Social Work News
Congratulations Class of 2017!
Dean Diane Lyden Murphy, along with the faculty and staff of Falk College, congratulates the Class of 2017! We are excited to see where your careers take you. Remember that you are “forever orange” and will always be a part of Falk College and Syracuse University.
We invite you to stay in touch and connect through social media, on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
As alumni, you will now receive FalkTalk, Falk College’s email newsletter for alumni, parents and friends. FalkTalk keeps you up-to-date with news headlines, student highlights, and upcoming events delivered to your inbox at the end of each semester.
Learn how to stay connected to the ‘Cuse Community in regions all around the world
Answer these quick questions on how to reach you after graduation
We have many photos to share that recap some of the celebration events of this past week:
- Falk College Convocation & Reception
- BSSW Awards Celebration
- MSW Graduates Headed to Europe
- Human Development and Family Science Celebration
- Public Health Food Studies and Nutrition Awards Presentation
- Public Health Posters
- Marriage and Family Therapy Graduation Luncheon
- Sport Management Senior Reception
- Convocation photos from Sport Management
Check out more photos of commencement weekend on Collage or at #SUGrad17.
Falk College celebrates the 60th anniversary of the School of Social Work
The Falk College School of Social Work commemorated its 60th anniversary at a celebration event Friday, April 21 at Drumlins Country Club in Syracuse. Guests were welcomed with remarks from Keith Alford, director of the School of Social Work, as well as Diane Lyden Murphy, dean of Falk College. Xenia Becher, internship placement coordinator in the School of Social Work, presented a special selection from Michael Carrera’s Lessons for Lifeguards.
In recognition and appreciation of their commitment and dedication to the profession of social work, “Excellence in Service Awards” were presented to three alumni: Madalyn Smith ’78, clinical social worker, convener, round table of faith leaders, InterFaith Works; Pedro Abreu ’02, school social worker, Seymour Dual Language Academy; and Patricia Moore ’85, discipline chief of social work, outpatient clinic coordinator, Hutchings Psychiatric Center.
“As an alumna of the School of Social Work, it is a special privilege to celebrate the School of Social Work and its sixty years of contributions to social work education and practice at both Syracuse University and in the surrounding community and region,” says Diane Lyden Murphy, M.A., M.S.W., Ph.D., dean of Falk College. “The school’s leadership and dedication to the embedded mission of social responsibility, social justice and advocacy, in many ways, are what make it the heart of Falk College. Through its 60-year history at Syracuse University—from the early days of civil rights activism, community work in the Great Society years, to involvement with veterans at Fort Drum and the Watertown region, to the extensive and complex issues of our present era—the school has developed true partnerships both in the City of Syracuse, Onondaga County, New York State and beyond, where more than 6,000 alumni continue to bring assistance and change in an expansive number of settings such as social service, behavior health and healthcare agencies, refugee sites, political settings, schools and the academy.”
“Collectively in celebrating 60 years of social work education, we brought together campus colleagues, students, alumni, and community partners on one special evening,” says Keith Alford, Ph.D., A.C.S.W., director of the School of Social Work “The charge for the next 60 years is to continue the quest of our anniversary theme: Embracing the dignity and worth of humankind. This theme embodies a strengths-based perspective, identifying the positive attributes of people. Given such national challenges as racial divisiveness, citizenship struggles for undocumented immigrants and political polarization, the need to uplift one another seems more necessary now than ever before. The value of humanity is priceless.”
A proclamation from Joanne M. Mahoney, county executive, declared April 21, 2017 “Syracuse University School of Social Work Day.” Mayor Stephanie A. Miner proclaimed the date “Syracuse University School of Social Work Community Recognition Day.”
Karen Kirkhart, professor in the School of Social Work, spoke on the school’s history. Social work at Syracuse University dates back to the 1930s, when students were offered undergraduate courses in social work through the department of sociology and College of Home Economics. It wasn’t until 1952 that the American Association of Schools of Social Work decided Upstate New York was in need of a separate school of social work, specifically at Syracuse University.
With a grant from the Rosemond Gifford Charitable Corporation, the Syracuse University School of Social Work was founded, the 61st school in the country to be accredited by the Council on Social Work Education in 1957, and the first such school in New York State outside of Buffalo and New York City. About a decade later, the school began to attract international students from nations such as India, Egypt, Korea, Canada, and the Philippines.
The school exclusively offered a master’s degree program until 1971 when it admitted its first undergraduate class. In 1975, it became one of the first Council of Social Work Education accredited social work bachelor’s degree programs in the country, and the very first to be accredited in Upstate New York.
In 1972, the School of Social Work established one of the nation’s first programs focused on aging research: The All-University Gerontology Center, which allowed students across the University to pursue a concentration in aging. Today, it exists as the Syracuse University Aging Studies Institute, established in 2011 and co-directed by the School of Social Work and the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. Today, the ASI is includes more than 40 faculty affiliates.
