News Archive

On April 1, 2021, CBS premieres United States of Al - a new comedy from producer Chuck Lorre (Two and a Half Men, Big Bang Theory) about a Marine combat veteran struggling to readjust to civilian life and the interpreter who served with his unit in Afghanistan and has just arrived to start a new life in America. The show explores the relationship between these two men and how they help each other adjust to their new lives.

The tragic events that occurred in Atlanta this week remind us that racism, hate and bias remain a heartbreaking factor in our country and the daily lives of many Americans. We are deeply saddened and indignant that yet another community continues to be a target for discrimination and brutality based on race and gender.

Social workers in government, using their skills to influence policy and create change on a macro level, are becoming increasingly important for society. There are currently 42 members of Congress who are social workers. The daughter of President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden is a social worker. The value of social work and what it can contribute to local, state and national politics is on the rise.

More than half a century has passed since they first met as Master of Social Work (MSW) students at USC in the late 1950s, and Juan Ramos, MSW ’60, remembers the late Reverend Bernard Coughlin, MSW ’59, as a passionate, energetic person who was dedicated to  helping the poor .  Coughlin passed away in January 2020 at Sacred Heart Jesuit Center in Los Gatos, California.

Eunhye Ahn has a passion for improving the lives of children and families. Her journey to social work, however, was not a straight line. With an undergraduate degree in business, she began her professional career in the private sector and it was there that she became interested in the potential for data collection and analysis to be used for social good.

Tens of thousands of Americans die from drug use and addiction every year, with overdoses killing over 63,000 people in America in 2016, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Add in deaths linked to alcohol overuse and tobacco, and the number climbs above half a million Americans.

USC social work master’s student MaryAnn Samson helps other students apply for CalFresh benefits with a smile — and no judgment.

Hannah felt stressed every time she went shopping at the market. The USC student had to be so careful with her tiny budget that she often bought cheap food that offered calories but little nutrition.

Carla J. Thornton, MSW ’12, DSW ’18, mother, veteran, social worker, advocate, passionate friend and the first Black woman elected District 2 City Councilwoman for the City of Moreno Valley, passed away on January 21 at the age of 42. A triple Trojan, she is mourned and celebrated by her USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work family.

In his 100 years, Ted Lumpkin, Jr. experienced more than most, but considered his family to be his greatest achievement.

At lunch at the iconic Pann’s coffee shop in Los Angeles a few years ago, Barbara Solomon remembers Millie Charles was just as passionate about the profession of social work as she had been when the two women first got to know one another in the 1980s. Retired and recovering from a stroke, Charles lit up that afternoon talking about old times as well as new honors, such as the new social work school building at the Southern University of New Orleans (SUNO) that would bear her name.