Research Newsletter | Summer 2025

At the University of Kansas, we are committed to making the Midwest – and the world – a better place through the power of research.

At the KU School of Social Welfare, our researchers are addressing critical issues locally, nationally, and globally. They are partnering with communities to improve outcomes in child welfare, healthcare, and public policy, and advancing the science of social work through practice-based interventions that better serve vulnerable individuals, families, and communities.

Our faculty and research staff are committed to projects that create a better future and improve people’s everyday lives. Explore the far-reaching impact of research and service from the KU School of Social Welfare – because when research meets real life, meaningful change happens.

We invite you to contact us at kusswdo@ku.edu. Your feedback and collaboration are extremely important to us.

Take good care,

Michelle Mohr Carney, PhD, MSSA
Dean and Professor, KU School of Social Welfare

The University of Kansas is a top-ranked public university for federally funded research in Social Work, according to the national Higher Education & Research Development (HERD) Survey. KU also ranks No. 3 among public universities for overall research and development funding in Social Work.

The most recent HERD Survey from the National Science Foundation ranked KU in:

The latest HERD survey is based on fiscal year 2023 data.

A new research center at the KU School of Social Welfare elevates health-related research, training and collaboration. The Center for the Advancement of Healthcare for Everyone is committed to improving health, behavioral health and long-term care systems, and to promoting health equity and access.

Four researchers in the School of Social Welfare are the founding directors of the center. Cheryl Holmes, Michelle Levy, Jason Matejkowski and Carrie Wendel-Hummell conduct research that focuses on health, with a history of working to advance healthcare for disadvantaged populations.

In April, the School of Social Welfare hosted a panel and networking event to celebrate the launch of the center and showcase student research from the Integrated Health Scholars Program.

A pair of KU School of Social Welfare professors received university international research and teaching awards during the 2024-2025 academic year.

Professor Terry Koenig was awarded the KU International Affairs Advisory Board International Research Award for her research exploring the resilience of African refugees and their often violent journeys from home to northern Italy. 

Professor of the Practice Melinda Lewis received the International Affairs Advisory Board International Teaching Award for 2024. Lewis was recognized for her work leading the School’s Costa Rica study abroad program and aligning the course with the School’s innovative curriculum, in partnership with the University of Costa Rica's Social Work Department. 

Assistant Professor Logan Shinkai Knight emphasizes lived experiences in her research, focusing on human trafficking and platforming a survivor-led movement. Her goal is to change the narrative and culture.

Knight's research prioritizes survivor leadership and expertise for developing the theoretical and practical knowledge needed to address human trafficking. Her work on survivor resilience and altruism involves survivors in all stages of research, from study design to dissemination.   

The Kansas City Metro area made a lasting impact on Assistant Professor Tadeo Weiner Davis. He was born in La Paz, Bolivia, but moved to Kansas City when he was 8 years old and grew up there.

Weiner Davis was exposed to the communities and social movements in Kansas City and Chicago, and his social work education led him on a path toward research that could inform the political work of marginalized groups in Kansas City. 

Assistant Professor Whitney Grube is focused on helping the most vulnerable. That’s a passion she’s had since she was an undergraduate student studying behavioral science at KU.

Before joining the KU School of Social Welfare faculty, Grube spent the better part of 10 years as a research associate working on various projects involving children and families.

The KU Achievement & Assessment Institute (AAI) awarded the 2024 AAI Art & Humanities Grant to faculty member Sarah Jen to expand a project that documents the influence of an art-based intervention among communities of older adults and intergenerational audiences.

Read more

Claire Willey-Sthapit, an assistant professor of social welfare at KU with family ties to Nepal, became interested in how service providers, families and communities address domestic violence while working with a Nepali nongovernmental organization.

Read more

Associate Professor Briana McGeough led an evaluation of tools contained in “LGBTQI Workbook for CBT” by Erik Schott, a text designed to help guide individuals through tools of cognitive behavioral therapy. 

Read more

Ethics, Technology, and AI in Social Work Practice: Navigating the Future Responsibly
Aug. 14
9 a.m. to noon
Virtual
CEU: 3 ethics
(Registration is full for this event.)

Trauma-Informed Practice With Black Men, For Empowerment, Hope, and Healing
Sept. 10
12 to 1:30 p.m.
Virtual
CEU: 1.5

Bringing the Code to the Ballot: Social Work Practice in Elected Office
Sept. 24
12 to 2 p.m.
Virtual
CEU: 2 Ethics

Reclaiming Resilience: Centering Survivor Wisdom to Facilitate Thriving
Oct. 16
12 to 2 p.m.
Virtual

Green Hall
1535 West 15th Street
Lawrence, KS 66045
socwelweb@ku.edu
785-864-4720

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© The University of Kansas. 2025.