School of Social Welfare Dean's Update

In this month's newsletter, we share stories about how KU School of Social Welfare researchers, faculty and staff are collaborating across campus and the state of Kansas:

We are grateful to our partners, campus colleagues, alumni and friends who collaborate to engage with communities, support students and advance social work research.

As always, please reach out with questions or concerns at any time at kusswdo@ku.edu. Your feedback and collaboration are extremely important to us.

Take good care and Rock Chalk,

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

KU’s schools of social welfare and law are partnering to provide expanded mental health support for their students.

New this academic year, a clinician from KU Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) is offering counseling services at Green Hall.

Carley Sherer, who earned undergraduate and graduate degrees in social work from KU, provides individual appointments and group workshops as part of a larger effort to offer holistic student support.

“We know that mental wellness is an essential factor in navigating college successfully,” said Michelle Carney, dean of the KU School of Social Welfare. “While KU students already have access to counseling through CAPS, our goal in placing Carley in Green Hall was to bring that support closer to where students spend their academic lives.”

It’s estimated that the average person spends 90,000 hours, or one-third of their lifetime, in the workplace. Knowing this, it is increasingly important for businesses to reflect on their environments and learn the benefits of a trauma-informed workplace.

Meredith Bagwell-Gray, associate professor at the KU School of Social Welfare and visiting professor in the School of Business for the fall 2025 semester, is collaborating with Beth Embry, assistant professor of entrepreneurship at the KU School of Business, to bring trauma-informed care principles into broader workplace settings.

Researchers at KU have received a $3.75 million grant to implement a partnership designed to promote responsible fatherhood by fostering healthy relationships, engaged parenting practices and financial stability.

The partnership with Cornerstones of Care will help implement Family Opportunity, Resilience, Grit, Engagement (FORGE) in five counties in northeast Kansas.

“It’s all about building strong relationships for parents. The program will focus on parenting, communication skills and strengthening families, and will focus on fathers specifically, as there are not a lot of services available for dads, especially single fathers,” said Pegah Naemi Jimenez, associate researcher senior and principal investigator in KU’s School of Social Welfare.

Carl Willey didn’t always know what social work was, but he started practicing its core element of helping others at a young age. 

Willey, a KU MSW student, was taught to treat others with kindness and to look out for people in need. He grew up in a small town in Parsons, Kansas, and wasn’t sure what his professional path was as an early adult. 

Willey joined the U.S. Army at 26 as a petroleum specialist and served from 1996 to 1999. Throughout his time stationed at army bases in Texas, Virginia and South Carolina, Willey met a variety of people from different backgrounds.

“There were a lot of people I felt like that could use services in the military,” Willey said. “I think that probably did help push me toward social work, because I've always liked to help people.”

On Nov. 7, faculty and staff from the KU School of Social Welfare collaborated with The Center for Counseling & Consultation in Great Bend, Kansas, to provide free continuing education for practitioners seeking to adapt DBT interventions for work with rural adolescents.

Following fellowship and excellent training, Associate Professor of the Practice and Liaison to Rural Communities, Christina Boyd, provided an update on the Governor's Behavioral Health Taskforce's Rural/Frontier Subcommittee, and then participants shared the strengths, challenges, and priorities for rural behavioral health, to inform the Subcommittee's ongoing strategies.

It was great to be in community with KUSSW alumni and community partners in Great Bend!

DSW Info Session
Tuesday, Dec. 2, 12-1 p.m.
Tuesday, Jan. 20, 12-1 p.m.
Online

MSW Info Session
Wednesday, Dec. 3
7-8 p.m.
Online

Looking Back to Move Forward: Social Work, Labor, and Economic Justice
Thursday, Jan.22
12-2 p.m.
Online
CEU: 2

Culturally Congruent Engagement and Assessment with Military Servicemembers and Their Families
Wednesday, Feb.4
9 a.m. - 12 p.m.
Online
CEU: 3

Research Impact Talk: Combating Stigma, Honoring Strengths, Cultivating Resilience
Tuesday, March 10
12-1 p.m.
Online
CEU: 1

Kim Bruns, BSW 1986, retired in June 2025 after 30 years working at the University of Kansas. Bruns worked for 20 years in the School of Social Welfare as a program coordinator for federal grants. Bruns also held positions at the Life Span Institute and School of Journalism and Mass Communications.

Whether you just received a promotion, started a new position or project, or moved across the country, the School of Social Welfare wants to keep updated on your life adventures. Update your contact information and share your alumni news.

Charlene L. Kuzma, MSW 1995, passed away on Aug. 22, 2025, at age 69. Read obituary.

On Nov. 14, School of Social Welfare practicum students, academic advisors, faculty, staff and partners gathered to network, share resources and connect at the Kansas Union for Practicum Day. 

During the event, the Practicum Education Office also hosted a licensure workshop and offered information and one-on-one consultations to Social Welfare students.

Thank you to everyone who joined us!

View more photos from Practicum Day

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