InBrief - September 2014

In Brief September 2014 Council on Social Work Education Annual Program Meeting SSW Reception at the Council on Social Work Education APM An important announcement about the SSW Office of the Associate Dean/Dean of Students Conversations on the Road with Dean Marianne Yoshioka Upcoming Alumni/Student Events Alumni DVD Events Day-Garrett Award Nominations Reaching for Excellence Online Courses will be available for registration in October For Greater Boston Alumni Kerry Leavitt, MSW'92 - Obituary Irmgard Wessel, MSS'52 - Obituary We Need You to Volunteer!

SSW Listservs Social Media at the School for Social Work Social Work Licensing Information

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Please keep us up-to-date on your stories and those of your fellow alums. If you change your email or mailing address, please let us know so that we can keep you updated on news from the School. We would love to hear from you! Send changes to sswalum@smith.edu or fill out the online form.

Council on Social Work Education Annual Program Meeting The Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) Annual Program Meeting is the premier national meeting in the social work education field. Each year more than 2,500 social work educators, administrators, practioners, students, and other key decision makers from across the country and around the world attend the Annual Program Meeting making it the largest gathering of its kind. The 4-day 2014 conference will be held October 23-26, 2014 in Tampa, Florida. Smith will have a strong presence at the conference. Details about the CSWE Annual Program Meeting can be found on the CSWE website: http://www.cswe.org/Meetings/2014APM/70059.aspx Back to top SSW Reception at the Council on Social Work Education Annual Program Meeting Dean Marianne Yoshioka and the Faculty of the Smith College School for

Social Work cordially invite you to a reception at the CSWE Annual Program Meeting.

Date: Saturday, October 25, 2014 Time: 6:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.

Location: Tampa Marriott Waterside Hotel and Marina Meeting Room 10 700 South Florida Avenue Tampa, FL 33602 Back to top An important announcement about the Office of the Associate Dean/Dean of Students Hello everyone, I hope this message finds you well. I am writing to provide an update regarding the Office of the Associate Dean/Dean of Students. Professor Yoosun Park will continue as Acting Associate Dean/Dean of Students through December 31, 2014. I am pleased to announce that Professor Peggy O'Neill has agreed to step into this role for the period of January 1, 2015 - December 31, 2015.

As you all know, the Office of the Dean has been in a period of transition for the past several months, as Dean Carolyn Jacobs completed a highly successful tenure as Dean to return to the ranks of the faculty. Through last summer, prior to my arrival at the School, we had the great fortune to have had steady leadership provided by Professor Josh Miller who served as Acting Dean. Professor Yoosun Park served through this time as Acting Associate Dean/Dean of Students and continues to do so now. Under their able direction the work of the School moved ahead seamlessly.

It has always been the plan for both Professors Miller and Park to return to the faculty to continue with their reseach, scholarship, and committee work once this initial transition period was over. Professor Miller has done so already and Professor Park will do so in January 2015. We owe them a debt of gratitude not only for their service and their hard work but for their smart and effective management and administration. Starting in the new year, we will benefit from Professor O'Neill's leadership. She brings a wealth of clinical, administrative, and education experience to this position. She is wise, astute, and a careful listener and observer.

It is an exciting time at the School for Social Work. Over the upcoming months, we will begin to set a vibrant course of direction for the School that will honor our traditions, capitalize on new opportunities, and ensure that we remain well positioned to be the leading clinical, anti-racism school for social work. In three short years we will mark our 100th anniversary. There is much to celebrate.

Thanks!

Marianne Yoshioka Dean and Elizabeth Marting Treuhaft Professor Back to top Conversations on the Road with Dean Marianne Yoshioka Dean Yoshioka will be traveling to a city near you sometime this year.

Please watch your email for an updated travel schedule.

Back to top Upcoming Alumni/Student Events September 28, 2014 - Boston, Massachusetts SSW alumni/student welcome gathering hosted by Jeannie Seidler, MSW'00.

September 28, 2014 - Seattle, Washington SSW alumni/student welcome gathering hosted by Samanatha Good, MSW'05, Area Coordinator.

November 8, 2014 - Hamden, Connecticut "A Conversation with the Dean" hosted by Clara Genetos, MSS'54.

November 13, 2014 - Boston, Massachusetts "A Conversation with the Dean." Location to be determined.

December 5, 2014 - Chicago, Illinois "A Conversation with the Dean" SSW alumni/student gathering hosted by Elaine Abramson, MSS'59 with special guest Marianne Yoshioka, PhD, Dean and Elizabeth Marting Treuhaft Professor of the Smith College School for Social Work.

