Alex Wagaman, associate professor, working at federal level to end youth homelessness
Alex Wagaman, Ph.D., an associate professor in the School of Social Work, began a one-year contract in May as a special advisor with the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness. To complement the council’s federal strategic plan, All In, which launched in December 2022, Wagaman will be leading the creation of a population-specific plan for youth homelessness. A key […]
Gary Cuddeback leads interdisciplinary team securing $2 million SAMHSA grant
The federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration has awarded a five-year, $2 million grant to a Virginia Commonwealth University-led project that will provide a range of services, including drug treatment, employment, housing, case management and peer support, for people with substance use disorders and co-occurring mental illnesses who are involved in the criminal justice system. […]
Ph.D. student Samuel Ochinang’s finds spot at intersection of military service, social work
VCU School of Social Work Ph.D. student Samuel Ochinang grew up in a military family and has found his calling at the intersection of social work and serving as an active-duty Army major with the Medical Service Corps. “My journey in the Ph.D. program, along with my position, will improve my technical and managerial skills […]
Research Weeks 2024 presentations: Social work student researchers and faculty mentors
Five VCU School of Social Work graduate students, two undergraduates and four faculty mentors are part of nine research presentations sponsored by the university as part of Research Weeks 2024. Graduate Research Symposium 9-11:30 a.m. ET Wednesday, April 24Student Commons, Commonwealth Ballrooms Assessing the Impact of Race, Ethnicity and English-Speaking Status on Traffic Stop Outcomes […]
Collaborating with student researchers, Hyojin Im leads an inclusive approach to reexamining refugee health and mental health
When Hyojin Im, Ph.D., convened a symposium at the Society for Social Work and Research 2024 conference on refugee health and mental health, the goal was to examine critical systems that serve these groups and to emphasize the role of Community-Based Participatory Research. “CBPR is a collaborative ethos that involves direct engagement with refugee communities […]
B.S.W. leadership team presenting at national conference about shared language in centering ADEI
The VCU School of Social Work’s B.S.W. Program leadership will be presenting at the Association of Baccalaureate Social Work Program Directors conference in New Orleans, Louisiana, in March. Stephanie G. Odera, Ed.D., program director, and Allison K. Ryals, M.S.W., assistant program director, are making the presentation. BSW curriculum renewal: Creating programmatic shared language to further […]
Cassie DeSena-Jacobs presenting at national conference about course development
Cassie DeSena-Jacobs, D.S.W., LCSW, assistant professor in teaching at the VCU School of Social Work, will be presenting in April at the Social Work Distance Education 2024 Virtual Conference. Developing an Advanced Clinical Class through an Anti-Racist Lens 5-5:45 p.m. ET Wednesday, April 10, 2024What does it really mean to include anti-racist strategies in a class […]
Shenita Williams presenting at national conference about school-based mental health
Shenita Williams, Ph.D., LCSW, director of field education at the VCU School of Social Work, will be making two presentations in March 2024 at the School Social Work Association of America’s national conference in Baltimore. Dr. Williams, who also serves as an assistant professor in teaching, will be presenting the following: School-Based Mental Health: One […]
Grandfather’s need for aging-in-place resources inspires award-winning research from doc student Sunny Kim
The origin of VCU social work Ph.D. candidate Seon “Sunny” Kim’s dissertation dates to the Korean War, deeply personal work that is receiving national recognition. The Korean American Social Work Educators Association in the fall honored Kim’s dissertation work with its Outstanding Dissertation Proposal Award for contributions to aging research, policy and practice. “As a […]
In lifelong quest to reduce violence, Ph.D. alumni award winner McLeod was ‘empowered to grow’ at VCU
As David McLeod, Ph.D., thinks about his time at Virginia Commonwealth University, his reflections turn to the people and culture that accepted and poured into a doctoral student with an atypical background. A place where both his daughters were born, bookending his time in Richmond. No wonder, then, that he uses a parental analogy when […]