Over its history, the school has established a number of signature learning experiences that students enjoy today, such as Legislative Policy Day, an annual event that started in the late 1990s that exposes students to pressing policy issues and the importance of advocacy, now sponsored by alumnus James Stone ’64 MSW, who attended the anniversary celebration. In addition, the annual Alan B. Mirken immersion trip to New York City, which since 2002 has exposed students to historical social work sites and provided one-on-one engagement with human services agencies. The school continues to enrich its well-established study abroad program in Strasbourg, France, as well.
The school was first housed at 400 Comstock Avenue, and moved to South Crouse Avenue, Brockway Hall, and Sims Hall before finding its current home in White Hall, part of the Falk College Complex. In 2001, the School of Social Work became part of the College of Human Services and Health Professions, which in in 2007 was renamed the College of Human Ecology, and in 2011 was renamed the David B. Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics.
Today, the School of Social Work exists as a perfect example of Falk College’s comprehensive educational approach: theory-to-practice learning, the combination of a rigorous classroom curriculum and intensive internship requirements. To date, the school has 180 internships in 53 agencies across 8 counties. Many of the school’s current field placement sites represent long-lasting relationships with community organizations, where social work students have been placed for internships and field placements since the 1950s and 60s.
The school boasts 6,586 total alumni. It expects to add roughly 130 from the Class of 2017.
Social work students visit agencies in New York City during Mirken immersion trip
Each spring, faculty, students and staff from the School of Social Work embark on a three-day journey to the New York City area for the Alan B. Mirken New York City Social Work Immersion Trip, sponsored by the Alan B. and Barbara Mirken Foundation, designed to help students to learn how U.S. social welfare developed. This year during the spring 2017 trip, 14 undergraduate social work students made visits to Mount Sinai Hospital, the Tenement Museum, and spent a half-day at the Goddard Riverside Community Center, where they ate lunch with the elderly.
“The Alan B. Mirken immersion trip to New York City provides our undergraduate students the opportunity to interface with human service agencies on a one-on-one basis,” says Keith Alford, Ph.D., A.C.S.W., director of the school of social work. “Each visit to various agencies and settings in New York City provides a rich dialogue between the students and the agency personnel.”
32 Students inducted into Phi Alpha National Social Work Honor Society
On Friday, April 21, the Syracuse University Falk College School of Social Work held its 2017 Phi Alpha Honor Society, Zeta Gamma Chapter, Induction Ceremony in Grant Auditorium, followed by a reception in Wildhack Lounge. This year’s inductees included 14 MSW students and 18 BSSW students.
Social work graduate student Genevieve Marshall G’17 was the keynote speaker. Medallions were awarded by social work senior Juliana Leach ’17, social work graduate student Anthony Traver G’17 and Bette Brown Thoreck, director of the baccalaureate social work program and Phi Alpha faculty advisor.
The concept of a National Social Work Honor Society came from a group of undergraduates at Michigan State University. In November, 1960, a national honor society committee was formed and in 1961 the society came into being. The Syracuse University Zeta Gamma Chapter was founded in 1996 as part of the School of Social Work’s 40th Anniversary Celebration.
The charge and purposes of the Phi Alpha Honor Society are:
- To recognize and encourage scholastic achievement among the students who are majoring in social work.
- To improve and further the goals and objectives of social work by encouraging objectivity and awareness of current developments and practices in the various fields of social work.
- To improve and further the goals and objectives of social work by stimulating research in preparation for a career in social work.
2017 Phi Alpha Honor Society, Zeta Gamma Chapter Inductees
Graduates (MSW):
Stephen Michael Ayers
Lauren Marie Beville
Danielle Samantha Cajigas
Ashley Lynn Colasanti
Jennifer Anne Crider
Nicole Marie Donati
Kristy Kelly
Melanie Licatese
Samantha Lynn McCoy
Naomi Chang Patnaude
Eric Grace Shambo
Britton Adolfo Tarris
Karolyne Elizabeth Tomlinson
Jelilat Williams
Undergraduates (BSSW):
Karlea A. Abair
Amy Kathryn Austin
Lorez E. Barber
Sarah Hannah Berkowitz
Angela Mary Calvey
Emily Rose Carlson
Anne Mei Daly
Brielle T. Dejoe
Angela G. Gallina
Maia Garcia
Carly Rose Jones
Jessica Elizabeth Mohn
Sarah Brooke Parker
Cynthia A. Salas
Elizabeth H. Scharoun
Nathan D. Sinn
Allison Smidt
Alyssa L. Swierk
Social work alumna realizes passion for mentorship at the Syracuse City Schools
Social Work alumna Melissa Mendez ’16, G’17 was recently highlighted by the Syracuse City School District, where she is currently employed as a social worker at the Institute of Technology at Syracuse Central. Mendez worked as a hairstylist before realizing her vision to become a social worker for the SCDS. Today, she gives high school students the mentorship and encouragement she wished she had received when she was a SCSD student. “I knew I wanted to make an impact,” Mendez tells the SCSD. “This [the Syracuse city schools] is where I come from. Now, I feel like I get to make a difference.”
