matters SOCIAL WORK
2021 – 2022 SOCIALWORK.UTAH.EDU
T H E U N I V E R S I T Y O F U TA H C O L L E G E O F S O C I A L W O R K
The Future of Education is Online Cynthia Sanders
2021 – 2022
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FEATURES
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Experiencing Nature Virtually Anywhere The intersection of technology, nature connectedness, and advocacy
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The Future of Education is Online A clear vision from the new director of online programs
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Rising to the Challenge Addressing the West’s shortage of social workers
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Who was that masked donor? Why gifts of all sizes are essential
CONTENTS
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3 From the Dean 4 Social Work News 7 Honors & Awards 12 Faculty Updates 18 Donors
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FROM THE DEAN
SOCIAL WORK
matters The University of Utah College of Social Work 2021-2022 Dean Martell Teasley, PhD, MSW Editor Jennifer Nozawa Art Direction University Marketing & Communications Contributing Writers Emily Breen Stephanie Dawson Pack Lisa Himonas Jennifer Nozawa Martell Teasley Contributing Photographers include Austen Diamond iStock Brooke Tittle Jennifer Nozawa Dave Titensor
Social Work Matters is published annually by the University of Utah College of Social Work socialwork.utah.edu
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Dean Martell Teasley
A Message from the Dean I think of myself as a futurist. I learn about and consider the influences of the past, I assess current circumstances and trends, and I use that to help shape a meaningful future for our College and our profession. At the start of my appointment, it was clear that our graduate social work education needed to be translated to online learning as a way of providing great access to students. Witnessing the dearth of social workers within the state of Utah—especially those serving rural communities in the west—presented an urgent challenge that required action. At the same time, I felt the imminent reckoning with our nation’s history to address the structures of systemic racism. Consequently, I had been working with our faculty and staff, our community partners and advisory board, our lawmakers, and our donors to build pathways and infrastructure to sustainably address these issues. I did not, could not have anticipated the COVID-19 pandemic, nor the way it would abruptly propel these issues of the not-too-distant future into the present. Everything changed in a moment. Our ability to pivot and adapt was put to the test. But because of the strategic work already in motion, because our College was poised to provide solutions, and because of the tireless work and generous support of so many individuals, here we are. Our faculty and staff have been wonderful stewards who rolled up their sleeves to get the job done.
This fall we welcomed our first cohort of fully online MSW students—complementing our online BSW and our distance-delivered doctorate—and developed a new telehealth course to prepare students for practice in our changing clinical environment. We secured reoccurring funding to support students who plan to work in substance use disorder treatment or the public service sector. During summer 2021, we streamlined our admission’s process making it shorter, more efficient, and easier to navigate. We extended our event schedule and offered numerous free learning opportunities on issues related to social justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion, while simultaneously working to strengthen our curriculum and our own understanding of these areas. The future will certainly issue more challenges; those we can anticipate, and those we cannot. But what I do know of the future is that good people, within our College and outside our walls, will invest the time and passion to make the future as bright and as just as possible.
Martell Teasley, PhD, MSW Dean and Professor Associate Provost President, National Association of Deans and Directors of Schools of Social Work SOCIAL WORK MAT TERS
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SOCIAL WORK NEWS
Student Practicum Stories Dani CARES: Expanding Homeless Services during COVID
A Capitol Time It’s not common for interns or fellows in the national Office of the Surgeon General to come from a social work program, but BSW student Jessie Welch-Stockton’s understanding of mental health, substance misuse, and the opioid crisis were part of the reason she was selected for the internship, and expanded the breadth of her responsibilities. “Social work gives such a great perspective of people’s actual needs. It’s a perspective that gives you a base from which you are able to create deep, meaningful relationships with people,” she said. Because of her background, Ms. WelchStockton was asked to do significant draft work for then-Surgeon General Jerome Adams. “A lot of the presentations Dr. Adams does are meant for mental health workers,” she said, “so I was asked to help shape those remarks.” Jessie couldn’t say enough about encouraging other social work students to get involved with macro practice opportunities like this. “The social work perspective is so needed in discussions of health,” she said. “I think it’s important to realize that, early on in your career, you can start to be an advocate, even as a budding social worker.” 4
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The Road Home hadn’t done Housing First street outreach before this last year. However, when CARES Act dollars came through, it made sense to direct funding to meet clients where they were—on the streets. MSW student Dani Nives started the program from the ground up during her practicum—writing policy and procedure that met both the administrative guidelines of the grant and the needs of the clients, implementing policy, running the program, and now supervising case managers within the program. Ms. Nives recognizes the boon her education has been in this process. “Having the foundation of always using evidence-based practice and understanding why you’re doing what you’re doing has been a huge transformation for me,” she said. “Before, I would just do whatever plan was in place. To be in the supervisor role now, and to start implementing evidence-based best practices I’ve learned from my MSW Program has been invaluable. It’s been a really humbling and beautiful experience to be able to acknowledge there’s always more learning to do and always better practice to be utilizing.”
A Tale of Two Prisons MSW students Lu Smith and Rhiannon McDaniel spent their 2020-2021 practicum placements helping men and women incarcerated at the Utah State Prison access treatment, learn new skills, and think differently about themselves. Working on the women’s side of the prison, Ms. Smith ran a skills-based program for women with a substance use-related charge. The men’s side of the prison, where Ms. McDaniel worked, was more heavily impacted by COVID-19, so her work with the mental health team meant donning masks, goggles, and gloves for brief visits with clients. On days Ms. McDaniel couldn’t visit, she worked on developing a training for officers on adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). Though the pandemic presented different practicum challenges for these two women, both found their experiences strengthened their perception of the importance of social work within the criminal justice system. “For me,” said Ms. McDaniel, “one of the main takeaways of this experience is asking myself, ‘How can I call people in, instead of calling people out in every part of this?’”
