News Archive

For members of the military who have experienced sexual assault while serving, the trauma and life-changing impacts of the violence and retaliation for reporting are crushing. Winning the battle against what Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin, III has called the “scourge of sexual assault” may not be easy, but there is a path forward, according to USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work researchers who specialize in military social work.

Many people fear the places Hector Jiminez needs to be. He relies on his battlefield experience — and his studies at USC, where he’s earned two graduate degrees — almost every day.

In environments where gang violence stalks communities, Army veteran Hector Jiminez is unafraid. He served eight years in Iraq and Afghanistan in the 1990s before returning to Southern California, where he followed a meandering path to a military social work degree at USC.

Each year, USC recognizes six current PhD students, and their primary advisor, with exceptional academic profiles. Tasha Perdue, graduating PhD student at the USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work, and Alice Cepeda, associate professor, are 2021 recipients of the USC PhD Achievement Award for Perdue’s dissertation work focusing on the illicit drug market in Dayton, Ohio.

Each year, the USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work honors students who have made significant achievements in their academic careers and contributions to the community. We are proud to recognize the following students for their outstanding accomplishments.

Social Work Alumni Association Award

Recognizes great potential to contribute to the social work profession and the USC alumni community.

Growing up in a disadvantaged neighborhood is related to children’s brain structure and neurocognitive performance, according to a study published May 3, 2021 in the journal JAMA Pediatrics.

When I heard the verdict read at the trial of Derek Chauvin, I was relieved that a change had been made in how excessive violence by police officers has been viewed and treated in courts. This gave me some hope that a door had finally been opened to create change. A single verdict does not even begin to erase all the lives lost over decades of police violence based on prejudice and discrimination. It does however signal that change is happening, or is at least possible, if we are vigilant.

For several years, PhD student Abigail Palmer Molina has focused her dissertation study on the experiences of mothers participating in an intervention for maternal depression, implemented as part of the Head Start program in South Los Angeles. The majority of the mothers were Latina immigrants, and Palmer Molina looked at their experiences to provide a richer picture of the intervention's effectiveness. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit last year, she was compelled to find out how these women, and their communities, were being affected.

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.