Celebrate your fist day (or last first day) of classes at Florida State with a first day photo. Take a picture using one of the signs below created by FSU New Student and Family Programs (@FSUNSFP) from the FSU Department of Student Support and Transitions.

Use the hashtags #WelcomeFSU and #FSUFirstDayPhoto. Tag @FSUNSFP for a change to win an “I bleed garnet and gold” t-shirt and use hashtag #FSUCSW for a chance to win a College of Social Work suncatcher/ornament.

As education researchers focused on children’s language and reading, concepts like “equity” and “disparity” are not new to us. In fact, we obsess about them. 

We analyze data to understand and monitor. We design interventions to change them. We labor (sometimes painfully) to better explain the forces that contribute to inequity in schools so that educators, parents, and policymakers can use it to improve outcomes for all students. 

Moving to South Florida from New York in high school in the 1980s meant Tracy McDade witnessed first-hand the influx of Cuban refugees coming to Florida. Volunteering with various organizations in the South Florida community, McDade heard accounts from these refugees of oppression, poverty and injustice. This experience affirmed her desire to improve the lives of marginalized individuals, families and whole communities.

Welcome to the newest group of student leaders for the FSU Student Association of Social Workers (SASW). SASW has a lot planned for the fall 2020 semester, including an informational meeting in early September. As a registered student organization, SASW also has planned professional events including a grad school panel, along with volunteer events and social events (Netflix parties & zoom socials).

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.

Florida State awarded 2,510 degrees with the conclusion of the summer semester: 1696 bachelor’s degrees, 611 master’s degrees, 165 doctorates, 2 juris doctor degrees and 36 juris master’s degrees. 

“I love seeing students take their classroom learning and apply it in the real world,” said Brenda Legaspi, a new social work faculty member at the College of Social Work (FSUCSW). Legaspi joins the college as an assistant teaching professor focused on working with distance learning students in the Online MSW Program. “My primary interest has been field education, the signature pedagogy of the social work profession.”

The Institute for Justice Research and Development (IJRD) at the FSU College of Social Work is dedicated to the betterment of the lives of the individuals, families and communities impacted by the criminal justice system. Even before the renewed national consciousness about racial violence in our nation, IJRD has been at the forefront of addressing racial and economic disparities documented throughout the criminal justice system. The work IJRD team members perform every day is centered on 3 pillars:

The Florida Institute for Child Welfare has remained steady in its efforts to continue guiding and informing child welfare policy, procedures and research during the upheaval of the COVID-19 pandemic. Although the pandemic has changed the institute’s approach, it has not dampened the team’s dedication to helping the children of Florida.

FSU College of Social Work Associate Professor Carrie Pettus-Davis addressed congressional leaders as part of a panel on social work and policing. On June 30, 2020, four experts convened to discuss social work's role in the future of policing. Moderated by Charles E. Lewis, Jr., the panel included Derrick Jackson, George T.

When Alexis Smith and Julia Kendall heard about an opportunity for a supported summer internship in their home county of Brevard, they both jumped at the chance. “I was so excited to be able to serve my home county during this difficult time in any way that I could, as well as gain experience in this wonderful field,” said Julia, a double major in social work and psychology.