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USC University of Southern California

News Archive

  • Maryalice Jordan-Marsh, an associate professor at the USC School of Social Work, has received the 2012 Distinguished Faculty Service Award for her contributions to the USC Academic Senate as co-chair of the Committee on Information Services.

    Jordan-Marsh is one of three recipients of the award, which honors faculty who have served the Academic Senate, the representative body of the entire faculty at USC, well above and beyond the call of duty.

  • Avelardo Valdez, a professor with the USC School of Social Work, has been appointed to a federal committee tasked with exploring high rates of incarceration in the United States.

    Officials with the National Academy of Sciences, which formed the Committee on the Causes and Consequences of High Rates of Incarceration, said Valdez will offer an invaluable perspective due to his lengthy research career on topics closely related to imprisonment.

  • The USC School of Social Work’s Center for Innovation and Research on Veterans and Military Families (CIR) has announced a partnership with the King’s Centre for Military Health Research at King’s College London to bring together scholars in the United States, United Kingdom and around the world to share an open exchange of information and ideas on military-related behavioral health and disseminate knowledge that aims to develop a greater understanding of the issues facing veterans and their families and that lead to effective treatments and solutions.

  • A $25,000 grant from USC’s research and innovation fund will enable Kelly Turner, a research assistant professor with the USC School of Social Work, to test a new way of preparing students to work with veterans and other military clients.

    Turner’s proposal was selected by the James H. Zumberge Research and Innovation Fund, which offers individual awards to newer research faculty to help launch their careers and support research in areas with limited funding opportunities.

  • MSW student David Curry is all too familiar with the struggles veterans face once their service ends and they must return to civilian life.

    Curry, a U.S. Marine with two tours of duty in Iraq behind him, worked as an outreach liaison for veterans at Saddleback College in Mission Viejo, Calif., assisting them with the transition to college life. So when his social welfare class was given the assignment to advocate on behalf of a piece of state or federal legislation for a semester-long project, the choice was clear.

  • Erick Guerrero, assistant professor at the USC School of Social Work, has been selected by the National Network for Social Work Managers to receive the Mark Moses Distinguished Fellowship Award for his work to find evidence-based solutions for social work managers.

    Guerrero is one of two recipients of the award, which has honored exemplary practitioners and academics working in the field of social work management every year since 2008.

  • Homeless persons are among the most marginalized in the United States, suffering alarming morbidity and mortality rates. Homelessness afflicts the young and the old, individuals and families, and intersects with issues of serious mental illness, substance use and a host of other health risks—all of which pose serious challenges to providing adequate service. These concerns are especially acute in Southern California.

  • In the fall of 2010, the USC School of Social Work opened the “doors” of its new Virtual Academic Center and began offering a web-based master’s degree in social work (Online MSW) for the first time. The school celebrated on May 11 the graduation of its first Online MSW class of 130 students from 26 states, many of whom donned cap and gown to participate in graduation ceremonies alongside the school’s other 478 on-campus graduates.  

  • Gretchen Heidemann, a doctoral student at the USC School of Social Work, has received a fellowship to further her research on how women can successfully transition from incarceration back into society.

    As one of six scholars selected for the 2012 Haynes Lindley Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship Award, Heidemann will receive $20,000 to support her study on factors that help or hinder formerly incarcerated women as they return to local communities.

  • Each year, the USC School of Social Work Dean’s Recognition Ceremony honors those faculty and graduating students who have made significant achievements in their academic careers and contributions to the USC and at-large communities. This year’s event recognized scholarship winners, new and past student leadership, Dean's Scholars and Dean's Honorable Mentions, and inductees into the Phi Alpha Honor Society Omicron Epsilon Chapter. Below are those who received awards at the ceremony.