SOCIAL WORK NEWS
Experiencing Nature Virtually Anywhere
Many days see Adam Hanley, assistant professor in the College of Social Work, out biking on the trails near his home. He tends to go in the middle of the day; it’s hot, but no one else is out. He loves this time of day in part due to the unparalleled view—everything vibrant and clear, brown waves of long grass moving in the breeze, a far reaching view of both the city and the Wasatch Range. “That view puts things in perspective—it changes my outlook on my relationship to the world and to the planet. I think slowing down to feel all the sensory connection is important—the warmth of the sun, the breeze against my skin, the smell of the grasses and the dirt. There’s a level of connection and solidarity in the moment when you slow down and really feel the earth and the natural world around you.” For Dr. Hanley, these experiences are a big part of why he does the research that he does. “That’s what we’re trying to give people a taste of with the virtual experience, it’s maybe not that full sensory moment, but the potential for it.” Wait—virtual experience?
Dr. Hanley and Anthony Deringer, an assistant professor of Recreation Administration at Texas State University, have completed several studies on the intersection of technology and nature connectedness. In the latest study, participants were divided into three groups. The first two groups were recruited at a trailhead and randomly assigned to either don special goggles and have a virtual experience of the trail, or to actually hike the trail. In an effort to find a population of people with similar outdoor recreational interests, the third group was recruited from outside a local (to Colorado) outdoor store. With all three groups, researchers took a measure of the person’s nature connectedness and then asked if they would sign a petition to a local political representative in support of protecting threatened lands. Compared to the participants at the store, both the folks who hiked the trail and virtually viewed the trail were more likely to sign the petition. “What’s really motivating these projects is land preservation efforts,” said Dr. Hanley. “The health of people is dependent on the health of the planet, and the health of the planet is dependent on the health of people. There’s a real circular relationship there.”
Due to socioeconomic status, local environment, and a variety of other factors often outside of a person’s control, some people simply do not have the ability to access nature.
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SOCIAL WORK NEWS
Mind the Gap: Implementing a Trauma-Informed Approach Even before the pandemic, Utah’s Department of Health had long recognized the level of trauma in Utah communities constituted a public health crisis. However the stresses of the last eighteen months have expanded this understanding Mary Beth to a much broader populaVogel-Ferguson tion. “So many more people have realized that when you’re talking about trauma, you’re not just talking about people from vulnerable populations,” said Mary Beth Vogel-Ferguson, a research associate professor at the College of Social Work. “You’re not just talking about abused children or those living in poverty; you’re not just talking about survivors of domestic violence. You’re talking about the widely shared experience of anxiety and fear of going out and engaging in the world. You’re talking about not being able to visit elderly parents or gather to celebrate weddings, birthdays, and graduations. COVID touched everyone.”
Dr. Vogel-Ferguson underscored that though the impact for some has been increased stress and discomfort rather than trauma, every person has been affected in a way that has not been experienced in our lifetimes. She hopes this opens the door for greater understanding of how trauma-informed approaches can help everyone. As the pandemic continues, Dr. Vogel-Ferguson has become even more committed to establish a center where organizations and individuals could find evidence-based resources, support, and sector-specific information regarding resources available in Utah to support the trauma-informed approach. “We need to keep this going—we can’t let the current crisis cause us to lose sight of our long-term goals,” she said. “Hard things are going to continue to happen to people and we need to be better prepared as a society to support our community in managing through difficult times. What better way to do that than to have people already trained and aware of the trauma responses so we can mitigate the impact? We can do this—together!”
Trauma-Informed Teachers for Tots Alysse Loomis, assistant professor in the College of Social Work, didn’t start her career in research. She started with trauma care. Initially she trained to work with adults, helping them come to terms with trauma they had experienced. Then she had a realizaAlysse Loomis tion—if we intervene earlier to treat trauma, perhaps we could have an even more profound effect in our treatment. This led her to focus her work on adolescents. And then at some point in her training she thought, perhaps if we intervene even earlier, we could have an even stronger effect. Eventually, this thought process led her to working with the youngest among us—kids from birth to age 6. Dr. Loomis’ latest research looks at how different types of trauma training 6
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for preschool teachers impact their trauma-informed attitudes and behaviors. The results from her most recent study on the matter offer encouraging insights and direction for the future. They suggest that many teachers already have some sort of experience with trauma-informed trainings, and that teachers who received any self-based training—that is training that helps teachers understand how their own trauma responses might come out in the classroom, or how a student’s trauma might impact them—are more likely to have stronger trauma-informed attitudes. Self-based training is also the type of training the teachers in her study were most interested in receiving, though it was the type of training they were least likely to have received. Because many schools are already doing trauma-informed trainings, Dr. Loomis is hopeful these changes will be relatively easy to implement. “A small shift to include a self-reflection element in these trainings could make a big difference for both the teacher and the kids in the classroom.”
H O N O R S & AWA R D S
Kudos! Tiffany Baffour
Sarah Canham
Chris Cambron
Jason Castillo
Caren Frost
Eric Garland
Yvette González Coronado
Adam Hanley
Jamuna Jones
Dena Ned
Philip Osteen
Cagney Smullin
Associate Professor and MSW Program Director Tiffany Baffour was accepted to the HERS Leadership Institute, a leadership program for women in higher education, for the summer of 2021. Sarah Canham, associate professor, was awarded a $1.37 million grant from the Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada for her research on best practices in shelter and housing for the aging population. Associate Professor and BSW Program Director Jason Castillo was awarded a HRSA grant as the principal investigator of a project providing substance use disorder education, and will work with two co-investigators, Research Professor Caren Frost and Assistant Professor Chris Cambron. Dr. Frost will also serve as the co-investigator on an NIH grant in the U’s Office of Research Integrity, which will examine methods of research and research ethics training. Associate Dean for Research Eric Garland was named the first distinguished professor of social work at the University, and was appointed to a national expert panel developing a joint guideline of the American Society of Clinical Oncology and the Society for Integrative Oncology. Dr. Garland also presented an invited lecture to the National Institutes of Health on “Healing the Opioid Crisis with Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement.” Additionally, Dr. Garland and Assistant Professor Adam Hanley were awarded a $5 million grant from the Department of Defense to conduct mindfulness research with military
personnel who have undergone knee surgery. Dr. Hanley also received an R21 grant from the NIH-National Institute on Drug Abuse for his study on mindful interoceptive mapping. The Career and Professional Development Center at the University selected Jamuna Jaehee Yi Jones, director of field education, as a Career Champions Award recipient to honor her impact on student career development. Associate Professor (Lecturer) Dena Ned was selected as the inaugural associate dean of the Office for First Generation Access in Undergraduate Studies at the University, and will continue teaching in the College while taking on this new role. Interim Associate Dean for Academic Affairs Philip Osteen was invited to present his research on flexible work policies and employee mental health at the World Economic Forum, and was named a 2021 Fellow by the Society for Social Work Research in recognition of his contributions, accomplishments, and leadership in social work. The College announced the winners of the semester-long One College Award, recognizing Associate Director of Education Cagney Smullin in the fall for her work in transitioning to online learning, and Assistant Professor (Clinical) Yvette González Coronado in the spring for her advocacy for student well-being. Jaehee Yi, associate professor, was accepted as a member of the first Social Work Health Futures Lab to learn how to study trends, forecast futures, and amplify the impact of social work.
