Upcoming Admission Deadlines Bachelor of Social Work Application
Master of Social Work Application
The period for submitting a master in Social Work (MSW) admission application for 2022 is open. Prospective students must apply to the Graduate School and the MSW program. The priority deadline for 2022 enrollment is February 1, 2022. The general deadline is April 1, 2022.
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Summer BSW Graduation
The Department of Social Work graduated 15 BSW students this Summer. These students completed their final field placements in Indiana, Illinois, and Ohio. These students also introduced our program to two new practicum agencies. These agencies were the Don Moyer Boys and Girls Club and Family House Inc. Students had placements in child welfare, mental health and addictions, working with older adults, individuals with housing challenges, and neighborhood groups. We are very thankful to the staff and clients of agencies for welcoming our students and providing the opportunity for them to use their skills to benefit others. Despite the challenges of COVID-19, our students and those who support and encourage them did not miss a beat in moving towards graduation. Congratulations to these students!
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Summer MSW Graduation
July marked the largest MSW graduating class in the evolving history of our program. Our faculty and staff celebrated with 45 graduates. These students completed their advanced placements in a variety of practice settings. Sample placements included: Public Advocates in Community Re-Entry, Adult & Child, Centerstone, Hillcroft Services, United Way, Bowen Center, Aspire Indiana, and Volunteers of America. These students left a lasting impression on their clients and field instructors. We look forward to our graduates staying engaged as alumni and advancing the social work profession for generations to come. One MSW graduate, Erica Ashford, represented the social work profession on a local news station by talking about the importance of naloxone boxes. Watch her interview.
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One Ball State Day and Crowdfunding Campaign
The Department of Social Work participated in two large fundraising efforts to support the endowment of the Dr. Ron Dolon Scholarship. This is a scholarship available to MSW students wishing to specialize in gerontology. For 50 years, Dr. Dolon (Professor of Social Work) has led by example and taught thousands of students how to practice, treat others with dignity, and find humor in the life around them. We celebrated Dr. Dolon’s lasting legacy of generosity and inspiration by active participation in a Crowdfunding Campaign and One Ball State Day. We raised $10,310 towards this endowment. We are only $6,500 from reaching the necessary threshold. If you are interested in making a donation, please email Dr. Matt Moore. Can you be the person who helps us close this gap?
The fundraising efforts for the Dr. Ron Dolon Scholarship were just a piece of the larger One Ball State Day puzzle. The College of Health raised $29,400 towards a variety of beneficial projects. Ball State University raised more than $900,000 from 10,000 gifts campus-wide. We look forward to sharing additional funded project ideas with donors this academic year.
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Addictions Coalition of Delaware County
The Addictions Coalition of Delaware County helped a community partner obtain two naloxone boxes where community members can obtain free Narcan. Faculty members representing the coalition also applied for three grants totaling more than $2 million for the purposes of establishing a crisis center, a community paramedicine program, and a safe ride program in Muncie.
Recovery Cafe
Recovery Café Muncie is now open! The hours of operation are Wed/Fri/Sat from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. at 201 E. Charles St. in Downtown Muncie. The Café includes recovery support cycles, sober recreational activities, and free lunch at noon. We are in need of volunteer café companions and workshop/recovery circle facilitators. Please email Dr. Jonel Thaller (Associate Professor of Social Work) if interested. Everyone is in recovery from something, and connection is healing. You can also read more about Café in the Muncie Star Press.
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Healthy Lifestyle Center (HLC)
The HLC received the 100,000 Award in Memory of Dr. George Branam from the Healthy Community Alliance of East Central Indiana. We are proud of this recognition and pleased to share that despite the challenges with COVID-19, the HLC is thriving through new programming, partnerships, and skilled graduate student assistants. An exciting new training program at the HLC is the Stigma and Bias Training for healthcare professionals. This program, created in collaboration with Professor Kristina Johnson, focuses on building awareness of implicit bias and stigma within the workplace, as well as tools to advocate and educate when you witness such behaviors. If you are interested in attending, please reach out to Dr. Kristin Trainor.
Our newest program, set to begin this Fall, is the Substance Use Screening Program. To help support substance use health and well-being, the HLC is partnering with the Office of Health, Alcohol, and Drug Education (OHADE), Housing and Residence Life, and the Office of Student Conduct at Ball State University to provide comprehensive health support to students who are identified as an individual in need of substance use services. This holistic and person-centered approach will allow for greater individual support and understanding of the varying needs of the individual.
