Racial Equity Consciousness Institute (RECI) film trailer released

Associate Director of the Center on Race and Social Problems, Ron Idoko, founded the Racial Equity Consciousness Institute (RECI) in 2021. RECI's mission is to provide individuals and communities with the tools to actively deconstruct racism and cultivate racial equity. Watch here.

Florence Stier Research Development Award: Due March 29th 

The Florence Stier Research Development Award will provide 1 faculty member with a 2-year, $15,000 research award to support a specific research project (including, but not limited to, small projects, pilot projects, and supplements to larger projects for specific purposes).

Priority will be given to projects focusing on an issue or problem focused on some aspect of social justice and equity that is relevant to social work.  

Applications must be submitted by March 29th to mar104@pitt.edu.  

Find more information o the SSW website.

Jasek earns Pitt Sustainability Professional Certificate

Payroll and Personnel Coordinator Mike Jasek, SHRM-CP earned his Pitt Sustainability Professional certificate and is on his ways to becoming an institutional Green Ambassador.  The Green Ambassadors is a Pilot Program at Pitt surrounding Sustainability that works as sustainability advocates in departments around the University. Jasek will be posting signage around sustainability, sending out messages on how sustainability compliments our Social Work values well, etc. He has an end goal of getting the School designated as a Green Office.

New Fellowship opportunity for students!

Community and Racial Equity Leadership Fellowship: The CREL Fellowship provides graduate students with opportunities to learn while working in community-engaged programs, which may also include applied research projects, focused on topics related to race, color, ethnicity, location, and their influence on the quality of life for all Americans. Due March 1st. Read more and apply here!

ICYMI: Healing Overflow with Dr. Toy - Special Valentine's Day Episode 

It’s that time of the year when all the lovey dovey “stuff” either makes you swoon or makes you sick! Check out this special Valentine’s Day Healing Overflow with Dr. Toy episode titled "Healing After a Breakup"!

Click here to watch!

Flores headed to NYU

Congratulations! Our very own doctoral student, Ana T. Flores, MSW has accepted a tenure-stream Assistant Professor position at the Silver School of Social Work at New York University. 

BASW student invited to ACC Meeting of the Minds

BASW student, Priya Gupta has been selected to share her research, done with Dr. Leah Jacobs, at the ACC Meeting of the Minds. The University chooses five undergraduate researchers each year to represent Pitt at this event. The annual ACC Meeting of the Minds conference has become an opportunity for universities in the ACC to highlight the diversity of research being conducted by undergraduates and for students to share their work with peers across the ACC.

BASW student makes history at Pitt

BASW student Akerah Winder has made history at Pitt! 

Winder and other Pitt undergraduates created the first Majorette team at the University of Pittsburgh. "It feels absolutely amazing. I know sometimes it's hard for Black women to make a step out anywhere and the fact that we are the first majorette team here at this PWI just feels amazing," said Akerah Winder. Watch more on KDKA-TV .

Feehan organizes firefighter tribute

MSW alumnus Dave Feehan organized a Tribute to Minneapolis Firefighters in August. More than 100 people attended, including keynote speaker US Senator Amy Klonuchar. Special guest via ZOOM were Lynn Tierney, former Deputy Commissioner, FDNY and John Feehan, battalion chief, FDNY and son of William Feehan, the oldest firefighter to die rescuing people when the second World Trade Center tower collapsed. Guests included former chairs of the Metropolitan Council Peter Bell and Curt Johnson. Peter was the founder of the Minnesota Institute on Black Chemical Abuse, and Curt was the co-director of CityStates, an urban research project.

A visit to Squirrel Hill, 1963

Graduate students for the University of Pittsburgh School of Social Work visited Squirrel Hill in the early 1960s to study its Jewish community. Professors Eleanor Cockerill and Claire Lustman developed the course to help emerging caseworkers confront their preconceptions of a new community. Students were assigned to neighborhoods all over the city. “In many ways they were like a group of travelers abroad who become increasingly absorbed with the characteristics of the country they are visiting, its people, its customs, its values,” Lustman later wrote. Read more in The Jewish Chronicle.

2024 Latinx Connect Registration and Request for Proposals Open! 

We’re excited to announce the 2024 Latinx Connect conference: ¡Imaginemos Juntos! Dialogues on Thriving Latinx Futures 

The Latinx Connect conference will bring together students, educators, community leaders, and political advocates to dialogue about Latinidad and envision ways to empower and support thriving futures, both near and distant, for diverse Latinx communities at local, national, and global levels. 

There is no cost to attend the conference and all are welcome to join us! 

Conference Details 

Dates: Thursday-Saturday, March 21-23, 2024 

Locations:  

·        Opening and Closing Receptions will be in-person (venue to be announced) 

·        Workshops, Panels, Lightning Round Talks, and Posters will be virtual 

Registration is now open! Register today! 

To submit a proposal  

We are now accepting proposals for the 2024 Latinx conference, "¡Imaginemos Juntos! Dialogues on Thriving Latinx Futures."  

We welcome all members of the global community to submit proposals for the 2024 Latinx Connect conference. 

Learn more about proposal guidelines in our Request for Proposals! 

Submit a proposal today!* 

*When prompted to log in, register for an account and proceed to submit your proposal. 

Proposals are due by February 26th 2024. 

If you have questions regarding the conference or submitting a proposal, please contact us at latinxconnect@pitt.edu  

Call for Pilot Proposals - CRSP & RISE-MH

The Center on Race and Social Problems (CRSP) and the Center for Research on Innovations, Services and Equity in Mental Health (RISE-MH) are seeking proposals for pilot research projects that examine or address any aspect of race disparities in mental health access, services, and outcomes. Read more.

Free virtual training from our Survivor Link AmeriCorps students on understanding intimate partner violence and safety planning - 1st session Feb. 29th

Please join AmeriCorps Survivor Link Fellow MSW Students for a two-part free training on understanding intimate partner violence and supporting survivors in safety planning and connecting with resources. CE hours are available at no cost to attendees. The training is geared towards current and future social workers practicing in a variety of settings, to support the development of basic skills in understanding and responding to IPV and other forms of gender-based violence. While it is not required that you attend both, trainings will build on one another. Please feel free to share with anyone you think might be interested!

Training 1: Domestic Violence and My Plan Risk Assessment – Thursday, February 29^th 9-10:30am

Click here to register for Training 1

Training 2: Intimate Partner Violence Safety Planning – Thursday, April 4^th 9-10:30am

Click here to register for Training 2