In the News: 2005-6 Academic Year

Peruse archived news and events...

Spring Quarter 2006

Celebrating UW Tacoma's best on Founders Day

Jun 2006—Dr. Bob Jackson was awarded the "Chancellor's Recognition Award" for his work on charting the future of UWT. The third-annual Founders Day celebration, which was held May 25, 2006, honors the contributions of faculty, staff, students and the community to UW Tacoma. Congratulations, Bob.

This year's Outstanding Student Paper Award goes to...

Jun 2006—Eileen Gamache. Eileen (MSW) was selected by the Washington State Society for Clinical Social Work as the winner of this year's Outstanding Student Paper which was entitled "Proposed Intervention for Adolescent Self-Mutilative Behavior." CONGRATULATIONS, EILEEN. We are proud of you. Thanks to all who participated in this process.

Congratulations Dr. Charles Emlet

May 2006—Dr. Emlet has been selected to participate in the NIH Summer Institute on the Design and Development of Quantitative Research on Social Work Intervention in Health. The Institute will take place at the Jordan Institute for Families, School of Social Work, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, July 23-28, 2006. Dr. Emlet is one of 25 that were accepted from a pool of many applicants.

Dr. Janice Laakso receives award

May 2006— Janice Laakso is serving as Program Evaluator of a grant received by McNeil Island Corrections Center and Big Brothers/Big Sisters of King/Pierce County. This project called Children of Incarcerated Parents (ChIPP) just received the Department of Corrections Community Partnership Award. ChIPP matches children of incarcerated parents with a big brother or big sister to provide mentoring support and structured activities. Julie Nygaard, 2005 graduate of the UWT BASW program is serving as research assistant for this project.

Janice Laakso accepts award

Apr 2006—Five students from the BASW program recently flew to Chicago with their professor, Janice Laakso, to accept their award as a winner of the "Influencing State Policy" contest. Influencing State Policy developed 10 years ago as an organization to assist faculty and students to influence effectively state-level policy. Each year the organization awards students who have done an outstanding job influencing policy at their state legislature.

As an assignment for the Social Welfare Contemporary policy class, TSOCWF 320, Deanna Carron, Michelle Trevino, Emily Peck, Kerri Godina, and Kellie Nelson advocated for the passage of House Bill 1441 which helped to eliminate monthly premiums for impoverished families and expanded health coverage for children in the state of Washington. As part of their project these students opened a "Take 5" table on campus, provided fact sheets on this important health care issue and encouraged individuals to write in support of this bill. This bill did pass, extending health care to 60,000 children in the state.

Kudos to Steve Primas

Apr 2006—Stephen Primas (BASW class of 2006) was recognized at the Pierce County Volunteer Recognition Breakfast on April 1, 2006. Steve was recognized for his work at Pierce County Juvenile Court. In addition to his current practicum in Juvenile Probation, Steve has also volunteered in the drug and alcohol treatment program at Remann Hall. Congratulations, Steve!!

Change in class times - Effective Summer 2006 Quarter

Mar 2006—Due to changes in scheduling courses across campus, the Social Work Program will be changing back to our original course schedule for graduate level courses (MSW) only. Effective Summer 2006 quarter and continuing throughout the 2006-07 academic year, classes will begin at 6:00 p.m. and end at 9:00 p.m. This change does not apply to the undergraduate course schedule.

Winter Quarter 2006

Congratulations to Dr. Marian Harris

Dr. Harris has been awarded grant funding for a new research project. Dr. Harris is the key personnel to a UW Seattle Family & Child Nursing grant "Promoting Infant Mental Health in Foster Care". Her role as an investigator is to conduct and analyze interviews with birth families who have been reunified with their infants and who participated in the PFR (Promoting First Relationships) or EES (Early Education Supports) intervention, to obtain their view not only of the intervention, but their involvement in the child welfare system.

Dr. Phyllis Silverman Lecture

Jan 2006—Dr. Phyllis Silverman, internationally recognized for her work on how death is dealt with in our society, spoke on Dying and Grief as a Part of Living: Building Community and Collaboration. The lecture took place at UWT in the Carwein Auditorium on January 25, 2006.

Sponsorship provided by UW Tacoma Social Work Program, UW Tacoma Arts and Lectures, MultiCare Health System, UW Tacoma Student Social Work Organization, UW Tacoma Nursing Program, UW Seattle School of Social Work and the UW Alumni Association.

