Globetrotting with the School of Social Work: South Africa to Spain, Ghana to South Korea
More than 50 VCU students participated in four School of Social Work-led spring break and summer study abroad trips in 2026. The study abroad programs are: The experience is transformational for students, including one who participated in the spring break program in Spain: “Overall, the study abroad experience totally reshaped my perspective on aging. I […]
#Fulbright: Ph.D. student Aya Caballero’s research journey mixes Jamaican roots, Instagram influence
Aya Caballero’s path to a Fulbright award looked more like an intersection – of her Jamaican roots, her researcher’s eye for recognizing gaps in data and the most 21st century of interactions: an Instagram-driven connection. Caballero, a third-year Ph.D. student at the VCU School of Social Work, will collaborate with researchers at the University of […]
Social work faculty, students, alumni presenting at SSWR 2025
More than 50 VCU School of Social Work faculty, students and alumni have had presentations accepted or are serving in other roles with sessions such as special interest groups, roundtables or symposia at the Society for Social Work and Research 2025 conference in Seattle, Jan. 15-19, 2025. In total there are 69 presentations or sessions involving […]
Quarterly faculty research and service news: November 2024
The VCU School of Social Work is proud to recognize the following accomplishments from our faculty this fall through November 2024. Funding Amy Adkins, Ph.D., assistant professor, College of Humanities & Sciences in conjunction with the School of Social Work-led Institute for Research on Behavioral and Emotional Health Dr. Adkins and IRBEH were awarded a […]
Marsha and Marian’s Neighbors: Youth shared-housing program could be national model
Using “radical imagination,” VCU School of Social Work faculty Maurice Gattis, Ph.D., and M. Alex Wagaman, Ph.D., and their collaborators have developed a youth shared-housing model in Richmond unlike any in the country. “There are just so few evidence-informed, co-designed interventions for this population,” says Dr. Wagaman, who is now serving a one-year term as special advisor […]
Social work faculty, students, alumni presenting at SSWR 2024
More than 50 VCU School of Social Work faculty, students and alumni have had presentations accepted or are serving in other roles such as moderating special interest groups, roundtables or symposia at the Society for Social Work and Research 2024 conference in Washington, D.C., Jan. 10-14, 2024. In total there are 65 presentations or sessions involving someone […]
‘Challenging and exhilarating’: Meet the 2023-24 social work Ph.D. cohort
The VCU School of Social Work’s Ph.D. Program welcomes four new students for the Fall 2023 cohort. They are Why did you choose to pursue a Ph.D., and why was the VCU School of Social Work your choice? Kade GoldinI chose to pursue a Ph.D. in hopes of learning how to conduct research that could […]
Fulbright awards fuel opportunities abroad for social work faculty Gattis, Burnette
One VCU School of Social Work faculty member is currently working abroad in South Africa, and a second will be headed to Mongolia this summer – both as repeat recipients of Fulbright awards. Maurice Gattis, Ph.D., an associate professor, was named a Fulbright U.S. Scholar for Social Sciences and Humanities and has been working in […]
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 […]
Social work-led project to reduce homelessness receives $800K+ grant
Two VCU School of Social Work associate professors, Maurice N. Gattis, Ph.D., and M. Alex Wagaman, Ph.D., have secured a Virginia Housing Trust Fund Homeless Reduction Grant The $883,014 grant builds on a previously funded project and will work to reduce homelessness among LGBTQ+ youth, pregnant and parenting youth, and young people at the intersection […]