The FSU College of Social Work celebrated its spring 2021 graduates with both an in-person and virtual event. As the nation becomes more vaccinated and FSU’s campus opens up, the college wished to celebrate students in safe and accessible ways.
Dr. David Springer will step into the role as interim dean of the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin) while UT conducts a national search for a new dean. More than two decades as a professor and academic leader at UT Austin have prepared him for this new leadership role. He is a three-time graduate of Florida State University, including a bachelor’s degree in psychology (1990) and two degrees from the College of Social Work (MSW, 1992; PhD, 1997).
The FSU College of Social Work (CSW) celebrated its 2020 Distinguished Alumni Award and Student Scholarship recipients through a virtual event on Thursday, November 5, 2020. The event was hosted by Dean Jim Clark and faculty members who serve on the college’s Student Affairs Committee.
The event honored 90 outstanding student scholars. Scholarship awards totaling more than $97,000 were given in support of CSW students, including those studying international programs, child welfare, social policy, and veterans.
The five CSW Alumni Award recipients included:
Two Florida State University faculty members received a $16,000 grant from the Mental Research Institute to launch their project, “Family Therapy and Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Telehealth Response.” Dr. Michele Parker of the FSU College of Human Sciences and Dr. Michael Killian of the FSU College of Social Work will assess Behavioral Health Services offered by the FSU Multidisciplinary Evaluation and Testing Center (FSU MDC).
Although the Fall 2020 semester looks very different from previous fall semesters due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the FSU College of Social Work is proud to welcome its newest cohort of doctoral students. Each comes to FSU with a wealth of previous experience in social work and a desire to make a difference in social work research and academia. Meet our Fall 2020 Doctoral Cohort:
Florida State University celebrated its Summer 2020 graduates with a virtual celebration on July 31st at 7:30 pm. The College of Social Work along with the other colleges across campus provided virtual celebrations for their graduates.
Recent graduate R. Lane Forsman was able to successfully defend his dissertation on February 28th before the U.S. had seen the full impact of the coronavirus pandemic. Despite all the current uncertainties surrounding the pandemic, Lane is excited to join the faculty of Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville (SIUE).
His dissertation titled, “Queer College Sexual Violence: The interaction of gender identity and sexual assault on campus” (Major professor: Lisa Schelbe) highlights his research interest in LGBTQ+ issues and sexual assault.
Lauren H.K. Stanley, a social work doctoral student and instructor, felt humbled when she got the notice that two of her students nominated her for an FSU teaching award. “She was a fantastic professor. She really made the subject understandable and fun to learn. I learned a lot and enjoyed being in the class,” they wrote in their nomination.
Raised by parents who taught business and economics, Sherry Jackson had her sights set on a degree in business as she set out for college. But when she arrived at Florida State University as an undergraduate, she quickly realized her passion focused more on the social and behavioral sciences. With a degree in cultural anthropology under her belt, she decided to stay at Florida State because of how much she enjoyed her undergraduate experience and to pursue an MSW because of the national reputation of the FSU College of Social Work.
Doctoral Student Rachel Harris along with Doctoral Candidates Melissa Murphy and Sarah Rakes recently had their study entitled, “The Psychometric Properties of the Outcome Rating Scale Used in Practice: A Narrative Review” in the Journal of Evidence-Based Social Work.