Partnerships are also vital to the success of the HLC. The HLC is expanding our outreach activities in the local community, including the Whitely Community Council, Ross Center, and Avondale neighborhood for increased health initiatives. While programming and partnerships are necessary for the development of the HLC, our students are the backbone. Our social work Graduate Assistants play a key role in all HLC initiatives.
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CSWE Reaffirmation and Accreditation
As Summer closes to an end, the Fall brings forth pivotal moments in the growth of our social work programs. Our MSW program enters the final phase of the accreditation process. For the past three years, our faculty and staff, led by Dr. Greta Slater (Associate Professor and MSW Program Director), worked closely with the Council for Social Work Education (CSWE) to shepherd our new program through the candidacy process. The final site visit for the program will take place October 5-6.
While our MSW program seeks official accreditation, our BSW program is up for re-affirmation. We received our last re-affirmation in 2015. Led by Dr. Matt Moore (Associate Professor and Department Chair), the BSW program submitted all required documents to CSWE in March. A site-visitor will be on campus November 2-4. Our BSW program also submitted all CSWE paperwork to offer a totally online option for non-traditional learners. We should hear back on all CSWE decisions by the end of the academic year.
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Muncie Community Schools and Ball State University
As part of the Muncie Community Schools and Ball State University collaboration, the College of Health will work with Grissom Memorial Elementary on various projects throughout the academic year. Dr. Jerry Reynolds (Assistant Professor of Social Work) is the liaison between Grissom Memorial Elementary and the College of Health. Faculty, staff, and students from the College of Health served as a welcome back committee for kindergarten and first grade classrooms. These individuals helped get students breakfast, got them settled into their desk space, and provided support to classroom teachers and school administrators. Volunteers included:
- Dr. Matt Moore
- Dr. Jerry Reynolds
- Ms. Jill Oglesbee, social work department secretary
- Ms. McKenna Perry, social work department work study
- Ms. Liz Kim, graduate student, Sport and Exercise Psychology, and captain of the Ball State women’s golf team
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A Spotlight on the Olympics
As the closing ceremonies shined a spotlight on Tokyo and the world’s elite athletes, there were many important takeaways from the 2020 Olympics. The United States continued its athletic success by capturing 113 medals to lead all countries. Our American athletes led the medal count in the gold, silver, and bronze categories. As the dreams of athletes across the world came true, the Olympics also shined a spotlight on several matters of social justice and social change.
Over the past decade, the subfield of sport social work emerged, promoting these elements of social justice and social change by focusing on the unique needs of athletes at both an individual and environmental level. Sport social workers promote the health and well-being of athletes through direct practice, community organizing, advocacy, policy development, education, and research. Sport social workers seek to enhance the capabilities of athletes to address their own behavioral health and psychosocial needs. They encourage athletes to be advocates for change. They also encourage athletic organizations, communities, and other social institutions to recognize athletes as a vulnerable population and to join in the fight to reduce the challenges present in athletics. At the heart of these efforts is a focus on athlete development and wellness. Ball State University is fortunate to have two of the prominent sport social work researchers on their campus—Dr. Matt Moore and Dr. Jerry Reynolds.
The need for sport social workers was ever-present in the stories of many Olympic athletes. We saw a spotlight shined on athlete mental health through the courage of Simone Biles, Naomi Oaska, and many others. Over 180 athletes identifying with the LGBT+ community represented their home nations. The Tokoyo Olympics saw the first transgender athletes in competition. Sport social workers can promote these social justice accomplishments through ongoing advocacy and community organizing. Additionally, athletes from across the globe highlighted the injustices that still face our communities. Sport social workers can leverage the platform of these elite athletes to shape polices, provide education, and continue research on biopsychosocial trials facing our world’s top sport performers. This list could go on. It is just important to remember under the strength and courage of many Olympic athletes, there are vulnerabilities that impact who they are as humans. To learn more about how you can get involved in the sport social work field, please visit the Alliance of Social Workers in Sports.
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Welcome to Our New Faculty & Staff
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Assistant Clinical Professor - Brandon Evans, LCSW
Professor Evans earned his BSW from Ball State University in 2012 and his MSW from Indiana University in 2014. As an MSW student, Professor Evans pursued a focus on mental health and addictions. He is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) and a certified Senior Facilitator for Batterers Intervention Programming under the Indiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence. Professor Evans is passionate about ending domestic violence and has worked with perpetrators of abuse for over a decade. He also cares deeply about community mental health services. His hobbies include daily runs with his dog, listening to podcasts and audiobooks, and enjoying family time with his wife and son.
