October 2024 Dean's Update Newsletter

Earlier this month, I had the chance to catch up with KU School of Social Welfare alumni, retired faculty and staff, current students and Lawrence community members during our Farewell to Twente Hall Open House.

As the School prepares to say goodbye to its longtime home in Twente Hall at the end of this semester, we took the time to share memories and honor the School's 50-year history in this building on the Lawrence campus. View photos from the event and read our community's memories of Twente Hall.

Also this month, many of our faculty, researchers and doctoral students shared their work at the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) Annual Program Meeting in Kansas City. We will have photos and stories from the conference to share in next month's newsletter.

In this newsletter, we share spotlights from our PhD program, which welcomed a cohort of four new students this fall, and our MSW program, which has expanded to four on-campus locations and an online program.

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

Many of Jennifer Ananda’s interests are deeply entrenched in social work. Her life experiences weave into her career.

Ananda is a first-generation college student, majoring in film and English as an undergraduate student at KU, where she participated in feminist activism and volunteered at a local domestic violence shelter.

“As someone who witnessed and experienced a lot of trauma as a young person, I went through my teenage years very angry and looking for a way to leave the world in a better place than I found it,” Ananda said.

She decided to focus that energy when she returned to KU.

Whitney Grube is focused on helping the most vulnerable. She has had that passion since she was an undergraduate student studying behavioral science at the KU School of Social Welfare.

Grube, an assistant professor in her second year as faculty, spent the better part of 10 years as a research associate working on various projects involving children and families. Her current research is on community mental health and children and adolescents experiencing serious emotional disturbances.

“In Kansas, we have what’s called a serious emotional disturbance waiver,” Grube said. “It’s to basically get kids access to specialty mental health services through our community mental health system.”

For Shaye White, social work is the path to helping her community. 

White, who is in the traditional Master of Social Work program at KU, is a proud Indigenous woman who grew up in Lawrence. Her identity and passions are ingrained in her goals. 

The School of Social Welfare offers White a means to enact change in her community. She received a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Antelope Valley in California but didn’t know what she was going to do with that degree until she got a job as a behavioral health technician in Arizona. 

White started working with youth in Indigenous communities there. 

“I saw a lot of things I had never been exposed to,” White said. “It really opened my eyes and created a passion I didn’t know I had that was driven to my community.”

These doctoral students bring a range of research interests to their program, including child welfare, LGBTQ+ aging and end-of-life care, trauma-informed care, domestic violence, and labor trajectories of marginalized populations.

Zhiqi Yi (they/them/theirs and he/him/his)
Yujin Oh (she/her/hers)
Lucy McIntyre (she/her/hers)
Carrie Smart (she/her/hers)

Doctor of Social Work (DSW) Virtual Information Session
Thursday, Nov. 14, 6-7 p.m. CT
Zoom
Learn about the DSW curriculum, admissions and application process

Grand Challenges: Focus on 4s - Early Childhood Mental Health
Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2025, 12-1:30 p.m. CT
Zoom
Free
CEU: 1.5

Patricia O’Brien, MSW 1980, PhD 1997, was honored as a 2024 NASW Social Work Pioneer by the National Association of Social Workers Foundation. O’Brien accepted the award during the NASW Social Work Pioneers Annual Celebration on Oct. 19 in Washington, D.C. 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 keep updated on your life adventures. Update your contact information and share your alumni news.

Vera Jane Smith Albright, MSW 1989, passed away on September 14, 2024, at age 89. Read obituary.

Kathryn Efinger Hatten, BSW 1989, MSW 1994, passed away on October 6, 2024, at age 57. Read obituary.

Judith A. Wegerer, MSW 1990, passed away on September 20, 2024, at age 69. Read obituary.

Sharon Rae (Steeves) Walsh, BSW 1991, passed away on September 2, 2024, at age 79. Read obituary.

KU School of Social Welfare hosted staff, faculty and alumni at the Farewell to Twente Hall event on Friday, Oct. 18. 

Guests were met with gift bags, snacks and refreshments on a tour of the building before the school's move to Green Hall this winter. 

Alumni gathered to reminisce on memories and share stories about their time in the School of Social Welfare and at Twente Hall. Thank you to everyone who joined us at the event.

Photos by Ann Dean Photography.

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