For Spring Break 2015, Drs. Neil Abell and Dina Wilke took ___ lucky BSW and MSW students to Grenada, West Indies for a unique international social work opportunity. The week included some time in the sun and on the beach, but consisted primarily of working directly with the organization Programme for Adolescent Mothers and the young women that it serves. Students got an immersive experience allowing them to reach out to and interact with local youths and to experience a different culture first hand.

MSW student Jamillah Williams is a self-professed dreamer with big dreams of being, in her own words, “a driving force of social change in the world,” taking on, “some of the challenges many disadvantaged groups face, namely the poor, African-American minorities, and women.” She will be one step closer to realizing her dreams with the help of the 2015-2016 Leslie N. Wilson-Auzenne Graduate Assistantship for Minorities.

The FSU College of Social Work held its annual Spring Convocation on May 1, 2015 for its Class of 2015 graduates at the Oglesby Union Ballroom on the FSU main campus. A record number of people, more than 700, were in attendance to celebrate the newest group of BSW, MSW and Ph.D. social work graduates. Dean Nick Mazza presided as Master of Ceremonies for his last convocation, before retiring in the fall. Convocation’s Keynote Speaker was alumna, Dr.

Florida State University has named an expert on forensic mental health as dean of the College of Social Work.

James J. Clark, who has served as professor and director of the School of Social Work in the University of Cincinnati’s College of Allied Health Sciences since July 2012, will begin work at Florida State on July 20.

The 2015 Leadership Awards Night at Florida State University honored individuals across campus that engaged in leadership learning. Leadership learning is the continued process of an individual’s acquisition, practice, reflection, and application of leadership knowledge, skills, and values. Through this concept of leadership learning each student, faculty and staff member can make a difference on campus and in the community, the ultimate contribution and outcome of leadership endeavors.

Connie E. Jenkins-Pye has lived by her philosophy, “to whom much is given, much is required,” and has illustrated this, particularly through her work as a social worker. She has spent the past 23 years with the Tallahassee Police Department’s Serious Habitual Offender Comprehensive Action Plan (SHOCAP) as a case manager working with at-risk youth that have had encounters with law enforcement and the Department of Juvenile Justice. Ms.

Alumna Samantha (“Sam”) Spiers (BSW, 2012; MSW, 2014) had never considered a career in advising, but the previous BSW advisor and alumna Lisa Burgos (BSW, 2009 ; MSW, 2010) in Sam the same passion for helping people, especially students. “Little did she know how much I would love advising students,” Sam joked when reminiscing about applying for the position. But, Sam has excelled in her role as BSW advisor for the FSU College of Social Work.

Dr. Machelle Madsen Thompson, an FSU College of Social Work adjunct professor and alumna, was honored for her efforts in teaching on April 27, 2015 at the FSU Faculty Awards Dinner. Machelle received the biennial Ralph Stair Prize in Innovative Education for her inventive assignments in social work that aid students in better understanding the impact of living in poverty.

Savannah Native, Dr. Catherine R. Gayle; Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Social Work at Tuskegee University was appointed to serve as a member of the Council on Social Work Education Commission on Accreditation (COA). The term becomes effective July 1, 2015−June 30, 2018. The work of the Commission on Accreditation fulfills the critically important function of maintaining and advocating for quality in social work education through its accreditation/candidacy of more than 750 social work (Baccalaureate and Masters) programs in the United States.

Through the Fulbright Scholar Program and a partnership with Charles University in Prague, Czech Republic, Associate Professor Dr. Jean Munn will take her research in in geronotolgical and aging studies to a whole new level during the spring 2016 semester. “This opportunity is going to allow me to forge a new collaboration in the Czech Republic with people with similar research interests” Dr. Munn explained.