For more information about these and upcoming events, contact the Office of Development and Alumni Affairs at (416) 585-4290 or sswalum@smith.edu Back to top Alumni DVD Events Over the past few years we have had such a fantastic response from regional alumni groups across the country that this year we are offering two Summer Lecture Series DVDs to regional groups for viewing and discussion: SSW Professor Dr. James Drisko's lecture entitled "What is Clinical Social Work in the 21st Century?" and a Smith alumni panel presentation "The Powers of Smith (and Beyond)" featuring Tomas Alvarez, MSW'06, Enroue Halfkenny, MSW'08, Keshia Williams, MSW'08 and moderated by Kenta Asakura, MSW'04. DVDs of these presentations are now available for any graduate who would like to host an event. Two Continuing Education Units (CEUs) will be offered. To host a DVD event, please contact the Office of Development and Alumni Affairs at (413) 585-4290 or sswaum@smith.edu Back to top Day-Garrett Award Nominations We are seeking nominations for the 2015 Day-Garrett Award. Your professional contacts and affiliations in the field make you an ideal source of nominations for this prestigious Smith College School for Social Work award.

The deadline for nomination submissions is February 15, 2015.

For more information, visit http://www.smith.edu/ssw/about_alumni_awards.php Back to top Reaching for Excellence Due to the generous endowment of the Maconda Brown O'Connor future Leadership Scholarship, Smith College SSW was proud to welcome its 10th class of Reaching for Excellence scholars September 11-13. Each year, alumni, students, resident and adjunct faculty, field supervisors, and other members of the Smith SSW community nominate candidates who are bachelor-level social workers or human service providers to explore the benefits of graduate social work education. While at Smith SSW, candidates sample courses taught by adjunct faculty on topics such as, "Engaging Clients in Meaningful Conversation," "Social Work Intervention in a MultiCultural World," Theories of Development of the Life Cycle," and "Engaging the Child: the Use of Play." They hear presentations about the future of the profession and from the dean and faculty currently working with some of today's most pressing social issues. Participants receive 18 Continuing Education Credits for licensure. Smith SSW welcomed its first class of Reaching for Excellence in 2004 and has maintained its original program goals: invest in the best; nuture commitment to the profession; develop professional leadership capacity; and encourage aspirations toward an M.S.W. degree. We have welcomed 130 scholars to campus since the program's inception.

Back to top Online Courses will be available for registration in October!

Stay tuned for the annual opening of our online continuing education courses. Selected popular continuing education courses were video and/or

audio taped over the past three summers and will soon be online for a limited time (October 20, 2014 - March 30, 2015.) Online courses feature timely topics presented by some of the finest helping professionals in the field. Earn 0.5-5.5 CEUs per course from the comfort of your home! These courses are informative, engaging, and presented in an easily accessible online format. For more information, visit http://www.smith.edu/ssw/acad_cont_online.php Back to top For Greater Boston Area Alumni The Boston Psychoanalytic Society and Institute Sponsors Travel Grants Smith College School for Social Work has been chosen as the recipient for two Travel Grant Awards for the academic 2014-2015 years. These travel grants are an opportunity for twoBoston area alumni to attend the Annual Meeting of the American Psychoanalytic Association held at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City from January 14 to January 18, 2015.

The Division of Academic Affiliation at Boston Psychoanalytic Institute coordinates the travel grants with various institutions in the Greater Boston area and are very happy to add SSW alumni to this initiative.

The application deadline is October 31, 2014. Please contact the Office of Development and Alumni Affairs at sswalum@smith.edu for more information on how to apply.

Back to top Kerry Leavitt, MSW Class of 1992 - Obituary Kerry Leavitt, MSW‘92 died on Friday, August 22, 2014, in her home in Ivy, Virginia. The cause of death was suicide. A native of California, Kerry received a BA from Stanford University in 1983 and a Masters of Social Work in 1992 from the Smith College School for Social Work where she later taught treatment of trauma courses as an adjunct faculty member. A Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW), she began practicing as a psychotherapist and trauma consultant in Charlottesville in 1999. A gifted therapist, she helped hundreds of local residents. Drawing from her expertise in the treatment of complex trauma, she served as a consultant and mentor to other therapists, and as a clinical consultant to The Women's Initiative in its first year. Known for her highly developed intuitive skills and her grounded compassion, she was constantly learning and developing new skills. Kerry's professional articles have appeared in a variety of mental health journals, and she has lectured about trauma-related topics nationally and internationally. As adjunct faculty for University of Virginia Medical School's Center for the Study of Mind and Human Interaction, she traveled with a delegation to the Republic of Georgia to provide training to trauma therapists for torture victims. A long-time practitioner of meditation, she taught mindfulness practices to female inmates at the maximum security facility in Fluvanna. She recently taught classes through UVA's Department of Continuing and Professional Studies, including "Understanding Self: A User's Guide."

Prior to her career as a therapist, Kerry worked in United States presidential politics and as a staff member in the United States Senate and House of Representatives. An animal lover, she enjoyed walking in nature with her friends and her beloved Border Collie, Sukha, who was known to many as Kerry's "co-therapist." She was an active member of the local Conscious Dance community and was often seen sharing her light on the dance floor.

She leaves behind her geographical family, Susan Greene, Larry Stopper, Robin Bernhard, Sandy Rakowitz and Penny Chang, many dear friends and colleagues, her beloved clients, and her dearest Sukha.

A Memorial Service is planned for Saturday, October 11, 2014 at 2 p.m. at Shannon Farm in Nelson County. In lieu of flowers, Kerry’s geographical family requests donations to the Best Friends Animal Society or the

Charlottesville Albemarle SPCA. On October 3, a program will be hosted by the Virginia Society of Clinical Social Workers-Blue Ridge (VSCCSW) titled “The Death of a Therapist: What Have We Learned? An Ethical Dilemma?

