THE UNIVERSIT Y OF ALABAMA SCHO OL OF SO CIAL WORK
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A N N UA L R E P O R T
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2017–2018
Human Trafficking: Stopping the Cycle UA Social Work researchers are using a $1.8 million U.S. Department of Justice grant to combat juvenile human trafficking in Alabama.
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INSIDE
04 STUDENTS
Doctoral student Emma Sophia Kay received a $17,900 HEALS fellowship for HIV research.
21 FACULTY/STAFF
With funding from UA’s Council on Community-Based Partnerships, two faculty members are addressing critical health issues in rural Alabama.
36 ALUMNI
Alumnus Harold Shambley is paying it forward to the school that helped shape his career and path to success.
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Alumni, students, faculty, staff and members of the UA community attended the School of Social Work’s 50th Anniversary Celebration and Little Hall Open House in April.
Editor
Writers
Designer
Copy Editors
Dean and Professor
Adrienne Nettles
Rylie Curry David Miller Adrienne Nettles
Jeremy Rich
Barry Durand Lynn Tobola Matthew Zabel
Dr. Vikki L. Vandiver
OutReach is published by The University of Alabama School of Social Work, Box 870314, Tuscaloosa, AL 35487-0314 © 2018 The University of Alabama School of Social Work All rights reserved. Information contained in this publication is gathered from sources considered reliable. The School of Social Work cannot accept responsibility for errors or omissions in this publication. The University of Alabama is an equal opportunity educational institution/employer.
INSIDE
2017-18 OutReach
FEATURES 02 Message from the Dean 12 BSW Student Alexi Bolton: There’s More to Inspire 18 Cover Story: Human Trafficking: Stopping the Cycle
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STUDENT NEWS 06 Black Women Who Serve Exhibit 07 MSW Student Awarded UA McNair Graduate Fellowship 11 Field Spotlight: First BSW Student Placed at National SSW Hosts Death Row Exoneree and Author Anthony Ray Hinton
Institutes of Health
SCHOOL NEWS 16 Phi Alpha Symposium Explores Juvenile Justice System FACULTY/STAFF NEWS 23 New Faculty and Staff 27 In Memoriam: Thelma V. Mueller 28 Faculty and Doctoral Scholarship ALUMNI NEWS 39 Alumni and Giving Fast Facts 40 Buford Peace Award 50 Alumni Notes
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Alumnus Harold Shambley: An Example For Those Who Serve Like us on Facebook
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@UA_SocialWork
socialwork.ua.edu
Mission Statement The University of Alabama’s School of Social Work prepares scholar-
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practitioners and researchers committed to ending adverse social conditions
2017 Alabama Social Work Hall of Fame Class
and promoting societal well-being through teaching, research and service.
School of Social Work |
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Message From the Dean
Beginning a New Chapter “Although the world is full of suffering, it is also full of the overcoming of it.” — Hellen Keller, a native of Tuscumbia, Alabama who rose to become an author, political activist, lecturer, and the first deaf-blind person to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree. Dear Alumni and Friends, Helen Keller “saw” what most of us rarely “see”: that courage, caring and compassion are the fundamental elements of helping to alleviate suffering. These elements shape the stories that you will find in this year’s 2017-18 OutReach. Please join me in reading the many examples of how our students and faculty have engaged in work that is changing the lives of individuals, families and communities. It is through acts of courage that survivors of human trafficking share their stories and wisdom with our research teams to advocate policy change. Read how our faculty researchers, law enforcement officials and state agencies are collaborating to combat juvenile human trafficking in Alabama on pages 18-20.
Dr. Vikki L. Vandiver
It is caring that we see in the intentional efforts of our alumni who continue to support Dean and Professor the school through their commitment to student scholarships and awards. In this issue, we have highlighted the generosity of alumnus Harold D. Shambley and his family. The Shambleys’ deep, caring spirit combined with their personal experiences of caring for their own family members have been a driving force in their generous support of our students’ educational needs. See how the Shambleys are shaping the lives of social work students through philanthropy at UA on pages 36-38. Lastly, compassion drives the countless examples of student engagement in field placements and fellowships showcased throughout this issue of OutReach. These enriching opportunities provide our students with life-changing experiences and give them the opportunity to work in our communities while impacting the lives of others. You can learn about our extraordinary students conducting innovative research and making big impacts in our communities on pages 4-13. In 2017-18, we celebrated these and the many other accomplishments of our students, alumni, faculty and staff during the School of Social Work’s 50th anniversary celebrations. It was a pleasure to mark this momentous milestone with so many of our dedicated alumni, supporters, and friends. I encourage you to look back on our 50th anniversary memories in photo collages on pages 44-48.
A New Beginning In 2019, the School of Social Work will begin a new chapter in its long, rich history at UA under new leadership. Marking the end of 30 years in social work higher education, I am pleased to announce my retirement from academia beginning in Spring 2019. As both an educator and administrator, I have witnessed three decades of enormous courage, caring and compassion from my colleagues and students as they have worked in unison to overcome the suffering of those our field is dedicated to serve. I stand on their shoulders and all who have come before me. I want to thank each of you for your support during my time at UA and for joining me on this wonderful journey to educate and prepare the next generation of UA social work leaders. Roll Tide! Sincerely,
Vikki L. Vandiver Dean and Professor
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SSW By the Numbers 2017-18
39
687
Total number of
Total number of
Full-Time Faculty
Students Enrolled
33 Total number of
Full-Time Staff
18:1
30%
are African American
10.5%
are Male
BSW MSW PhD 231
26
430
Student/Faculty Ratio
300+ Affiliated Field Agencies
$5.3 million
in total endowments, of which $2.8 million is in scholarship endowments
75%
of MSW Students are
Distance Learners
191,450 Hours of Annual Community Service
Calculated at the beginning pay rate for state of Alabama social workers, these hours represent service worth in excess of $5.5 million.
School of Social Work |
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Student News
Student Spotlight
HELPING TO SHAPE HIV HEALTH CARE By David Miller
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Collaborate. Innovate. Transform.
Recent PhD graduate Emma Sophia Kay received a Health Care Education and Leadership Scholar fellowship to study the health records of HIV patients to help improve their quality of care. Kay was one of five students nationally to receive the prestigious award in 2017. Kay was selected as a 2017-18 National Association of Social Work/Council on Social Work Education Health Care Education and Leadership Scholar Fellow in Spring 2017. The $17,900 fellowship helped to fund her dissertation research of HIV health and health care payer types. The award also helped offset research-related costs and fund trips to present her findings. For her dissertation, Kay analyzed the records of more than 3,000 HIV patients in Alabama, including basic clinical and housing data and education background gathered during standard assessments. She studied the outcomes and quality of care and how it correlates to payer type, either through private insurance, federal subsidized services, or state subsidized services, like the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program, or a combination of the three. “I hope that my study will contribute to our understanding of how U.S. health care policy shapes and ultimately contributes to the type and quality of care that people living with HIV are able to receive,” Kay said. The personal relationships she developed with clients during a field placement at an HIV clinic in Huntsville helped shift her focus from child welfare to working with people with HIV, Kay said. She said she was surprised by the field’s spectrum of care, which included medical care, but also transportation and nutrition services. “Since my first concentration was with children and adolescents, I was able to go in with a blank slate,” Kay said. “People with HIV, it often ends up being the last thing they have to deal with because it’s usually accompanied by poverty or drugs. I co-led an intensive outpatient substance abuse program there, so I got to know a lot of the patients really well. I got to see some people become sober, and I’m still in contact with some of them three or four years later. That really drew me in.” Kay credits Brenda Smith, associate professor of social work and director of the PhD program, for encouraging her to purse a doctorate after completing her MSW degree at UA in 2014. Kay was a distance MSW student, and she and Smith had only met in-person a handful of times. But Smith was impressed with her writing, Kay said. “I was a student in the only distance class Brenda ever taught,” Kay said. “We still laugh about that. Brenda is indispensable as both a mentor and dissertation chair. She’s been on this journey with me going on my fourth year in the program. She’s probably the most methodical and careful researcher I know. She reads the literature extensively. She’s by-the-book in a way that I don’t often see and very conscientious in a way that I think is appropriate for the field of social work.” Kay, who also has worked in hospice care and in Alzheimer’s care, completed her dissertation in May 2018. After graduating, she hopes to work in health care policy or academia.
School of Social Work |
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Student News
BSW Program
Social Work students entertained community members with coloring activities, poetry reading, praise dancers, face painting and a photo booth.
Laura Hopson, Associate Professor and BSW Program Director
Community Service Project For a class community service project, BSW students hosted a fall festival at the McDonald Hughes Community Center in west Tuscaloosa in November 2017. About 50 people from the Tuscaloosa community attended the come-and-go event, including community leaders and District 2 City Councilwoman Raevan Howard (’14 BSW). The festival was organized by students in the course Social Work 440: Social Work Practice with Individuals and Families taught by Cassandra Simon, associate professor of social work. The class developed the festival
as its class community service project to help families in west Tuscaloosa learn about African-American culture, poetry and the importance of honoring veterans. Held on Veterans Day, the festival included an inspirational message from Rev. Cleveland Dubose, a local veteran. He spoke on the importance of honoring military service members and veterans. In addition to fun festivities for families, students handed out information about community resources and a flyer to help residents voice their concerns about issues in the community.
Black Women Who Serve Exhibit Resha Swanson, a BSW student, presented “Black Women Who Serve,” an audio-visual art gallery exhibit showcasing the experiences of African American women who have served or continue to serve in the United States military. Swanson’s art gallery was displayed in UA’s Ferguson Student Center in February. Her exhibit featured photos of servicewomen from all over the United States and audio clips from interviews with them. The exhibit was sponsored by UA’s School of Social Work, the Department of Gender & Race Studies, and Phi Alpha Social Work Honor Society. Swanson graduated in December 2018 with her BSW. Resha Swanson is a double major in social work and Spanish.
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Collaborate. Innovate. Transform.
MSW Program PASWHA Board Appointment
Sebrena Jackson, Assistant Professor and MSW Program Director
McNair Fellow
MSW student Catherine Stewart learned about the impact that policy and advocacy can have on communities during her field placement at Collaborative Solutions, an organization that provides technical assistance to public housing communities. Collaborative Solutions also introduced Stewart to rewarding work with the Professional Association of Social Workers in HIV/ AIDS (PASWHA). In May 2018, she was appointed to PASWHA’s 10-member board of directors for her outstanding work with the organization. As a board member, she will serve a three-year term and help energize and support social workers and other professionals who provide social work services that impact the disease through education, research, policy/advocacy, networking, and professional development. Stewart is expected to graduate with her MSW from UA in Spring 2019. After graduating, she hopes to work in Washington, D.C. for an organization that improves health care through policy and advocacy. After two years, she plans to return to graduate school to pursue a PhD.
Catherine Stewart
MSW student Nekkita Beans received a 2018 McNair Graduate Fellowship from UA’s Graduate School. The 12-month fellowship helps to support the cost of graduate education for entering UA graduate students who have completed a McNair Scholars program as an undergraduate student or who are McNair eligible. As a McNair fellow, Beans will conduct research on African-American emerging adults who suffer from Generalized Anxiety Disorder. “I chose this area because mental health is not a topic that is openly discussed or addressed within the African-American community,” she said. After she completes her MSW degree from UA, Beans plans to work with African-American youth who are transitioning out of the foster care system or who are involved in the juvenile justice system. “As a former foster youth myself, I know first-hand that the system fails to provide its youth with the resources they need to become productive, self-sufficient members of society,” she said.
Nekkita Beans
Graduate Council Fellowship Hailee Benson, an MSW student, received life-changing news the night before her undergraduate graduation from The University of Alabama School of Social Work. She was awarded a 2018 Graduate Council Fellowship from UA’s Graduate School. “I had all my plans set to move back to Huntsville and find a marketing job there, but all of that changed when I found out about the fellowship,” she said. “What a sweet surprise it was!” Benson said she is using the fellowship to cover the costs of her graduate education. “If I had not received this opportunity, I would not be able to be a part of the MSW program,” she said. Benson is expected to graduate in May 2020. After graduating, she hopes to work in health care or counseling and later launch a nonprofit organization to assist foster youth with their transition out of the foster care system. The Graduate Council Fellowship includes a full tuition scholarship, single coverage health insurance, and a minimum $15,000 stipend for the academic year. Scholarship recipients must be enrolled full-time and maintain a 3.0 cumulative GPA. Hailee Benson
Benson was nominated for the fellowship by MSW Program Director and Assistant Professor Sebrena Jackson.
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Student News
PhD Program 3MT Competition Doctoral student Taylor Ellis explained his research thesis in three minutes for UA’s 2017 3MT®, or Three Minute Thesis, competition. UA students compete for the top cash prize in the competition by demonstrating their research and presentation skills concisely. Ellis was awarded second place and the People’s Choice Award for his research presentation titled “Healing Through Poetry: Writing Towards a Safer Community.” Ellis, who served as UA’s alternate in the regional 3MT® competition, was mentored by Debra
Brenda Smith, Associate Professor and PhD Program Director
Nelson-Gardell, associate professor of social work. Taylor received a $1,000 cash prize for his second-place win and a $1,000 cash prize for the People’s Choice Award. UA’s Graduate School hosts the annual 3MT® competition, which awards students with cash prizes and travel grants.
