VOLUME 4, ISSUE 4
SPRING 2015
In This Issue

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April 13, 2015
6:00-8:00 p.m.
University Center 
Webb Room
 

Cost: General admission is $25; free for current Widener students, board members, field instructors, and faculty

Presenter:

Dr. Steve Kauffman
Professor
Widener University 
Center for Social Work Education

To register, click HERE

Stephen Kauffman

Widener University Center for Social Work Education is a pre-approved provider by the State Board of Social Workers, Marriage and Family Therapists, and Professional Counselors to offer continuing education credits for social workers. This event provides 2 CEUs.

Part-time Widener MSW students receive free counseling from Social Work Counseling Services.

 A Widener alum, Leighann Simmons, provides the services. Hours are 4-8 pm on Monday and Tuesday and 9-11 am on Thursday and Friday in the SWCS building at 1700 Walnut. 

For an appointment, contact Shanna Williams at 610-499-4684

   
  

This issue of our newsletter is about transitions at the Center for Social Work Education. There are a number on the horizon. Change is both exciting and scary. This statement applies to my feelings about the upcoming change that affects me directly. After 30 years as a faculty member-- 18 years as Director of the Center and 10 years as Executive Director of Social Work Counseling Services, our pro bono community clinic, I have decided to retire at the end of the 2015-16 academic year.  


 

As part of my transition to retirement, I am stepping down as Director in July. Next year I will be returning to the faculty primarily working with doctoral students.


 

My wife, Anne, who is a Villanova Law School Professor, will also be retiring at the same time. In 2016 we will be moving to Boston to be closer to our grandchildren and two of our three daughters. Our older daughter and her family live in Boston and our middle daughter and her family live in southern Maine. We just love snow! The prospect of retiring from a job I love is a bit scary as is moving to a new community and starting over. It is also exciting, especially the part about being nearer to the grandchildren and our summer cottage in Maine.


What makes my decision to step down as Director easier is knowing I will turn over the reigns to a talented, creative, compassionate and hard-working colleague. I am pleased to report that Dr. Beth Barol, MSW Program Director, will be appointed Acting Director as of July 1, 2015. Beth has done an outstanding job as MSW Program Director and in launching our very successful online MSW program. Beth joined the faculty as assistant professor of social work in 2004 and was promoted to associate professor with tenure in 2011.  


Teaching in the areas of clinical practice, trauma, and interpersonal processes, Beth has been one of the Center's most effective and beloved faculty members. Her expertise in trauma and intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) has helped enrich the curricular content in the MSW program, our certificate programs, and continuing education workshops. Beth was also instrumental, along with Clinical Associate Professor Barbara Gilin, in the transition of the MSW curriculum to its current "trauma-informed" focus.


 

Leadership Transition: Drs. Beth Barol and John Poulin

 

Beth is recognized nationally and internationally as a leader in the IDD field. Prior to joining our faculty, she served as Clinical Director for the Pennsylvania Office of Mental Retardation Statewide Training and Technical Assistance for nine years. In that role, she made significant contributions to the improvement of service delivery for individuals with IDD across Pennsylvania. Since joining our faculty, she has published about IDD practice and policy in national and international journals and presented papers at conferences in Germany, England, Ireland, Norway, Israel, and throughout the U.S. Her recognition as a world expert in her field has contributed significantly to the visibility of Widener's social work programs. Knowing that Beth will continue our work to make Widener Social Work the very best in BSW, MSW and PhD social work education gives me comfort with my decision to move into the retirement phase of my life.

 

The next transition is a difficult one. It is with sadness that I report that Dr. Sachi Ando will be leaving our faculty at the end of this academic year. Sachi and her fiancare moving to Japan. They both have accepted faculty positions in Japan. Sachi joined the social work faculty in 2011 after receiving her PhD in social work from the University of Texas at Arlington. She has made excellent progress on her scholarship with a number of journal publications and is loved by her students. She is always available to help students in her research and statistics courses. Sachi was also instrumental in developing our Global Social Work Certificate and will be leading a large group of students and faculty in a trip to Japan this May. I wish Sachi well as she transitions from Widener and returns to her native Japan.

