Hello Social Work Warrior Community,

WHEW! We made it through another fully remote term! I know that we all share the hope that this will be among the last that we will be so physically distanced from one another. May is full of hope! It is a wonderful month in that we can all take a bit of a breath and celebrate our accomplishments while enjoying the beauty of spring and feeling the warmth of the sun. I wish that beauty and warmth for all of you as you revel in your perseverance and strength and thoughtfully anticipate emerging from the pandemic into our brave new world!

We have so much to be proud of as we enter this spring! Certainly, the 400 2021 graduates across our BSW, MSW and PhD programs, are our primary source of pride. A very special acknowledgment of our two new PhD graduates Dr. Sarah Mountain and Dr. Marcus Whitehead!! Many were disappointed with the virtual graduation and the SSW planned a 'driving across the finish line' event to celebrate accomplishments. Unfortunately, the surge in COVID cases that hit Wayne County in April derailed those plans when President Wilson closed down the University. In an attempt to bring some joy to students, particularly those who were graduating with MSW's this year and BSW's last year, I made the rounds across the metro Detroit region with 'Cardboard Kubiak' (see the photo montage). These surprise visits were so much fun and I only wish that we could have extended this to all our grads. Knowing the tremendous effort and sacrifice that our students expend on these achievements, the SSW will recognize them in future celebrations.

Our students have also been amazing! As the newsletter illustrates, they have been reinvigorating activism and connection through the Social Work Student Alliance (SWSA).  The Alliance brings all of our student organizations together to provide greater strength on an issue or problem. The students have used focused on peer wellness and advocacy.

In addition to our grads, we are celebrating the accomplishments of our faculty and staff. There have been so many examples of our everyday heroes supporting students and continuing with our community engagement throughout the pandemic. Although I want to provide recognition of the commitment of our entire SSW, our annual teaching and service awards provide a shout out (and a cash award!) to exemplars nominated by peers (Fay Martin, Suzanne Brown, Teresa Green and Geoffrey Jones). In addition to these awards, Suzanne Brown also received an 'Excellence in Teaching Award' from President Wilson. Congratulations and thank you all for your dedication to the SSW!

As we look ahead to fall, and being together for more face-to-face classes, meetings and events we realize that this too will be a transition. It will require patience with each other and the processes that will likely be in some level of flux for the academic year. But I so look forward to welcoming you all into the SSW building and celebrating our collective success!

Wishing you a safe and relaxing summer,

Sheryl Kubiak, Ph.D., M.S.W.
Dean, School of Social Work