Faculty & Research

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. 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.

On Wednesday, November 28^th, the Center for the Study and Promotion of Communities, Families, and Children (CFC) is hosting a presentation Dr. TK Logan from the University of Kentucky entitled: “Assessing and Addressing the Hidden Crime of Stalking. The presentation is the second lecture in the CFC’s inaugural research lecture 2018-2019 series, Engage, Invest, Respond. The presentation will take place at the FSU Alumni Association (1030 W. Tennessee Street) from 3 until 4:30 p.m., followed by a reception.

A team of FSU social work faculty including Dean Jim Clark, Dr. Tomi Gomory, Professor Fran Gomory along with Elizabeth Croney, Executive Vice President for Clinical Advancement at KVC Health Systems traveled to Hungary to present at two conferences sponsored by the University of Pécs.

Moving to the United States could be taking a toll on the health of Latino men. A new study from Florida State University found Latino men who are born or live in the United States for more than five years are more susceptible to obesity.

After a successful soft launch earlier this summer, Florida State University fully rolled out its Student Resilience Project Sept. 26, including more interactive videos, audios and resources for all FSU students.  

This year, FSU College of Social Work Associate Professor Dr. Melissa Radey was among a group of scholars invited to participate in a Mixed Methods Research Training Program for the Health Sciences at John Hopkins University, the only program of its kind in the United States. The program, funded by the National Institute for Health (NIH) Office of Behavioral and Social Science Research (OBSSR), addresses a national need for training in mixed methods.

Social work researcher, Carrie Pettus-Davis, joined the FSU College of Social Work faculty this summer to continue the research she started at the Washington University in St. Louis on criminal justice and prison reform.