 

The other transitions featured in this newsletter are the new faculty members who have joined the Widener Social Work family. I am pleased to report that Jen Norton and Michelle Brant were appointed in January and that Eric Stein, Janeen Cross and Margo Campbell will join our faculty in August. An additional faculty member has accepted a position but has requested confidentiality due to his/her current employment and will also begin in August. Hiring six new faculty is unprecedented. I want to acknowledge the faculty for their hard work in conducting multiple searches. Job well done. Profiles on all of our new faculty members (minus one) follow.

 

As I contemplate my transition I am very pleased with the state of Widener Social Work. We have a wonderful faculty and students committed to our civic engagement and social justice mission. Personally, I am proud of how much we have grown. When I joined the faculty in 1984 as the Director, we had a small BSW program with two faculty and a handful of undergraduates. This fall Widener Social Work will have 26 full-time social work faculty and over 700 BSW, MSW and PhD students. My best wishes to Beth, our faculty, and our students as we transition and move forward.  

 

John Poulin, Ph.D.

Professor and Director





 
Trauma-Focused Online MSW Program 
"Another Form of Social Justice"
 
Widener's new online MSW program has already attracted clinical social work students from 23 states and Canada. The first cohort for the trauma-focused program began in the fall of 2014. Today approximately 150 students are enrolled.

"We're excited by the number of people interested in the program," said MSW Program Director Dr. Beth Barol. "We have been concerned for a long time that many people who would make great clinical social workers do not have access to an accredited MSW program due to location, work restrictions, or the demands of parenting or caregiving. Being able to extend these educational resources is another form of social justice, allowing more people the opportunity to become well-trained social workers." 

The curriculum is similar to that of the traditional, campus-based MSW program. The online MSW is 64 credit hours, 35 from core courses and 23 hours for advanced concentration courses. Students are also able to select 6 hours of electives. Trauma and its impact on mental health is integrated into all coursework, preparing professionals to deliver culturally competent, evidence-based social work services to individuals, families, and groups. 

"Our online and campus-based programs are taught by the same experience-rich, committed faculty," noted Dr. Barol. "The courses are virtually the same with small differences due to the delivery method. We have compared the courses as we develop them, and surprisingly, we have started to adapt some of the techniques we are now using online in our traditional program as we see how well students communicate and learn using online pedagogical strategies." 

Widener Social Work Faculty
 
Professor Jen Norton, Assistant MSW Director for Online Programs, described faculty efforts to provide online students with the same community and support that is available to students in the campus-based program. "One of the qualities that makes Widener a special place is our strong sense of community," said Norton. "In our online MSW program, we want students to feel that same sense of community. We do not have an in-person MSW program and a separate online MSW program. All of our MSW students, regardless how they complete their coursework, are part of one Widener MSW program." 

Despite differences in delivery and pedagogical techniques, Norton and her colleagues refute the assumption that an online MSW program will be be inferior to a campus-based program."Our online students are immersed in an intensive, interactive virtual classroom environment. They engage in multiple forms of interaction with students and instructors. And, perhaps most importantly, each online student receives the same attention and support that all of our students expect from a Widener Social Work program."

Current online students seem to appreciate the program's curriculum and its focus on faculty accessibility, academic rigor, and connection. Leigh Ann Williams, who lives in Atlanta, Georgia, had been out of school for 10 years before starting the program in August of last year. "I was really nervous about coming back to school," she said. "This is a great way to do it. Taking one class at a time really helps me to stay focused. There is a very consistent schedule so that we know what to expect from class to class."

Caitlin Petty of Glassboro, New Jersey, is a patient service representative at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. Her goal upon graduation is to be a hospital social worker. "I am very happy with my decision to complete Widener's online MSW," she said. "It's nice to have the ability to work around your employment and still get a quality education. You also get a feel for the traditional classroom dynamics because the professors are so connected to students." 

Petty and Williams met in their first class and now are good friends. "Leigh Ann lives all the way in Georgia, but we're still able to talk on a regular basis. We talk about classes but we also socialize. It's nice to be able to make friends even though you've never seen each other face-to-face."