At the SCSD, Mendez meets with students to help them flesh out and plan for their long-term goals. Mendez tells SCSD that honesty and planning are her two focus areas when advising students, helping them envision the pathway to achieving their goals. “Everyone’s path can be different. They don’t have to be in a box to be successful… they can be who they are,” Mendez says in the SDCD highlight. In addition to advising, she also organizes group activities where students meet together and share their personal experiences, build relationships and grow.
“I may be older, but I’m still relatable to them,” Mendez tells the SCSD. “I look like some of them. I grew up where they did and in similar circumstances. Sometimes, students will say, ‘You don’t understand me.’ I rattle off ten stories about how I really do. I want them to know that there’s nothing wrong from coming from this – from Syracuse and the city schools. They’re all powerful and they can get through whatever they’re going through!”
Catherine Falk to speak at Falk College April 17
Catherine Falk, MA, pioneer of the wards’ right of association bill named after her late father, Maxwell School alumnus, Peter Falk ’53 (M.P.A.), will speak at Syracuse University’s Falk College on Monday, April 17. An advocate for elder abuse prevention, guardianship reform and disability rights drafting and lobbying legislation for rights of association for those experiencing isolation in a guardianship/conservatorship, Catherine Falk continues to lobby for family rights legislation nationally. The Peter Falk Bill was drafted in 2011 in California, which Catherine took to her father’s home state of New York where it was sponsored and passed with support of Assemblyman William B. Magnarelli.
Known for his starring role in the popular television show, Columbo, Peter Falk was at the center of a court battle in 2009 when his daughter, Catherine, filed for conservatorship after her stepmother did not allow contact or visitation with the ailing 81-year-old actor. Catherine Falk’s advocacy since that time has created Peter Falk’s Law in many states, including New York, which provides protection for adults in guardianship/conservatorship who are wrongfully isolated from family and friends and denied visitation, information, and contact.
Her presentation will include perspectives from Catherine Falk Organization advocates, Sara Harvey and Janie Price. To learn more about their work, visit catherinefalkorganization.org.
Broadway, Ryans Receive Social Justice Awards at March 6 Program
In commemoration of National Professional Social Work Month during March, the School of Social Work in Falk College presented its annual Dan and Mary Lou Rubenstein Social Justice Award program on Monday, March 6 at 6:45 p.m. in Heroy Auditorium. The event included a keynote address by Beth Broadway entitled, “Building Bridges of Understanding in a Divided Time—Challenges Facing Immigrants and Refugees, and How Our Community Can Help.”
Broadway is the president and CEO of InterFaith Works of CNY who, along with Clifford Ryans, founder, O.G.’s Against Gun Violence, were both honored that evening with 2017 Dan and Mary Lou Rubenstein Social Justice Awards for their respective demonstrated commitments to service and social justice in the Syracuse community. Presented for more than 30 years, the Rubenstein Social Justice Award is given in honor of the late professor Dan Rubenstein, a former faculty member in the School of Social Work and his late wife, Mary Lou, a former school social worker.
Broadway leads programs at InterFaith Works that use service, education, and dialogue to build bridges in a divided world and to provide comfort to frail elderly people, job opportunities to healthy seniors, refugee resettlement, chaplains in the jails, hospitals, and nursing homes, and dialogues between people of different backgrounds. She previously led the Community Wide Dialogue to End Racism and is the designer and facilitator of The Leadership Classroom that trains and equips individuals to improve city neighborhoods.
Clifford Ryans founded O.G.’s Against Gun Violence to help reduce community violence. He works tirelessly to educate young children about the perils of the violence, guns and gangs through presentations at schools, local events, and rallies. With a deep commitment and courage driven by his personal experience of losing a son to gun violence, Ryans shared his experiences as a featured panelist at the School of Social Work’s James L. Stone Annual Legislative Policy Symposium that focused on gun violence as it relates to trauma, community relations and racial justice.
Broadway, Ryans to Receive Social Justice Awards at March 6 Program
In commemoration of National Professional Social Work Month during March, the School of Social Work in Falk College will present its annual Dan and Mary Lou Rubenstein Social Justice Award program on Monday, March 6 at 6:45 p.m. in Heroy Auditorium. The event is free and open to the public, and will include a keynote address by Beth Broadway entitled, “Building Bridges of Understanding in a Divided Time—Challenges Facing Immigrants and Refugees, and How Our Community Can Help.”
