When Michael Hoffmeister arrived on campus as an undergraduate, he anticipated pursuing a degree in psychology. Instead, a social work class focusing on the formation of social welfare policies and the role of the social work professional, taught by Dr. Jan Greenberg, changed his trajectory. Three social work degrees later, Dr. Hoffmeister is now the Director …
Research funded by an IDS Seed Grant is seeking to better understand and reduce gaps in access to post-assault care for people with marginalized identities. The project was led by IDS Affiliates Kate Walsh and LB Klein and IDS Graduate Fellows Padideh Hassanpour and Taylan Stulting, along with Jeneile Luebke. It focuses on improving support services for survivors of sexual violence who are often …
PhD student Anna Walther received a Russell Sage Foundation research grant this year for her dissertation on the differences in financial security by race, ethnicity, and partnership status in the year preceding and following childbirth — examining how and whether the U.S. social safety net supports families’ economic security during the transition to parenthood. It …
Rick Ezell, 70, is an avid cyclist and dedicated weightlifter, yet when he experienced some episodes of tachycardia (increased heart rate) it was initially dismissed by a cardiologist. It wasn’t until he was referred to an electro-physiologist who was a triathlete and understood how active Ezell is that he got a heart rate monitor and …
Congratulations to PhD student Mai Xiong who received the Dr. Pa Kou Her Legacy Scholarship. Mai will be recognized and celebrated on June 21st at Our Scholarship’s Annual Reception, “a vibrant celebration of dreams, dedication, and the remarkable journeys of Hmong and Southeast Asian scholars in Wisconsin.”
Joan Levy Zlotnik, MSSW ’74, received the 2025 NASW Foundation’s Knee-Wittman Lifetime Achievement Award, “for her efforts in improving child welfare services and bringing awareness to the health and mental health needs of children and society’s most fragile communities. Zlotnik played a critical role in promoting the blueprint for training programs, supported through Title IV-E of …
PhD student Taylan Stulting is preparing to row, yes row, across the Pacific Ocean. Starting June 7, Taylan and two teammates will begin the 2,800-mile journey in the World’s Toughest Row — Pacific from Monterey, CA to the Hawaiian Island of Kauai. Their team, Oar the Rainbow, is a mixed-gender team and if all goes …
Financing their education, social work alum Taylor Wilson and her husband, a medical student, had incurred substantial student loan debt. A novice to the financial management and planning world, Taylor’s initial goal was to begin making progress at reducing that debt. Reading extensively, taking coursework and listening to experts, Taylor explained, “I wished there was …
Assistant Professor LB Klein was recently named a finalist for The Linda Saltzman New Investigator Award, which honors an “outstanding new investigator working in the field of the prevention of intimate partner violence, domestic violence, sexual violence, or dating violence” by the CDC Foundation. Dr. Klein is an intervention researcher and prevention scientist whose interdisciplinary …
Congratulations to Dr. Tova Walsh who was elected as the President of Group for the Advancement of Doctoral Education (GADE) in Social Work. “GADE also proudly congratulates Dr. Tova Walsh on her election as President-Elect. Dr. Walsh is the Anne Wackman Oros Associate Professor and PhD Program Director at the University of Wisconsin–Madison Sandra Rosenbaum …