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SOCIAL WORK NEWS
PhD Candidate Joins Global Network of Human Trafficking Experts
accepted as part of a working group tasked with expanding a United Nations global knowledge platform. The ultimate goal was for this group of stakeholders to combine professional expertise with databacked research to come up with justice policy guides—lists of research-based best practices that government officials could use to make more informed decisions about how to address trafficking and labor issues within their jurisdictions. The work involved analyzing peer-reviewed and gray literature, and applying a confidence score to their findings (low, medium, high confidence). Mrs. Gonzalez-Pons reflected, “It was a really cool experience to work with people from different parts of the world and feel like my work would have an
impact. I appreciated that each working group included and solicited feedback from trafficking survivors. It was important to learn from them and support them in a data-driven way.”
“My interest in substance use and mindfulness research,” said Anna Parisi, “stems from over five years of clinical experience working in community mental health settings with individuals struggling with substance use disorders and criminal justice involvement.” As a new postdoctoral research associate in the College’s Center on Mindfulness and Integrative Health Intervention Development (C-MIIND), she explained she chose the U because of “the innovative and groundbreaking research that it is being done to advance social justice
and well-being through centers such as C-MIIND.” After earning her MSW and PhD in social work from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Dr. Parisi admitted, “The close proximity to the mountains was also another huge draw!” A licensed clinical social worker, she is deepening her understanding of Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement (MORE) as a practitioner, while also using her experience as a researcher to advance knowledge around the ways mindfulness-based interventions can facilitate recovery and promote healing from substance use disorder. “I’m currently engaged
Anna Parisi
Lynae Roberts
in a fantastic mix of clinical work, data analysis, and paper writing,” she reports. With experience in behavioral health, cardiovascular measurement, neuroimaging, and EEG, Lynae Roberts was ready to hit the ground running when she joined C-MIIND as a new postdoctoral research associate. While earning her master’s and PhD in psychology from Baylor University in Waco, Texas, Dr. Roberts studied mind-body interventions, including mindfulness, clinical hypnosis, and music therapy, focusing on the psychophysiological mechanisms and clinical applications of the treatments. “Overall,” said Dr. Roberts, “my research focuses on the connections between cognition, emotion, behavior, and physiology, and the ways in which these biopsychosocial connections can be enhanced to manage symptoms or to promote health.” Realizing her research interests and experience aligned exceptionally well with the work happening within C-MIIND, Dr. Roberts recalled, “I was ecstatic to discover this postdoctoral opportunity and knew I wanted to be a part of Dr. Garland’s research team.”
Last fall, a multidisciplinary human trafficking network, HEAL—Health, Education, Advocacy, and Linkage—put out a call for a diverse group of stakeholders with trafficking expertise to help create policy guides. College of Social Work PhD candidate Kwynn Gonzalez-Pons read the call and was immediately interested. With her years of work experience with trafficking prevention nonprofits and her academic background in public health, she thought she could bring know-how from several related fields to the project. HEAL’s selection committee agreed— Mrs. Gonzalez-Pons applied and was
Meet the Postdocs
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Kwynn Gonzalez-Pons
SOCIAL WORK NEWS
Dean Teasley Named as Associate Provost
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n October, University of Utah President Taylor Randall announced the appointment of the College of Social Work’s Dean Martell Teasley as the associate provost and special assistant to the senior vice president for academic affairs (provost). “We are grateful for Dr. Teasley’s willingness to take on this new role in addition to his continuing duties as dean of the College of Social Work,” wrote President Randall and Dan Reed, senior vice president for academic affairs, in a joint message. In this newly-established position, Dean Teasley will assist the U’s colleges with strategic planning; review, revise, and develop University-wide policies related to academic freedom and freedom of expression; and assist in the leadership and implementation of other strategic projects. Dean Teasley has served as dean of the University of Utah College of Social Work since 2017, and is currently serving his second term as president of the National Association of Deans and Directors of Schools of Social Work. Before coming to Utah, he served as a professor and chair of the social work
program at the University of Texas at San Antonio; he also taught at Florida State University, where he chaired the Social Work and Disaster Recovery Program. Dean Teasley served a tour of duty as a licensed practical nurse with the U.S. Army in the first Gulf War; his service not only helped him develop leadership skills that he has utilized throughout his career, but also supported his academic pursuits. He graduated magna cum laude with bachelor’s degrees in sociology and psychology from Fayetteville State University, then earned a Master of Social Work degree, with an emphasis in planning and administration, from Virginia Commonwealth University. Dean Teasley earned his PhD in social work from Howard University, where he focused on African American adolescent development. “Dr. Teasley has established himself as an effective leader with the ability to articulate and implement his vision,” wrote President Randall and Senior Vice President Reed. “We look forward to Dr. Teasley bringing his considerable talents and skills to this position in support of the greater University.”
Since coming to the U, Dean Teasley has established himself as an effective leader with the ability to articulate and implement his vision.