Taylor Ellis
Haley Beech
Qingyi Li
Violet Nkwanzi
PhD Students Awarded Graduate Council Fellowships Doctoral students Haley Beech (MSW ’13), Qingyi Li and Violet Nkwanzi were each awarded a 2018 Graduate Council Fellowship from UA’s Graduate School. Beech, a first-year PhD student, plans to use her fellowship to continue her research in the area of global health social work, with a specific emphasis on maternal and child health. After graduation, she plans to pursue a career in higher education and consult with international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) on global health issues. Li will use her fellowship to build on her research assessing the risk factors for abused children and to explore the link between abuse or maltreatment and criminal offenses. She hopes to identify an effective method for managing future risks of recidivism in child delinquents who receive cognitive behavior therapy. When she completes the PhD Program, Li plans to become a social work professor and conduct research on the assessment of risks. Nkwanzi finds purpose and satisfaction in teaching students about the importance of social work and the fundamental role of social justice as a cardinal value of the profession. Her fellowship will help support her graduate education at UA and allow her to fulfill her long-term professional goal to become an educator in higher education. The Graduate Council Fellowship provides a full tuition scholarship, single coverage health insurance and a minimum $15,000 stipend for the academic year. Beech, Li and Nkwanzi were nominated for the fellowship awards by PhD Program Director and Associate Professor Brenda Smith.
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Collaborate. Innovate. Transform.
Field Education Program Field Student Briefs
SSW’s Field Education Program works to advance social work education through innovative and enriching field Allison Curington Director of Field Education and Instructor
placement opportunities across the state, nation, and abroad. Here are our top 2017-18 field stories.
Carroll Phelps Field Coordinator of Washington, D.C. Internship Programs and Instructor
SSW Establishes First Field Placement in Mexico In 2017, BSW student Alex Morgan traveled to Mexico to provide social services to families in need during her BSW field placement at the Vermont Associates for Mexican Opportunity and Support (¡VAMOS!), a small nonprofit that works with impoverished communities. Morgan’s field placement marked the first time that the UA School of Social Work’s Field Education Program has partnered with a Mexican social service agency. Morgan said studying abroad challenged her as a social work student and allowed her to expand her social work skills and fluency in speaking Spanish. ¡VAMOS!, a social service agency, is composed of 10 community centers. The centers provide meals, education, medical services, computer classes, music classes, and programs for children, women and the elderly. Families assisted through these services are located in the state of Morelos, most of them on the outskirts of the city of Cuernavaca. “I knew that this placement would challenge me on my first day when Alejandro, the director at ¡VAMOS!, introduced me to the program and outlined his expectations for my time there completely in Spanish,” Morgan said.
BSW student Alex Morgan completed her field placement in Mexico at the social service agency ¡VAMOS!
Morgan said she learned to work independently and applied the social work skills she acquired through her BSW courses to her work at ¡VAMOS!. “I designed a client satisfaction survey, helped to affect policy change in the organization, and practiced social work skills in both group and individual settings,” she said. “The most valuable thing I learned during my time in Mexico was adaptability. To work in a different country with different agency and societal standards while navigating a different culture calls for flexibility and adaptability.” Ellen Csikai, professor of social work, was instrumental in the establishment of the placement for the School of Social Work. Plans for additional students to complete their placement in Mexico are underway, she said. “Alex was the perfect first student for the UA School of Social Work to begin collaboration with a Mexican social service agency because of her capacity to adapt to what was needed,” said
Csikai, Morgan’s field supervisor. “I have seen her growth in skills and confidence and have no doubt that she has truly made a difference in the lives of many with whom she has had the opportunity to help.”
Ellen Csikai Professor
School of Social Work |
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Student News
Policy and Advocacy Washington, D.C. Fly-In During the School of Social Work’s second annual Policy and Advocacy Washington, D.C. Fly-In, 50 Social Work students from The University of Alabama, The University of Alabama at Birmingham, and The University of Alabama in Huntsville joined 20 students from The Ohio State University to meet with 30 members of Congress in the nation’s capital in March 2018. Students advocated for four proposed bills that included legislation to help human-trafficking victims, improve the lives of foster youth and people struggling with opioid addictions. Many legislators expressed interest in sponsoring or voting for the bills or introducing companion legislation in their houses of Congress. As a result of the students’ advocacy work, the Senate passed a bill giving state attorneys general and victims the ability to pursue legal action against owners of websites that enable sex trafficking. Immediately after the Senate vote, Craigslist shut down the section of its website that allows individuals to seek sexual encounters with strangers and a host of websites followed suit. Carroll Phelps, UA’s field coordinator of the Washington, D.C. Internship Program, and Allison Curington, director of field education for UA’s School of Social Work, developed the annual Policy and Advocacy Fly-In to offer hands-on training in Washington.
Student and faculty participants of the second annual Washington, D.C. Fly-In with Sen. Doug Jones (center).
NASW President Darrell Wheeler speaks with student Fly-In participants.
“If our students can advocate on Capitol Hill with federal lawmakers, they can advocate on any other level,” Phelps said. “As social workers, they will be advocates throughout their careers, whether they’re influencing local, state or national policy, or helping a client get access to resources.” The Fly-In is a unique crash course in policy, research, strategy and advocacy. Students train intensively for the advocacy presentations they will make. In March, students met with members of Congress such as Sen. Doug Jones (D-Ala.), Representative Martha Roby (R-Ala.), and Representative Terri Sewell (D-Ala.). They also heard from the presidents of the National Association of Social Workers, the Council on Social Work Education, and experts from policy and advocacy agencies.
Project Horseshoe Farm Partnership The UA School of Social Work’s Field Education by community-based leadership development Program has partnered with Project Horseshoe
internships for undergraduate, graduate, and
Farm in Greensboro, Alabama for a new internship
health professions students and a paid gap-year
program that will allow BSW and MSW students to
fellowship for top college graduates from across
assist vulnerable populations.
the country.
Project Horseshoe Farm runs an integrated
UA social work field staff pictured with Project Horseshoe Farm staff at the farm in Greensboro.
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| The University of Alabama
UA social work students will work with
network of housing, transportation, support,
adults in the farm’s day program and enhanced
health, wellness, social, and activity programs for
independent living program and children through
vulnerable adults. Horseshoe Farm also works with
the nonprofit’s afterschool enrichment program.
Greensboro area schools to run a 21st century,
Through the new partnership, the school hopes
award-winning K-12 tutoring, mentoring, and
to prepare students to become tomorrow’s
enrichment program for children, the organization’s service leaders in communities. website states. Its programs are tied together
Collaborate. Innovate. Transform.
Field Spotlight First BSW student placed at the National Institutes of Health
BSW students and Field Coordinator of Washington, D.C. Internship Programs Carroll Phelps met with Rep. Martha Roby in Washington, D.C. to discuss policy issues. From left to right, Mary Kate Johnson, Brittany Tabb, Jurnee Promisee, Rep. Roby, Samone James, Caroline Buchanan, Caroline Pritchard, Aubrie Smith, and Carroll Phelps.
While a BSW student, Samone James made history during her field placement in Washington, D.C. In 2017, she became the first social work undergraduate student to receive a field placement at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Carroll Phelps, field coordinator of the Washington, D.C. Internship Programs at UA; Kathy Baxley, NIH’s chief of social work; and Lynn Hardesty, a social work supervisor at NIH, worked out the details to give UA’s first BSW student an internship at NIH in its Clinical Center. “Samone James is a talented social work student. She was selected to represent our school in this unusually challenging placement because we knew she would excel and benefit from the internship’s wide variety of duties, experiences, and research projects,” Phelps said. Due to James’ outstanding work as an intern, the School of Social Work will continue to place BSW DC students at NIH, Phelps said. James is currently an MSW student at UA. The School of Social Work’s long-standing MSW DC Program, which will mark its 40th year in 2019, has placed MSW students at the National Institutes of Health for more than a decade.
School of Social Work |
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Student News
Student Innovation
THERE’S MORE TO INSPIRE
BSW student Alexi Bolton reflects on creating and operating nonprofit arts camp. By David Miller
Alexi Bolton (front right), a rising senior at UA, created Inspired Arts, a free summer camp for children in Madison, Alabama.
Alexi Bolton isn’t yet sure of her postgraduate future – she’ll receive bachelor’s degrees in social work and marketing in May 2019 – nor does she know what will become of her “baby,” Inspired Arts, a free arts camp for children she created in 2015 in her hometown of Madison, Alabama. “I’ve been working on Inspired Arts since I was in high school,” Bolton said. “It’s a huge part of my life that, if we end up not doing it, will be gone.” When the third edition of Inspired Arts wrapped up in July in Madison, the camp will have served 135 students between both Madison and Tuscaloosa, where Bolton held her first camp in June. After three years of using musical theater, drama, dance and art to unearth creativity and positivity in children, she’s discovered first hand the wisdom elders often impart to youth: do what you love.
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| The University of Alabama
“What I’ve learned from running Inspired Arts is I don’t want to ever be working on a project or for a company that I don’t feel like is making an impact on the world,” Bolton said. “What drives me is being able to make someone’s life better. That’s really important to have learned so early, and it saves me a lot of time in applying for jobs.”
It Takes a Village As the African proverb says, it takes a village to raise a child, and Bolton’s village is growing. “I was home in Madison recently, and I had people coming up to me asking to volunteer,” she said. “It’s incredible. It shows we’ve taught and helped other students do something they’re passionate about, and to give back to the community.” High school and college students with backgrounds in various arts power the Inspired Arts staff each year. The Madison edition of the
camp also has established connections with restaurants and dance studios. Bolton’s ambition to start a camp this year in Tuscaloosa meant working the phones for meal and venue sponsors, camp instructors and participants. Bolton found campers through one of her professors, Tania Alameda-Lawson, associate professor of social work and director of Alabama TOPS, an out-of-school research program in Holt, Alabama. UA students like Amelia Volpe and Jamie McKelvy joined and taught classes, and First United Methodist Church offered its grounds for classes and performances. During the second week of June, Bolton and her staff taught a variety of poems, songs and dances, from hip hop-inspired themes to a ballet rendition of “Swan Lake.” The week concluded with a performance for friends and family. McKelvy, a UA engineering master’s student from Huntsville, Alabama, knew Bolton through the Wesley Foundation ministry at UA. A former
Collaborate. Innovate. Transform.
UA alumna Haylee Blackmon teaches dance at the Tuscaloosa camp.
member of the Million Dollar Band, he plays the ukulele and had previously taught music at a youth camp in Hartselle, Alabama. While Bolton’s pitch to him was an easy sell, McKelvy said he was unsure what to expect because he didn’t know the kids or their previous experiences in music. But in teaching harmony, melody and rhythm, the children surprisingly gravitated toward learning chords, which require a greater level of focus and listening, McKelvy said. “It’s hard for kids to stay focused for that,” McKelvy said. “But then they asked to do it the rest of the week. And once they knew I could play other instruments, they’d ask me to show them. They really enjoyed that. “Music is one way to create kindness and joy, and it’s a positive effect on growth for the potential for people around you.”
Inspired Arts with knowledge of innovation, market analysis and strategy learned in classes she has taken at UA. Emeline Earman, an advertising major and member of the Minerva ad portfolio program at UA, is Inspired Arts’ creative director and manages social media, photography and marketing materials. “We’ve had people tell us in the past that these posters are beautiful and that we look like a major brand, which is credit to the programs in C&IS (College of Communication and Information Sciences),” Bolton said. “A lot of nonprofits focus on doing good and don’t get to focus as much on their presence and building their brand.” Bolton blends her educational and camp experiences to help streamline curriculum that “hits with our students.” She credits the School of Social Work for influencing Inspired Arts’ curriculum and activities with evidenced-based practices she has learned in class. For instance, Inspired Arts has incorporated an element of wellness into daily activities.
“What we’ve learned is children who have trauma at a young age, it affects brain architecture as they grow,” Bolton said. “There’s a book – ‘The Body Keeps the Score’ – and it talks about trauma and physical wellbeing and that the connection between brain and body can allow that trauma to last longer. So, we extended our stretching time and added a yoga routine that promotes feeling safe and relieving stress.” Though the future of Inspired Arts is uncertain, McKelvy believes the infrastructure is in place for it to continue. “It would take another leader like Alexi,” he said. “If someone sees what it is, recognizes the need and has a sense to lead in them, they can take over and continue to grow it.”
See how you can help support student innovation in the School of Social Work on page 35.
Best Practices Bolton knew she needed to incorporate expert assistance and evidence-based research not only to lift Inspired Arts off the ground, but to create a truly dynamic program. She leaned on Charlye Adams, economics and legal studies instructor at UA, to guide her through the paperwork to make Inspired Arts an official enterprise. Bolton further strengthened
Jami McKelvy, a UA graduate student in engineering, plays the ukulele for campers.
School of Social Work |
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School News
Conviction to Redemption Death row exoneree Anthony Ray Hinton, a national speaker on criminal justice reform and author, was the keynote speaker for the school’s 2018 African-American Heritage Month colloquium and celebration.
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| The University of Alabama
School Spotlight
Anthony Ray Hinton, an Alabama death row exoneree, shared his story of wrongful conviction and his decades-long journey to freedom at the Dr. Ethel H. Hall African-American Heritage Month Colloquium in February. Hinton, convicted in 1985 of the murders of two fast-food restaurant managers near Birmingham, spent 30 years on death row before being freed in 2015 after a 15-year fight for the state to re-examine ballistics evidence and order a new trial. Today, Hinton travels across the country sharing his story of conviction and redemption and promoting his recently published book, “The Sun Does Shine: How I Found Life and Freedom on Death Row.” Hinton detailed the circumstances of his wrongful incarceration, the racial biases that influenced the investigation and conviction, and the changes that need to be made to the justice system at the colloquium: “Surviving Criminal Justice in America.” His colloquium was part of the School of Social Work’s African-American Heritage Month celebration, which is held annually during Black History Month.
Collaborate. Innovate. Transform.
