VCU School of Social Work

Congratulations to doctoral candidate Joon Choi, who has been awarded a Graduate School Thesis/Dissertation Award for the Fall 2010 and Spring 2011 semesters. The $12,750 award, which includes tuition, will greatly benefit Joon’s dissertation research on Determinants of Clergy Behaviors Promoting Safety of Battered Korean Immigrant Women. You may recall we announced on June 15, 2010 that Joon was also awarded a prestigious doctoral dissertation grant from the Fahs-Beck Fund for Research and Experimentation. Joon’s dissertation committee members are Dr. Elizabeth P. Cramer, Chair, and Drs. F. Ellen Netting, Patrick Dattalo & Sarah J. Brubaker (VCU Wilder School of Government & Public Affairs).

We hope that your career journey since graduating from VCU has been a personally rewarding and meaningful one. We thank you for having chosen the VCU School of Social Work as your career “launching pad.” Our faculty and staff are proud of our graduates and know that our over 9,000 alumni have been important agents of change, making positive contributions to individuals, families and to social policy in our community- locally, regionally and across the nation.

There is wonderful bond created among people who have shared a similar journey. We encourage you to stay in touch with the School of Social Work. Let us know where you have gone and what you have done since your graduation. There is great value in staying in touch with your colleagues and your faculty.

Visit us on the web at www.socialwork.vcu.edu/alumni where you can:

• Sign up for the SSW Alumni ListServ: we can keep you apprised of happenings here at the School, in our partner agencies/field placement agencies, with our students and among your colleagues. We will send you the quarterly e-newsletter with information about exciting faculty research, alumni news, etc.

• Join the Continuing Education ListServ to learn about seminar offerings that can help you earn/maintain your certification for licensure. If you join the VCU Alumni Association, you receive discounts on CE events.

• Connect with SSWAN- the School of Social Work Alumni Network on Facebook to keep in touch with your colleagues, learn about events, job opportunities, etc.

• Learn more about the benefits available to you as a member of the VCU Alumni Association, including obtaining a complimentary lifetime VCU Alumni email address, access to on-line journal articles, and much more. (Joining VCU Alumni Association automatically makes you a member of SSWAN).

• You can also follow us on Twitter at @VCUSocialWork.

Six new doctoral students entering the PhD Program this fall were honored at the annual Welcome Dinner held at the home of program director Dr. Kia J. Bentley on Tuesday evening, August 24th, where 74 faculty, administrators, alumni, and continuing students extended a warm welcome to the new cohort.

At the School of Social Work New Student Orientation on Tuesday morning, Dean James E. Hinterlong, Senior Associate Dean Dr. Marcia P. Harrigan, along with program directors, Dr. Kia J. Bentley, Dr. Delores Dungee-Anderson and Dr. Humberto Fabelo, other faculty, and VCU representatives, Dr. Douglas Boudinot, Dean of the Graduate School, and Dr. Reuben Rodriguez, Dean of Student Affairs, welcomed the incoming BSW, MSW and PhD students. Afterwards, the doctoral students were informed and inspired by the Ph.D. Program orientation presented by Dr. Bentley, informal dialogue with doctoral program faculty, and Q & A with a panel of continuing doctoral students that included Nathan Perkins, president of the Doctoral Student Association; Angie Mann-Williams, vice-president, DSA; Johnnie O’Neal, member-at-large, DSA; Katherine Filipic, past-president, DSA; doctoral candidate, Justin Lee, and 2nd-year student, Suzie Weng.

The new doctoral students also participated in the DSA “Mentor Monday,” and a half-day “Framing Workshop” on ethical thinking and social justice held on Wednesday, and are now anxiously anticipating the beginning of classes on August 31st.

The 2010 PhD Cohort includes -

Katherine A. Faliski, MPA, University of Texas; MSW, Virginia Commonwealth

University (2011)

Lisa R. Gray, MSW, University of Texas at Austin

Ananda Newmark, MSW, Virginia Commonwealth University

Collin J. Overby, JD, University of the Pacific – McGeorge School of Law; M.L.R.H.R., Michigan State University; MSW, University of Michigan

Andrew Schoeneman, MA, SIT Graduate Institute

Christopher J. Ward, MSW, University of South Carolina

Click on the link below and read their brief bios!

2010 PhD Cohort Bios.pdf

On a mission: VCU Social Work Assistant Professor Karen Smith Rotabi helps military couples strengthen their relationships. “Mission Healthy Relationships” builds on successful Multiple Sclerosis Society marriage enrichment program. Read more:

http://www.news.vcu.edu/experts/ontopic/Military_Affairs/On_a_mission_VCU_Social_Work_Assistant_Professor_Karen_Smith

You’ve asked and we’ve delivered! Thanks to a university partnership with Google, alumni now can obtain a complimentary, permanent Email address identifying them as alumni of Virginia Commonwealth University. By signing up for your @alumni.vcu.edu Email address, you also gain access to the powerful tools available through Google. Visit this link for the details:

http://www.vcu-mcvalumni.org/site/c.hnKIIMNpEmG/b.6098509/k.8555/Alumni_Email.htm