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SOCIAL WORK NEWS
Fall semester, our BSW and MSW students can be found online in Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Massachusetts, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, and Utah
The Future of Education is Online
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n March of 2020—the year the word “unprecedented” became trite—schools around the world did something truly remarkable and transitioned from face-to-face learning to fully-online learning in a matter of days. “The pandemic shook people up and they had to move online while operating in crisis mode,” said Cynthia Sanders, the inaugural director of online programs at the College of Social Work. The resulting online courses were sufficient in the moment. And the experience, abrupt as it might have been, gave nearly everyone in higher education an opportunity to expand their view of the potential to learn and teach online. But now, with the luxury of time and online-savvy faculty, we can do better, said Dr. Sanders. “We’re not just building individual online
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courses as we did during the pandemic; we’re developing a whole program, a whole quality experience for our online students.” With online programs, she said, instructors need to think about how to engage students differently than they would face-to-face, how classes tie together, and what resources need to be available, among many other considerations. “I think online education has come a long way,” she said. “There are models and best practices and ways you can get really creative, even asynchronously.” To help faculty tap into their creativity and utilize known best practices, Dr. Sanders is collaborating with technology experts and instructional designers to help CSW faculty translate their in-person classes into engaging and productive online experiences.
SOCIAL WORK NEWS
She is clear about the goal: “We want to have highquality online programs that are equivalent in nature to our onsite programs in terms of rigor, excellence, outcomes, and competency achievement.” One of Dr. Saunders’ other big goals for the online programs is to expand access to higher education, especially in parts of the state where prospective students might not otherwise have opportunities for higher education. “There’s a shortage of social workers in the state,” said Dr. Sanders. “There are parts of the state that literally have no social workers.” Yet these geographic areas are exactly where social workers are most needed … and where earning a BSW or MSW through online education might be the best option. The greater accessibility offered by online education can also open up possibilities for students who need more flexibility in scheduling, in class format, and in physical elements of participating in classes.
The bottom line: the College’s online BSW and MSW Programs can help educate more social workers in underserved areas, resulting in increased service availability in these areas. Dr. Sanders noted that one barrier standing in the way of reaching this goal is “the digital divide”—the lack of high-speed internet (or any internet at all) in some rural communities, thus preventing access to online courses. “The pandemic helped highlight the digital divide, so you saw a lot of states, cities, and communities take steps to provide funding to increase internet access and reduce the digital divide,” said Dr. Sanders. “Hopefully that will continue post-pandemic.” “We are, in many ways, still in the beginning of online education,” she said. But she is excited to address the challenges as she works toward her goals. “There’s lots of work to be done and lots of good things for me to do in Utah.”
The first cohort of online Advanced Standing MSW students will begin classes in May of 2022
You can tell from the stickers on her water bottles—Cynthia Sanders loves the outdoors, and loves exploring them with her two rescue dogs, Australian Shepherds Ardie and Amos. She grew up in Salt Lake City and earned two bachelor’s degrees and her MSW from the U before moving to St. Louis to earn her PhD in social work from Washington University. “I always had the intention of moving back west,” she said. She accepted a faculty position at Boise State University, where she spent the next 17 years before returning to the U. “It’s exciting for me to be able to come back here, for both personal and professional reasons,” she said. In addition to being closer to family (and collecting new stickers from local coffee shops and craft beer breweries), she is looking forward to new opportunities for collaboration around her research area: asset-based welfare policies and programming and financial capability among low-income groups.
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FA C U LT Y & S TA F F U P D AT E S
NEW FACULTY
“It is my hope that social work will become the global platform for universal change.”
“As the need for social work continues to grow, the use of technology in social work expands our reach. What an exciting time to be a part of a meaningful career!”
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In January 2021, Leroy “Curtis” Johnson joined the College of Social Work (CSW) as a practicum coordinator and assistant professor (clinical). Prof. Johnson brings over 37 years of social services experience to the College, spanning from criminal justice to child welfare, and mental health. He earned his MSW from Howard University, and put his education into practice as a child protection services social worker in California and as a faculty member at Touro University Worldwide’s Edith Neumann School of Health and Human Services Social Work Program. Prof. Johnson is passionate about advancing practicum techniques to better prepare students for their future in social work. MSW graduate Susiane Manning returned to the College in January as an assistant professor (clinical) and practicum coordinator. Prof. Manning joins the College from an executive leadership role in a mental health agency, where she directed clinical operations, supervised interns, and maintained her client caseload. She also has experience working for a digital health company and providing online mental health services, which she mastered prior to the COVID-19 pandemic and the world of virtual healthcare. She looks forward to using her background to continually improve the experience for students in their field education.
Assistant Professor (Lecturer) Frank McAlpin joined the CSW in January. He earned his MSW from Fordham University, followed by his DSW from the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. McAlpin has spent years working in community-based agencies around the country, including his role as the senior housing manager at the Los Angeles LGBT Center, where he developed residential and clinical programming. He also taught classes about family resilience and health disparities as an adjunct professor at California State University while in Los Angeles. Dr. McAlpin is passionate about many social work-related issues, including trauma-informed care, ending youth homelessness, LGBT rights, and social justice. In May, alumna Allison O’Connor took on a new role as an assistant professor (lecturer) in the College, building upon her previous experience as an instructor of applied statistics and a field education coordinator. Working in research and administrative roles, she has established evaluation collaborations with state and national partners, and has worked to provide mental health services to individuals, families, and groups. She is passionate about the intersection of social work research and practice, and supports students in connecting micro, mezzo, and macro levels to integrate materials.
“I hope that the field of social work continues to address social injustices by prioritizing human connection, empowerment, solidarity, and liberation.”
“As we look to increasingly complex futures, social work students give me hope and inspire me to challenge my own understandings.”
