Associate Professor Jeff Shook was selected for the “Soska Wilds Outreach and Engagement Leadership Award”, presented to honor a faculty member or staff engagement professional who serves the University of Pittsburgh through their outstanding dedication to University-community connections. Read more.

Shook was also appointed to the faculty union council 15-member bargaining committee. Read more.

Marlo A. Perry, Research Associate Professor and Director of Research and Evaluation for the Child Welfare Education and Research Programs at the University of Pittsburgh School of Social Work, was awarded a pilot grant from the Center on Race and Social Problems (CRSP). Her new study, “Supporting Superwomen: Emotional Labor, Gendered Racial Microaggressions, and the Superwoman Schema in Black Female Child Welfare Professionals” seeks to examine how racial identity and emotional intelligence competencies in Black female child welfare professionals can help to mitigate the stressors of racism and gendered racial microaggressions at work. Read more.

Director of Community Engagement Aliya Durham is on the "Who Run the World" panel for Women's History Month hosted by the Black Scholars Society at Shadyside Academy on March 19th. To register email theblackscholarsociety@gmail.com. The location is the Pittsburgh Zoo's Aquarium from 10am-2pm.

Assistant Professor Victor Figuereo will be on a panel hosted by National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) entitled "Reducing Stigma Around Alcohol Use Disorder in Minority Communities." March 21st from 1-2:15pm. To view the webinar on NIH Videocast, please visit: https://videocast.nih.gov/watch=44317.

Please RSVP to dana.west@icf.com by Friday, March 18.

Assistant Professor Deborah Moon has been competitively selected to participate in R25 NIH Training: Building a Multidisciplinary Pipeline of Researchers in Child Abuse and Neglect: Summer Training Institute for Early Career or Transitioning Scholars. Collaborating with other scholars in anthropology, criminology, genetics, law, medicine, psychology, and public health, Dr. Moon will develop a research proposal focused on preventing maltreatment prevention and promoting child well-being. The training is funded by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) and will be held at Washington University in St. Louis during the summer of 2022.

Brandon Thomas will be the first one to tell you that his path to graduating from the University of Pittsburgh in December with a master’s in social work was anything but conventional. Read his inspiring story in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Doctoral program alumna Dr. Margaret Smith, an Erie resident and faculty member in Edinboro’s Social Work Department since 2004, was honored March 3 during Edinboro University’s 25th annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Awards reception. Read more.

The Pitt Office for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion will be hosting a School of Social Work-specific running of their Racial Equity Consciousness series, which will start Wednesday 3/16 after the break. This is a free, voluntary, 7-week series that is open to students, staff, and faculty. The groups are integrated within the workshops. Register here.