Henry W. Maier Practitioner in Residence Lecture

Jan 2006—Dr. Thomas Garfat has been chosen to be the first Practitioner in the Henry W. Maier Clinical Skills Practitioner Program. Dr. Garfat was mentored by Henry Maier, and is an internationally renowned Clinical Practitioner. He teaches and consults throughout Canada, where he lives, and internationally at universities and clinical organizations in South Africa, Ireland, and the United States, among other places. He has authored numerous books and articles on clinical work with children, youth, and families. Dr. Garfat's lecture took place here at UWT in the Carwein Auditorium on January 18, 2006.

Autumn Quarter 2005

Harris to Chair Policy Council

Nov 2005—Social Work faculty, Dr. Marian Harris has been elected to serve as the Chair of the Public Policy Council for the Children's Alliance of Washington based in Seattle, WA. Her 2-year term will expire in 2007.

GRE Scores are Optional!

Oct 2005—This has been modified on our list of Application Requirements. If you have any questions regarding 2006 admission to the MSW Program, please contact us at 253-692-5820 or attend one of our application workshops.

Lazzari Nominated for Diversity Award

Oct 2005—Dr. Marcie Lazzari, Director of the Social Work Program was among the top three finalists for the University of Washington (UW) Diversity Award for Community Building sponsored by the UW Office of Minority Affairs. Her significant contributions and commitment to diversity were honored on November 5th at UW Seattle.

Finn to Evaluate Online Hotline

Oct 2005—Dr. Jerry Finn been selected to be the evaluator of the Rape, Abuse, Incest National Network (RAINN) new Internet-based hotline. This will provide rape crisis services through the Internet using trained volunteers in a chat room environment. It is a new model for service delivery. The pilot project will be done in Tacoma, WA this winter before rolling out nationally next year.

Pulkkinen Honored

Oct 2005—The Washington Association of School Social Workers has named UWT part-time adjunct lecturer Ann Pulkkinen the School Social Worker of the Year. Ann serves on the School Social Work Public Education Advisory Board and regularly teaches the School Social Work Selective in the UWT MSW Program. By day she is a School Social Worker in a neighboring district. Congratulations to Ann for this richly deserved award.

Faculty Position Open

Sep 2005—We are currently recruiting an assistant, associate, or full professor of Social Work. For complete information, read the official position announcement.

Emlet Invited to United Nations - Valletta, Malta

Sep 2005—The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting has invited Dr. Charles Emlet to the joint "Help the Aged/United Nations Institute Expert Workshop" on HIV/AIDS and Older People scheduled for November 21-23, 2005 in Malta. Dr. Emlet was one of 25 individuals worldwide to receive an invitation and one of two individuals to be invited from the United States.

Laakso Promoted to Associate Rank

Sep 2005—Dr. Janice Laakso has recently received official notice that she has been promoted to the rank of Associate Professor of Social Work at the University of Washington, Tacoma. The official appointment began September 16, 2005. Congratulations Dr. Laakso!

Summer Quarter 2005

Canadian Studies Center

Jun 2005—Social Work faculty, Janice Laakso has been selected as a 2005 Fellow for the International Canadian Summer Institute. Only 11 faculty from the Pacific Northwest were selected. Dr. Laakso is interested in incorporating Canadian social policy into UWT policy classes to provide students with a comparative framework from which to evaluate American social welfare policy and familiarize students with global social justice issues. She also plans to increase awareness of Canadian society, culture and values, particularly First Nations issues within cultural diversity classes.

CSWE Reaffirmation Complete

Jun 2005—The Council on Social Work Education notified UW President Mark Emmert on June 13, 2005 of the Commission on Accreditation's vote to reaffirm the UW SSW's accreditation for eight years, with no conditions or interim reports required, ending June 2013.

UW Graduate Program Review

Jun 2005—Periodically, the University of Washington Graduate School conducts reviews of its degree programs. Since the UWT Social Work Program includes a baccalaureate degree as well, both the MSW and BA in Social Welfare programs will be reviewed during this process. The Self-Study will be written during summer 2005 and the final document will be presented to the UW Graudate School Office of Academic Programs in autumn 2005 with a site visit to follow during February 2006.

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