Faculty & Research

The FSU College of Social Work hosted its inaugural Research Exposition, April 10, 2012 in the University Center’s Futch Ballroom. The College shared a rich array of research topics with professors and students of the broader Florida State campus and members of the Tallahassee social services community.  The Exhibition, spearheaded by Professors Jean Munn, Stephen Tripodi, and the College’s Research Committee, renamed and restructured the College’s Research Showcase into a larger, broader annual public event.

Prescription drug abuse is a hot button issue and frequent headliner in Florida’s news media.  Likewise, addiction and chronic pain remain at the forefront of the latest public health concerns as the U.S. struggles to address the needs of a rising veteran population.  Through a grant from the National Institute of Health (NIH), Dr. Eric Garland is investigating an innovative way to combat chronic pain and problems related to prescription painkiller use through a mental training program he developed called Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement.

Through joint efforts of the Florida State University College of Social Work and the Florida Association for Volunteer Action in the Caribbean and the Americas (FAVACA), Drs. Neil Abell and Pat Lager provided training to volunteers in St. Vincent and the Grenadines to support their efforts assisting people impacted by HIV/AIDS.

One of the College of Social Work’s unique qualities is that it is home to two well-respected scholarly journals.  Both journals were founded and are currently edited by faculty members from the FSU College of Social Work. The Journal of Poetry Therapy is edited by Dean Nick Mazza and Research on Social Work Practice is edited by Professor Bruce Thyer.  Both faculty members’ talents have contributed to creating these resources, which continue to enrich research and practice in social work and related disciplines.

CSW Associate Professor, Dr. Jean Munn has co-authored a chapter for the medical text, Primary Care Geriatrics, along with Dr. Ken Brummel-Smith and Debra Danforth of the FSU COM. The focus of the chapter, interdisciplinary collaboration on medical teams, has led to the development of a course available to students in medicine, nursing, and social work to be offered summer 2013. The course will model an interdisciplinary team format, posing case studies and comprising equal team membership for each discipline.

After almost thirty years, I am retiring from the FSU College of Social Work this summer.

The Florida State University College of Social Work is combining its expertise in providing professional social work skills with community resources in a first of a kind initiative using student-developed entrepreneurial business models to aid social services organizations and the Tallahassee community in identifying comprehensive solutions to local homelessness.

The Florida State University (FSU) College of Social Work (CSW) collaborated with FSU’s Center for Academic Retention and Enhancement (CARE), the FSU Art Education Department, the FSU Athletics Department, and the 

Dr. Karen Randolph, and coauthor Dr. Laura Myers’s book Basic Statistics in Multivariate Analysis was recently published by Oxford University Press.  The book introduces readers to three multivariate analytical methods (i.e., linear regression, analysis of variance and covariance, and path analysis) with a focus on the basic statistics that support these methods.

We are most fortunate to have two new assistant professors joining us this fall!

Lisa Schelbe, MSW, Ph.D. joins the College of Social Work faculty as an Assistant Professor, having most recently completed her Ph.D. at the University of Pittsburgh. Dr. Schelbe earned her MSW at Washington University, George Warren Brown School of Social Work. Lisa brings a wealth of experience relating to domestic violence and child welfare (particularly youth aging out of the child welfare system).