CSW General

The Florida State University College of Social Work celebrated with alumni, donors, faculty, staff, and students at the annual Student Scholarship and Distinguished Alumni Dinner on September 10, 2015, at the FSU Alumni Association. Dean Jim Clark and faculty member Rosalyn Deckerhoff presided over the ceremony, which included words of gratitude and inspiration from MSW student Rachel Mack. A majority of the 57 social work scholarship recipients at the BSW, MSW and Ph.D. level were in attendance to receive recognition.

MSW students Cristina Batista and Jasmine Haynes will join a select group of students from public and private universities to experience the Florida Gubernational Fellows Program. This program provides a year-long immersive experience for these students in key areas of state government and on-the-job training.

Fighting domestic violence is my passion, and as a student at Florida State University I am always looking for ways to learn more about this very important issue. The courses I have taken at the College of Social Work and my ongoing experience as a research assistant at the Institute for Family Violence Studies has provided me with a growing knowledge about domestic violence.

The College of Social Work’s new dean, Dean Jim Clark was introduced to a number of alumni, donors, community partners, faculty, staff and students at a welcome reception held in his honor. Below, are his remarks made at the welcome reception addressing the state of social work and the College of Social Work and his plans and initiatives for the future.

Florida State University researcher Amy L. Ai, has been selected as a fellow of the American Psychological Association’s (APA) Division 56, Trauma Psychology.

Ai, a professor in the College of Social Work, has been elevated to fellow status based on her unusual and outstanding contributions with national or international impact in the area of trauma psychology.

With a $1.28 million, four-year grant from the Centers for Disease Control, the Florida State University College of Social Work and the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) School of Social Work will evaluate new online suicide screening and prevention tools aimed at decreasing suicide rates among middle-age men.

Bruce Thyer, a professor in the College of Social Work at Florida State University, has been named a fellow of the American Academy of Social Work and Social Welfare, one of the most prestigious honors that social work scholars can receive.

A new study led by faculty members in the Florida State University College of Social Work will examine the individual and organizational influences on child welfare employee retention and, ultimately, child and family outcomes in Florida.

Dean Clark, faculty and staff, family and friends of graduates, and ladies and gentlemen of Florida State University Class of 2015, I am honored and grateful to be with you today for your commencement, here at one of the finest universities in the world that has one of the best social work programs with the most dedicated staff and professors.

Today I want to share with you about following your heart and climbing your mountain.

Despite the world’s increasingly globalized society, there are common threads in people’s beliefs about the soul and an afterlife.

A study examining three dominant worldviews about how people perceive the idea of a soul — God-centered, cosmic-spiritual and secular — has found that God-centered and cosmic-spiritual worldviews shared a positive view of death as a reward-filled afterlife and a moment of ultimate truth or courage.