Wayne State M.S.W. student Austin Kieffer was named winner of the School of Social Work's 2017 Elizabeth N. Brehler manuscript competition for his essay describing his struggle to disentangle his values regarding work ethic from the privileges afforded to him as a white male. More about Kieffer's essay can be found here. 

Dean Cheryl Waites has been awarded Fellow status by the Gerontological Society of America (GSA), the world's oldest and largest interdisciplinary organization devoted to research, education and practice in the field of aging

The School of Social Work is celebrating three faculty promotions. Poco Kernsmith has been promoted to full professor, Joanne Smith-Darden to associate professor (research), and Lauree Emery to senior lecturer. Congratulations!

Jerrold Brandell, distinguished professor and associate dean for faculty affairs at the Wayne State University School of Social Work, has been honored by the American Association for Psychoanalysis in Clinical Social Work (AAPCSW) with its first-ever Selma Fraiberg Award for Excellence in Practice with Children and Adolescents and Their Parents. The award, which was presented on March 24 at the AAPCSW's Biennial National Conference in Baltimore, recognizes an active AAPCSW member who has dedicated his or her career to practice with children and adolescents and contributed to the field through teaching, presenting, and writing. More about Dr. Brandell's work and award can be found here.

Elizabeth Agius, Manager of Community Partnerships, has been appointed to the Board of Directors of The Children's Center, Detroit.  The Children's Center is a nonprofit social service provider that is home to many specialized clinical services. It leads the way in working with children who struggle with behavioral, emotional, educational, intellectual and developmental challenges or may have experienced trauma.

On April 29^th the School of Social Work held the Careers in Macro Practice Workshop for graduating macro students and students interested in macro practice (below). A panel discussed potential career options, how to start their own business/non-profit, job searching tips, interviewing tips and networking. The panelists, all MSW's, shared stories of their personal experiences as macro practitioners and gave pointers for students to navigate their way to success. Panelists included Anjanette Davenport, executive director of Harambee Care, Jennifer Jagusch, health science research specialist at the VA Ann Arbor Health System, Jeff Ridgeway & Beverly Baker from the Advance Personnel Group, LLC (Infant Mental Health) - Tech Town, Melanie Sonsteng a crime analyst and crime victim advocate in the Center for Urban Studies and Marijo Upshaw, MSW and MBA graduate and social entrepreneur.

The School of Social Work on April 20 held its first "Social Justice Seder" at the Mondry Building in Oak Park (below). The seder was sponsored by the Jewish Social Work Student Organization and assisted by Rabbi Dorit Edut.

The School of Social Work and Dean Cheryl Waites hosted over 200 graduates, faculty and staff at the annual Dean's Graduation Luncheon on May 3rd in the Student Center Ballroom. The event program featured alumna and Board of Visitors campaign chair, Susan H. Rogers, the 2017 Full-Time Teacher of the Year Award recipient Assistant Professor Jun Hung, the Ella Zwerdling Memorial Scholarship recipient, the 2017 Brehler Manuscript Scholar, Austin Kieffer and Lester J. Kern III (pictured below with Dean Cheryl Waites). BSW and MSW Students of the year, Dean Schwartz and Nadine Marshall were also honored at the event.