PhD Student Melody Waring Receives Teaching Assistant Award

Fifteen graduate students at the University of Wisconsin–Madison have been honored with 2019 Campus-Wide Teaching Assistant Awards, including Melody Waring, a PhD student in the Social Welfare program at the School of Social Work. Waring’s dissertation looks at the intersection of caregiving and employment, and the public policy implications that arise. She has taught courses on …

The Social Work Entrepreneur: A Series Highlighting Alumni Who Have Created Their Own Businesses and Organizations

Alumna Rebecca Paradiso de Sayu, PhD ’13, Enters the For-Profit World Unlike most students pursuing doctoral education, Rebecca Paradiso de Sayu knew before starting a doctorate program that she did not plan to pursue a tenure-track professorship. During her program and following it, she recognized that her research, evaluation, and coaching skills could be useful …

Alumni Provide Leadership in Social Work Education

The Council on Social Work Education’s (CSWE) Commission on Accreditation (COA) is responsible for accrediting and re-affirming the accreditation of more than 800 undergraduate and MSW social work programs.  Four UW–Madison School of Social Work alums are members of the COA and, Mary Kurfess, MSSW ’83, is CSWE’s Director of Accreditation. The photo above was …

Part-Time Program Student Spotlight: Sean Michels

This spotlight features one of our students, Sean Michels, who is the CPS Initial Assessment Social Worker for Sheboygan County. Year in the program & focus:  4th year-Advanced Standing: Children, Youth, and Families – Child Welfare How would you describe your experience in the Part-Time MSW Program? The best word to describe my experience in …

Researchers Shed Light on Previously Unknown Characteristic of People with Down Syndrome

A new study of 3,000 people in Wisconsin aged 21 and older with Down syndrome, published in JAMA Neurology by Assistant Professor of Social Work Lauren Bishop and colleagues, shows that by age 55, three in five will be diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease or a similar neurodegenerative condition. The prevalence of dementia among people with …

Molly Costanzo Receives Doctoral Research Award

PhD student Molly Costanzo has received the 2020 Student Research Award from the Group for the Advancement of Doctoral Education in Social Work. In addition to a cash award, she will be recognized at the GADE Reception in Washington, D.C. in January. Molly’s paper, co-authored with Katherine Magnuson, entitled, “How does disability influence child care arrangements for young …

BSW student Layne Wetherbee Recipient of 2019 Bascom Hill Society Scholarship

Congratulations to BSW student Layne Wetherbee who received the 2019 Bascom Hill Society Scholarship from the University of Wisconsin–Madison and University of Wisconsin Foundation. In her time here she’s worked with Dr. Paja Charles on the Pathways for Parents after Prison Lab, helped refine a parenting curriculum, volunteered with a student group working with families experiencing homelessness, and …

Two Alums Receive National Social Work Profession Honors

Congratulations to two school alumni who have made significant contributions to the field of social work. Michael Daley, PhD ’83, was named a “Social Work Pioneer” by the National Association of Social Workers. This prestigious award honors social workers who have contributed to the evolution and enrichment of the profession. Daley is  Chair and Professor …

PhD student Meghan Jenkins Morales receives New Investigator Award

Congratulations to PhD student Meghan Jenkins Morales who received the UW Institute on Aging’s 2019 New Investigator Award in the Social Sciences category for her poster, “The Association Between Housing Cost Burden, Unmet Care Needs and Nursing Home Entry Among Community-Dwelling Older Adults.” The award will be presented at the Annual Institute on Aging Colloquium …

Waring Receives Dissertation Fellowship

PhD student Melody Waring was recently selected as one of three recipients of the 2019 Dissertation Fellowship Award from the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College. Through her project, “Caring for Aging Parents: Stratified Effects on Labor Force Participation,” Waring studies the relationship between caregiving and participation in the labor force by socioeconomic status. …