Category General News


UA Team to Build Opioid Prevention, Recovery Network in State

HRSA-funded project to target five high-risk counties By David Miller TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Following a year of community engagement and assessments of health and rehabilitation services across rural Alabama, a University of Alabama-led team of researchers is ready to implement a robust opioid prevention, treatment and recovery network in the state. The Health Resources and…


NIA, NSF to Fund Ruggiano’s Tech-Focused Dementia Care Projects

  By David Miller Aug. 31, 2020 The National Institute on Aging has awarded $1.6 million to researchers from The University of Alabama and Florida International University to design touch-screen technology to improve communication between dementia patients and their caregivers. Dr. Nicole Ruggiano, associate professor in the UA School of Social Work and co-principal investigator…


CSWE-Funded Cross-Cultural Learning Project Continues This Semester

SSW students sharing social work experiences with Ghanaian counterparts *Editor’s note: this story originally appeared in the 2019-2020 edition of Outreach and has been updated to reflect current data. By David Miller Aug. 28, 2020 International social work experiences, whether real-time or virtual, provide foundational pay-offs for one’s social work career, even for those that don’t…


Jones tests professional, personal ethics in law school field placement

MSW alumna aspires to work with children who’ve been abused or trafficked *Editor’s note: this story originally appeared in the 2019-2020 edition of Outreach Aug. 19, 2020By David Miller Shortly after earning her undergraduate degree in psychology, Christina Jones accepted a job in a law office. It was initially a temporary job to bridge to…


Researcher Keen to Advance Geriatric Social Work Policy

By David Miller Aug. 4, 2020 Dr. Nicole Ruggiano’s work to improve services and support of family caregivers in Alabama will grow significantly over the next two years. Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey has appointed Ruggiano, associate professor in the University of Alabama School of Social Work, to the Alabama Lifespan Respite Coalition, a team of…


TK Thorne: A Long Road of Public Service, Advocacy and Storytelling

MSW alumna, author reflects on life in policing, social chasm of 2020 July 16, 2020By David Miller TK Thorne’s first post-MSW job wasn’t what she envisioned: grant writing for a police department. But, at the time, she was keenly familiar with the Birmingham Police Department, which had developed a pipeline in the 1970s for University…


Defunding the Police: A Complex, Complicated Road to Police Reform

Social Work, Criminal Justice Faculty Currently Engaged in Police Education, Research By David Miller June 25, 2020 Before Dr. Hee Yun Lee’s full-time career in academia, she routinely worked alongside police officers. It was the early 2000s, when Lee was a children’s social worker for the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services.…


UA School of Social Work Launches Search for Next Dean

The University of Alabama School of Social Work has launched a search for its next dean. The UA School of Social Work is keen to hire an innovative, future-oriented, and facilitative leader with a high scholarly profile who will lead the School on community-engaged research initiatives and social justice solutions for Alabama and beyond. The…


Coping with Trauma: Office for Diversity, Equity & Inclusion to Host Virtual Vigil, ‘Campus Discussion’

As our community along with the nation grapples with all that we have seen and experienced, there yet is another call for us to 1) courageously stand up to some difficult truths about our country; 2) understand the history of these difficult truths as context is everything; and 3) most importantly, be willing to act…


Message from the UA School of Social Work: Our Response to Recent Tragedies

Dear UA School of Social Work Students, The University of Alabama School of Social Work is saddened by the renewed wave of violence against African Americans. George Floyd has joined Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and a far too long list of souls taken from this world by a racist and unjust system. We know the impact…