FA C U LT Y & S TA F F U P D AT E S
RETIREMENTS David Derezotes, professor and facilitator of dialogue groups, chaired the MSW Program’s Mental Health and Practice focus areas for many years and directed the College’s original Bridge Training Clinic. He continues to serve as director of Peace and Conflict Studies in the College of Humanities and host a weekly radio show. His scholarly work included many journal articles and the publication of six textbooks. He created and directed the U’s Transforming Classrooms into Inclusive Communities program, pioneering EDI trainings for students, staff, and faculty. During his 32-year tenure at the College of Social Work, he was the recipient of the University Distinguished Teaching Award, the Bennion Center’s Civically Engaged Scholar of the Year Award, and six-time recipient of the College’s Outstanding Faculty Award. He earned his PhD in Social Welfare from the University of California, Berkeley. Larry Smith, professor, was an institution at the College of Social Work for 50 extraordinary years. He served as the director of MSW admissions for 20 years, as well as 10 years as director of the MSW Program, and five years as director of the College’s Neighbors Helping Neighbors program. Dr. Smith loved helping thousands of remarkable students earn their degrees and go on to serve their communities. He also enjoyed serving on numerous faculty search committees and took great pride in helping bring talented new faculty to the U. He authored or co-authored a number of books, including multiple U.S. and international editions of Introduction to Social Work. His work was recognized with the Mary Shields McPhee Award for faculty excellence in community. Dr. Smith earned his MSW and DSW from the University of Utah. Scott Sorensen, associate professor (lecturer), led the College of Social Work’s distance programs from Cedar City for nearly 26 years. Recognizing the critical nature of supporting students beyond the campus, and the urgent need for skilled social workers in rural areas, Prof. Sorensen served as president of the National Rural Social Work
Caucus and published and presented on the importance of rural social work education and practice. He worked with the Utah Department of Workforce Services and the Utah Attorney General’s Office to secure funding to establish day programs for at-risk youth in Iron County, as well as the Iron County Children’s Justice Center. Prof. Sorensen earned his BSW and MSW from Arizona State University. Aster Solomon Tecle, assistant professor, was passionate about global health and directed the College’s Case Management Certificate Program for several years, enjoying the work with Utah residents with immigrant or refugee backgrounds. She mentored students through the U’s Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program and served on the dissertation committees for numerous doctoral students. In addition to serving as the College’s Belle S. Spafford Endowed Chair from 2016-2017, Dr. Tecle was a member of the advisory boards of the Utah Refugee Women’s Reproductive Health and Utah Refugee Women’s Initiative programs. She earned her MSW and her doctoral degree in social welfare from the University of Washington, where she received the Doctoral Student Award for Excellence. Joanne Yaffe, professor, was a dedicated mentor to her students, invested in multidisciplinary collaboration, and an ardent proponent of evidence-based practice and reproducible research for the last 34 years. As director of doctoral studies, she established the Technology Enhanced Doctorate program. She chaired the University Research Committee and the Presidential Commission on the Status of Women, and served as a member of the Academic Senate Executive Committee. She authored or co-authored eight books and served as editor-in-chief of the Journal of Social Work Education, and on editorial boards for many other journals, as well as for the Campbell and Cochrane Collaborations. Dr. Yaffe’s work was recognized with the Linda K. Amos Award for excellence in service to women and the Mary Shields McPhee Award for faculty excellence in service, among many other honors. She earned her MSW and PhD from the University of Michigan.
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SOCIAL WORK NEWS
Rising TO THE Challenge ADDRESSING UTAH’S SOCIAL WORK WORKFORCE SHORTAGE FROM MANY ANGLES In March 2019, the Bureau of Labor Statistics announced that social work was one of the fasting-growing professions in the country. Fast forward to 2021—it needs to grow much faster. “Every conversation with our community partners is the same,” reports Dean Martell Teasley. “‘We need social workers, we’re posting great jobs and can’t get applicants, send us your graduates.’ These are desperate pleas and we’re making strategic changes to respond on multiple fronts.” The College of Social Work is addressing this crisis in three key ways: program expansion, streamlined admission, and increased scholarship support. Throughout the spring of 2020, Dean Teasley, BSW Director Jason Castillo, and advocates in the legislature and the community shared this workforce emergency with the Utah legislature. When the final votes were cast and bills were signed, the dean learned the College had secured just over $900,000 in recurring legislative support for program expansion efforts. These dollars allowed the College to hire additional faculty for classrooms and field placements, as well as additional staff in the academic advising office. Dean Teasley explained, “Our new colleagues provide the bandwidth needed for us to increase enrollment and to track down new field placement opportunities for the expanded student population.” Dean Teasley sees the growth in more than just the numbers, too. “We hired seasoned professionals with lots of different experiences in social work, which means more Community partners are classes and a growing array of ” pleading, ‘We need social electives. The dean enthusiastically talks about the impact of these workers, we’re posting funds on our online plans, too. great jobs and can’t get “A clear path to expanding enrollment is through online applicants, send us your programming,” he notes. Thus, Cynthia Sanders, the new graduates.’ 14
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director of online education, received a hearty welcome and lots of support for the efforts she has outlined to create a quality MSW online program and to update the BSW online program. Dr. Sanders added, “If we learned anything from the pandemic, it’s that online education can be incredibly effective, not to mention more convenient for many people.” Dr. Sanders is excited to be at the helm of this expansion, and she’s laser-focused on creating a quality program that meets the needs of all students. “We’re excited to provide this learning option to better serve more students— which consequently serves to fill the workforce gap and benefit our communities.” These changes helped the College to begin to grow our enrollment last year, most notably in the online program and in the three-year programs that accommodate students who also work full-time. Remarkably, the admissions committee still faced the difficult task of turning away a significant number of outstanding applicants to our programs. “We still need to hire more faculty to meet the demand,” explained Dean Teasley. This trend will continue as the online programs expand and as future applicants take advantage of another change—a streamlined BSW-MSW pipeline for our students. “We realized 90 percent of our BSW students qualify for our MSW Program,” said the dean. Accordingly, U BSW grads with a 3.0+ GPA who seek to enter the MSW Program will enjoy a speedy application process—a simplified application, no reference requests, and no timed essay for those who earned degrees within the past seven years. Dr. Caren Frost, associate director of the MSW Program, explained “the updated application reduces the amount of paperwork U BSW students have to submit. But it also requires applicants to address why they want an MSW degree, thus providing reviewers with insight into the applicants’ views of social work as a crucial profession for working with populations in need.”
