Kristin M. Ferguson, assistant professor of social work, was selected as the inaugural winner of the Frank Turner Award for best article in International Social Work, the official publication of the International Association of Schools of Social Work, the International Council on Social Welfare and the International Federation of Social Workers.

Her article, "Beyond Indigenization and Reconceptualization: Towards a Global Multi-directional Model of Technology Transfer," was chosen as the best work that explored the development of international social work, receiving high marks for its scholarship, research, relevance, originality and comparative content.

She writes that based on values of egalitarianism, democracy, multiculturalism and respect for diversity, the model proposes that all countries be viewed as both donors and recipients of technology and ideas. In essence, Ferguson says it is only through the collaboration of all countries, as co-participants, in circulating successful adaptations of existing methods, as well as in transmitting new local technology and ideas, that international social work education and the profession at large can become the global response to the economic development, environmental, health and social welfare problems that have become progressively more international in scope.

Ferguson serves on the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) Council on Global Learning, Research and Practice, where she is charged with developing and integrating an international dimension in social work curricula across the country. Her research interests include homeless and street-living youth, social and spiritual capital, outcomes evaluation and social development interventions with street youth. She was the principal investigator of an international interdisciplinary research project that identified best practices in faith-based organizations servicing street-living children in Los Angeles, Mumbai and Nairobi. She is currently funded to evaluate the implementation and effectiveness of community-based services for vulnerable children in Nairobi, Kenya, and separately for youth victims of commercial sexual exploitation in five cities in the United States.

The Frank Turner Award is awarded annually as a lasting acknowledgement of Frank Turner's inspiration, leadership and overall contribution to the development and growth of the publication, International Social Work. Winners receive ₤300 worth of books and/or journals from Sage.