University of Pittsburgh School of Social Work

Congratulations! PhD student Christian Porter has been accepted to Professional Development Training Series on Poverty and Economic Mobility Research with the University of Wisconsin-Madison for 2025-2026 year. It is a professional development training series on poverty and economic mobility research for early career researchers and students through the Institute for Research on Poverty (IRP) "It is designed to increase researchers’ (1) interdisciplinary knowledge and understanding of policy-relevant research contexts including the policymaking processes in federal agencies that administer human services programs; (2) ability to communicate with policy and public audiences effectively; (3) ability to work with affected communities in research development and dissemination; and (4) knowledge about research career paths outside of academia."

TONIGHT AT 6:30! Interested in getting your MSW? Curious about the future of social work? Join us for a Live Panel featuring faculty members Suzanne Pritzker and Stevara Haley Clark and MSW alumna Ann McCurdy. We will reflect on the challenges and hopes facing the profession in 2025, the future of social work, and how the Pitt MSW program prepares students to meet this moment. We hope to see you there! Register here: https://ow.ly/Pjzf50WjIUN

Pets can reduce the negative effects of social isolation that become more common among adults as they age, said Mary Rauktis, a professor with the University of Pittsburgh School of Social Work. As people retire from jobs and outlive friends and family members, they also lose their social circle, which is critical to maintaining emotional health. https://ow.ly/MfzN50WmmTh

Will a New Advisory Board Help Improve Allegheny County’s Troubled Record on Youth Detention?
Jeff Shook and Sara Goodkind, professors at Pitt’s School of Social Work, said the board should ask for more granular data in light of the county’s — and country’s — history of over-incarcerating Black youth and youth with disabilities. Read more in Public Source: https://ow.ly/NAJw50WjJK4

Interested in getting your MSW? Curious about the future of social work? Join us for a Live Panel featuring faculty members Suzanne Pritzker and Stevara Haley Clark and MSW alumna Ann McCurdy. We will reflect on the challenges and hopes facing the profession in 2025, the future of social work, and how the Pitt MSW program prepares students to meet this moment. We hope to see you there! Register here: https://ow.ly/CvHe50WjINe

Transform your world, yourself, and yourself with our new part-time, online program. Flexible to meet your time and career needs! Application deadline July 15th. Apply today! msw.pitt.edu

As he visited Milwaukee to meet with local representatives, Dr. Quinton Cotton shares: "As a social work scholar, I believe that science must move beyond a peer-reviewed publication and into the lives of the people it’s meant to serve. That’s why it’s important for me to be engaged in policy work.
Policy is where ideas meet action. It shapes the systems that determine whether communities thrive or struggle. I visited my hometown of Milwaukee, Wisconsin and at the Harley Davidson Museum, I joined Representative Hakeem Jeffries as he launches a national listening tour to develop a people-directed policy platform. My work focuses on health equity, cultural healing, and addressing the deep impact of racism, ageism, and ableism. These are not just research topics—they are policy priorities. If we want a future that reflects justice, care, and accountability, we must help design it. That means being in the room. That means being at the table."

Interested in getting your MSW? Curious about the future of social work? Join us for a Live Panel featuring faculty members Suzanne Pritzker and Stevara Haley Clark. We will reflect on the challenges and hopes facing the profession in 2025, the future of social work, and how the Pitt MSW program prepares students to meet this moment. We hope to see you there! Register here: https://ow.ly/CvHe50WjINe

MSW alumnus Dave Feehan was appointed to the Montgomery County, Maryland Community Reinvestment and Repair Fund Commission which was founded with the purpose to provide funds to community–based organizations that serve communities determined by the Office of Social Equity, in consultation with the Office of the Attorney General, to have been the most impacted by disproportionate enforcement of the cannabis prohibition before July 1, 2022.

In the Pittsburgh area, the Library Social Work Fellowship, operated through Pitts’s School of Social Work, places social workers in libraries across Allegheny County. “There was a time where we had a lot of community spaces. There were community centers in every neighborhood,” said Alicia Melnick, an assistant professor at Pitt who oversees the program. “Libraries have sort of transformed into a space that’s taken the place of that.” Read more in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: https://ow.ly/3oCV50WgNaP

NAMI Keystone Pennsylvania will host its 2025 Black Mental Health Summit from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. July 24 at Commonwealth Charter Academy, 162 East Bridge St. at The Waterfront in Homestead.
The summit is a free event, but registration is required: https://www.namikeystonepa.org/events/black-mental-health-summit
The event will address the challenges that members of Pittsburgh’s Black community are facing, how stigma can be a barrier to seeking treatment and the obstacles experienced when getting help.
This year’s summit, Mental Health and the Black Family, will feature keynote presenter Dr. James Huguley, an associate professor at the University of Pittsburgh School of Social Work. His research focuses on school and family-based interventions that promote positive mental health and academic outcomes for African-American youth.
His presentation, “The BlackPrint: Lessons from Black Parents on Thriving in Challenging Times,” will highlight the leading research and indigenous practices that propel wellness in Black families despite adverse historical and contemporary contexts, including what they have learned and accomplished through the Parenting While Black program.
The summit also will feature a panel discussion and resource fair.
In addition, attendees can choose between two workshops: “Seeing Clearly Through a Trauma Lens” with Darnell Drewery, trauma education and wellness facilitator at the Center for Victims; and “Advocating While Black: Empowering Black Men in Mental Health Spaces” with Courtney Fulton, founder of Courtney J. Fulton Coaching.

TOMORROW! Please join us in a conversation about the future of the University of Pittsburgh School of Social Work COSA (Community, Organization, and Social Action) curriculum on Monday, June 30th from Noon to 4 PM in Room 2017 in the Cathedral of Learning.