Florida State University College of Social Work has chosen an accomplished expert in non-profit leadership as the new director of the Center for Study and Promotion of Communities, Families and Children (the Center).

Florida State University’s College of Social Work will launch an unprecedented research initiative this spring focusing on the re-entry of incarcerated persons into communities.

The initiative will be led by FSU’s new faculty hire, Carrie Pettus-Davis, one of social work’s leading experts in criminal justice and the decarceration of American prisons and jails through policy reform and service innovations.

This year was marked by abundant opportunities for FSU College of Social Work to make new international connections and to develop collaborations on the world stage. Faculty teamed up with partnering universities and colleagues at leading universities from other continents to bring about innovative scholarship, training, and dialogue. Here are some of the highlights of the FSU social work faculty’s efforts in 2017 all over the globe.

The Barbour Scholarship is a signature program of the University of Michigan (UM). As a Barbour Scholar, FSU College of Social Work Professor Dr. Amy L. Ai and a small group of Barbour Scholars represent women of the highest academic and professional caliber from the countries encompassing the large region extending from Turkey in the west to Japan and the Philippines in the east.

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.

Dr. Stephen Tripodi has been researching criminal justice issues since he was a doctoral student at The University of Texas at Austin. He started off as a research assistant involved in evaluating an in-prison restorative justice program for incarcerated men who were within six months of release. As FSU, Tripodi has refined his research focus primarily on incarcerated women, the childhood maltreatment experienced by a majority of this population, and the resulting mental health and substance misuse problems that often develop from these experiences.

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, mental health, and diversity.

The College of Social Work has a rich tradition of international collaboration. Dr. Tomi Gomory has worked for many years in Romania and the Czech Republic, speaking at conferences and publishing scholarly manuscripts pertaining to his research there. Dr.

When the opportunity came up to send faculty to the National Institute for Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) Fellowship Training at the Boston University School of Social Work for a special Social Work Faculty Immersion Training (SWIFT) Program, Assistant Professor Jeffrey Lacasse and Associate Teaching Professor