Kim Bernard, of Harrington, Delaware, is relocating to Florida to provide full-time care for her elderly mother. Widener's online MSW program allowed her to continue her education while still caring for her mother."You can jump online any time of the day or night," she said. "It's very flexible so you can manage the rest of your life. I looked at other online programs, but they were just too expensive. Widener's a good fit financially, too." 

For more information about the program, contact Jen Norton at [email protected].
Professor Barbara Gilin Teams up with Menergy's Tony Lapp for Intimate Partner Violence CE Event

On February 24, Professor Barbara Gilin, LCSW, and Menergy Co-Director Tony Lapp, LCSW, presented a continuing education workshop about the prevalence and treatment of intimate partner violence. Professor Gilin has worked with survivors of intimate partner violence for 35 years in agency and private practice settings. She coordinates the Center's Trauma Certificate program and maintains a clinical practice that includes working with trauma survivors. Lapp is an experienced trainer, writer, and therapist who specializes in individual and group treatments for men and women who have been abusive to an intimate partner. The winner of the 2014 Women's Way Powerful Partner Award, Lapp was recently featured on WHYY's Voices in the Family for "A Discussion on Domestic Violence."


New Leadership for Online MSW Program 


 

Jen Norton, Assistant MSW Director for Online Program

They may have taken different paths to get here, but Jen Norton and Michelle Branch sound very similar when discussing Widener Social work and their roles in the new online MSW program. 


"It's very comfortable coming back here," said Norton, a Widener MSW alum and the new Assistant MSW Director for Online Programs. "We have such a collegial environment at Widener. The faculty have been incredibly supportive. At the first faculty meeting, they all clapped when I came in the room. I knew then that I had made the right decision."


"Sometimes it just feels right," said Brandt, Assistant Director of Field Education for the Online MSW Program. "I heard nothing but wonderful things about Widener and then, when I met everyone, it was a very comfortable feeling. This is an incredibly supportive group of professionals."  


Norton is responsible for helping faculty adjust to an online platform, developing online MSW curriculum, and providing technical support for students and faculty. A former Widener Social Work adjunct professor, she will continue teaching one course each semester. In addition, the self-professed "nerd on all accounts" will juggle Ph.D. coursework and beginning her dissertation at Bryn Mawr College, working with the Special Commission to Advance Macropractice in Social Work, and doing freelance data analysis for nonprofit programs and agencies.


 

"In every way, this is the perfect job for me," she said. "I love technology. I love higher education. I love students. And I love Widener."


Brandt comes to Widener after 15 years of hospice and oncology social work for St. Luke's Health System. Her interest in field education developed in her second-year MSW placement at Marywood University's field office. She was an adjunct professor for Marywood, teaching advanced practice and gerontology classes. 

Michelle Brandt, Assistant Director of Field Education for the Online MSW Program


 


 

"I'm a big believer that the Universe will take you where you need to be," she said. I loved oncology work, but I had been doing it for a long time. I've always had a special interest in academia and wanted to be a part of developing this exciting new program. We have the potential to grab some really great social workers that otherwise wouldn't be in the profession."


 
The first online cohort will begin field placements in January 2016. students will complete comprehensive field applications and Brandt will interview each student through Skype. After a student identifies potential placement sites in their area, Brandt will work with agency staff to determine that the placement is appropriate and build support for the student.  


"I know how crucial these field placements are," said Brandt. "I want to do everything possible to make sure that each of our students has the potential for a great learning experience."


 


Widener Social Work Welcomes New Faculty 


 

Professor Margo Campbell

Widener Social Work faculty have been even busier than usual this semester. The group spent many hours interviewing and selecting candidates for an unprecedented six new faculty positions. We introduced you earlier in this newsletter to Jen Norton (Assistant MSW Director for Online Programs) and Michelle Brandt (Assistant Director of Field Education for Online Programs). We would also like to extend a warm welcome to Professors Margo Campbell, Eric Stein, and Janeen Cross.  

 

Professor Campbell comes to us from Bryn Mawr College's Graduate School of Social Work and Social Research. She has taught research and evaluation courses at Bryn Mawr and Rutgers. Professor Campbell's research interests include children's social-emotional competencies in low-income families. She will complete her dissertation, "Precarity Realized: Increased Need and Children's Socio-Emotional Competence in Low-Income Families," in August and has a Masters of Law and Policy and Masters of Social Service from Bryn Mawr. Her teaching and practice concentrations include research and evaluation design, macro-level social workers' skill development, and bridging macro- and micro- level social work to facilitate social justice and social change. 

