Welcome from Dr. Karen Bullock, Head, NC State Department of Social Work

This year, the Department of Social Work at NC State  saw many accomplishments among our faculty, staff and students. As social workers, we are uniquely prepared to address issues of diversity, equity and social justice. Our online newsletter and our website bring you stories of many individuals, groups and communities engaged in our endeavors to carry the social work mission at NC State. I thank Dean Jeff Braden for his unwavering support for our department. I look forward to continuing to lead the department in our pursuit of student success, interdisciplinary scholarship, research excellence, diversity and community engagement. We will accomplish this through research and scholarship opportunities and infrastructure as well as increased visibility of our BSW and MSW programs in the local, regional, national and international levels.

The continuation of federal grant funding within the department, which has created high impact learning options for students, is a priority. Dr. Willa Casstevens has a multi-year SAMSHA grant to continue her work in the area of Suicide Prevention and Dr. Jodi Hall received a large grant from the Health Research and Services Administration (HRSA), divisions of the US Department of Health & Human Services. Dr. Joan Pennell is the Director of the Center for Community and Family Engagement and is having much success across disciplines. As we look ahead, our goal is to expand upon existing partnerships to foster workforce development and mental health interventions that are exemplars of best practices.

We are saying farewell to colleagues, at the end of this academic year, who have contributed to the department, the college, the university and the community at large in significant and important ways. Professors Hayes, Allison, Martin, Fisher-Borne and Taliaferro (transitioning) are making major career moves. Hannah Allison has been accepted into a Sociology PhD Program at UNC-Chapel Hill. Crystal Hayes is starting a doctoral program in Social Work at the University of Connecticut and Suzanne Martin will enter the PhD program in Public Administration at NC State. Dr. Taliaferro has resigned as Graduate Program Director to engage in a scholarly research reassignment in the fall and will continue as a full-time tenured faculty member. Dr. Fisher-Borne has resigned for an appointment at the American Cancer Society (ACS). I wish them all the greatest of success in their transitions and new endeavors. I am proud of all that the department has accomplished collectively, including the success of our Advisory Board. Together, we graduated 39 BSW students and 55 MSW students in spring of 2015 and 20 BSW students in the fall of 2014. This is a major accomplishment! We hired new faculty and staff who contributed tremendously to our existing academic team. Each individual uniquely enhances our capacity to carry out our mission to prepare graduates for the social work profession. I am most proud of our team effort to achieve success in teaching, research, scholarship, and service and community engagement! I greatly appreciate the support of the advisory board members, donors, field supervisors and other community volunteers, without whom the NC State Social Work Program could not be all that it is, to so many, in so many ways. Sincerely, Karen Bullock, PhD, LCSW Professor/ Department Head