Hinton was charged with the murders based on ballistics evidence that linked the bullets from the crime scene to an old revolver from his mother’s closet. A man shot but not seriously wounded in another robbery later identified Hinton from a lineup, though, at the time of that robbery, he was working in a locked warehouse 15 miles away. Hinton’s court-appointed attorney could not find a competent ballistics expert to challenge the state’s evidence that the same gun was used in all three robberies and the two murders. There were no witnesses to the two murders and no forensics evidence at any of the three crime scenes. In 2002, lawyers working with the Equal Justice Initiative began petitioning the state to re-examine the ballistics evidence after three of the nation’s top firearms examiners testified the bullets could not be matched to the gun. Although the state didn’t challenge the findings, it would not issue a new trial for Hinton. After 12 years of litigation, the U.S. Supreme Court reversed the decision, and the charges were later dropped. Hinton was freed on April 3, 2015. “Alabama played their hand, but there were two things Alabama could not foresee,” he said. “The first thing was I had a personal relationship with God and the second thing was they didn’t know God was going to send me his best attorney.” Hinton’s discussion was held in honor of Dr. Ethel H. Hall, who died on Nov. Anthony Ray Hinton speaks at the school’s 2018 Dr. Ethel H. Hall AfricanAmerican Heritage Month colloquium at the Hotel Capstone in Tuscaloosa.
12, 2011. Dr. Hall was the first woman and African-American to graduate from the University’s social work doctoral program.
From left to right, Diversity Committee co-chair Shayla Smith, Anthony Ray Hinton, and Diversity Committee co-chair Carrie Turner.
School of Social Work |
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School News
Phi Alpha Symposium Explores Juvenile Justice System The theme for the 2017 Allan V. Kaufman Phi Alpha Symposium was Forensic Social Work with Juveniles. The symposium, which is held annually by the Phi Alpha Social Work Honor Society, featured a guest panel of social work and juvenile justice experts. Panel members were Joanne Terrell, LICSW; Jill Beck, director of the School of Social Work’s Youth Services Institute (YSI); Mandi Fowler, associate director of YSI, and Maribeth Bowman, LMSW. The speakers shared their experience working with youth in the juvenile justice system as part of the social work profession. Highlights from the panel talk included Terrell’s discussion on her work in psychiatric and forensic social work in inpatient and outpatient settings involving adolescents. Beck shared her work prosecuting juvenile court cases as a former Tuscaloosa County deputy district attorney. She currently oversees the operation of YSI’s Working on Womanhood Program, an inpatient, trauma-focused juvenile justice facility for girls, and an outpatient, therapeutic program in 19 counties across Alabama for children with sexual behavior problems or youth who have been charged with juvenile sex offenses. “Participants voiced their enhanced appreciation of the field of forensic social work after hearing from members of the panel,” said Debra NelsonGardell, associate professor and 2017 faculty advisor for the Phi Alpha honor society.
From left to right, panel members Jill Beck, director of YSI; Mandi Fowler, associate director of YSI; Joanne Terrell, social worker and private practitioner; and Maribeth Bowman, social worker and forensic interviewer at Owens House, a children’s advocacy center in Shelby County, Alabama.
Panel members speak to students, faculty and staff during the 2017 Phi Alpha Symposium at Little Hall.
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Collaborate. Innovate. Transform.
Alumnus Gives Advice on Life at 2018 Honors Day Convocation must become social workers who are sincere,
Alumnus Harold D. Shambley inspired students to become caring social workers with
caring, kind and diligent in helping their clients
a true desire to help others during the School
find resources to improve their lives. “It’s your responsibility as a social worker,” he
of Social Work’s 2018 Honors Day Convocation. Every year, the school invites a UA social work
said. “If you can’t do that then you might want to
alum or a social work professional to speak at the
find something else to do.” Social work can be a thankless profession,
event to motivate students and celebrate student
Shambley said. But “helping people get over a
academic success as part of UA Honors Week.
hurdle is a rewarding feeling.”
A native of Tuscaloosa and U.S. Army veteran, Shambley shared how UA and the School of
Shambley asked students to keep three
Social Work helped him become a successful
things in mind throughout their social work
graduate and social work professional as part of
career: efficiency, continued education, and
his Honors Day address.
financial stability. “These three things are paramount to career
Shambley said his story of success began at UA, but not as a student. He first worked as a waiter
success and your quality of life in the future,”
serving UA’s starting football lineup in Bryant
he said. “Remember life is a journey and not a
Hall on campus while he was a senior at Druid
destination.”
High School. After high school, he enrolled at UA and graduated with his BSW from UA’s School of Social Work in 1977, a time when not many African-American students were attending the University. He went on to earn his master’s degree in management from Webster University and his doctorate in Christianity and religious studies. After retiring from the Army, he worked in various federal positions. He culminated his professional career as chief of personnel services at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, where he
Alumnus Harold Shambley accepts his Honors Day plaque and gift from Associate Dean for Educational Programs and Student Services Javonda Williams.
Read about Harold and Joyce Shambley’s philanthropy as supporters of the School of Social Work on page 36.
New Office for Military Families and Veterans
provided personnel policy guidance in support for officers and soldiers. Today, Shambley and his wife, Joyce, are both dedicated social workers and avid supporters of the School of Social Work. Great mentors and the desire to help others like those who had helped him get through turbulent times are reasons that he became a social worker, Shambley said. “To me, helping others does not seem to be a priority for our politicians and those who control the funds for our social service programs today,” Shambley said. “More and more people are suffering, and they need our help.” To change the tide, Shambley said students
The School of Social Work has established the Office for Military Families and Veterans to coordinate and facilitate collaborative research, education and outreach across the state for military families, veterans, and the organizations that serve them. David L. Albright, Hill Crest Foundation Endowed Chair in Mental Health, was named director of the Office for Military Families and Veterans in spring 2017. As part of his role as director, he will help position the new office as the lead coordinating entity for research, policy, and practice implementation guidance in support of military families and veterans in the southeastern United States. Contact Dr. Albright for additional information or with potential opportunities for the School of Social Work and its Office for Military Families and Veterans at dlalbright@ua.edu.
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Human Trafficking: Stopping the Cycle With a grant from the U.S. Department of Justice, The University of Alabama School of Social Work is conducting a three-year study on human trafficking in Alabama.
By David Miller and Rylie Curry Researchers in the University of Alabama School of Social Work are tackling the second-largest and fastest-growing criminal industry in the world — Human Trafficking. In late 2017, the United States Department of Justice awarded the School of Social Work a $1.8 million grant to launch a project to improve outcomes of Alabama youths who are victims of human sex trafficking. The Bringing Exploitation of Alabama Minors to a Stop, or BEAMS, project will help strengthen the state’s working relationships between treatment services, law enforcement and prosecutors. The project involves developing a statewide, multidisciplinary system of screening and training. “This will unify those pockets of great services in the state, give us a common language, a common to-do list for support and help, said Javonda Williams, UA associate professor of social work and principal investigator of the grant. “There are a lot of people doing a lot of amazing work to target this problem in Alabama, but what this grant will do is really coordinate those efforts with a unified protocol for helping children who are victims.” Williams is conducting the study with team members Chris Lim, Alabama statewide human trafficking protocol project administrator; Melody Higgins, a graduate research assistant; and Valerie Trull, research coordinator and business analyst.
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| The University of Alabama
To combat human trafficking in the state, the team is working to establish processes through which professionals can work together to help eradicate the issue, including training and educating people to better understand what trafficking is. “We really want to be an example to other states about how to address the issue of human trafficking,” Lim said.
Javonda Williams, associate dean for educational programs and student services and an associate professor in the School of Social Work, is principal investigator of the BEAMS grant.
Members of the BEAMS project team and representatives from law enforcement and state agencies met to discuss human trafficking in November at Little Hall.
CREATING RESOURCES The BEAMS project team is collaborating with researchers from the Center for Advanced Public Safety — an interdisciplinary research center at The University of Alabama dedicated to developing cutting-edge technologies to enhance public safety and the well-being of citizens — to design and implement a website. The website will provide access to information and trauma-informed services that fully meet the needs of trafficked youth, including training materials and training events across the state for human trafficking experts. The BEAMS project’s team — which includes members of law enforcement and state agencies — also is conducting a thorough assessment of the needs and resources throughout the state related to human trafficking. The assessment is being used by researchers to create a locale-sensitive training system to help people better support human trafficking victims in each county. The next step is to create a statewide database of information and resources, Williams said. “We did not want to produce another big book training, where they go back to their part of the state and do not have the same resources and services of a larger county,” Williams said. “We need to catch up with what traffickers are currently doing and fit that into both smaller and larger areas. We need to be as nimble as the perpetrators.”
Since 2007, there have been more than 300 cases of human trafficking in Alabama, the majority of which have been related to sex trafficking, according to the National Human Trafficking Hotline. The hotline received more than 1,100 calls and/ or tips of human trafficking during that span. Human trafficking is the secondlargest and fastest-growing criminal industry in the world, according to End It Alabama, a project by the Alabama Human Trafficking task force comprising lawmakers, educators and service providers. The task force helped pass the Alabama Human Trafficking Safe Harbor Act, which levies stiffer penalties for those who purchase sex from underage victims.
Sallye Longshore, who serves on the Task Force and is director for the Alabama Department of Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention, said that while her department trains people to notice warning signs and how to report cases of human trafficking, the state lacks resources, particularly in treatment. The Alabama Department of Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention allocates funds for community programs to prevent child abuse. “For instance, once we rescue young girls who’ve been abused, where do we place them?” Longshore asked. “We must locate the right foster home or therapeutic home for these teenagers. There are places in the state for girls to get the treatment they need, but some of these aren’t residential, so even though they get treatment during the day, what happens to them at night? “Many have no idea how prevalent human trafficking is at every corner of the state.”
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Human Trafficking: Stopping the Cycle COMBATING THE PROBLEM The UA project team is enhancing training and education around the state about human trafficking. In addition to providing training and resources to professionals and creating an online platform to promote awareness in the general public, the team is developing the Alabama Uniform Integrated Human Trafficking Initiative, a statewide protocol for addressing human trafficking. “We’re excited because this is an opportunity for us to bring the state together in a more collaborative fashion so that we can work synergistically together so that we’re all being more effective,” said Lim, the Alabama statewide human trafficking protocol project administrator. Human traffickers commonly post ads online that offer their victims for sale, Lim said. There were 641,000 human trafficking ads posted in Alabama in 2017. These ads only represent part of the problem, as they only represent victims of online sex trafficking and do not address victims being trafficked in agriculture, farming, restaurants, massage parlors, nail salons, hotels, organized begging or familial trafficking, where a family member sells his or her child or other family member into trafficking for money or drugs. Through a series of 20 different focus groups, including 114 professionals throughout the state who may have dealt with victims or potential victims of human trafficking, Lim and Trull found there were about 908 potential victims that the professionals dealt with, 521 of which were probably minors. Lim said traffickers can attract victims in a variety of ways but primarily entice them by using online communication. Human traffickers also take advantage of immigrants, taking their passport or visa away from them so they no longer have any form
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| The University of Alabama
of identification. Traffickers will hold immigrants hostage so they overstay their visa, and then they will use the fear of being arrested as a threat against them. Despite being so prevalent, Trull said law enforcement often struggles to find human traffickers, as they can hide in plain sight. Victims are often manipulated by their captors or too afraid to speak up about what is happening to them. “All the risk is on the person on the front end of it, so it makes it really hard to identify who the traffickers are,” Trull said. “Victims are also very much manipulated, so they won’t give their traffickers up. They think they’re in love with these men, and if they are over that illusion then they’re terrified of them, so traffickers have a lot of protection and very little vulnerability.” In addition, Trull said victims who were brought into the trafficking world from a young age may not know any other reality, preventing them from recognizing that there is a problem with their situation.
TARGETING THE HOTSPOTS While every state has a human trafficking problem, Lim said Alabama’s issue is worse than many realize due to its proximity to major human trafficking hotspots.
“Alabama’s not one of the hotspots for human trafficking, but we’re right around some of the hotspots,” Lim said. “Atlanta is one of the hotspots. Down in Florida there’s a lot of trafficking. In Tennessee there’s a lot of trafficking and so all the states around us have a good deal of trafficking as well. Traffickers don’t honor any borders or anything like that, so they pass from one state to another.” Kaylee Newton, a graduate student in the School of Social Work, has worked with individuals who have been trafficked. She said the issue is more prevalent in Alabama than people think. Newton said she has learned a lot from Lim. “I’m really thankful for what Mr. Lim is doing,” Newton said. “Raising awareness is really important because people think you have to go to New York or California to see this kind of stuff, and that’s not the case at all. I’m positive there are students on campus who are victims of this, and even if it’s not the exchange of money, it’s the exchange of something.” David Miller is a communications specialist with UA’s Division of Strategic Communications and Rylie Curry is a staff reporter for The Crimson White.
From left to right, BEAMS project team members Chris Lim, Melody Higgins and Valerie Trull.
Faculty and Staff News Hee Yun Lee
Faculty Spotlight Hyunjin “Gina” Noh
Serving Alabama Communities by Adrienne Nettles
Hee Yun Lee, professor and Endowed Academic Chair in Social
funding support for a graduate student research assistant. Noh’s student
Work (Health) and professor Hyunjin “Gina” Noh, associate professor
recipient of the fellowship is MSW/PhD student Temilade “Temmy” Ayo
of social work, are conducting research projects in the areas of cancer
Aladeokin. The fellowship provides Aladeokin, who is enrolled to the
and dementia, respectively, that will help improve communities
school’s concurrent MSW/PhD program, a stipend, health insurance and
and lives in Alabama. Because their projects involve solving critical
a full-tuition scholarship totaling $41,100 for the study period. He began
social problems facing the state, they were each awarded a 2018
the school’s PhD program in Fall 2018.