 

"I was first drawn to Widener because of its reputation for providing high-quality and accessible social 

Professor Eric Stein

work education," she said. "Widener's dedication to the attainment of social and economic justice for the betterment of poor, vulnerable, and oppressed populations sealed the deal."  

 

Professor Stein spent the last year teaching at Stockton University. Before that, he was a professor for 3 years at Marywood University. He earned his DSW from the University of Pennsylvania in 2010 and his MSW from Penn in 2003.

 

At Widener, Professor Stein will teach Advanced Practice and online Human Behavior and the Social Environment courses. He spent five years working with adults with severe and persistent mental illness at NHS in Philadelphia. He was also a family therapist at Child Guidance Resource Centers. 

 

"Widener has been on my radar because of its trauma-informed program and strong focus on practice," he said. "I've been so impressed with all of the graduates and faculty I have met from Widener. I really like the sense of collegiality. It seems like a very warm, friendly place."

 

Professor Janeen Cross

Professor Cross also brings significant practice experience to Widener's clinical program. She spent almost 15 years working in the Newborn and Intensive Care Units at University of Pennsylvania Hospital. She will complete her DSW at the University of Pennsylvania's School of Social Policy and Practice in May. She also has a MSW from Temple University's School of Social Work. Her research interests include child maltreatment and mothers who breastfeed. She is interested in developing new courses about the integration of social work and healthcare.

 


 

"I very much enjoyed my work at Penn Hospital and was also doing some teaching at Temple and Penn," she said. "I learned how much I enjoy translating the clinical practice piece into teaching. I'm so excited to join the Widener team. They are a dynamic group of professionals who practice what they preach in terms of social justice and social work values." 



Vicarious Trauma and Burnout Event Attracts Alumni, Students

  
Almost 200 alumni, faculty, and current students turned out for Widener Social Work's continuing education workshop focused on vicarious trauma and self care. The event was led by Alexandra Dolan, LSW and Training Coordinator for Child Advocates' Outcomes in Behavioral Health Project, and Laurie Ayler, LSW and Clinical Coordinator for CAOBHP. Attendees discussed the impact of trauma and its secondary effects on helping professionals and were provided with tools to identify and avoid compassion fatigue and burnout.  

   



 
Professors Linda Houser, Steve Kauffman, and Jenny Wyatt Earn Tenure and Promotion   
   
Dr. Jenny Wyatt is Director of the Center for Violence Prevention 

Three Widener Social Work faculty received exciting news this semester and will transition to new phases of their careers in the fall. Drs. Linda Houser and Jenny Wyatt were promoted to Associate Professor with tenure, while Dr. Steve Kauffman was promoted to Full Professor.  


Dr. House maintains an impressive research agenda while teaching policy courses and serving as PhD program director. "Often, the sole way in which clients experience public policy is via social workers' interpretations and the ways we enact those interpretations," she said. "My research and policy practice focus on efforts to improve financial, workplace, and caregiving security for families across the age and socioeconomic spectrum."

 

Houser's current projects focus on the effects of maternity leave on maternal and child health outcomes, qualitative interviews with consumers and providers of home-based attendant care services, and the circumstances of primary caregiving fathers in urban areas.

 

"Perhaps the most wonderful thing about doing this work at the Center for Social Work Education is that I am surrounded by people, both faculty and students, who are also engaged in vibrant research and practice," said Houser. "Their dedication and insight has fed my interest in producing research and classroom-based opportunities with the potential to improve outcomes and conditions for people with whom we work."

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Dr. Linda Houser, PhD Program Director, with former Director Dr. Tom Young 
 
Dr. Wyatt directs the Center for Violence Prevention and teaches advanced practice courses and a PhD theory course. Much of her research focuses on program development and community interventions to decrease violence.

For example, in partnership with the State Board of Probation and Parole and the U.S. Attorney General's Office, she is developing a reentry program for high-risk offenders. The program consists of targeted supervision, deterrence, and prosecution at the federal level, along with education and support to increase successful reentry. 