SOCIAL WORK NEWS
Familiar Faces in New Leadership Roles The College of Social Work was excited to welcome a few faculty and staff members into leadership roles for the 2021-2022 academic year. Until the search for a new associate dean for academic affairs resumes, Associate Professor and former Director of the Social Research Institute (SRI) Philip Osteen will act as the interim associate dean. “I am excited to step into the role of the interim associate dean for academic affairs and serve the College in this way,” said Dr. Osteen, who has excelled in supporting the College in his previous positions. “My primary goal is to ensure that faculty and staff have the resources and support they need to successfully carry out the mission of the CSW.”
Philip Osteen
Chad McDonald
As Dr. Osteen takes on this new role, his former position as director of SRI will be filled by Research Assistant Professor Chad McDonald. SRI Biostatistician Meghan Broadbent will serve alongside Dr. McDonald as the interim associate director of SRI. The team is “looking forward to broadening SRI’s reach by advancing the CSW’s mission, strengthening the partnerships we have in the community, and elevating the skills and expertise of all those who carry out the important work of the grants and contracts that faculty and staff manage.” With three new passionate leaders, the College will continue to successfully serve the community and the University, and offer an excellent educational experience to our social work students.
Meghan Broadbent
Rising to the Challenge continued
Dr. Frost is particularly excited about the workforce implications of these changes, as she believes they “will ensure that we have identified those applicants who will be an asset to the social work profession.” Of course, growing enrollment also translates to a push for more scholarships. “The University of Utah provides a great return on investment,” said Assistant Dean for Development Lisa Himonas. But, a “good deal” within the Pac-12 still comes with a hefty price tag within the state. “We know our students are more likely to graduate and that a U degree typically translates into higher wages upon graduation,” explains Ms. Himonas, “but many students need the financial boost a scholarship provides to make their educational dreams a reality.” It is tremendously helpful that numerous donors contributed annual scholarship gifts and created new endowed scholarships in the past several years, she said. “Both types of funding
provide valuable support—it’s critical to award dollars right now to hard-working students; it’s also essential to have the promise, through endowed scholarships, of dollars that will last in perpetuity.” As the College addresses the workforce shortage, we remain focused on our educational mission. All of the changes we’re making aim to fill a gap in our community, but they also better serve our students. The dean, a self-described “futurist,” looks toward the new landscape with great hope and the burning question of what’s next. “We’ve got to keep moving forward, thinking ahead. We have an obligation to our students to provide a top-notch, cutting-edge learning experience. We have an obligation to our community partners to send them graduates who can hit the ground running. And we have an obligation to the community at large to fill the social work gap with the talented, caring professionals emerging from our programs.”
According to their most recent projections, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics expects the number of social work jobs to grow by 109,700 between 2016 and 2026
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Who was that masked donor? This story is about you—or it could be. We’re taking advantage of a theme here. Since masks provided a degree of anonymity over the past year-anda-half, it seemed the right time to celebrate contributors in a similar fashion. What follows are the tales of several donors to the College—donors who gave single figures, six figures, and in between. To conceal their identities, we avoid using names. We hope you see yourself in these stories and appreciate that gifts at every level truly make a difference.
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It All Adds Up We celebrated hundreds of $5 donations to our emergency student fund this past year. Our virtual events attracted dozens of first-time donors to the College, as many made good use of the learning opportunities and generously volunteered support of the emergency student fund attached to our online “QuaranTalks with Teasley” and “Grand Challenges for Social Work” series. Comments from attendees let us know the sessions were informative, insightful, inspiring, enlightening. We were gratified to see “Fantastic!” quite a bit, too. Fortunately, this enthusiasm translated to 210 gifts that generated over $15,000 to the emergency student fund. Pooling these dollars with the University-wide drive allowed our students to receive more than $70,000 since spring of 2020. From assisting with daily needs such as food to big-picture items like rent and utility payments, this support proved instrumental in helping students across campus navigate life during a challenging time.
Scholarships Change Lives Several couples jumped in with jaw-dropping five-figure gifts for student scholarships. Inevitably, their motivation was concern for social work students. As one of these philanthropists explained, “We were thinking of all the students who have made the commitment to social work but now face an uncertain future and work situation.” Echoing a common sentiment among this group, the individual continued, “We are thankful for the students, professors, and administrators and feel privileged to be able to help in these uncertain times.” Twenty-five students received scholarships from donors who gave directly to the College. The recipients included BSW and MSW students, many of whom were first-generation and non-traditional students. The students were effusive in their appreciation for financial support—support that helped them feel proud of their efforts, that buoyed them during a time of hardship, that allowed them to finish their degrees, that inspired joy as they look forward to joining the social work profession.
Programs Connect Us While student support was critical, our efforts to continue our programs remained high on our priority list—not only for their connection to the student funding efforts mentioned above, but as an important connection to others during a very isolating period of time. Last summer, as a thick layer of unrest blanketed our country, we heard from an alum who believed the College could be a source of leadership around issues of race and social justice. This individual wanted to be an “ally to the school and the cause moving forward.” Retired and able to be more involved, our friend reported a “longtime membership with NASW,” adding “I always liked the piece in the code of ethics about political activism.” Through a generous contribution, this decadeslong donor supported two special events in 2020-2021 and will sponsor a third in 2021-2022. We hope others share this alum’s view of the College as a source of change and inspiration.
Research Informs Care In the research arena, donors made significant gifts to advance edgy new research that could have a tremendous impact on mental health, addiction, and pain treatment. Both long-time donors and new donors contributed generously to research that weds Associate Dean for Research Eric Garland’s successful mindfulness interventions with new ideas for psychedelic-assisted therapy. This is a unique, big-vision effort that donors are helping to advance in exciting ways. We are fortunate to have partners who understand the power of evidence-based research, the timeline for solid research, and the “payoff ” that can come in the changes that impact countless lives. As one contributor noted, “We appreciate that this work doesn’t come out of nowhere. It takes community support.” Dr. Garland is excited that two studies in this area are advancing, noting “The science clearly shows this work has the potential to alleviate the suffering of many people struggling in this country and around the globe.”