Community Engagement Graduate Fellowship from the Council on Community-Based Partnerships at UA to support their research. They are two of three UA faculty recipients of the highly competitive award. As part of their fellowship awards, the council has provided funding
Aladeokin said he is honored to receive the fellowship. “Starting my PhD with this project is a great opportunity for me and the School of Social Work,” he said. “It does not come to me as a surprise that we were chosen in a highly competitive application process because our
for Lee and Noh to each have a graduate student assistant on their
faculty members are seasoned researchers with great experiences in their
projects. In turn, students gain hands-on research experience in
fields of interest. I am proud to work alongside Dr. Noh as her experience
their field by working with faculty experts. The council’s mission
in this field of study is inspiring and her mentorship will help shape my
is to connect faculty, staff, students and community partners in
doctoral education.”
research-based projects designed to solve critical problems identified
Noh and Aladeokin are studying advance care planning for people
collaboratively by community members and the University.
with dementia in rural communities of West Alabama and engaging
Dementia Research
existing community partners of The University of Alabama, including the
Noh’s fellowship is funding her research study titled “Promoting Advance Care Planning for Persons with Dementia” and includes
Pickens County Partnership and social work researchers, to participate in their study. Adopting the approaches of community-based participatory research, the team is collaborating with community partners to understand
School of Social Work |
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Faculty and Staff News knowledge about advanced care planning among
Lee said research indicates that Alabama
Faculty Spotlight “This research study is a powerful opportunity
family caregivers of people with dementia and
has one of the most significant cancer health
to reduce cancer health discrimination in some
identify family caregivers’ needs in advance care
disparities in the nation and the cancer
underrepresented communities in the state and to
planning for persons with dementia. The team
mortality rate among Alabamians is higher than
the benefit of more people,” she said.
also is providing support to address such needs.
the U.S. average. The top five cancers by rate
Noh, Lee, Wang and Aladeokin were
of death in Alabama are lung and bronchus,
recognized for their fellowship awards at
advice, the team is identifying and utilizing
prostate, female breast, colon and rectum, and
the 12th annual Excellence in Community
existing community resources to develop and
pancreas. In 2014, female breast cancer was
Engagement Awards Luncheon at UA’s Bryant
deliver intervention activities in a culturally
ranked the most common cancer, and lung
Conference Center in April.
sensitive manner. They hope their study will
cancer was the most fatal.
Guided by community partners’ insight and
add to the current knowledge of barriers and
“There is a need for better screenings for these
facilitators of advance care planning for people
types of cancers,” Lee said. For example, cervical
with dementia.
cancer screening rates within the past three years
“The Council for Community-Based Partnerships saw through our research that advance care planning and end-of-life care are
in Alabama is 83.2 percent, 10 percent lower than the 2020 target rate. “Given these disparities in Alabama, research
increasingly being considered health issues in the
is needed to provide more evidence on how to
United States,” Aladeokin said. “While people
reduce the cancer screening disparities and
can develop advance-care plans at any point
increase the screening rates in Alabama by
in their lives and update them as their health
developing geographically and individually tailored
status and living circumstances change, advance
intervention,” Lee said.
care planning helps ensure that an individual’s
For their study, Lee and Wang are collaborating
preferences and values related to end-of-life care
with Cassandra Simon, associate professor of
are understood and honored in the event that he
social work, and the Black Belt Community
or she is unable to make health care decisions.”
Foundation. The Foundation seeks to transform
Cancer Research
the Black Belt, “where all of our residents
Lee is conducting a research study titled “Cancer Screening Disparities in Alabama Black Belt: Developing Geographically Targeted and Individually Tailored Intervention Strategies for Cancer Health Equity.” Lee’s graduate student research assistant for the fellowship is Kun Wang,
contribute to healthy communities and reap the benefits of our shared gifts and a productive regional economy.” Wang said she hopes the study will help more residents in the Black Belt region know the importance of cancer screening.
who also is enrolled in the school’s concurrent MSW/PhD program. Like Aladeokin, the fellowship provides Wang with a stipend, health insurance and a full-tuition scholarship totaling $41,100 for the study period. She also began the school’s PhD program in Fall 2018. Lee, associate dean of research in the School of Social Work, and Wang are studying how to reduce cancer health disparities in Alabama’s Black Belt region. According to the Black Belt Community Foundation, Alabama’s Black Belt stretches across the middle of the state from Mississippi almost to the Georgia line and is rich in human, religious, geographic and political diversity. The Black Belt, named for the region’s rich, dark soil, is home to the highest percentage of African Americans in the state.
Temilade “Temmy” Ayo Aladeokin
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| The University of Alabama
Kun Wang
Collaborate. Innovate. Transform.
New Faculty
New Staff
Hee Yun Lee Education: BA, Seoul National University MA, Seoul National University MSG, University of Southern California MSW, University of California, Los Angeles PhD, University of California, Los Angeles Lee joined UA’s School of Social Work as associate dean for research, Endowed Academic Chair in Social Work (Health) and professor in January 2018. Prior to arriving at UA, she was a professor and director of research at the University of Minnesota. A behavioral health scientist, Lee’s major research areas include health disparities, behavior change intervention using randomized clinical trails, and rural health.
Melody Denton
Melody Higgins
Title IV-E Program Assistant July 2018
Department of Justice Graduate Research Assistant May 2018
Daphne S. Cain Education: BA in psychology, North Carolina State University MSW, East Carolina University PhD, University of Tennessee
Cain joined UA’s School of Social Work as associate dean for administrative services and professor in July 2018. She came to UA from the School of Applied Sciences, Department of Social Work at the University of Mississippi, where she was a professor and department chair. Her areas of scholarship, funding and research interests include disaster mental health, parenting interventions with high-risk and vulnerable families, religion/spirituality, and social work practice and child welfare training.
Peggy Swails
Ronnie Jackson
Christian Lim
Undergraduate Recruitment and Retention Specialist August 2017
Alabama Statewide Human Trafficking Protocol Project Administrator March 2018
Donna McCall
Aubrey Stewart
Field Education Specialist August 2017
Recruitment Coordinator August 2017
Continuing Education Coordinator and Instructor Education: BSW and MSW, University of Iowa Swails joined UA’s School of Social Work as the continuing education coordinator and instructor in January 2018. Prior to arriving at UA, she was a program manager with the Division of Child and Community Health with The University of Iowa (UI) and was also an adjunct instructor with the UI School of Social Work and Kirkwood Community College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Her areas of specialization include social work education/distance education, program development and evaluation, social and health disparities across the life span, family caregiving, aging, and population health for children and youth with special health care needs.
Valerie Trull Department of Justice Grant Resource Coordinator February 2018
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Faculty and Staff News
Faculty Appointments
David L. Albright
David L. Albright, Hill Crest Foundation Endowed Chair in Mental Health and associate professor, has been appointed by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to the Committee on the Well-being of Military Families. The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine convened the committee to study the challenges and opportunities facing military families and what is known about effective strategies for supporting and protecting military children and families and lessons to be learned from these experiences. The committee reviews available data and research on military children and families, including those who have left the military, with attention to differences by race, ethnicity, and other factors.
In 2017, Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey appointed Albright to serve on the Alabama Opioid Overdose and Addiction Council. The council was established through an executive order Ivey issued to combat the state’s current opioid crisis and develop strategies to reduce the number of deaths linked to opioid use. Albright is one of 36 members serving on the council, which began reporting to Ivey in December 2017. He chairs the community engagement committee and co-chairs the treatment and recovery support committee. Albright also was appointed to chair the State of Alabama’s Task Force on Veterans and Opioid Misue and Overdose, which is charged to develop recommendations for the Alabama veteran population on opioid addiction and treatment, both within and outside of the Veterans Health Administration health care system. Ivey also appointed Albright to serve as chair of the Education and Research Committee for the Alabama Executive Veterans Network in 2017.
Hyunjin Noh has been promoted to associate professor and awarded tenure. Her areas of research interest are aging and health care, end-oflife care, health disparities, and qualitative methods.
Hyunjin Noh
Nicole Ruggiano has earned tenure in her current position as associate professor of social work. She also was named interim director of the School of Social Work’s new Doctor of Social Work Program (DSW). The DSW program will be offered in Fall 2019 with a distance format and program tracks for clinical social work and organizational leadership. Her appointment began in August 2018 and will extend to August 2020.
Nicole Ruggiano
Faculty and Staff Accolades David L. Albright Rural Health Fellow/UA Research and Advising Awards
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| The University of Alabama
David L. Albright, Hill Crest Foundation Endowed Chair in Mental Health and associate professor of social work, was selected as a 2018 Rural Health Fellow by the National Rural Health Association. He is one of 17 fellows selected to participate in the yearlong, intensive program aimed at developing leaders who can articulate a clear and compelling vision for rural America. Fellows are selected based on their dedication to improving the health of rural Americans through their educational or professional experience. During his fellowship, Albright is focusing on rural veteran behavioral health. Albright also received several UA awards and honors. He was awarded UA’s 2018 President’s Faculty Research Award’s senior investigator honor in the area of social and behavioral sciences and UA’s 2018 Outstanding Commitment to Advising Award.
Collaborate. Innovate. Transform.
Faculty and Staff Accolades continued
Debra Nelson-Gardell, Kimberly Gibson, Kristy Holt, Carolyn Neiswender, Mary Sella and Morion Siler Advising Nominees
Debra Nelson-Gardell, associate professor of social work; Kimberly Gibson, MSW field coordinator; Kristy Holt, Title IV-E coordinator; Carolyn Neiswender, an adjunct faculty member; Mary Sella, BSW advisor; and Morion Siler, MSW advisor, were recognized as Excellence in Academic Advising nominees by UA’s Academic Advisors Association and the Office of Academic Affairs for the 2017-18 academic year.
Nancy Payne Innovation Scholar
Gordon MacNeil DSO Appreciation Award and Gundy Award
Nancy Payne, instructor, received UA’s College of Continuing Studies’ 2018 Innovation Scholar in Residence Award, which honors and supports innovation at all levels across UA colleges and schools. Payne will use the award to focus on her innovation project, which involves studying creative ways to address the areas of accessibility, diversity, and inclusion in distance education coursework with special attention on addressing issues of invisible disabilities. UA’s Innovation Scholar in Residence program is aimed at faculty whose innovation projects are designed for broad impact throughout every portion of a course or across multiple courses within a given curriculum.
Gordon MacNeil, associate professor of social work, received the 2018 Doctoral Student Organization Appreciation Award for his commitment to mentoring students and teaching. He was recognized for his dedication to maintaining quality in classrooms and rigor in social work academic programs, including the school’s doctoral program. The school’s Doctoral Student Organization gives the award annually to recognize a faculty or staff member for their assistance to doctoral students. MacNeil also was awarded the 2018 Howard B. Gundy Award. Established by the School of Social Work, the award is given to a faculty member, staff member, student or alum in recognition and appreciation of their distinguished service to the school and to the profession of social work. The award is named for Howard B. Gundy, the school’s first dean.
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Faculty and Staff News
Faculty and Staff Accolades continued
Sebrena Jackson and Kathleen Welker
Brenda Smith
Josephine Pryce
GSWO Award
Frank Eagan Award
Innovation Scholar Team
Sebrena Jackson, assistant professor of social work, and Kathleen Welker, instructor, were named a College of Continuing Studies’ 2018 Innovation Scholar Team. As an Innovation Scholar Team, Jackson and Welker will focus on increasing instructor presence with students in social work distance learning programs as their innovation team project. Innovation projects must promote excellence in student engagement, use engaging course content, and use pioneering new approaches for the use of technology in online teaching and learning. Jackson and Welker are competing against other UA Innovation Scholar Teams for their project to be named a top innovation project. The top project will be awarded funding, Innovation Team support and consultation time. In January 2019, the top project will be recognized at a reception and highlighted at the UA Online Learning Innovation Summit. The Innovation Scholar Team program is aimed at innovation projects that involve groups of faculty and that are in the development, implementation and assessment phases.
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| The University of Alabama
Brenda Smith, associate professor of social work, received the 2018 Graduate Social Work Organization Award from MSW students in recognition of her MSW social welfare policy course. She is the first recipient of the new award given by the MSW student group. Smith is director of the school’s PhD program, serves as an advisor, and she mentors BSW, MSW and social work doctoral students. She presents research with students at national conferences and routinely recommends her students for national and university honors and awards. The Graduate Social Work Organization recognizes a faculty or staff member for their outstanding commitment to social work graduate students. In 2017, Smith was elected a board member and treasurer of the Group for the Advancement of Doctoral Education in Social Work (GADE), the accrediting body of the school’s doctoral program. She was elected at GADE’s 2017 Annual Conference in Minneapolis, Minnesota. GADE is an organization made up of over 80 social work doctoral program directors worldwide who represent their member universities. Founded in the late 1970s, GADE’s primary purpose is to promote rigor in doctoral education in social work, focusing on preparing scholars, researchers, and educators who function as stewards of the discipline.
Josephine Pryce, associate professor of social work, was honored with the school’s 2018 Frank R. Egan Award, which honors faculty members who promote academic achievement among all social work students and who exhibit a high level of concern and commitment to the individual student’s well-being. A longtime faculty member in the School of Social Work, Pryce stays engaged in student life by serving as an academic advisor to BSW students. She also is one of two faculty advisors for the school’s Social Work Association for Cultural Awareness, a student organization that strives to promote diversity, social justice, community awareness and a unified campus at UA. As part of the Frank R. Egan Award, Pryce received honorary membership in the Phi Alpha Social Work Honor Society. She was honored at the school’s 2018 Honors Day Convocation in April.
Ellen Csikai, professor of social work, has devoted her career to the development of social work research and interventions in the area of improving the quality of life for individuals and families facing end-of-life care decisions. In 2018, she received the prestigious Project on Death in America (PDIA) PDIA Award Career Achievement Award from the Social Work Hospice & Palliative Care Network (SWHPN) for her exemplary contributions to the field of social work in palliative and end-of-life care. Csikai’s research primarily addresses communication and treatment decisions among older oncology patients, family members, and health care professionals in the U.S. and internationally with colleagues in Hungary and Cuba. Csikai serves as editor of the Journal of Social Work in End-of-Life and Palliative Care, a journal she founded 15 years ago. Csikai was nominated and selected for the award by her peers and honored March 12, 2018, at the 6th annual SWHPN General Assembly in Boston, Massachusetts.
Ellen Csikai
Collaborate. Innovate. Transform.
