McGinnis, Ph.D. Dr. McGinnis was celebrating the Lunar New Year when she learned of the shootings in California, […]
Panel discussion ‘Where Do I Belong? Black Faces Navigating White Spaces’
The VCU School of Social Work’s Office of Student Success was pleased to present a panel discussion with the Brothas in Social Work Collective on Feb. 15: “Where Do I Belong? Black Faces Navigating White Spaces.” The session is available on YouTube. Please check it out to get the perspectives of panelists James Bell III, D.S.W.; Christopher Scott, M.S.W., CSWA; and VCU […]
Grand Challenges for Social Work selects Ph.D. student Kemmerer for 1 of 13 national awards
VCU School of Social Work Ph.D. student Aaron Kemmerer, M.S.W., got emotional when he learned he had won a highly competitive national award on a subject that is deeply personal. “When I got the news, I cried,” says Kemmerer, who was selected for one of 13 national Grand Challenges for Social Work doctoral dissertation/capstone project […]
Social work associate professor Gattis’ fashion line mixes business with creativity
A business partnership formed after a chance meeting with a couple in Ghana, and now Maurice Gattis, Ph.D., associate professor at the VCU School of Social Work, has a fashion line called Fort Mosé 1738 that carries a line of contemporary West African fashions. Fort Mosé 1738 refers to the first free Black community in […]