Alumni & Friends

“100 years!!”

That continuous refrain echoed through the Champions Club Ballroom as Florida State University social work faculty member Pam MacDill outlined highlights of the 100-year history of the College of Social Work’s celebratory gala on April 7.

“100 years,” the crowd shouted. “Of innovation,” MacDill continued. “We started the first online MSW program in 2002 and we’ve expanded internationally with internships, exchange agreements, courses and alternative spring breaks.”

Five award recipients were honored in Tallahassee on March 27, 2018 for their contributions to the social work profession, education, and the community. The awards were presented at the 2018 National Association of Social Workers (NASW) Florida Chapter, Big Bend Unit celebration breakfast at Tapestry Senior Living.

Panama City BSW Student Denise Baril and 15 other humanitarian heroes were recognized by President John Thrasher and Vice President of Student Affairs Amy Hecht during a luncheon on March 21st. The President’s Undergraduate Humanitarian of the Year Award is a prestigious honor bestowed to one FSU student from each college for their exemplary commitment to service. Each student is awarded a $200 donation to the nonprofit of their choice.

“Nothing is more inspiring to me than seeing students giving back and make the world a better place,” President Thrasher remarked.

The Florida State University College of Social Work celebrated the new location of the FSU Multidisciplinary Evaluation and Consulting Center on Wednesday, March 28.

The new site is located just west of the main campus. Previously, the Multidisciplinary Center (MDC) occupied space on Gaines Street in Collegetown.

Dr. Stephanie Grace Prost and a team of Investigators at the Kent School of Social Work, University of Louisville received recent approval from the Commissioner at the Kentucky Department of Corrections to conduct a comprehensive multi-site and multisystemic study regarding older adults in Kentucky state prisons. From a strengths-based perspective, the study seeks to identify and describe the experiences of incarcerated older adults’ through self-reporting, institutional record review, and focus groups conducted with several stakeholder groups in Kentucky state prisons.

The FSU College of Social Work will commemorate “100 Years of Social Work at FSU” with a celebratory dinner at 6 p.m. Saturday, April 7, at the University Center Club’s Champions Club. The event will include opportunities to explore and celebrate the past, present and future of the college.

As a volunteer for the conference, I arrived early to help set up for the event. As the doors opened, I was amazed at the number of women in attendance - managers, entrepreneurs, professors, executive directors, and others in important leadership roles attended this conference to learn from each other to become stronger, more effective leaders. I was also elated to see the number of men who attended the conference as well.

With more than 450 attendees at this year’s Women in Leadership Conference at FSU, there was scores of remarkable female leaders from a wide variety of professions and from the co-sponsoring organizations of the event – the College of Communication and Information, College of Social Work, College of Business, and the Jim Moran School of Entrepreneurship. A dozen College of Social Work alumni, faculty and students participated as panelists for this much-anticipated, inspiration event.

BSW Student Kathryn Casello attended a meeting in the fall of 2016 to learn about organizing against legislation that allows for open and concealed carry of guns on college campuses. For her, the issue was of personal concern.

March is National Social Work Month. The FSU College of Social Work, celebrating its 100th anniversary, holds more experience than any other institution in Florida offering social work education and was the first in the world to offer a Master’s in Social Work through an accredited online program. Below FSU Social Work Dean Jim Clark shares his vision for the future of the college.