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Assistant Professor of Practice – Dusty Rademacher
Professor Rademacher received her MSW from Arizona State University and her bachelor’s degree from the University of Tennessee. She also has an Applied Educational Neuroscience certificate from Butler University with an emphasis on adversity/trauma and the brain. She was a social work practitioner for 10 years, with the majority of her experience working with families experiencing homelessness and transitional housing. Professor Rademacher then moved into the education field, where she spent the last nine years working directly with students. Her passions include working with neurodiverse children and their families within educational settings. Outside of teaching, she enjoys spending time with family, reading, watching paranormal shows, and camping.
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Kara Keillor
My name is Kara Keillor! I graduated from Ball State University with my BSW in 2018. I worked for the Department of Child Services (DCS) for one year. I worked closely with children and their biological families to provide services towards reunification. During this time, I gained a deep appreciation for the safety and permanency of children. I transitioned from DCS to Kids Peace in Muncie. I work closely with children and their foster families to ensure they are doing well in foster homes. I visit children weekly/biweekly/monthly, depending on their levels of need. I also work interprofessionally with the DCS, behavioral clinicians, therapists, and other helping professionals in the community. I have an eight-month-old daughter and am recently engaged. I am looking forward to applying to the MSW program at Ball State this year.
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Dr. Dane Minnick (Assistant Professor of Social Work), Dr. Jonel Thaller, and Dr. Greta Slater worked with partners in the College of Health to present, “Creating a Community-Academic Partnership to Address Addictions and Substance Misuse on College Campuses and in Local Communities,” at the Higher Education National Meeting on the campus of The Ohio State University.
Dr. Minnick, Dr. Thaller, and Dr. Slater also presented, “Utilizing a Community-Academic Partnership to Improve Community Addiction Service Capacities,” at the Indiana SEOW Symposium in Indianapolis.
Dr. Matt Moore submitted five peer-reviewed articles with various partners in the College of Health. This included three article submissions with Dr. Jerry Reynolds. These articles focus on disruptions to athletic training services during the COVID-19 pandemic, the role of athletic trainers in supporting disorder eating in college athletics, mental health literacy of Australian youth sport coaches, virtual spectating behaviors during COVID-19, and the impact of systemic racism on a college athlete’s mental health.
Dr. Jerry Reynolds and Dr. Matt Moore published a book chapter on COVID-19 and the shifting role of parents as youth sport spectators.
Dr. Kristin Trainor, along with colleagues from the College of Health, submitted an article to the Journal of Midwifery and Women’s Health. The article researched the care for women with perinatal substance use disorders.
Dr. Kristin Trainor was a co-investigator on $192,681 in funded grant projects. These grants focus on neonatal abstinence syndrome, improving maternal health, health literacy for expecting mothers, and expanding housing support for members of the Muncie community. Dr. Greta Slater was the principal investigator for the grant on neonatal abstinence syndrome.
Dr. Stephen Young had an accepted poster presentation at the 67th Annual Program Meeting for CSWE in Orlando, Florida. Dr. Young will present on Queer experiences of oppression within families and predicted mental health outcomes.
Dr. Jerry Reynolds had an article entitled, “An Intervention to Address Youth Sport Parent Spectator Behaviors in Louisiana: Lessons for Future Research and Social Work Practice,” published in the Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal.
Dr. Reynolds is also working on publications with scholars from across the country on various sport social work topics. These topics include: support for youth parents post COVID-19, psychosocial aspects and factors of venue management, and racial differences in personal and observed spectator behaviors.
Additionally, Dr. Reynolds received a $3,000 research grant from the College of Health to focus on prevention of negative parent spectator behaviors.
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Give Back
Give Back Gifts to the College of Health will elevate the reach and reputation of our programs, support innovative instruction, and bolster external partnerships that prepare students to adapt and excel in demanding roles.
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Keep in Touch
We love to hear how you are doing.
Be sure to follow us on our Twitter account, @BSUSWD, Facebook, and LinkedIn. You can also subscribe to our YouTube Channel.
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Department of Social WorkHealth Professions Building
Suite 501
Muncie, IN 47306
Phone: 765-285-1016
Fax: 765-285-1029
socialwork@bsu.edu
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