30 Years of Social Justice Minded Research

by Y. Joon Choi, PhD, Doctoral Program Director

Y. Joon Choi, PhD

Photo by Chad Osburn

Over the past 30 years, the UGA Social Work PhD Program has produced more than 160 social justice-minded researchers and social work educators who train future social work professionals to engage in antioppressive social work practice.

It makes me very proud when our graduates and students praise the characteristics of our program. They recognize that we have a diverse faculty and student body, a balanced culture of rigor and support, and a nurturing and outstanding faculty.

Our strength is our people. Faculty, staff, students, and alumni all make a positive difference in the quality of our program. The education and support we provide our students positively impacts their contributions to social work research and education.

Some of our graduates are deans and directors of other social work programs, some are renowned social work scholars, and some are leaders in public and private organizations such as the Centers for Disease Control, Veterans Affairs, and the World Health Organization.

“There were so few people with PhD’s in social work, and there was a need for more people to teach and conduct research necessary for the field to maximize its potential. UGA had so many well qualified faculty to guide dissertations, it seemed like a perfect fit for the next level.”

Professor Emeritus Thomas P. Holland comments on starting the PhD program in 1990. Holland is the program founder.

Photo by Wingate Downs

This tradition continues. Our current students are growing into scholars of excellence, engaging in research that addresses persistent and emerging inequities.

For example, dissertation research conducted by five students on the job market this year includes exploring community-based solutions to deteriorating social cohesion and environmental injustice (Joel Izlar), examining the influence of race and income on academic achievement gap of low-income, African American children (Megan Lee), understanding experiences of Black social work practitioners and racial microaggressions (Shena Leverett Brown), adapting Reflective Structural Dialogue (RSD), which is a dialogue model for building bridges between polarized groups, for use in digital contexts (Katherine Gower), and testing the impact of technology on the aging-in-place process (George Mois).

These research studies are all so timely and will make big impacts on tackling the many critical issues we face.

We do our best to support our students, but we cannot do it alone. In some cases very promising young scholars face financial hurdles that slow their progress. I hope readers will consider investing in the future of social work research by contributing to the School of Social Work Doctoral Assistantship Fund, which enables our students to complete their studies and present their work among their peers. https://gail.uga.edu/commit?search=91789000&desonly=1

Read some of our PhD alumni Throwback Thursday testimonials. Find more on the SSW Facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/UGASocialWork/

EDWIN A. RISLER

PROFESSOR EMERITUS, BSW ‘77, MSW ‘82, PhD ‘98

Edwin A. Risler, PhD

Since receiving my doctorate from the SSW, I am thankful to have had a number of significant opportunities to engage in projects that have impacted communities in Georgia and abroad. Appointed by the Governor of Georgia, I served on the Board of Juvenile Justice for over ten years advocating for incarcerated youth to be afforded a quality education. My degree also enabled me to develop relationships internationally with members of Non-Governmental Agencies and participate in collaborative research and community development projects addressing poverty in Haiti. At its core, the UGA PhD Program provided me with the fundamental skills and inspiration to conduct important research and produce scholarship, which ultimately contributed to the social work body of knowledge.

CAROL COLLARD MSW ’01, PHD ’07

Associate Professor, Department of Social Work & Human Services Kennessaw State University

Carol Collard, PhD

Getting my PhD from UGA’s SSW has proved to have a profound impact on my career. It has expanded my knowledge base and my reach in providing services for Georgia citizens experiencing homelessness. Since graduating I have led CaringWorks, the nonprofit organization that I founded, to expand its offerings of housing and case management to now include a comprehensive range of behavioral and psychiatric health services. This has improved access and quality of care for thousands of indigent Georgians.

JAEGOO LEE, PHD ‘12

Associate Professor, Jackson State University

Jaegoo Lee, PhD

I decided to attend the doctoral program because I was interested in Dr. Betsy Vonk’s research in transracial adoption and the program’s focus on both research and teaching. I had multiple opportunities present at national research conferences, and built the teaching skills I use everyday. After graduating, I was hired as an Assistant Professor in the School of Social Work (SSW) at Jackson State University (JSU). There, I provide guidance, motivation, emotional support, and role modeling to my students, and engage in research on the quality of life of transracial adoptive parents and children. My experiences in the doctoral program made me a strong scholar, researcher, and educator. My professors at UGA cared about their doctoral students; now I care about my students at JSU.

DEBRA LUBAR, PHD ’13

Deputy Director for Management & Operations, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control & Prevention

Debra Lubar, PhD

I received my PhD as a mid-career public health professional with social work training. Public health is multi-disciplinary, but never so much as during a pandemic! The deep understanding of research methods guided me as an early leader of data and surveillance efforts in the CDC COVID response. And social work’s focus on societal conditions and their effects on individuals and families gives me tools to lead my organization in addressing health inequities in COVID and other infectious diseases. The skills and knowledge I gained at UGA are critical to my success in CDC leadership, and I’m proud to bring social work concepts to bear on public health nationally and globally.

ABHA RAI PHD ’20

Assistant Professor, School of Social Work, Loyola University Chicago

Abha Rai, PhD

The PhD program at UGA prepared me to further my passion for social justice, by teaching me the skills to be driven by community-centered research. Recently I have been working on projects concerning the increase in domestic violence as a result of the pandemic and more specifically on understanding the impact of the pandemic on immigrant communities. Learning from the best teachers who taught me, I am inspired to educate my students with the same patience and zeal. I now incorporate the same technique in my class where I meet each student where they are at and support them. Now and for the time to come, I will always be thankful to my UGA family who still have a piece of my heart. I will eternally cherish my time spent in Athens.