Hello WSU Social Work Community,

Fall 2020 or the entire year of 2020 are not something any of us will soon forget! It has been a difficult six months of retooling education and field placements to adjust to our 'new normal' of COVID-19. I am proud of the efforts of our faculty and staff who have worked tirelessly over the summer to ensure that our students would have the best experience possible. I am also proud of our students who are demonstrating their flexibility and acceptance of the situation.

However, as I write this I am struck about the larger difficulties that may lay ahead for all of us. The death this week of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg; yesterday's Grand Jury findings in the Breonna Taylor killing; a new federal Executive Order that prohibits federal employees or those using federal dollars from implying implicit bias or white privilege, and suggestions from our President that he may not step aside.

You, like I, may often feel overwhelmed and disheartened. How could we feel otherwise? We are tired and many of the activities that we normally engage in to help us cope are off-limits as we protect ourselves and our community from COVID-19 transmission. So my primary message this newsletter is about SELF-CARE. We have to be in this for the long haul and we will need our individual and collective energy to be effective in combating the social inequities that exist. Please in the midst of trying to take care of your children or other loved ones AND doing your work find time to nurture yourself. Whether that is a long walk or a conversation with a friend or a hot bath. Whatever will stop the messages and rush for a bit and allow you a moment to BREATHE.

We will have plenty to do in the months and weeks ahead. The School is providing positive social change activities through our Social Work Votes campaign, which includes Campaign School for students, the Rolling Vote Initiative phone bank and election day initiatives. In addition, we have an excellent panel presentation of local change agents Teddy Dorsette III, Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, and Tawana Petty that will be moderated by Shay Howell on October 22^nd!  Our newsletter also shares some of the activities are students are engaged in around the community in our Meet Me in the Neighborhood series featuring our Community Homeless Interprofessional Program (CHIP).

Our faculty, staff, students, and alumni are as active as always. We welcome our four new faculty members and the transition of Shantelea Johns from advisor to Director of Continuing Education. Our current faculty are involved in new funding to expand social workers trained in the treatment of substance use disorders, revamping TANF to reduce poverty, expanding treatment for those with opioid use disorders, and providing a statewide summit regarding jail diversion for those with mental health issues. Stay tuned for a story on how alumni are working to create a mentoring program for recent graduates to assist them in passing the licensing exam. We also broke new records in donations for our Giving Day last week. We are so grateful that these funds will assist our students many of whom need this assistance more than ever!

As always I look forward to being part of this wonderful community in new ways and working collaboratively to implement the changes we want to see!

Wishing you safety and health,

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