Mahatma Gandhi inspired the quote, “Be the change you want to see in the world.” These unnamed donors, along with all the contributors listed on the closing pages of this magazine, made good on this message by playing a vital role in helping the College of Social Work support our students, contribute to the betterment of our communities, advance behavioral science research, and more. Thank you, “masked” friends!
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DONORS
Donor Honor Roll WE GRATEFULLY ACKNOWLEDGE THE GENEROSITY OF DONORS WHO GAVE JULY 1, 2020 – JUNE 30, 2021.
FOUNDATIONS & CORPORATIONS $25,000 or more The Callon Family Trust
$10,000-$24,999 Joseph and Kathleen Sorenson Legacy Foundation The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Foundation
$1,000-$9,999 Herbert I. & Elsa B. Michael Foundation Krystkowiak Seven
INDIVIDUALS $25,000 or more Richard V. and Tanya N. Andrew Colin W. Brown Roger M. and Mary F. Lowe Kenneth A. and Kelle Okazaki Meredith* Simmons Christine Wellington
$10,000-$24,999 Jane W. Bebb Maryann* Glasgow Ann E. Henderson* Kenzo Edward Okazaki Laurence and Karen Phillips Christine Pugmire Skidmore and Lee S.* Skidmore Susan R. and Keith M.* Warshaw Julia M. Watkins and Dennis Arthur Watkins
$2,500-$9,999 Stephanie L. and Timothy P. Harpst Norma J. Harris Elise K. and R. Paul* Hutchings T. K. and Karen C. Jensen Katherine M. Mason John F. and Joan Moellmer Charles S. Pohl William R. and Janine Kay* Smith Freida S. and Harvey Croix Sweitzer Milton H. and Sandra W. Thackeray
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Elizabeth Tsai Janet Spafford Wilson and Del Wilson
$1,000-$2,499 Debra Daniels John Fleming and Susan L. Thomas Gloria Jacobs Johnson and Robert A. Johnson David B. and Lisa Goldstein Kieda Helane B. and David E. Leta Hank and Gail J. Liese C. Kai Medina-Martinez D’Arcy Dixon Pignanelli and Frank R. Pignanelli Donald L. and Sylvia Schmid Martell L. and Bonita Teasley David T. and Anna Ayres Thackeray
$250-$999 Cora M. and Harold Adams Robert L. and Lucy C. Deaton Caren J. Frost Greg and Julie Good Lisa E.M. and Deno G. Himonas Shwu-Jing Liu Kathy and James* Loewy Lana M. Lorenzen Duane J. and Marilyn K. Luptak Chad McDonald Walter H. and Susan C. Notter Jennifer Nozawa Shirley C. and Thomas J. Rossa Roger G. and Susan Santala Georgia D. Wagniere Don G. and Megan P. Wardell
$100-$249 Carolyn Andersen Mathea Anderson Sumiko Chuntel Anderson Tammer M. and Gina M. Attallah Glenn L. Bailey Marghi E. and Gene E. Barton Troy Robert and Ame R. Bennett Emily W. and Steven B. Bleyl John E. and Amanda M. Bogart Jae Brainard Victor Brown Jr. Manny Cantorna
Geraldine G. and Gordon S. Daines Jon D. and Judie Davis Melinda Dee Marylis J. Filipovich Erika Duersch Fontana Douglas and Cynthia Gale Ruth and Thomas Gallagher Joseph Garcia Jessica T. and Stephen M.* Gledhill Ellen E. Goldberg and Clinton Perschon Christina E. Gringeri and Armando Solorzano Erin Grover Janet A. Hansen and Lucile Jensen Robyn Ann Heckman S. Blair Hodson and Amy F. Sorenson Kimberly and Mark Jensen Leroy Johnson Marian Kaye Knudson and Kenrick K. Bontoft Donald and Becky Koldewyn Stayner and Suzanne Landward Mary and Barry Lehto Susan P. and Donald A. Lewon Alysse M. Loomis Brad W. and Stacy Lundahl Rebecca Ann and Scott Mabe Carol and Willard Malmstrom Sue Marquardt Jennifer McGrath Helen Mertz Rose Anna Miller J. Dena Ned Aaron Joseph and Katherine Orlowski Shantel Pettit Susan L. Pizitz Mary M. and George Reade Darlene Anne and Michael E. Schultz Craig L. and Marianne R. Skousen Lana Lambert Stohl and John L. Stohl Tony J. and Kathleen F. Strelich Tomokazu and Tetsuko Suzuki Kristina and Scott Matthew Swickard Nicholas and Jamie Tsandes
Mary Beth Vogel-Ferguson and Steve Ferguson Jessica Franchesca Waters Megan Lenna Waters Steven C. Wong and Mary Lou Oland-Wong Joanne Yaffe
$1-$99 Alison G. and John B. Ackerman Christine Ackmann James and Shannon Andersen Troy Andersen and Kathleen Miller-Andersen Jensie Anderson and Robert Raysor Jason Archuleta David F. Arguello and Trinidad De Jesus Arguello Tiffany Sanders Baffour Marcia L. Bailey Jayne Baker Jana Ballou Stephanie Bank Linsey Belisle Joanna E. Bettmann Schaefer and Peter Schaefer Breanna Boppre Michelle Bouwman Jorge and Tara Bravo Emily Breen Janet and Jeffrey Breen Jodie Bridges Marceline Brown Aaron Bryant Diane W. Buck Craig Burns Terri Busch Kara Ann and Spencer Byrne Elizabeth Cain Christopher Bryon Cambron Terrell Campbell Deborah Carr Stephanie Caya Amber Chidester Lindy J. Christensen Matt Christensen Timothy Clark Carla Coates Michel Coconis Angelique Colemere Merrily and James Cope
Dorothy and William Cosgrove Jerry Costley Collin and Frances Cowley Shannon Cox Kate Coy Jennifer Crist Carly Czach Sandra W. Danse Janet Snarr Davidson Mindi and Ryan Davidson Stephanie Dawson Pack and Reginald Pack Annette Day Mark and Lorene de St. Aubin Kenwyn Derby Tiffany Diaz Barbara Dobbs Steven and Christie Dorius Christine and David Dye Paola Escobedo Shauna Ferrell Rodney Fifield Lou Jean Flint Patricia Galbraith Maria and Steve Gamvroulas Kamala Ganesh Oclires Garcia Dixie George Sarah B. George and Rick Ford Leeann Glass Yvette Gonzalez Timothy Gould Courtney Gramoll Heather Grauke Chelsea Griffin Sydney Haga Aaron M. and Jill Harvey Catherine Haskins Oscar Haupt Angela Hendrix Jennie Hill Deborah and Scott Hinton Rowena Hobby Sandra and David Hollins Maria Holmes Mercedaz Holmes Delva W. and Wolfgang Christian Hommes Rodney W. and Mary Janet Hopkins Dirk and Kathryn Horton
