School of Social Welfare Dean's Update |
|
|
At the KU School of Social Welfare, our mission is grounded in service to Kansas – preparing skilled, compassionate social workers; advancing research that addresses real-world challenges; and partnering with communities to strengthen systems and improve lives.
Over the past academic year, that mission translated into meaningful impact across the State:
|
-
108,000+ hours of service contributed by students through practicum placements across Kansas (2024-2025)
- 1,600+ professionals and community members engaged through continuing education events hosted by the Center for Community Engagement & Collaboration and the Practicum Education Office (2024-2025)
-
Community-engaged research projects focused on critical issues such as child welfare, substance use disorder treatment, healthcare access, and other issues vital to Kansans
- $1.63 million in estimated economic value generated through student practicum hours across Kansas (2024-2025)
|
For our alumni and friends in central Kansas, I hope you can join us in Salina on March 31 for two special opportunities to connect and learn:
|
- A two-part, hybrid continuing education event, co-hosted with the Central Kansas Mental Health Center
- An alumni reception co-hosted with K-State Salina.
|
Registration information for both events is included in this month’s newsletter.
As always, please feel free to reach out with any questions, ideas, or feedback at kusswdo@ku.edu. Your partnership and engagement are deeply valued and essential to our work.
|
|
|
Take good care and Rock Chalk,
|
|
|
Michelle Carney, PhD, MSSA
Dean and Professor
KU School of Social Welfare
|
|
|
KU Social Welfare faculty, researchers present at SSWR 2026 conference |
Faculty, researchers and students from the KU School of Social Welfare shared their work at the Society for Social Work and Research (SSWR) annual conference in January.
KU attendees shared their research in over 30 presentations, symposia, roundtable discussions, and poster presentations. Their work covered a broad range of research areas, with topics including child welfare, end-of-life caregiving, substance use disorders, climate justice, domestic violence, economic resilience, and more.
|
|
|
MSW Macro Alumni Spotlight: Emma Kelley |
An interest in understanding systems, policies and structures drew Emma Kelley to macro social work.
Kelley, MSW 2024, is a research project coordinator with the Urban Education Research Center at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, doing full-time research work and program evaluation.
Kelley earned a bachelor's degree in human development and family studies and has taught social-emotional learning in schools across the Kansas City metro.
"In all the areas that I found myself working, I was just interested in why they are the way they are, how they're implemented, how they're created, and how they're improved," Kelley said. "I wanted to dig deeper into the bigger picture."
|
|
|
KU professor leads project to document history, preserve KC-based movement |
While the national Fight-For-$15 movement to gain better pay and working conditions for fast food and casual restaurant workers was influential and made a lasting mark, the story of the movement could be forgotten if it were not preserved.
Tadeo Weiner Davis, an assistant professor in the KU School of Social Welfare, is part of an ongoing, collaborative effort to document the work of Stand Up KC, a Kansas City, Missouri-based organization.
Weiner Davis, whose research documents community organizing, labor movements, urban politics, race and class, was a recipient of a 2023 KU Racial Equity Research, Scholarship & Creative Activity Award to help establish the community archive.
|
|
|
Alumni Spotlight: Jacob McKee |
Jacob McKee carries great pride as a deputy director of improvement in the Department of Veterans Affairs' National Improvement Office. He credits his social welfare education and leans on his prior experience as a social worker every day as he travels the country visiting various VA medical systems to help improve care for veterans.
McKee, MSW 2011, started at the VA as a social worker nearly 14 years ago. He held a variety of roles within the VA before assuming his current position in October 2024.
McKee said the lessons he learned in social work guided him throughout this upward career trajectory.
|
| |
The Weight We Carry: Understanding Suicide Risk in Helping Professionals
Friday, Feb. 6
12-2 p.m.
Online
Presented by: HealthSource Integrated Solutions' Aaron S. Newton, LSCSW, LCAC and The Guidance Center's Rachel Wolfe, LSCSW, LCAC
CEU: 2
Research Impact Talk: Combating Stigma, Honoring Strengths, Cultivating Resilience
Tuesday, March 10
12-1 p.m.
Online
CEU: 1
Caring for Self and Others in Anxious Times - AM Session: Standard 6, Real Self-Care, and Ethical Social Work in this Political Moment
Tuesday, March 31
9 a.m. - 12 p.m.
Online and at Central Kansas Mental Health Center
CEU: 3 ethics
To attend in person in Salina, email ccec@ku.edu
Register online to attend via Zoom
Caring for Self and Others in Anxious Times - PM Session: Growing Up in Our Distressing World: Diagnosing and Treating Youth Anxiety
Tuesday, March 31
1:30-4 p.m.
Online and at Central Kansas Mental Health Center
CEU: 3 clinical Dx/Tx
To attend in person in Salina, email ccec@ku.edu
Register online to attend via Zoom
Alumni Reception in Salina
Tuesday, March 31
5:30-7 p.m.
K-State Salina Campus
RSVP for Salina reception
Complicating the Frame: Multi-Level and Survivor-Centered Levers for Ending Gender-Based Violence
Thursday, April 9
12-2 p.m.
Online
CEU: 2
|
|
|
Eric Rosen, MSW 1976 and BSW 1975, was sworn in as chief justice of the Kansas Supreme Court on Jan. 8. Rosen first joined the court in 2005. Read more.
Whether you just received a promotion, started a new position or project, or moved across the country, the School of Social Welfare wants to stay updated on your life adventures. Update your contact information and share your alumni news.
|
William R. “Bill” Berger, MSW 1998, passed away on Jan. 3, 2026, at the age of 82. Read obituary.
|
MSW and Online Doctor of Social Work (DSW) application deadlines on Feb. 3 |
Final application deadlines are coming soon for several social work graduate programs.
Programs with application deadlines on Tuesday, Feb. 3:
|
Photos: Welcome back for spring semester |
|
|
We're happy to see our students, faculty and staff back in Green Hall for the start of the spring 2026 semester!
The photos shown are from SW 623, taught by Associate Professor of Practice Roslyn Christopher. The course focuses on the values and ethical dimensions of contemporary professional social welfare policy and practice while integrating insights from theory and research.
We're looking forward to a great semester with you all.
|
|
|
The University of Kansas prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, ethnicity, religion, sex, national origin, age, ancestry, disability, status as a veteran, sexual orientation, marital status, parental status, gender identity, gender expression, and genetic information in the university’s programs and activities. Retaliation is also prohibited by university policy. The following person has been designated to handle inquiries regarding the nondiscrimination policies and procedures and is the Title IX Coordinator for all KU campuses: Associate Vice Chancellor for the Office of Civil Rights and Title IX, civilrights@ku.edu, Room 1082, Dole Human Development Center, 1000 Sunnyside Avenue, Lawrence, KS 66045, 785-864-6414, 711 TTY. Reports can be submitted by contacting the Title IX Coordinator as provided herein or using the Title IX online report form and complaints can be submitted with the Title IX Coordinator or using the Title IX online complaint form.
The University of Kansas is a public institution governed by the Kansas Board of Regents.
|
|
|
Manage your preferences | Opt Out using TrueRemove™ Got this as a forward? Sign up to receive our future emails.
View this email online.
| 1535 West 15th St. Green Hall, 3rd Floor | Lawrence, KS 66045 US
|
|
|
This email was sent to .
To continue receiving our emails, add us to your address book.
|
| |
|
|