Broadway is the president and CEO of InterFaith Works of CNY who, along with Clifford Ryans, founder, O.G.’s Against Gun Violence, will be honored that evening with 2017 Dan and Mary Lou Rubenstein Social Justice Awards for their respective demonstrated commitments to service and social justice in the Syracuse community. Presented for more than 30 years, the Rubenstein Social Justice Award is given in honor of the late professor Dan Rubenstein, a former faculty member in the School of Social Work and his late wife, Mary Lou, a former school social worker.
Broadway leads programs at InterFaith Works that use service, education, and dialogue to build bridges in a divided world and to provide comfort to frail elderly people, job opportunities to healthy seniors, refugee resettlement, chaplains in the jails, hospitals, and nursing homes, and dialogues between people of different backgrounds. She previously led the Community Wide Dialogue to End Racism and is the designer and facilitator of The Leadership Classroom that trains and equips individuals to improve city neighborhoods.
Clifford Ryans founded O.G.’s Against Gun Violence to help reduce community violence. He works tirelessly to educate young children about the perils of the violence, guns and gangs through presentations at schools, local events, and rallies. With a deep commitment and courage driven by his personal experience of losing a son to gun violence, Ryans shared his experiences as a featured panelist at the School of Social Work’s James L. Stone Annual Legislative Policy Symposium that focused on gun violence as it relates to trauma, community relations and racial justice.
Freshman empowers young girls through Straighten Your Crown
By Caroline Schagrin, staff writer. Courtesy of The Daily Orange.
Once a week, Maddy Oliva goes to Clary Middle School to talk about women empowerment.
Oliva, a freshman social work major, works with the Syracuse University organization Straighten Your Crown, where she acts as a mentor for elementary and middle school age girls in the city of Syracuse.
“(The school) doesn’t really have a great teaching system. A lot of time, no one is there to listen to (the girls), and hear why they’re upset,” Oliva said. “We’re there to let them vent. We try to let them do fun stuff to get their mind off whatever is going on in the school day.”
The girls often resort to fighting, so Straighten Your Crown works with them throughout the semester to help them find similarities between each other and learn ways to effectively communicate how they’re feeling. Many of them don’t have a strong support system or source of encouragement.
“One of the most rewarding parts of working with them — when asking the same girls what they want to be when they grow up, they respond, ‘I want to be a doctor.’ It’s really cute seeing the progress that they make,” Oliva said.
Oliva said she loves talking with people and making sure they have the power to speak their mind. She is hoping to become a therapist or a forensic social worker, which works with anything related to law and legal systems within social work such as deciding the rights of a child.
She explores her interest in working with individuals suffering from mental health problems through her work with SU Active Minds — a student organization devoted to raising mental health awareness among college students. Within the organization, mental health issues are discussed and its members work to end the stigmas surrounding mental illness.
They also work to encourage students to go to the counseling center if they need it.
Over the next three years, Oliva hopes to continue getting involved with the campus and city community. She joined the Alpha Xi Delta sorority this semester and is looking forward to participating in its Autism Speaks philanthropy.
Research training program for veterans now accepting applications
To improve access to undergraduate research experiences in the area of trauma for groups typically underrepresented in this research, including veterans, a collaborative venture between Syracuse University’s Falk College, SUNY Oswego, and SUNY Upstate Medical University is now recruiting students for its 2017 program June 5-29 on the Syracuse campus.
The Undergraduate Trauma Research Training program is a National Science Foundation (NSF) Research Education for Undergraduates (REU) opportunity directed by Brooks B. Gump, Ph.D., MPH, Falk Family Endowed Professor of Public Health, and co-directed by Karen Wolford, Ph.D., Professor Department of Psychology and Coordinator of the Interdisciplinary Graduate Certificate Program in Trauma Studies at SUNY Oswego and includes other faculty from these institutions as well as SUNY Upstate Medical University. This program brings together veterans and non-veterans in a safe environment to pursue trauma research activities.
This month-long immersion program involves coursework, mentored student-faculty interactions, and the development of a research project. Participating students receive a $3,000 stipend for attending the summer session. Room and board are provided free of charge, as needed.
The program, now in its sixth year, draws on personal experiences of veterans who understand the nature and context of traumatic events. By gaining a scientific understanding of trauma, students who complete the program gain essential tools they can use to improve the quality of life for themselves and others, including veterans. Read more about one REU participant’s experience here.
The program is purposefully structured to span one full year. Following the summer program, students continue their research under the mentorship of REU faculty during the Fall semester. Finally, students are expected to present their research at a national conference in Spring, 2018. The travel and registration expense for the conference is provided to the student through this program. For more information about the program, and to submit application for it, click here to go to the Syracuse University REU website or contact Ivan Castro at iecastro@syr.edu. The application deadline has been extended to March 14, 2017.
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