Faculty and Staff Accolades continued
Amy Traylor and Carol Drolen NIAAA Fellowship
Associate Professors Amy Traylor and Carol Drolen were each awarded a National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) Fellowship from the Alcohol and Other Drugs Education Program. The program is housed at the University of Denver’s Butler Institute for Families at the Graduate School of Social Work. With support from the institute, the fellowship program trains social work faculty and educates social work graduate students in empirically-supported alcohol and other drug identification and treatment methods. The program also incorporates alcohol and other drug content in the curricula of schools of social work nationwide. As part of the fellowship, Traylor and Drolen received training in an immersion setting from an interdisciplinary group of senior scholars in the field at the University of Denver.
Pamela Green Outstanding Adjunct Adjunct faculty member Pamela Green was awarded the 2018 Outstanding Adjunct of the Year Award for her commitment to educating social work students. Green was honored at the school’s 4th annual Academic Awards ceremony in May.
Angelia Gaddis
Karen Thompson
Staff Excellence Award
Rayfield Award
Angelia Gaddis, a program assistant in the Youth Services Institute (YSI), received the 2018 Staff Excellence Award for her commitment to employees and the institute at the school’s 4th annual Academic Awards ceremony in May. In her role with YSI, Gaddis helps keep track of the institute’s 65 staff members who are located across the state and their daily tasks. Gaddis is valued by her colleagues for her reliability, her communication skills, and her attention to detail. An employee with YSI since 2001, Gaddis also was recognized for her caring, welcoming spirit that puts everyone at ease while making YSI’s office a warm, inviting place for staff and visitors.
Karen Thompson (’90 BSW, ’92 MSW), a social work adjunct instructor, received the 2018 Jean B. Rayfield Award for her outstanding contributions to students as an adjunct instructor and mentor. Thompson’s peers honored her for helping students excel in the classroom, innovative efforts to keep students engaged, and her involvement in school programs. The school’s Undergraduate Social Work Organization gives the award which is named after the first recipient, Jean B. Rayfield, the School of Social Work’s first registrar. Thompson was honored at the school’s 2018 Honors Day Convocation in April.
In Memoriam Thelma Vaughan Mueller ('50, '76 PhD) of Birmingham passed on February 21, 2018. Mueller was one of the UA School of Social Work’s first field instructors during the 1967-68 academic year. The school opened and welcomed its first MSW class on UA’s campus in 1967. Mueller also served as an associate professor and later earned the title associate professor emerita. In 1979, she secured a $1 million National Institute of Mental Health grant, the largest grant in the school’s history at the time. She received both her bachelor's degree and doctor of education from UA.
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Faculty and Staff News
Faculty Scholarship Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles (An *asterisk by names denotes doctoral student)
David L. Albright Hill Crest Foundation Endowed Chair in Mental Health and Associate Professor
Washington, K., Demiris, G., Oliver, D. P., Albright, D. L., Craig, K., & Tatum, P. (2018). Delivering problem-solving therapy to family caregivers of people with cancer: A feasibility study in outpatient palliative care. PsychoOncology, 27(10), 2494-2499.
Albright, D. L., Fletcher, K. L., Thomas, K. H., McDaniel, J. T., Diehr, J. T., *Bertram, J. M., & Cobb, D. I. (2018). Tobacco use in a national sample of service member and veteran students. Journal of Military and Veterans’ Health, 26(2), 25-34.
McDaniel, J. T., Middleton, W. K., Albright, D. L., Fletcher, K. H., Thomas, K. H., & Black, E. (2018). Military veteran residential location and risk for Lyme Disease. Journal of Veterans Studies, 3(2), 45-56.
Thomas, K. H., McDaniel, J. T., Albright, D. L., Fletcher, K., & Koenig, H. G. (2018). Spiritual fitness for military veterans: A curriculum review and impact evaluation using the Duke Religion Index (DUREL). Journal of Religion and Health, 57(3), 1168-1178.
Jessica Bertram Doctoral Student
Totenhagen, C., & Albright, D. L. (2018). Military/veteran-connected families: Advances in theory and methodology. Journal of Family Theory and Review, 10(3), 513-515.
Thomas, K. H., McDaniel, J., Haring, E. L., Albright, D. L., Fletcher, K. L., & Haring, E. (2018). Mental health needs of military and veteran women: An assessment conducted by the Service Women’s Action Network. Traumatology, 24(2), 104.112.
McDaniel, J. T., Thomas, K. H., Albright, D. L., Fletcher, K. L., & Shields, M. M. (2018). Mental health outcomes in military veterans: A latent growth curve model. Traumatology, 24(3), 228-235.
Thomas, K. H., Albright, D. L., Phillips, D., Roosevelt, K., Crawley, R., & Taylor, S.P. (2018). Mental health status in service member and veteran students at four-year postsecondary institutions: A pilot needs assessment. Best Practices in Mental Health, 14(1), 1-14.
Albright, D. L., McCormick, W. H., Carroll, T. D., Currier, J. M., Thomas, K. H. Hamner, K., Slagel, B. A., *Womack, B., Simms, B. M., & Deiss, J. (2018). Barriers and resources for veterans’ post-military transitioning in South Alabama: A qualitative analysis. Traumatology, 24(3), 236-245.
Bethany Womack Doctoral Student
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Currier, J., Farnsworth, J., Drescher, K., McDermott, R., Sims, B., & Albright, D. L. (2018). Assessing the warning signs of a moral injury: Development of the Expressions of Moral Injury Symptom Scale – Military Version. Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy, 25(3), 474-488.
| The University of Alabama
*Guo, Y., & Albright, D. L. (2018). The effectiveness of telehealth technologies on self-management for older adults with a chronic condition: A comprehensive narrative review of the literature. Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare, 24(6), 392-403.
Yuqi Guo Doctoral Student
Johnson, R.A., Albright, D. L., Marzolf, J. R., Bibbo, J. L., Yaglom, H. D., Crowder, S. M., Carlisle, G. M., Grindler, K., Willard, A., Wassman, M., Russell, C. L., & Osterlind, S. (2018). Effects of therapeutic horseback riding on military veteran’s posttraumatic stress disorder. Military Medical Research Journal, 5(3), 1-13.
Collaborate. Innovate. Transform. McDaniel, J. T., Albright, D. L., Beck, A., Fletcher, K. L., Thomas, K. H., & McDermott, R. J. (2017). Social support mediates the relationship between mental-physical multiple morbidities and engagement in aerobic physical activity among military service members and veterans. Journal of Veterans Studies, 2(12), 1-12.
Namy, S., Carlson, C., O’Hara, K, Nakuti, J., Bukuluki, P., Lwanyaaga, J., Namakula, S., Nanyunja, B., Wainberg, M., Naker, D., & Michau, L. (2017). Towards a feminist understanding of intersecting violence against women and children in the family. Social Science & Medicine, 184, 40-48.
Catherine Carlson Bennett, M.D. (2018) Ain’t no love in the heart of the city: Compensatory quasi-adaptive coping among African American males. Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment, 1-11.
Daniel M. Bennett Assistant Professor
Assistant Professor
Daniel, J.B., Gaddis, C. L., Legros, J., Bennett, M.D. & Turner, N.C. (2018) Breast Cancer Knowledge, Beliefs and Screening Practices among African American Women in a Rural Setting: A Pilot Study. International Journal of Health Sciences, 6(1), 29-38. Bennett, M.D (2017) Neighborhood disorder, urban stressors, and street codes: A model for exploring social determinants of life-course trajectories. Urban Social Work, 1(2), 89-103.
Babic, M. M., Tkalec, S., & Cheatham, L. P. (2018). Right to education for children with disabilities from the earliest age. Croatian Journal of Education, 20, 233–263.
Leah P. Cheatham Assistant Professor
Cain, D. S., & Loprinzi, P. D. (2018). Suicidal ideation and all-cause mortality risk. Best Practices in Mental Health, 14(2), 1-8.
Daphne S. Cain Associate Dean for Administrative Services and Professor
Schelbe, L., Randolph, K. A., Yelick, A., Cheatham, L. P., & Groton, D. B. (2018). Systems theory as a framework for examining a college campus-based support program for the former foster youth. Journal of EvidenceInformed Social Work, 15(3), 277–295. Randolph, K. Cheatham, L. P., Keller-Weiss, U., & Williams, J. M. (2018). Exposure to parent and peer alcohol use and the risk of drinking onset and escalation among adolescents. Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal, 35(2), 97–106.
Wilks, S. E., Boyd, P. A., Bates, S. M., Cain, D. S., & Geiger, J. R. (2017). Montessoribased activities among persons with late-stage dementia: Evaluation of mental and behavioral health outcomes. Dementia: The International Journal of Social Research and Practice, doi. org/10.1177/1471301217703242. Wilks, S. E., Cain, D. S., Reed-Ashcraft, K. B., & Geiger, J. R. (2017). Gerontological competencies among MSW students: Evaluation of a gerontology specialization program. Journal of Gerontological Social Work, 60(8), 606-618.
Carlson, C., Witte, S. S., Pala, A. N., Tsai, L. C., Wainberg, M., & Aira, T. (2017). The impact of violence, perceived stigma, and other work-related stressors on depressive symptoms among women engaged in sex work. Global Social Welfare, 4(2), 51-57
Reese D.J, & Csikai E.L. (2018). Social work assessment and outcomes measurement in hospice and palliative care. American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care, 35(12), 1553-1564.
Ellen Csikai Professor
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Faculty and Staff News
Faculty Scholarship Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles (Continued) Wainberg M. L., Scorza, P., Shultz, J. M., Helpman, L., Mootz, J. J., Johnson, K. A., Neria, Y., Bradford, J. E., Oquendo, M. A., & Arbuckle, M. R. (2017). Challenges and opportunities in global mental health: A research-to-practice perspective. Current Psychiatry Reports, 19(5), 28.
Karen Johnson Assistant Professor
El-Bassel N., Marotta, P.L., Shaw, S.A., Chang, M., Ma, X., Goddard-Eckrich D., Hunt, T., Johnson, K., Goodwin, S., Almonte, M., et al. (2017). Women in community corrections in New York City: HIV infection and risks. International Journal of STD & AIDS, 28(2), 160-169. Baik, J.W., Nam, H.E., & Lee, H.Y. (2018). Research trend analysis of health and mental health literacy in Korea: 2007-2017. The Korean Journal of Health Service Management, 12(3), 45-55.
Hee Yun Lee Associate Dean for Research and Endowed Academic Chair in Social Work (Health) and Professor
Nam, H.E., Kim, S.N., Kim, S.H., Yim, Y.J., Baik, J.W., Park, H.G., Son, J.H., Yoon, K.H., & Lee, H.Y.(2018). Recognition of experts on social welfare education in response to changes in future society in South Korea, Korean Journal of Social Welfare Education, 43, 55-80. Lee, H.Y., Lee, M.H., Gao, Z., & Sadak, K. (2018). Development and evaluation of culturally and linguistically tailored mobile app to promote breast cancer screening. Journal of Clinical Medicine, 7(8), 181. Burnette, C.E., Liddell, J., Roh, S., Lee, Y., & Lee, H.Y. (2018). American Indian women cancer survivors’ perceptions and experiences with conventional and non-conventional mental health care for depressive symptoms. Ethnicity and Health, 1-20.
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An, S., Choi, Y.J., Lee, H.Y., Yoon, Y.J., & Pratt, M. (2018). Predictors of breast cancer screening among Korean American women: Is having an annual checkup critical? Asian American Journal of Cancer Prevention, 19(5), 1281-1286. Lee, H.Y., Choi, Y.J., Yoon, Y.J., & Oh, J. (2018). HPV Literacy: The role of English proficiency in Korean American immigrant women. Clinical Journal of Oncology Nursing, 22(3), e64-e70. Roh, S.H., Burnette, C., Lee, Y.S., Lee, K.H., Lee, H.Y., & Newland, L.A. (2018). Breast cancer literacy and health beliefs related to breast cancer screening among American Indian women. Health and Social Work, 57(7), 465-482. Vogel, R., Niendorf K., Lee, H., Petzel, S., Lee, H.Y., & Geller, M. (2018). A qualitative study of knowledge of and barriers to genetic counseling among women with ovarian cancer. Hereditary Cancer in Clinical Practice, 16(13), 1-7. Nam, H.E., Baik, J.W., Lee, H.Y., Bae, E.S., Gibson, P., & Hwang, D.S., (2018). The 4th Industrial Revolution and social work focus on people with disabilities. International Journal of Advanced Science and Technology, 116, 87-95. Pope, Z., Zeng, N., Zhang, R. Lee, H.Y., & Gao, Z. (2018). Effectiveness of combined smartwatch and social media intervention on breast cancer survivor health outcomes: A 10week pilot randomized trial. Journal of Clinical Medicine, 7(6), 140.
Collaborate. Innovate. Transform. Pope, Z., Lee, J., Zeng, N., Lee, H.Y., & Gao, Z. (2018). Feasibility of smartphone application and social media intervention on breast cancer survivors’ health outcomes. Translational Behavioral Medicine, DOI: 10.1093/tbm/iby002. Lee, H.Y., Lust, K., Vang, S., & Desai, J. (2018). Male undergraduates’ HPV vaccination behavior: Implications for achieving HPVassociated cancer equity. Journal of Community Health, 43(3), 459-466. Lee, H.Y., Kim, J.H., & Sharrat, M. (2018). Information communication technology use and its impact on health and mental health in older cancer survivors. Quality of Life Research, 27, 467-477. Cho, S.E., Kim, S.K., Lee, S.L., Shin, H.R., Park, S.W., Lee, H.Y., & Kim, Y.S. (2017). The effects of health literacy on the relationship between the frailty and out-of-pocket medical expenses. Social Welfare Practice and Research, 14(2), 5-37. Choi, E.Y., Kim., Y.S., Lee, H.Y., Shin, H.R., & Cho, S.E. (2017). The moderating effect of subjective age on the association between depressive symptoms and cognitive functioning in Korean older adults. Aging and Mental Health, 20, 1-8. Lee, H.Y., Ghebre, R., Le, C., Jang, Y.J., & Yee, D. (2017). Mobile phone multimedia messaging intervention for breast cancer screening: A pilot randomized controlled trial. Journal of Medical Internet Research-mHealth and Uhealth, 5(11), e154. Lee, H.Y., Lee, J., Henning-Smith, C., & Choi, J. (2017). HPV literacy and its link to initiation and completion of HPV vaccine among young adults in Minnesota. Public Health, 152, 172-178. Cho, S.E., Kim, S.K., Lee, S.L., Shin, H.L., Park, S.W., Lee, H.Y., & Kim, Y.S. (2017). The relationship between health literacy and mental health of older adults: Focusing on moderating effect of social support. Korean Journal of Gerontology, 72(3), 251-282.
