CSW General

The National Academy of Inventors (NAI) has named four Florida State University faculty members as 2025 NAI Senior Members.

NAI Senior Members are active faculty, scientists and administrators with success in patents, licensing and commercialization and have produced technologies that have had real impact on the welfare of society. Senior Members collectively hold more than 5,700 U.S. patents and represent over 100 NAI Member Institutions worldwide.

Child welfare professionals and Florida State University College of Social Work students often face challenges in developing the necessary skills for effective observation and interviewing in real-world settings.

This year Dr. Shalay Jackson, an associate teaching professor at the College of Social Work, was named the new chair of the Association for Community Organizing and Social Action (ACOSA). Elected by ACOSA’s board, she will hold the position for two years through December 2026.

ACOSA is a professional membership organization designed to bring together community organizers, nonprofit administrators, community builders, policy practitioners, students and educators.

The College of Social Work has had a special international partnership with Jönköping University in Sweden since 2012, offering an exchange opportunity for both universities’ undergraduate students. Students participating in the exchange can take a full-time course load for a full semester at their host university.

The College of Social Work recently named Dr. Lisa Schelbe its Jeanene M. Janes Professor in Child Welfare. The professorship is awarded to a faculty member whose scholarly and educational demonstrate dedication and focus on child welfare issues.

Taylor Biro, a two-time FSU College of Social Work graduate (MSW 2023, BSW 2021), has been a long-time community organizer and activist with roots in Tallahassee, Florida. “When I started in social work, I wanted to make a difference,” she explained. “I began in direct service delivery but quickly saw the inequities and harmful practices embedded in many systems.”

An initiative started in 2022 by Dr. Jim Clark, FSU’s provost and executive vice president of Academic Affairs and former dean of the College of Social Work, began a journey for Florida State University to become a trauma-aware community. The initiative is built upon Provost Clark’s vision to promote a university-wide commitment to fostering resilience, skill-building and trauma awareness.

Florida State University launches the 14th annual FSU’s Great Give on Wednesday, March 5, 2025.

During the 24-hour event, the FSU College of Social Work has set a fundraising goal of $30,000 to support FSU social work students in gaining life-changing global experiences through the college’s international programs.

Generous College of Social Work donors and alumni, Meg and John Paschal, have agreed to match the first $5000 donated dollar-for-dollar.

Ngondwe Ponsiano, or Pons as he also likes to be called, a doctoral student at the FSU College of Social Work, received a 2025 Society for Social Work and Research (SSWR) Doctoral Student Travel Award to help him attend the society’s January conference in Seattle, Washington.

Keithen Mathis, MSW associate dean for Culture and Community Engagement and teaching professor at the College of Social Work, was awarded the 2025 FSU Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (MLK) Distinguished Service Award. Awards were presented on Tuesday, January 14th, at the MLK Awards and Golden Torch Lecture Series, presenting Ziwe Fumudoh, a Nigerian American author and comedian, during FSU’s 37th annual MLK Week.