When I was at the Wakulla County School Board District Office for a district wellness meeting, one of the topics brought to the table was a new event, “Ability in the Park.”  The event was created to show the community that students with disabilities also had “abilities” and strengths that could be showcased or revealed in order to remove some of the stigma associated with those who have different methods of learning and different obstacles. I began thinking of the students within my own school who are disabled either physically, intellectually, or have communication difficulties of some ki

On January 31st I turned twenty years old, and on that same day I left the comfort of Tallahassee for the experience of Colquitt, Georgia. Colquitt, Georgia, is a small town in the southwestern part of Georgia, and it has quite the story to tell. A lot of people assume that for a community to be lively and exciting it must be in a large city, or other urban area. Colquitt, Georgia disproves that assumption with simply its murals alone. This town was full of history, rich storytelling potential to tap into, and the passion necessary to form a healthy, creative community.

Florida has the highest percentage of aging persons in the United States. As a part of the FSU College of Social Work’s Health and Aging Initiative, the Gerontological Society of America and the Association for Gerontology in Higher Education awarded a grant to Amy L.

Rain or shine the College of Social Work was going to hold its first ever 5k run/walk and barbeque, Sunday, April 14, 2013. The race started and finished in front of the “Unconquered” statue at Doak Campbell Stadium proceeding 3.1 miles around the FSU campus, highlighting many of the most notable landmarks on campus. Despite the overcast skies and wet weather, a majority of the 110 runners and walkers registered for the race were at the starting line wearing the bright coral race tanks.

The College of Social Work and other colleges and organizations across FSU’s campus participated in the Great Give, a 36-hour online giving campaign, April 18-19, 2013. The campaign allowed each group to raise money and support unique projects throughout the University.

The College raised funds to develop the FSU Healthy Relationships Online Toolkit, which focuses on violence prevention education and set its fundraising target at $20,000. During the 36-hour campaign the College received 77 gifts and made 16% of the funds needed to complete the launch of the site. 

A new toolkit developed by Florida State University researchers to prevent domestic violence involving law enforcement officers is now available to all criminal justice agencies in the Southeast in the first phase of a plan to make the toolkit available to agencies across the nation.

The Florida State University (FSU) College of Social Work (CSW) collaborated with FSU’s Center for Academic Retention and Enhancement (CARE), the FSU Art Education Department, the FSU Athletics Department, and the Tallahassee Housing

Doctoral candidate Jane McPherson’s research examines the area where social work and human rights intersect. Upon entering the doctoral program at the FSU College of Social Work, she was awarded FSU’s Presidential Scholarship, providing her four years of support from the University.  In 2013, the Graduate School honored her with the Graduate Research & Creativity Award and the Graduate Leadership Award.

Faculty member Janet Berry retired at the end of this summer to begin a new chapter in her life.  On top of being an alumna of the FSU College of Social Work, Janet has been a long-time faculty member at the College, taking on various roles and responsibilities.  Included among these roles were the development of the online MSW degree program and the online Leadership in Executive and Administrative Development (LEAD) Certificate Program as well as coordinating and designing the Capstone Assignment for Field Seminars.

Over the summer a permanent legacy to honor Dr. Wendy P. Crook (pictured right) and her family was established in the form of the endowed Violet Crook Graduate Scholarship. In November 2006, Dr. Crook pledged a donation to begin the scholarship. Tragically, Dr. Crook passed away in October 2007 at age 55 from cancer before the scholarship could be endowed.