Facilitated by Robin Bernhard, LCSW, Judith Minter, LCSW, Peter Sheras, Ph.D. and Lew Weber, LCSW, Ph.D. This session is free to the community and SCSSW alumni are welcome. All programs are held at Unity Church, 2828 Hydraulic Circle, Charlottesville, Main building, lower level. To RSVP and for futher information in VCCSW please contact Sandy Chang at vscswblueridge@gmail.com or 434-974-6106. If you have questions about this tragic loss of our valued alumna, please contact Dawn Faucher at dfaucher@smith.edu.

Back to top Irmgard Wessel, MSS'54 - Obituary Irmgard Rosenzweig Wessel died on Saturday, September 20, 2014 at her home in New Haven, Connecticut. She was 88 years old and had lung cancer. Irm, as she was widely known, was born in Kassel, Germany on November 12, 1925. After Kristallnacht in November 1938, her parents, Louis and Grete Kaufmann Rosenzweig, sent her to England on the Kindertransport, which brought nearly 10,000 predominantly jewish children from Germany and neighboring countries to safety. When her boat docked in England at 6:30 a.m. on a cold morning, a group of ladies handed all the children metal cups of English tea and dry biscuits. In Irm's words, "I don't remember much, but it hit me at that moment that there must be a better way to help kids who were used to hot cocoa and freshly baked hard rolls. I think this was the start of my becoming a social worker." It was a calling that lasted for more than 75 years, and a life that touched uncounted numbers of clients at Family Counseling of Greater New Haven, scores of friends for whom she was a constant confidante and counselor, a community that she sought tirelessly to change for the better and her loving family.

Irm attended Eureka College on a full scholarship, and graduated in 1947.

In 1952 Irm earned a Masters in Social Science here at the Smith College School for Social Work. After a 10-year break from the workforce to be at home with her four children, Irm returned to the practice of clinical social work in 1964 at Family Counseling of Greater New Haven, where she was on the staff for nearly 40 years. During that time, she served as president of the AFSCME Local 39 and was a trustee of the New Haven Central Labor Council. She also was active in several professional organizations, including the Connecticut Society for Clinical Scial Work and the Council on Social Work Education and in various local community organizations including Aging at Home, the New Haven Community Soup Kitchen, the New Haven/Leon Sister City Project and the Greater New Haven Labor History Association.

Irm was a proud and loyal alumna. In 2004, Smith recognized her with the Day-Garrett Award for distringuished service to the School and the profession. This July, upon learning that she was terminally ill, Irm established a scholarship fund to provide annual scholarship support for an outstanding MSW student. Irm asked that the fund be named the Clara M. Genetos, MSS Class of 1954 Scholarship Fund in honor of "my faithful friend, loyal colleague, committed volunteer and outstanding social worker."

Back to top We Need You to Volunteer!

The School for Social Work relies heavily on the efforts and goodwill of our alumni to help us in the areas of student recruitment, mentoring current students, providing reduced rate psychotherapy to students, and hosting SSW events. We have an urgent need for volunteers in all categories. You are the foundation of our Alumni Student Network. If you have never volunteered before, we invite you to participate in this wonderful network of professionals. If you have volunteered in the past, we invite you to join us again. (Please note: volunteer commitments are for a one-year period in

recognition of the fact that interests and abilities change; a new form is needed for each new placement year.) The Volunteer Opportunities form is available online at: http://www.smith.edu/ssw/about_alumni_volunteer.php Back to top SSW Listservs The School for Social Work offers a listserv program for the five regions which constitute the SSW community and the Alumni of Color Standing Committee. If you are interested in joining a listserv, please contact the listserv moderator in that region.

Region I (New England) Carol Fizer, MSW'72 carolfizer@aol.com Region II (Mid Atlantic) Susan Greenebaum, MSW'05 sgreenebaum@gmail.com Region III (South) David Goodman, MSW'77 mesorahwli@verizon.net Region IV (Midwest) Erin Matthews, MSW'05 erinm1@hotmail.com Region V (West) Linda Plaut, MSW'88 lplaut@comcast.net Alumni of Color Standing Committee Neriza Candelario, MSW'00 candelamsw@aol.com Back to top Social Media at the School for Social Work The School for Social Work invites you to learn about what's going on at Lilly Hall through various communication channels. All audiences can participate through one of our official social media channels, SSW-related online groups, the Buzz, In Brief alumni e-newsletter, or In Depth alumni magazine. Learn more at: http://www.smith.edu/ssw/about_follow.php Back to top Social Work Licensing Information Looking for social work licensing information for each state -- visit http://www.aswb.org/licensees/member-statutes-and-regulations/ Back to top

This publication is an electronic newsletter for the alumni and friends of Smith College School for Social Work. This publication is produced no more than once a month with intervals between publications being between four and eight weeks. To submit an item to be considered for a future issue of In Brief, please send it to inbrief@smith.edu.

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