Lee, H.Y., Lee, M.H., Jang, Y. J., & Lee, D.K. (2017). Breast cancer screening disparity among Korean American immigrant women in Midwest. Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention, 18(10), 2663-2667. Nam, H.E., Baik, J.W., Lee, H.Y., & Yim, Y.J. (2017). An Exploratory Study on the Recognition of the 4th Industrial Revolution in the Social Workers of the Rehabilitation Center for the Disabled. Journal of Disability and Welfare, 38, 237-266. Kim, Y.S., Lee, H.Y., Park, B.H., Lee, M.H., & Simms, T. (2017). Mental health literacy in Korean older adults: A cross-sectional survey. Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing, 24(7), 523-533. Khuu, B., Lee, H.Y., & Zhou, A. (2017). Health literacy and associated factors in Hmong American immigrants: Addressing the health disparities. Journal of Community Health, 43(1), 11-18. Lee, E.J., Lee, H.Y, & Chung, S.D. (2017). Age differences in health literacy in Korean adults: Implications for health care practices and policies. Health and Social Work, 42(3); 133-141. Kim, Y.S., Rhee, G., Lee, H.Y., Park, B.H., & Sharratt, M. (2017). Mental health literacy as a mediator in use of mental health services among older Korean adults. International Psychogeriatrics, 29(2), 269-279. Kim, J.H., Lee, H.Y., Christensen, C., & Merighi, M. (2017). Technology access and use, and their associations with social engagement among older adults: Do women and men differ? The Journals of Gerontology: Series B Social Sciences, 72(5), 836-845. Kayama, M., Height, W., Ku, M.L., Cho, M., & Lee, H.Y. (2017). East Asian and US educators’ reflections on how stigmatization affects their relationships with parents whose children have disabilities: Challenges and solutions. Children and Youth Services Review, 73, 128-144.
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Faculty and Staff News
Faculty Scholarship Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles (Continued)
Lewis H. Lee Assistant Professor
Lee, L. H., & Lee, S. (2018). Association between employment and mental health service use among justice-involved individuals. Community Mental Health Journal, 54(5), 634-640.
Ruggiano, N., Brown, E.L., Li, J., & Scaccianoce, M. (2018). Rural caregivers and technology: What is the evidence? Research in Gerontological Nursing, 11, 216-224.
Lee, L. H., Goodkind, S., & Shook, J. J. (2017). Racial/ethnic disparities in prior mental health service use among incarcerated adolescents. Children and Youth Services Review, 78, 23-31.
Ruggiano, N., Brown, E., & Fortuna, K. (2018). Adult day service providers: Untapped potential for care coordination. Nursing & Health Sciences Research Journal, 1, 42-48.
Shah, A., Morthland, M., Scogin, F., Presnell, A., DeCoster, J., & Dinapoli, E. (2018). Audio and computer cognitive-behavioral therapy for depressive symptoms in older adults: A pilot randomized controlled trial. Behavior Therapy, 49(6), 904-916.
Avani Shah Assistant Professor
William Hasenbein Doctoral Student
Hyunjin Noh
Shah, A., Kraemer, K., Won, C.R., Black, S., & *Hasenbein, W. (2018). Developing digital intervention games for mental disorders: A review. Games for Health Journal, 7(4), 213-224.
Nicole Ruggiano Interim DSW Director and Associate Professor
James Meadows
Ruggiano, N., Schottefer, L., O’Driscoll, J., & Lukic, A. (2017). “Work is like a therapy that prevents aging”: Perceptions of retirement, productivity and health among minorities and immigrants. Ethnogerontology, 7(1), 1-11.
Doctoral Student
Shah, A., Wharton, T., & Scogin, A. (2017). Adapting an inter-professional training model for social work field placements: An answer for better mental health care outreach for older adults in primary care. Journal of Teaching in Social Work, 37(5), 438-453.
Brown, E., Ruggiano, N., Li, J., Clarke, P. J., *Kay, E. S., & Hristidis, V. (2017). Smartphonebased health technologies for dementia care: Opportunities, challenges, and current practices. Journal of Applied Gerontology, 38(1), 73-91.
Oh, H., Noh, H., Sims, O., *Guo, Y., & Sawyer, P. (2018). A comparison of urban and nonurban African American older adults on healthrelated characteristics. Social Work in Health Care, 57(9), 762-773.
*Kay, E. S. & Curington, M. A. (2018). Preparing masters’ students for social work practice: The perspective of field instructors. Social Work Education, 37(8), 968-978.
Allison Curington Instructor and Director of Field Education
Kwak, J., & Noh, H. (2018). What matters to persons with dementia at the end of life: Perspectives of proxy decision-makers. Journal of Hospice & Palliative Nursing, 20(5), 478-485.
Associate Professor
Emma Sophia Kay Doctoral Student
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Brown, E., Ruggiano, N., & *Meadows, J. (2017). The Caregiver Burden Alert (CBA): A tool for promoting dementia caregiver burden screening and referral. Home Health Care Management & Practice, 30(3), 103-109.
| The University of Alabama
Collaborate. Innovate. Transform. Connell, E., Jones, S. & Williams, J. (2018). Human Trafficking and the Transportation Profession: How can we be a part of the solution? Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) Journal, 88(7), 45-49.
Smith, B.D., *Kay, E. S., *Pressley, T. D. (2018). Child maltreatment in rural southern counties: Another perspective on race, poverty, and child welfare. Child Abuse & Neglect, 80, 52-61. Smith, B.D. (2017). Reproductive justice: A policy window for social work advocacy. Social Work, 62(3), 221-226.
Brenda Smith Associate Professor
Smith, B.D., Kay, E.S., & *Womack, B.G. (2017). How can county-level maltreatment report rates better inform child welfare practice? Children and Youth Services Review, 79, 341-347.
Javonda Williams Associate Dean for Educational Programs and Student Services and Associate Professor
Tracy Pressley* Doctoral Student
Book Chapters
Kelli Godfrey Doctoral Student
Fletcher, K., Albright, D. L., Thomas, K. H., O’Brien, M. R., & *Godfrey, K. (2018). Older veterans. In E. Weiss & C. Castro (Eds.), American military life in the 21st century: Social, cultural, economic issues and trends. Santa Barbara, CA: Praeger.
Thomas, K. H., & Albright, D. L. (2018). The theory and practice of training for resilience. In Thomas, K. H. & Albright, D. L. (Eds.), Bulletproofing the psyche: Preventing mental health problems in our military and veterans (pp. 69-75). Santa Barbara, CA: Praeger.
Seamone, E., Thomas, K., & Albright, D. L. (2018). Incarcerated veterans. In W. Church & D. Springer (Eds.), Serving the stigmatized: Working within the incarcerated environment (pp. 307-332). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
Fletcher, K., Mankowski, M., & Albright, D. L. (2017). The challenges posed by the mental health needs of veterans. In S. J. Rosenberg, & J. Rosenberg (Eds.), Community mental health: Challenges for the 21st century (3rd ed., pp 59-85).). Florence, KY: Routledge.
Books Thomas H., K., & Albright, D. L. (2018). Bulletproofing the psyche: Preventing mental health problems in our military and veterans. Santa Barbara, CA: Praeger.
Reports Gribble, R., Mahar, A., *Godfrey, K., Muir, S., Albright, D. L., Daraganova, G., Spinks, N., Fear, N., & Cramm, H. (2018). What does the term “military family” mean? A comparison across four countries. Kingston, Ontario: Canadian Institute for Military and Veteran Health Research.
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Faculty and Staff News
Current Faculty External Research Funding David L. Albright, Kevin Corcoran, Karl Hamner and Javonda Williams Alabama Department of Mental Health. AL-SBIRT: Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment in Alabama. Funded by a grant to Alabama Department of Mental Health from SAMHSA –Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Project Period: September 1, 2016 – August 31, 2021. $6,999,957
David Albright
Mount Saint Vincent University (Canadian Institute for Military and Veteran Health Research). Qualitative Study on Veterans Identities’ and Well-being in Military to Civilian Transition. Project Period: April 1, 2018 to March 31, 2020. $12,717 University of Missouri (National Institutes of Health). Caregiver Speaks: A Technologically Mediated Storytelling Intervention for Family Caregivers of Loved Ones with Alzheimer’s Disease and other Dementias. Project Period: July 1, 2018 – June 30, 2023. $55,755 The University of Alabama Research Grant Committee. A Survey of Public Attitudes Toward U.S. Military Veterans. Project Period: May 15, 2018 – May 14, 2020. $12,500
Jill Beck
Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. Multidisciplinary Abuse Prevention Services (MAPS). Project Period: October 1, 2016 – September 30, 2018. $300,000
Catherine Carlson
National Institutes of Health. Implementing Treatment for Adolescent Depression in Ugandan Schools. Project Period: August, 8, 2017 –August 31, 2021. $636,571
Laura Hopson
The University of Alabama Pickens County Partnership. UASSW-Pickens County Schools Partnership to Provide Behavioral Health Services to Students in the Context of a Positive School Climate. Project Period: June 1, 2018 to May 31, 2019. $24,317
Hee Yun Lee
Total: $11,854,023
The University of Alabama Council for Community-based Partnerships. Cancer Screening Disparities in Alabama’s Black Belt Areas: Developing Geographically Targeted and Individually Tailored Intervention Strategies for Cancer Health Equity. Project Period: August 15, 2018 – April 30, 2019. $41,000
Hyunjin Noh
The University of Alabama Council for Community-based Partnerships. Promoting Advance Care Planning for Persons with Dementia. Project Period: August 15, 2018 – April 30, 2019. $41,000
Nicole Ruggiano
The University of Alabama Research Grant Committee. Using Social Media to Increase Access to Dementia Support Groups for Caregivers in the Deep South. Project Period: May 15, 2018 – May 14, 2020. $5,989
Amy Traylor
University of Alabama at Birmingham (Health Resources and Services Administration). Leadership Education in Adolescent Health. Project Period: July 1, 2017 – June 30, 2022. $100,000
Vikki L. Vandiver
Alabama Department of Mental Health. Placement of Graduate SW Students at TaylorHardin Secure Facility. Project Period: October 1, 2015 – September 30, 2017. $15,000
Vikki L. Vandiver and Kristy Holt
Alabama Department of Human Resources, ADHR-Title IV-E FY17. Project Period: October 1, 2016 – September 30, 2017. $1,693,116
Javonda Williams, Karl Hamner, Kevin Corcoran and Amy Traylor
U.S .Department of Justice. Bringing Exploitation of Alabama Minors to a Stop. Project Period: October 1, 2017 –September 30, 2020. $1,823,755
The University of Minnesota (Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Multi-level Communication Strategies for HPV Vaccination in Hmong Adolescents. Project Period: January 1, 2018 – September, 29, 2018. $41,097
Retirements Gordon MacNeil
Charlotte Herrin
25 Years of Service
18 Years of Service
Gordon MacNeil, associate professor of social work, retired effective August 2018, after 25 years with the School of Social Work. MacNeil came to UA in 1993 as an assistant professor of social work and quickly became known for being a voice for faculty and a mentor to Gordon MacNeil and Dean Vikki L. students. He served as chair of the Vandiver at MacNeil’s retirement luncheon. school’s MSW mental health concentration, interim chair of the PhD Program for a year, and on numerous search and academic committees. His research and teaching interests included mental health and intergenerational family caregiving resiliency.
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Dean Vikkl L. Vandiver and Charlotte Herrin at Herrin’s retirement luncheon.
Charlotte Herrin, instructor, retired effective January 2018. Herrin served in multiple roles, including as instructor, a faculty advisor, field liaison and as a committee member for School of Social Work initiatives. During her tenure, Herrin was a member of the Faculty Senate Steering Committee and co-chair of the Governance Committee. In these roles, she was recognized as a leader, collaborator and strong advocate for faculty.
ENDOWED INNOVATION SCHOLARSHIP STUDENTS TODAY, INNOVATORS TOMORROW
Our Social Work Endowed Innovation Scholarship supports UA social work students committed to finding innovative ways to impact the field of social work. The scholarship is funded by proceeds from the book “Big Al, Big Al, What Do You See,” co-authored by second and third-graders from The Capitol School, and “Little Al,” the Alabama cheering gloves. To help endow the scholarship and raise awareness about UA social work student innovation, make a contribution to the book or glove projects. Any contribution above retail value is tax deductible.
DONATE TODAY! Donate $14.95 or more to receive a book.
Donate $24.95 or more to receive the “Little Al” gloves.
For more information contact Laurie Wright, associate director of development and alumni relations, at (205) 348-7109 or ssw@ua.edu.
Alumni News
Alumni Spotlight
An Example For Those Who Serve By Adrienne Nettles
Veteran and Social Work Alumnus Harold Shambley is paying it forward to the school that helped shape his career and path to success.
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Collaborate. Innovate. Transform.
Harold D. Shambley and Joyce Hall Shambley are pictured on the third floor of the newly renovated Little Hall.
