The School of Social Work will be hosting an Afternoon of Recognition to celebrate our August graduates!

Sunday August 28, 2022

2:30 pm

University Club, Ballroom B

123 University Place, Pittsburgh, PA 15260

RSVP here. (Each student may invite up to 5 guests)

Amy DeGurian, Field Education Coordinator and Faculty Instructor, authored an article for Choosing Therapy about how everyone deals with grief after the death of a loved one. This emotion can become overwhelming and debilitating in numerous ways. A lesser known phenomena is called grief brain. Experts describe it as your brain being overloaded with thoughts of grief, sadness, loneliness, etc. Grief brain affects memory, concentration, and cognition. Read more.

“I would like to see the details,” said Mary Ohmer, a Pitt associate professor of social work whose research surrounds violence prevention and community organizing, “I think [the plan] is pretty comprehensive, and it looks like they’re going to tackle the issues from a variety of ways … [but] I’m really not clear on what they’re proposing.” Read more.

The Just Discipline Team completed end of year surveys at 4 schools, surveying over 200 students in 5th and 6th grades and 150 teachers across all grade levels. This immense undertaking was the team’s first time surveying students across multiple schools, and demonstrated excellent coordination and organizing skills by Shawn Thomas, Michele Snyder, Spencer Scott, Molly Means, Jamaal Gosa, and Rachelle Haynik, with support and oversight from PI Jay Huguley. Responses to these surveys will be used to shape the Just Discipline programming and to analyze the potential effects of restorative practices on a school’s climate.

MSW alumna Anette Nance joined the Marine Corps in 2011 to be a part of something bigger than herself. Her last station on active duty was the Marine Corps Reserve Center in North Versailles, Pennsylvania, in 2015. After honorably completing her contract in 2018, the Auburn, Georgia, native began pursuing her master’s in social work degree at Pitt in 2018. Read more in Pittwire.

MSW student Emily Higley co-organized the June 11th March for Our Lives rally in Schenley Park to protest against gun violence. Read more in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

The Survivor Support Network summer class schedule has been posted. Pitt’s Survivor Support Network was developed to provide faculty, staff and graduate students with the knowledge and tools needed to support survivors of sexual misconduct on Pitt’s campus. Becoming a member requires participation in two workshops that will provide basic information about the effects of trauma, how to respectfully respond to disclosures and how to provide referrals to support resources. More information.