Dr. J. Bart Klika joined Florida State University College of Social Work in the spring of 2019 as a Research Faculty member to promote collaborations with faculty and to facilitate opportunities for students at FSU in child welfare.

This year FSU President John Thrasher recognized 14 undergraduate students at the Humanitarian Luncheon, Tuesday, March 26, 2019, as a part of the university’s annual President’s Humanitarian of the Year program. This prestigious honor commemorates students exhibiting a tremendous commitment to service.

FSU College of Social Work Associate Professor Melissa Radey was recently awarded funding by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development to understand the roles of informal support among low-income families with young children in the United States. Informal support is the emotional, practical, or financial support that mothers can access from others, typically family, in times of need.

Jessica Pryce, the director of the Florida Institute for Child Welfare at Florida State University, has been appointed to the advisory board of the National Child Welfare Workforce Institute. 

The board is a nationally representative panel for expert consultation that guides the development and effectiveness of child welfare professionals. Board members will serve through September 2023 and meet three times a year. 

Poverty may be the most troubling and complex social problems we face. According to the World Bank, more than 768.5 billion people were experiencing poverty around the world in 2017. Despite being one of the richest countries in the world, the United States is home to around 40 million people in poverty. 

The Florida State University College of Social Work will host a daylong conference that examines the challenges of poverty and ways that they can be addressed.

Three teams led by Florida State University faculty members have received funding from the university to propel their pioneering research from the lab to the marketplace.

Assistant Professor John Mathias has a unique approach to social work. At the FSU College of Social Work, he uses research approaches from both anthropology and social work to address his research areas of interest.  Dr. Mathias earned his doctoral degree from the University of Michigan where he was able to combine these two passions.

The Florida Center for Reading Research at Florida State University along with the FSU College of Social Work is partnering with Florida’s Agency for Persons with Disabilities to evaluate and improve their assessment tool for people with developmental disabilities.

The Questionnaire for Situational Information (QSI), administered by the agency, provides a way to determine the level of need for the individuals they serve.

Alumna Machelle Madsen Thompson is known at the FSU College of Social Work, where she is a researcher and adjunct professor, and in the local community for her multi-faceted community outreach and advocacy. This fall, Dr. Thompson was on the front line for two major events in the Tallahassee area, assisting with recovery after both Hurricane Michael and the mass shooting at a yoga studio in Tallahassee, Florida.

Ten Florida State University faculty members were honored by the Transformation Through Teaching program for their actions to foster meaning and purpose among their students. Students nominated faculty members and selected by FSU’s Spiritual Life Project and the Center for the Advancement of Teaching based upon students’ meaningful stories.