Harold Shambley paused with a smile as he observed the entry to the
off as five of her six children are college graduates. While his mother will not
dean’s reception area in Little Hall. Harold attended classes in the 102-year-
get to see his name proudly displayed in Little Hall, Harold says he’s honored
old building and now his family’s name is permanently added in recognition
and proud that such a significant space will bear the Shambleys’ legacy in
of their generous support of students in The University of Alabama’s School
philanthropic work.
of Social Work. “I wish my mom, Katie Mae, could be here to see this,” he said, standing in
The second oldest of his six siblings, Harold worked on UA’s campus in the Bryant Hall cafeteria as a high school student to help supplement his family’s
front of the space where a plaque is engraved with The Dr. Harold D. Shambley
income. He graduated from Druid High School and was drafted into the U.S.
and Mrs. Joyce Hall Shambley Reception Area. A gift commitment from Harold
Army in 1972, during the Vietnam War.
and his wife Joyce to the School of Social Work created the Dr. and Mrs. Harold
After two years of active duty, Harold used Federal Pell Grants and the G.I.
D. Shambley Endowed Scholarship and named the reception area as part of the
Bill to pay for his tuition in UA’s social work program. During his freshman
historic renovation of Little Hall, a nearly $10 million renovation project, which
year, Harold was recruited into the UA Army ROTC by one of his mentors, Col.
was completed in summer 2017.
Paul R. O’Mary, a professor of military science.
Seeing the reception space for the first time, Harold realizes how far he’s
Under O’Mary’s leadership and with support from former social work
come and how much he’s accomplished since first arriving as a student at UA
professor and his faculty mentor Mary Avis Todd, Harold gained the
in Fall 1974.
discipline needed to carry an 18-20 credit-hour course load almost every
“We had to walk to the University because the Montgomery Bus Boycott had shut down the city’s bus system years earlier at the height of the civil
semester as a student. “O’Mary and the School of Social Work changed me and made me who I
rights movement,” Harold said. “The nearly three-mile walk was our path to an
am today,” Harold said. “I was here at UA strictly on prayer and faith. One of
education and to making a better life for our siblings and parents.”
the hardest things I’ve ever done is basic combat training for Vietnam and the
Harold’s parents were divorced, and his late mother worked diligently as a maid to support her children during their formative years. Her hard work paid
next hardest thing was coming to UA, adapting to college life and buckling down to do the work required to sustain me and graduate.”
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Alumni News
Alumni Spotlight
From left to right, Shuryvonne S. Dixon, Shambley’s sister and mentor, Harold D. Shambley and his wife Joyce Hall Shambley, and Dean Vikki L. Vandiver. from his civilian career in the federal government
of the school’s student population to improve
as a Second Lieutenant in the Medical Services
as Chief of Military Personnel Services from Walter
students’ educational experience.
Corps when he graduated from the Capstone in
Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C.
1977 with his Bachelor of Social Work.
In 2015, Harold earned a PhD in Christianity and
others with similar experiences as her own. She
Religious Studies from the Higher Learning Bible
also relied on grants as a college student and
Institute International Seminary in Virginia.
once had a social work instructor pay her tuition
Harold was commissioned in UA’s Army ROTC
“The School of Social Work allowed me to go on to pursue my career as an officer,” he said. “As soon as I graduated, I was raising my right hand to go back into the military.”
“We both came from struggling working class families and we both will always be social workers
Joyce said she is passionate about helping
to remain in school. “This isn’t about us being out front, but
in our hearts,” Harold said. “Social work is a
always helping others,” Harold said. “We wanted
34 years, retired Army Lieutenant Colonel Joyce
ministry and having retired from careers we love,
a scholarship at the University to help jumpstart
Hall Shambley, who also is a social worker. She
we want to help others.”
young students’ careers because that’s what we
Returning to the Army led him to his wife of
currently works as a patient advocacy advisor
The Dr. and Mrs. Harold D. Shambley Endowed
had as students. I strongly believe God placed
at the Office of The Army Surgeon General in
Scholarship will provide financial support for
us here to be a conduit to help others get where
Washington, D.C.
students enrolled in the School of Social Work,
they need to be.”
Harold retired from the Army as a Major in 1995 and went on to earn his Master of Arts in Management from Webster University. He retired
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| The University of Alabama
with preference to students who are veterans and whose enrollment would enhance the diversity
This article originally appeared in the Division of Advancement’s publication The Giving Effect.
2017-18
Alumni and Giving Fast Facts 7,000+
Alumni Worldwide Leading in Policy, Advocacy and Research
81
International Alumni
Alumni living in Alabama. The next largest states are Georgia and Mississippi.
(with Hong Kong having the largest representation)
6th
The University of Alabama’s inaugural university-wide fundraising campaign was held in April and inspired online giving from UA alumni, faculty, staff, students and friends of the University.
37
Among UA colleges and schools for largest amount of dollars raised
gifts
Thank you to our alumni and friends who helped us reach our $15,000 goal to support the 50th Anniversary Book Scholarship fund!
15,000
$
Raised for 50th Anniversary Book Scholarship
Three-year average of SSW donors
4,346
196
Donors
Three-year percentage of: Non-Alumni Donors
44
% Alumni Donors
56
%
socialwork.ua.edu/give School of Social Work |
39
Alumni News
Academic Awards
BUFORD PEACE AWARD YERBY: SERVICE TO COMMUNITY IS ‘MODELED IN MY FAMILY’ Buford Peace Award winner reflects on upbringing, rural health challenges in Alabama. By David Miller There’s never an idle day for those working in rural health. The ever-shifting variables of Medicaid, the economy, hospital closures and project funding ensure health professionals and educators like Lea G. Yerby are conditioned for “the marathon.”
to equitably fund HIV services, to assessing the ef-
“The weight of getting this award in 2018 is
ficacy of Medicaid. She’s currently studying access
even more humbling, given our current culture and
to autism spectrum disorder screening and early
climate,” Yerby said. “It just humbles me more,
interventions for rural children.
and I feel an even greater weight and responsibility
But for Yerby, a recent and unexpected honor has caused her to reflect on her role as an agent
of running the marathon for justice.” Yerby’s local service in rural health has been
for justice. On May 7, Yerby received the Lahoma
concentrated with the Tuscaloosa Campaign to
against us,” said Yerby, assistant professor in UA’s
Adams Buford Peace Award, given annually to a
Prevent Teen Pregnancy, West Alabama AIDS Out-
department of community medicine and popula-
faculty member at UA who, in his or her teaching,
reach (now Five Horizons), the Alabama HIV Policy
tion health.
research, professional practice and personal life,
and Advocacy Committee, and Family Counseling
has demonstrated exceptional levels of involve-
Services.
“It seems like the cards continue to get stacked
Yerby has dedicated her career to research
Yerby has spent more than 15 years advocating
and service of rural health disparities and health
ment in mediating human disputes, helping
quality outcomes in Alabama, from rewriting policy
overcome prejudice, promoting justice and estab-
for people in the HIV/AIDS community, where
lishing peace.
she’s keen to build relationships and has opted for service roles instead of research. “I understand I don’t know what it’s like to contract HIV and walk around with it every day,” Yerby said. “I was constantly learning and understanding. It was a very purposeful, heart-driven decision to not be the PI or lead research on HIV.”
Back to the farm
Lea G. Yerby speaks at the 4th annual Academic Awards ceremony at the Cypress Inn in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
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| The University of Alabama
Yerby was destined for a career in international health care until she and her parents moved back to her family’s farm in Kennedy, about an hour north of Tuscaloosa. After age 3, Yerby only spent summers on the farm where five generations of family on her mother’s side had lived. Re-connecting with her community inspired Yerby to address a growing number of rural health needs, like infant mortality rates and their relative racial disparities. Yerby, who wanted to be a family physician, shifted her focus from pre-med to public health during her senior year at Belmont University.
Collaborate. Innovate. Transform.
From left to right, current and past Buford Award recipients Norman Baldwin, Joanne Terrell, Lea Yerby, Rhoda Johnson, and Ellen Griffith Spears.
“We moved around a lot when I was growing up,” Yerby said, “but then I realized my own family and own community – where people knew my grandmother and where I had roots – needed help as much, if not more, and that I had different opportunities there. I realized I could have more impact and influence on my own community.” Winning the Buford Peace Award has evoked memories of her grandparents more than she expected, Yerby said. “I keep thinking about them, because [service to one’s community] is what has always been modeled in my family,” she said.
Inspiration
Lea Yerby accepting the 2018 Buford Peace Award.
A child of the 1980s, Yerby was moved by the story of Ryan White, the Indiana teen who contracted HIV from a contaminated blood sample and later developed AIDS, thrusting the disease into the national spotlight as he and his family fought to have him re-admitted to school. Yerby was three years younger than White, who died in 1990. She said her own illness, which caused her to miss all of sixth grade, made her very aware of “how people process illness and how people get treated in the health care system.” Yerby began volunteering with West Alabama
AIDS Outreach while working on her doctorate at UA in the late 2000s. Her doctoral studies included a health policy fellowship on Capitol Hill, where she worked with the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committee and wrote parts of the Ryan White CARE Act in 2006. “That year, we ended up in this intense fight with New York and San Francisco to try and redistribute federal tax dollars to be fair to where the disease was spreading,” Yerby said. “We had a lot of new cases in the Southeast, but the federal funding was not following the disease. If you had HIV in the Southeast, you had a much smaller formulary, so you might not be able to get your medications, and there were long waiting lists, so you would be on the drug assistance program.” To date, re-writing parts of the Ryan White CARE Act was the“hugest thing” Yerby has done, as the act receives more than $2 billion annually in federal funds and affects thousands of people. But Yerby said her greatest achievements still happen in the field and in the classroom. “It tends to come down to that one person that chooses family medicine,” Yerby said, “that winds up choosing a rural community because of an exposure that you had the privilege to set up.”
School of Social Work |
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Alumni News
Hall of Fame
SELMA ICON IN 2017 ALABAMA SOCIAL WORK HALL OF FAME CLASS By David Miller
Patricia Swift Blalock, who integrated Selma’s public library in the 1960s, was posthumously inducted into the Alabama Social Work Hall of Fame in September 2017. Founded by the Social Work Society at The University of Alabama School of Social Work, the Alabama Social Work Hall of Fame honors the accomplishments of some of the state’s most distinguished leaders in the field of social work. Blalock’s social work and advocacy career began as an assistant state supervisor for the Alabama Crippled Children’s Service, where she helped create clinics for children with birth defects and crippling illnesses, such as polio and osteomyelitis. Upon retiring from social work in 1946, Blalock joined the Selma/Dallas County Public Library, where she spent 10 years as an assistant before becoming director and later leading the full, peaceful integration of the library in 1963, a year before the Civil Rights Act was signed into law.
Patricia Swift Blalock
“Throughout the tumultuous decades of civil unrest in Selma, she maintained the library as a place of welcome for both races, developing programs to meet the needs of Selma’s diverse population,” said Thelma Vaughan Mueller, UA associate professor emerita of social work. Blalock served as director of the Selma library for 27 years before retiring. She later served two terms as director of the Selma and Dallas County Chamber of Commerce and helped found Selma’s performing arts center. She died in 2011 at age 97. Blalock, along with four others in the 2017 class, was honored during a ceremony at the NorthRiver Yacht Club in Tuscaloosa. Other members of the 2017 class are: Thomas F. Cook, Joyce Parrish O’Neal, Joanne Jeffries Terrell and Catherine “Kate” Ball.
Thomas F. Cook Cook earned his Master of Social Work and doctorate in social work at UA. He began his career in social work in 1976 and worked at Partlow State School, University of Alabama at Birmingham Hospital, Bryce State Psychiatric Facility, and Children’s Hospital of Alabama, among others. In 1984, Cook became a caseworker and counselor for Catholic Family Services in Birmingham, where he provided counseling and child welfare services for adoption and foster care. He also counseled women going through crisis pregnancy. Cook’s work was rooted in a client-centered philosophy, said Barbara Pitts, a fellow social worker who nominated Cook. “One saw the very heart and essence of social work displayed by Dr. Cook, which has earned him respect among his peers in the social work community,” Pitts said.
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| The University of Alabama
Collaborate. Innovate. Transform.
Joyce Parrish O’Neal O’Neal, a native of Selma, spent more than 35 years serving families through the Alabama Department of Human Resources. O’Neal held positions of food stamp program supervisor in Dallas County from 1982 to 1993 and public assistance supervisor from 1977 to 1982. O’Neal became director of Perry County’s Department of Human Resources in 1993 and served in that role until 2002, when she became director of the Food Assistance Division for the Alabama Department of Human Resources. As director, she oversaw the state’s Food Assistance Program known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP. “Her leadership in Alabama’s Food Assistance Program helped the program to earn over $4 million, an award to the state (from the U.S. Department of Agriculture) based on improvements in the efficiency of the program,” said Carolyn B. Lapsey, retired deputy commissioner for Children and Family Services.
Joanne Jeffries Terrell Terrell retired from teaching at the UA School of Social Work and her role as a clinical supervisor at the Youth Services Institute in 2015. At the Youth Services Institute, she was responsible for clinical supervision of therapists working with juveniles with sexually abusive behaviors and sexually reactive children. She also coordinated all aspects of treatment team responsibilities. Terrell began teaching at UA in 1994 and is a former recipient of the Outstanding Commitment to Teaching award and the Buford Peace Award. Terrell developed and managed an internship in the Public Defender’s Office in Tuscaloosa where she has supervised both graduate and undergraduate students in assessment and diagnosis of substance abusers that are public defender clients. Terrell’s work in the criminal justice system spans 30 years, many of which were spent advocating for defendants. As a litigation specialist, she assisted criminal defense attorneys by developing alternative sentencing and helping more than 100 low-income defendants receive “life in prison” instead of the death penalty, said Susan G. Barfoot, a social worker who nominated Terrell.
Catherine “Kate” Ball Ball earned her Master of Social Work at UA and served as director of social work services at DCH Northport, where she established the Social Work Service Department. ln addition to administering this new program, Ball supervised and taught social work student interns in their field placements. She also conducted in-service education for the hospital and surrounding community to increase their knowledge of government resources and local social services that were available to the hospital patients, said Dr. Josephine Pryce, UA associate professor of social work. Ball also served as director of the mental health outpatient programs and services for the Tuscaloosa VA Medical Center. “She has tirelessly worked to promote the well-being of her clients and their families as well as coworkers, peers and friends,” said Donna Christian, a licensed clinical social worker at the Tuscaloosa VA Medical Center.