Dr. Wyatt is also involved in research with Dr. Kauffman. Dr. Kauffman was recently promoted to Full Professor in recognition of his outstanding research record. Kauffman and Wyatt are partnering with the U.S. Attorney's office to evaluate the Project Safe Neighborhoods initiative in North Philadelphia. They are implementing Sandra Bloom's trauma-informed Sanctuary Model in a community setting to engage community members in reducing community violence.

"I enjoy my work at Widener immensely because the faculty is committed to social work values, has a broad base of expertise, and are quite supportive," said Wyatt. "And I love working with students and helping in their development as strong social workers who are highly skilled to help those in need and make a real difference." 
  
    
Faculty Research and Service Briefs
 
Dr. Beth Barol had an article translated into German, in Barol, B. and Seubert, A. (2015). EMDR Behandlung von Personen mit Kognitiven Beeintr�chtigungen/Entwicklungsst�rungen und herausforderndem Verhalten.  Seelingphlfege - in Helilp�dagogik und Sozialtherapie, 1, p 13-3.

Professor Barbara Gilin and Dr. Steve Kauffman co-authored "Strategies for Teaching About Trauma to Social Work Students." The article will appear in the Journal of Teaching in Social Work


 

Barbara Gilin and Steve Kauffman
 
 
Dr. John Giugliano was named President of the Society for the Advancement of Sexual Health, the national organization that focuses on problematic sexuality.
 
Dr. Linda Houser had an article accepted for publication in Women's Health Issues entitled "Sick of inequality: Gender and support for paid sick days." In addition, Dr. Houser has been invited to participate in an elite gathering of women scholars, organizers, and leaders to discuss pathways for women to build long-term power and economic security. The gathering is hosted by the Labor Research and Action Network (LRAN), Ms. Foundation for Women, and the School of Labor and Employment Relations at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.  

Dr. Houser and doctoral student Mary Beth Semerod published "Home Care Attendant Training and Quality of Care from the Perspectives of Home Care Consumers," A Rutgers Center for Women and Work Research Brief.

Social Work Counseling Services Director Shanna Perkins Williams, Dr. John Poulin, and Dr. Jenny Wyatt wrote a successful grant proposal for Delaware County funded by Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency for a diversion program for veterans. The work will involve Widener's SWCS and the Center for Violence Prevention. Shanna Perkins Williams also presented a paper on SWCS at the Conference on College Composition and Communication in Tampa, Florida.

Drs. Jenny Wyatt and Steve Kauffman received a Project Safe Neighborhoods Grant from the U.S. Department of Justice. Drs. Wyatt and Kauffman will study violence prevention in the 22nd precinct of Philadelphia using the Sanctuary Model. Dr. Wyatt and Trisha Hicks published "Voice of Youth: Engaging Youth in Violence Prevention," in the Journal of Adolescent and Family Health, and Dr. Wyatt and Dean Paula Silver have another publication in press, "Cross Cultural Crisis Intervention Training Via Videoconferencing," for International Social Work.
  
    2015 Take Back The Night a Success
 
 

More than 250 students attended Widener  Social Work's  annual violence prevention event. Students presented the Clothes Line Project--a visual display of t-shirts with anti-violence messages-- along with poster presentations and workshops. TBtN Founder Katie Koestler's keynote address designed to educate attendees about the prevalence of and responses to violence.

This year's event also featured a "Speak Out" during which people shared their personal stories of violence. The Take Back the Night March, featuring student-made luminaries with anti-violence messages, concluded the day's activities. TBtN was sponsored by the BSW Club and Widener Social Work Counseling Services (SWCS). BSW seniors Christie Rozensweig and Sara Leonelli organized the event, and members of Dr. Jenny Wyatt's SW 331 class also helped facilitate.

"The Speak Out was both profoundly brave and tragic," said BSW Program Director Dr. Brent Satterly. "The march throughout campus drew a mass of students. They truly Took Back the Night."  Center for Violence Prevention Director Dr. Jenny Wyatt called the event a huge success. "Founders Hall was packed and undergrads felt validated with their new awareness of sexual violence."