CSW General

Florida State University College of Social Work honored its distinguished alumni and student scholarship recipients on Thursday, November 2^nd, at The Gathering in Tallahassee, Florida. Dean of Academic Affairs Dr. Craig Stanley presided over the event, which included reflections by Dean Jim Clark, Development Director Colette Podgorski, and student speaker and scholarship recipient Julie Mishoe to an audience of current and former students, faculty, and staff. There were 57 students awarded scholarships totaling $62,000 for the fall 2017 semester.

Over the summer, the NASW Foundation came up with public service announcement videos to help the general public understand what kinds of services social workers provide.

At the 2017 CSWE Annual Program Meeting, many social work scholars were recognized for their contributions to the field, including FSU College of Social Work doctoral program alumna and Virginia Commonwealth University School of Social Work (VCU) Professor Dr. Kia J. Bentley. At the Journal of Social Work Education Reception, Dr.

Social work doctoral student Ruben Lane Forsman is no stranger to service. Forsman served as an intensive outpatient substance abuse counselor in New Orleans, Louisiana and as a member of the Florida Assertive Community Treatment Team in Leon County providing community-based mental and behavioral health services to individuals experiencing severe, persistent mental illness prior to entering the Doctoral Program at the FSU College of Social Work.

With the growth of online programs, a continuous challenge remains to constantly improve and innovate. A step in that direction for the FSU College of Social Work will include the establishment of a position to oversee field education for online programs. Associate Teaching Professor Rosalyn Deckerhoff will take on this role starting at the beginning of the spring 2018 semester.

In order to create positive change, conventional wisdom often needs to be reconsidered. Are low-carbohydrate diets an effective remedy for obesity? Do patients have a right to self-medicate? Are psychiatric drugs effective over the long term?

The Florida State University College of Social Work will host a daylong conference to explore these questions and more.

In order to create positive change, the conventional wisdom often needs to be reconsidered. The Florida State University College of Social Work is changing the conversation by exploring the application of critical thinking and civil discourse to important social issues, including obesity, prescription drugs and mental health.

MSW alumna Courtney Cook joined the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northwest Florida as Vice President of Development.  Cook is a licensed clinical social work. She earned her MSW in clinical social from FSU College of Social Work in 2010 and her undergraduate degree from the University of West Florida.

The social work profession has strong historical roots in the concept of social justice—roots that are acknowledged and promoted within our professional associations and educational standards. For me, the concept of social justice has always been an important cornerstone of the work that I do in the field of maternal-child health. Within this field, my work focuses on understanding the who and what that define access to important resources that help promote healthy families and healthy child development.

Kapria Lee knew she was a strong candidate for the Phi Alpha Honor Society MSW Scholarship Award because of her strong background in all four of the criteria required for the award: scholarship, leadership, service, and professional/career.