Supporting Domestic Violence Victims
October is Relationship Violence Awareness Month, and one Bachelor of Social Work student helped lead a drive to support a local women's shelter for victims of domestic violence.
Alumni Spotlight: Aaron Guest, MSW, MPH '15
Aaron Guest earned a bachelor's degree and a dual degree Master of Social Work/Master of Public Health from the University of South Carolina. He also received certificates of graduate studies in gerontology and health communications. His academic and field education experience at the College of Social Work helped prepare him for his current doctoral studies.
Student Spotlight: Dominique Fay
New Jersey native Dominique Fay earned her Bachelor of Social Work from the University of South Carolina. She decided to remain in Columbia to earn her Master of Social Work, thanks to the college's Advanced Standing program.
From Research to Shaping Medicaid Policy
Assistant Professor Christina Andrews, a leading researcher on opioid use disorder treatment, has helped shape Medicaid policy by sharing her research with the U.S. House of Representatives and publishing in such-nationally recognized journals as Health Affairs and the New England Journal of Medicine.
Advocating for Immigrants Rights
Assistant Professors Breanne Grace and Benjamin Roth investigated how personal, social and institutional uncertainty and instability causes fear for basic daily interactions of immigrants and refugees in their article, The Violence of Uncertainty - Undermining Immigrant and Refugee Health, which was published in the Sept. 6, 2018 edition of The New England Journal of Medicine.
Help Support Hurricane Florence Victims in South Carolina
Led by MSW students and Rural Interprofessional Behavioral Health Scholars Madeline Cook, Samantha McKenzie and Tierney Rhone, the College of Social Work is organizing a drive to collect and provide essential supplies to hurricane victims in the Pee Dee region of northeastern South Carolina.
Student Spotlight - Brianna Jenkins
MSW Advanced Year student Brianna Jenkins came to Columbia to study at Allen University, where she earned a bachelor's degree in social science, with a concentration in human services. But she decided to stay in South Carolina's capital city to attend the College of Social Work.
Alumni Spotlight: Terri Hallman, MSW '15
Terri Hallman, LISW-CP, attended the College of Social Work while balancing life as a wife and mother. She received her Master of Social Work degree in 2015 and currently works for the South Carolina Department of Mental Health as a Child, Adolescent and Family Therapist - Clinic-Based.
Presenting Refugee Rights
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees is an organization with a mandate to protect refugees and other stateless people. Assistant Professor Breanne Grace, who studies solutions to statelessness in East Africa, was invited in January to present her work at the UNHCR headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland and use their official archive for her research.
A Scholarly Summer
Higher education often opens doors and provides opportunities for students who thought were unattainable. One Bachelor of Social Work student recently completed a summer research project as part of a program to help prepare undergraduates for graduate school and beyond.
Standing Up for Human Rights
College of Social Work alumna Karen Rotabi has advocated and testified in court to prevent Guatemalan immigrant women from returning to the violent conditions of their home country.
Innovative Solutions
The College of Social Work's i3 will host a Learning Exchange on Aug. 10 to review and recognize participating organizations as part of a human-centered design pilot program.
Alumni Spotlight: Jessica Hare, MSW '10
Alumna Jessica Hare shares her memories of the College of Social Work and why she chose the social work profession.
A Smart Way to Home Rebuild
A run-down house in a Northeast Columbia neighborhood will receive a complete, modern renovation thanks to a collaboration between the University of South Carolina's SmartHOME Center for Economic Excellence and several community organizations.
Finding a Home
After living in a homeless shelter in Tennessee, Samantha Favor's family relocated to Columbia during her senior year of high school, circumstances led her to Palmetto Place, a shelter directed by a Carolina MSW graduate. Now, Samantha is earning her own MSW at the College of Social Work.
Sharing the Gift of Experience
Katrina Spigner earned her MSW as a single mother while working and raising two children. Now, the Dr. Katrina E. Spigner Endowed Fellowship Fund will assist MSW students facing the challenges of pursuing an education while raising a family alone.
Addressing the Opioid Epidemic
According to College of Social Work professor Christina Andrews, Ph.D., the United States is losing more people now to opioid overdose than at the height of the AIDS epidemic. Andrews and other researchers in the College of Social Work are working to stem the tide of opioid abuse by studying the availability and quality of treatment and by improving drug use screenings.
Police and Racial Bias: Lessons From the Lab For the Street
The College of Social Work's I. DeQuincey Newman Institute for Peace and Justice hosted University of Colorado, Department of Psychology Professor Joshua Correll, who discussed how an individual's race can influence a police officer's decision to shoot.
National Professional Social Work Month
The College of Social Work joins the National Association of Social Workers in a campaign to inform the public and legislators about the crucial role social workers play in improving the well-being of people and improving our society for everyone.
Improving Mental Health Services
The inaugural Integrated Behavioral Health Symposium features keynote speaker Joseph Parks, MD, Medical Director for the National Council for Behavioral Health, addressing topics such as changing the way medical professionals work together.