School of Social Work |
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The School of Social Work is pleased to share with you a snapshot of moments from our 50th Anniversary celebrations that took place April 4-6, 2018, culminating with a reception and Little Hall Open House for students, alumni, donors, faculty and staff.
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| The University of Alabama
Dean’s Donor Luncheon A 50th anniversary luncheon was held for social work alumni and donors who have established a permanent naming recognition in Little Hall as part of the school’s Restoring Our Past, Building Our Future initiative.
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| The University of Alabama
50th Anniversary Scholarship Dinner School of Social Work donors were invited to a dinner to meet the student recipients of their scholarships. Students also networked with donors and SSW faculty members.
School of Social Work |
47
Little Hall Building Renovation Dedication As part of SSW’s 50th Anniversary festivities, SSW celebrated the reopening of Little Hall after a $9 million renovation. UA President Stuart R. Bell, university administrators, the project’s architect and construction officials attended the dedication ceremony.
Restoring Our Past, Building Our Future
Little Hall NAMING OPPORTUNITIES
The University of Alabama School of Social Work has established the Restoring Our Past, Building Our Future initiative to allow alumni and supporters of the school to join us in celebrating the renovation of Little Hall. In August, the renovation of Little Hall was completed, transforming our school’s 103-yearold building into a state-of-the-art facility to educate tomorrow’s social work leaders. As part of this initiative, alumni and friends of the school can pledge a gift to establish an endowed scholarship and receive a permanent naming recognition in our newly renovated building. With a permanent naming recognition, a room or space in Little Hall is named in your honor or in honor of a loved one. We’re proud to provide our alumni and supporters the opportunity to leave their print on our school for generations to come while contributing to the academic success of our brightest students. If you are interested in any of our available naming opportunities, contact Laurie Wright, associate director of development and alumni relations, at (205) 348-7109.
AVAILABLE NAMING OPPORTUNITIES Faculty and Staff Offices
Associate Dean’s Office
(50 available) Located on 1st, 2nd and 3rd floors $15,000
Located on the 1st floor near Quad entrance $35,000
Large Administrative Offices
FIRST FLOOR Classroom Located on the 1st floor looking out onto the porch $75,000
Main Lobby Located on the 1st floor near Quad entrance $60,000
Dean’s Office
(5 available) Located on the 1st floor $25,000
SECOND FLOOR Large Classroom Located on the 2nd floor overlooking the Quad $110,000
Computer Lab
Located on the 2nd floor overlooking the Quad Located on the 1st floor off the Quad entrance $100,000 $50,000
South Vestibule Located with the Hall of Fame Wall at the back entrance on the 1st floor $35,000
THIRD FLOOR Reception Room A beautiful, large gathering space $150,000
Third Floor Lobby Flows into the Reception Room on the 3rd floor $40,000
EXTERIOR OF LITTLE HALL Little Hall Building Columns (8 available) Front Porch $25,000
Lecture/Classroom Located on the 2nd floor with retractable door $75,000
School of Social Work |
49
Alumni News
ALUMNI NOTES Julie Blanks (’00 MSW) became Principal Director for Military Community and Family Policy in the Office of the Secretary of Defense in August 2018. A member of the Senior Executive Service, she assists the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Military Community and Family Policy. Her broad list of duties includes policy, advocacy and oversight of all community support to service members and families, including quality of life issues; family and casualty assistance; morale, welfare and recreation programs; overseeing the Military OneSource program; and policy oversight of the Defense Department’s commissary and exchange services. Prior to her new assignment, Blanks served as Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Civilian Personnel Policy.
Amy Beaulieu Mansue (‘86 BSW, ‘87 MSW), president of the Southern Region of RWJ Barnabas Health, is completing her role as chair of the Board of the New Jersey Hospital Association, the state’s oldest and largest hospital and healthcare advocacy organization. She received the appointment in January 2018, adding to the many boards she currently serves on in New Jersey. The Board of the New Jersey Hospital is implementing its new mission to improve the health of the people across the state. As board chair, Mansue collaborated with other leaders and organizations to concentrate on the societal challenges that impact health in our communities throughout New Jersey. This new appointment adds to Mansue’s experience in the public sector at both the state and federal levels.
Jessica Averitt Taylor (’07 MSW, ’12 PhD) is an associate professor of social work in the College of Education and Human Services at Northern Kentucky University, where she was honored as one of 31 Wise Women of Northern Kentucky University in March. The honor recognizes women on NKU’s campus who have made a positive impact on campus and beyond. Taylor is the founder of FUEL NKU, a campus food pantry for students. In 2013, she established the food pantry after noticing “something was not quite right with one of her best students.” The student was missing classes and assignments because of hunger. Five years later, FUEL NKU serves more than 3,000 NKU students and is a campus-wide movement. Taylor now serves as the executive director of FUEL NKU. She also has served the NKU campus in other roles, including faculty coordinator of the Mayerson Student Philanthropy Project for several years and as a key team member who worked to establish the university’s Norse Violence Prevention Center.
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| The University of Alabama
Melanie R. Bridgeforth (’04 BA, ’07 MSW) was appointed to the new role of president and chief executive officer of The Women’s Fund of Greater Birmingham in March 2018. Since 1996, The Women’s Fund of Greater Birmingham has served as the state’s only philanthropic foundation focused on dismantling barriers to women’s economic prosperity. Through a robust grant-making portfolio, which specifically targets the Greater Birmingham region and spans statewide, and engaging the core strategies of research and public policy advocacy, the organization is catalyzing change and advancing communities by accelerating economic growth for the nearly 45 percent of women with children who live in poverty. Bridgeforth previously served as executive director of VOICES for Alabama’s Children, the state’s leading child advocacy organization. While there, she led a transformation of the organization’s public policy platform, leading to one of its winningest legislative eras to date while strengthening its overall reach, visibility, and impact.
Jerry Milner (’79 MSW, ’85 DSW) was tapped to lead the federal agency within the Department of Health and Human Services that oversees federal child welfare funding and policy in June 2017. As acting commissioner of the Administration on Children, Youth and Families (ACYF), Milner oversees the Family and Youth Services Bureau and the Children’s Bureau, where he is associate commissioner. Both are long-standing federal agencies. ACYF was established in 1977 and President William Howard Taft created the Children’s Bureau in 1912. Milner oversees a budget of $9.7 billion and a staff of 200, giving him the power to significantly influence national child welfare policy. Prior to his current role, Milner ran Alabama’s foster care system, and then joined the George W. Bush administration’s Children’s Bureau as a career employee. There, he helped design the Child and Family Services Review process, a periodic review of state child welfare systems conducted by ACYF.
Karen Thompson (‘90 BSW, ‘92 MSW) was named the new president of the Junior League of Tuscaloosa, becoming the first African-American to hold the position in the group’s 89-year history in May 2018. Thompson, executive director of Temporary Emergency Services Inc., has been a member of the group for the last eight years. Thompson has led Temporary Emergency Services (TES) for 27 years. TES is a nonprofit group that helps families in emergency situations. In addition to her work with TES, Thompson is also an adjunct faculty member and PhD student in the UA’s College of Education, Social and Cultural Studies department. The League is part of a national organization of women who work in their respective communities through volunteering.
Collaborate. Innovate. Transform.
In Memoriam Alumna Shelia Tanner Hatfield (’04 MSW), vice president of compliance and development at SafetyNet Behavioral Healthcare, died Feb. 13, 2018. In January 2003, Hatfield began as an intern at SafetyNet, a residential program that offers long-term treatment for youth ages 10 to 18 with ongoing behavioral, emotional and/or psychiatric needs. She became a longtime employee, serving in many positions, including therapist, program manager, clinical director, corporate training director, corporate clinical director. She graduated with a bachelor’s degree in sociology with a minor in psychology from the University of North Texas in 1994 and received her MSW from UA in 2004. She also earned her Field Instructor Certification from the UA School of Social Work.
Alumna Karen Adams Land (’75 BSW), a resident of Glen Allen, Virginia, died of pancreatic cancer on May 1, 2018. A native of Dothan, Alabama, Land grew up in the Pleasant Plains community. After graduating from UA, she worked as a social worker at the Department of Pensions and Security in Dothan. Later she moved to Dallas, Texas where she worked as a legal secretary. Four years later, she returned to Alabama and her work for the state as a social worker in Abbeville. Land relocated several other times before deciding to work and reside in Virginia with her family.
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51
Alumni News
Social Work Society Honor Roll The School of Social Work is deeply grateful to the following donors, who support our academic programs. The generosity of these individuals and organizations allows us to add value to our ongoing programs to provide a high-quality education to our students. This Honor Roll lists donors’ gifts and pledges to the School of Social Work between May 1, 2017, and May 31, 2018. If your name has been omitted or some other error exists, we apologize and ask you to please contact Laurie Wright, associate director of development and alumni relations, at (205) 348-7109.
Social Work Advocate $150 per year and up
Terry Q. Alarcon Catherine D. Ball William M. Hodge E. James Loop II Meredith M. Mayo Nancy L. Payne Terrie Reid Hope R. Skelton Kathryn W. Wynne Evan A. Alderson Philip L. Browning Julia B. Caddell Katie E. Combs Gayle R. Friedman Brett Hyde Judy J. Jackson Hee Y. Lee James L. Maury Jane M. Nichols Raymond and Jean Rayfield
Brock C. Sellers Joanne J. Terrell Clare Anderson Teresa S. Costanzo Knox G. Jennings Linda R. Johnson Linda M. Nutt Bettye C. Pressley Samory T. Pruitt George C. and Sharon Shelton Daniel N. Watter Phillip E. Crunk Jillian E. Terrill Carrie A. Turner Angela J. Kelly Nathan D. Hurst Robert E. McKinney Jr. Shayla T. Smith Cherry S. Hubbard
Social Work Collaborator $2,500 per year and up Jim and Ann Langley
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| The University of Alabama
Social Work Supporter $500 per year and up Ann Arnold Lonnie Banks Jr. Dianne F. Harrison Jo Pryce Barbra L. Torgusen Shuryvonne S. Dixon Stephanie R. Peck
Kathy Falk Karen A. Thompson Tom Cook Maurice F. Kahlmus Jr. Lucinda L. Roff Bud and Rita Stout Tony D. Walker
Audrey J. Ellis Mable L. Sharp
Social Work Innovator $1,000 per year and up
Rockne C. Burroughs Sharon A. Cantrell Claude Bennett Family Foundation James Dupree Jr. Cassidy C. Edwards Faulkner Family Foundation William L. Gormley Laurie F. Hereford M. Sebrena Jackson Onya J. Myhand Jerry M. Palmer
Phi Kappa Sigma Fraternity J. Miller Piggott Social Work Society Board Joseph M. Upton Vanjessitha A. Wilkinson Veronica J. Elder Diane W. Daffron Ginny T. Raymond Misty C. Renfroe Toni B. Welbourne Alvin J. Reed
Yolanda D. Barnes Rhonda S. Rice Gene A. Atkinson Teresa T. Sauls Vicki H. Turnage Becky S. Corbett Patrick R. Gibson Carolyn L. Patterson Gordon MacNeil Carroll C. Phelps James W. Sellers Sr.
Social Work Visionary
Gundy Circle
Donald M. James Amy B. Mansue Avani A. Shah Malenna A. Sumrall Barry J. Ackerson Kevin Corcoran and Vikki L. Vandiver John M. Bolland Harold and Joyce Shambley Vulcan Materials Co. Foundation Coy Albert Stout II and Jeffrey Falk
Gilead Sciences Foundation Hyunjin Noh and Changjae Lee
$5,000 per year and up
$25,000 and up
Dean’s Circle
$50,000 and up in cumulative giving to the school of any of its academic programs
Collaborate. Innovate. Transform.
Social Work Society The Social Work Society is an affiliate organization of UA’s Capstone Foundation. All board members are active supporters of the Social Work Society Annual Fund. For membership and more information about the Social Work Society, contact Laurie Wright at (205) 348-7109.
2017-18 Board Members Margaret Bonham
Shannon Hubbard
Donna Christian
Judy Jackson
Laura Freeman Cooks
Lathesia McClenney
Misty Renfroe
Onya Johnson Myhand, Vice President
Iris Davis
Sharonda Pettaway
Carol Drolen
Luke Powell, MSW Student
Codi Espy
Alvin Reed
William (Bill) Foster
Terrie Reid
Kelli Godfrey, PhD Student
Marian Stanton
Piper Grant, BSW Student
Linda Tuck James Ware
Board of Friends The Board of Friends works to effect a close working relationship between leaders in the community and the faculty, staff and students in the School of Social Work. The Board also works to influence development and advancement activities for the school. For membership and more information about the Board of Friends, contact Laurie Wright at (205) 348-7109.
2017-18 Board Members Barry Ackerson
Ann Langley, Chair
Russell Bennett
Amy Beaulieu Mansue
Julia Caddell
Carroll Phelps, Faculty
Tom Cook
J. Miller Piggott
Becky S. Corbett
J. Wayne Sellers
Lady Portis Cunningham
Harold Shambley
Shuryvonne Dixon
Coy Albert Stout II
James Dupree Jr.
Karen Thompson
Veronica Elder
Tony D. Walker
Laurie Faulkner Hereford, Co-Chair
Jackie Williams
School of Social Work |
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Box 870314 Tuscaloosa, AL 35487-0314 www.socialwork.ua.edu
Announcing Our New
Primarily Online BSW and Primarily Online DSW
COMING IN FALL 2019 Enroll in our BSW or DSW primarily online programs to receive the excellent quality of our on-campus degree programs in an online format.
Apply Starting February 1 Learn more at socialwork.ua.edu.