DONORS
Amy Horyna Amy Howard George Howell Charles Hoy-Ellis and Dana Hofmann Rebecca Huff Lucy Izard P. Corper and Gretchen James II Jamuna A. Jones Lester and Safia Keller Patricia Kerig and Robert Argenbright Nancy Kessel Lindsay and Shane Kibler Cydnie La Cour Richard S. Landward and Amber M. Roderick-Landward Julie Larsen Arlene Lauper Jeanne Lee Georgette Leventis Sara Lee Ludlum Lauren Magee Jessica and Aaron Mann Alisa Manwaring Maria Maradiaga Peter Marburger Sonya Lynn Martinez-Ortiz and Ernesto Ortiz
Betty Mattson Kathy McCall Sue McGhie Mario McHarris Chrissy McKell Debra McKowen Shawn M. and Mary Jo McMillen Rosa Mena Maureen Meyer Gina Ann and Kelly J. Millard Kathleen Miller Meeyoung O. Min Kimberly Moffett Karen Montano Randy and Nancy Moss Mark D. and Polly Mottonen Atiya Nash Asma Naveed Linda Nelford Justin Nelson Melinda and Jesse Newsome Peter and Robyn* Nicholas Cerise Nord Judith Norman Allison O’Connor Cambria A. O’Neal Mary Beth Osoro Douglas and Joan Palmer
Angelo J. Papastamos Morriss and Donna Partee Rachael Patterson Jeremy and Stephanie Patton Jennifer and Jeff Paulsen Karen Pekarcik Ana Perez Megan Perkins Tara Petersen Chelsea Pilger Spencer and Brooke Pohlman Allen J. Proctor Trisha Reynolds Lynette and Robert Rich Mindi Rich Paul M. Ricks Leilani Rigby Tamara K. and Charles Roberts Tamara Robinette Agnes Robl Ray M. and Patricia A. Ross Emily Salisbury Gaben Cetrola Sanchez Barry Sanford Guillermo Sanhueza Luciano A. Santa Cruz Christian Marie Sarver and Stephen Smith
Betty and Gerod and Sawyer Valerie Schiele James Schwartz Richard and Barbara Scoville Pamela Seager Jessica Seawright Wendy Seeley Bobbette Shepard Janet Y. Shiozawa Ramona Sierra and William Francis Gerald Smith Sandra Smith Cagney Anne Smullin Tamber Snarr-Beesley and Jordan Beesley Daniel and Amy Sonnenberg Scott R. and Charla Sorensen Phyllis Speciale Frank and Carol Stenger Sarah Strang Bridget and Brandon Stringham Chris Sullivan Rebecca Taylor Ivy Telles Barbara Thompson Loreen Thompson Patricia Totterer
Charles Trice Anisa and Rishat Urmeyev W. Roy and Kathleen D. Van Orman Nathan Vandyke Sheila Walsh-McDonald and Gregory McDonald Zakury Walters Peggy C. Weber Diane Weeks Amelia Wilcox Michelle Wilcox Aurene Wilford Richard Willey Virginia Wilson LeAnn Wittman Rebecca B. and Richard Worst Erin Becker Worwood and Ben Worwood Jennifer Wright Elizabeth Yanke Jaehee Yi Bobby Younce Jennifer Zenger Kristin Zimmerman and George Vo-Duc Tammy Lynn Zundel
*Deceased
Our goal is to express our gratitude to each of our investors with accuracy. Despite our best efforts, however, errors sometimes occur. In that event, please notify our Development Office by calling (801) 587-8387 or email lisa.himonas@socwk.utah.edu.
Message to Our Donors Amidst the loud applause to all, a moment of quiet gratitude . . . Tremendous thanks to all whose names appear on these donor pages. During one of the most difficult years in living memory, you generously supported our students and our programs. Thank you. I also want to acknowledge gifts we “realized” over this time period—planned legacy gifts from friends who passed. “Realized” is such a technical word for the emotional jolt we feel when these contributions arrive. Amidst the sadness and gratitude tumbles an unfinishable task: we cannot thank a friend for one of the most meaningful gifts they’ve ever made. So, Meredith, Ann, and Maryann, thank you for dramatically expanding endowed scholarships for our students. Your support will change lives in perpetuity. And for those of you still with us who have planned legacy gifts, please consider this a heartfelt thank you for a contribution we hope is a long way off. — Lisa Himonas, Assistant Dean for Development
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Nonprofit Organization U.S. Postage PAID Salt Lake City, Utah Permit Number 1529 395 South 1500 East, Room 101 Salt Lake City, Utah 84112-0260
FREE CONTINUING EDUCATION EXTENDED The College of Social Work is pleased to extend our offering of free NASW-approved CEU events through the 2021-2022 academic year.
The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated not only a quick shift to online learning, but also to online events. When the College suspended in-person classes, meetings, and events, we also decided to support our social work friends and colleagues by suspending the small fee typically associated with our NASW-approved CEU certificates. Between March and December of 2020, we awarded 1,368 free CEU certificates for our fully-online events around an array of topics.
To register for upcoming events and access CEU quizzes, please visit our website: socialwork.utah.edu/events.
