School of Social Work

No. 28 M.S.W. Program in the U.S.

Category results for: Gun violence

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, […]

Statement on Colorado Springs shooting

Dear School of Social Work community, It is heartbreaking to reach out to you once again in the wake of a hate crime, this time directed at the LGBTQ+ community in Colorado Springs.  We grieve for those five killed and 18 injured, and their families; and we stand in solidarity with those directly impacted in […]

Statements on shooting in Charlottesville

Dear School of Social Work Community, As you begin your day this morning with heavy hearts, I join you in grief for our neighbors at UVA. I am grateful for our community and the confidence I have that we will support each other. Continue supporting, extending kindness and holding space for each other. Please also share and utilize counseling […]

Message from the interim dean regarding Uvalde, Texas, shooting

Dear School of Social Work community, My heart is heavy today as I try to process the lives lost in Uvalde, Texas, as well as those forever changed.  Many of you know that the place I consider home is an hour and a half from Uvalde, and I love and am deeply connected to this […]

Message from interim dean, President Rao on racially motivated violence

Dear SSW Community, It is heartbreaking to be writing to you again so soon, after the confirmation that the shooting Sunday in Laguna Woods, California, is being investigated as a “politically motivated hate incident,” according to authorities. We grieve for the Taiwanese community, and for the  five victims, including John Cheng, who was fatally shot […]

Interim dean’s message: Race-based mass shooting in Buffalo

Dear School of Social Work Community, This weekend while our community celebrated new graduates and change makers, we were also faced with unspeakable violence. We join the world in grieving for the families of 10 victims who lost their life in a racially motivated hate crime.   I write to express my grief and anger, as […]

Dean Angell’s response to Atlanta shootings

Dear School of Social Work Community, I was horrified Wednesday morning, as I’m sure you all were, to read of the fatal shooting of 8 people in the Atlanta area Tuesday night. Although the investigation is ongoing, this appears to be a racially-motivated act of gender-based violence. As has been reported in the news, 6 […]