Aurora University School of Social Work
Volume 1, Number 4 – Spring 2008
- AU lends support to NIU
- The End of another Academic Year in the SSW
- New Addictions Program to start in the SSW at AU
- SSW Gerontology Specialization Update
- New Child Welfare Specialization in the SSW
- Field Instruction Update
- Get Your CEUs in the SSW at AU by Auditing Elective Courses
- CSWE Self Study is Finished and the Site Team will Arrive in October 2008!
AU lends support to NIU
by Randy Fischer, School of Social Work Coordinator
Marcia Hanlon, Director of the Aurora University Counseling Center, and three members of the School of Social Work faculty were part of the crisis counseling team at Northern Illinois University February 24-26. Faculty members Dr. Donald Phelps and Dr. Susan Ross along with the School Social Work Program Coordinator, Randy A. Fisher, represented the Aurora University School of Social Work.
The AU representatives arrived at NIU on Sunday afternoon and received brief training on their role as part of the crisis team. The goal of the team was not to provide therapy but to support the faculty, students and staff at NIU as classes resumed more than a week after the tragedy. On Sunday during the evening memorial service, the volunteers were assigned to different locations on campus where people gathered.
On Monday and Tuesday, many crisis counselors were assigned to classrooms. At the start of every class, the counselors were introduced by the instructor. The role of the crisis counselor was to provide a brief overview of the mental health resources available on campus and the contact information for those services. The counselors also relayed some mental health tips about coping and stress in a time of crisis. Instructors had the choice of continuing the discussion with their students or going back to their lesson plans for the day. If a discussion followed, the crisis counselor would participate when appropriate. More than 500 mental health professionals, many from universities and colleges across the country, were part of the team. It was a rewarding experience for everyone who participated.
Director's Report: The End of another Academic Year in the SSW
By Fred McKenzie, Director of the School of Social Work and Dean of the College of Professional Studies
This issue of the spring Director’s Report will be relatively brief, given our push to finish the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) Self Study, which was recently completed.
There are several new and exciting changes in the School of Social Work; but probably the most noteworthy is the announcement of the retirement of Dr. John Morrison:
- Dr. Morrison is retiring from the School of Social Work at Aurora University after more than 20 years of dedicated and distinguished service.
- Dr. Morrison is an acclaimed scholar, including co-author/co-editor of two books; Macro Social Work Practice: a Strengths Perspective (2006). Belmont, CA: Thomson Brooks/Cole; and Community Organization and Social Administration: Advances, Trends and Emerging Principles(1993). Haworth Press. He also has published more than 10 articles in peer reviewed journals and authored several book chapters. Dr. Morrison has also given numerous presentations on community practice throughout the world.
- During his tenure at Aurora University, Dr. Morrison has served as the M.S.W. program chair, policy sequence chair and on numerous social work faculty searches. He has been a strong leader in the SSW, and was twice instrumental in helping the combined B.S.W. and M.S.W. programs become reaccredited with the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE).
- On the university level, Dr. Morrison has served on faculty search committees, been the chair of the graduate affairs committee; as well as having been involved in numerous other committees including the academic and standards committee, academic computing committee, committee on faculty concerns, a faculty representative on the university board of trustees, and the President’s strategic planning task force.
- These credentials are quite impressive, but Dr. Morrison’s most valuable contribution to the SSW and Aurora University has been his strength as a professor, professional mentor, and role model to countless students and faculty over the last 20-plus years. In many ways, John Morrison was the School of Social Work.
Dr. Morrison plans to keep busy after he retires from AU. Recently, he has been spending more time working with the International Activities Network of the national Association of Social Workers. He will also continue his community work, and hopes to do some part-time teaching.
AU School of Social Work Introduces New Addictions Program
by Robert Castillo, Assistant Professor and Addictions Training Director
Exciting news: B.S.W. students will be able to take courses in addictions from their free electives in order to satisfy the curriculum requirements for their Certified Alcohol and other Drug Counselor (CADC) credential. In addition, B.S.W. students interested in this track will be placed in a social work addictions internship under the direct supervision of an M.S.W. who also has their CADC. This means that B.S.W. students may be able to graduate with their B.S.W. degree, and be qualified to sit for the CADC.
As a result of the overwhelmingly positive response to the addictions initiative, efforts to move ahead with this specialization in the M.S.W. program are underway. This is a great example of how the administrative team responds to the student body — a quality not common in a large university setting!
Allison Arendt, Director of Field Work, has been instrumental in establishing this program. She and I have visited with many potential placements for the addictions specialization. We have been very particular as to where we want students to do their placements for this internship. We have focused on placements that either have a variety of levels of care, work with various populations (i.e., adult, adolescence, women with children), or do good solid work within the community (i.e., outreach as well as going into the schools). We are also focusing on having a broad geographic area to offer students. As time goes on, we plan to expand this list of sites. A list of approved sites will be forthcoming.
I should also note that the response from the treatment community has been very supportive. They believe the combination of social work and addiction training makes so much sense. One site, a community mental health agency, even indicated that it required their social workers to acquire the CADC credential within two years of hire!
The Illinois Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Professional Certification Association, Inc (IAODAPCA) application is near completion. The association made some changes as of January 2008, so I will be making some adjustments to the curriculum to accommodate those changes. Other than that, the packet should be ready to send within a few weeks. Once the packet is received, a site visit will take place within 30 to 45 days. There is every indication that the SSW will be a state-approved educational institution before the end of the spring semester.
SSW Gerontology Specialization Update: Spring CEU Event – Social Work Gerontology Expert – Dr. Nancy Hooyman
by Julie Bach, Assistant Professor
As we are all aware, the older adult population is growing rapidly. Historically there has been a lack of visibility of aging in social work (Tompkins & Rosen, 2006). Social workers graduate with their social work degree and never expect to work with older adults. Yet the literature has shown that many social workers encounter older adults in a variety of settings. The SSW specialization in gerontology is now an approved program of Aurora University. Four core classes comprise the specialization including: Social work and Older Adults; Biology and Health of Aging; Geriatric Social Work Services (Assessment and Intervention); and Gerontology: Families and Groups. Currently, the specialization is part of the master’s degree program; however, there is hope to have an interdisciplinary focus at the undergraduate level sometime in the future.
Throughout the year, additional classes examining topics in gerontology will be offered. This summer the class, Women and Successful Aging, will meet during the evening on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Alumni can audit this class for 25% of the normal tuition cost, and receive 40 hours of credit toward continuing education unites. There is limited space in this class so your early registration is encouraged.
Finally, on Friday, May 16, the CEU event, “Aging and the Family: Multigenerational Challenges,” will be held in Crimi Auditorium. Dr. Nancy Hooyman will be the featured presenter at the workshop. Hooyman has written many books in the field of gerontology including the text she has coauthored with H. Asuman Kiyak, Social Gerontology (8th Edition). Hopefully you can join us for this exciting event.
Tompkins, C. & Rosen, A. (2006). Developing Visibility for Aging in Social Work: The First NGSWC. In Tompkins, C. & Rosen, A. (Eds.). Fostering Social Work Gerontology Competence: A Collection of Papers from the First National Gerontological Social Work Conference. (pp. 1 – 8). New York: The Haworth Press, Inc.
New Child Welfare Specialization in the SSW
Recently, SSW alumna Brenda Barnwell, LCSW, Assistant Professor, joined AU to develop our new child welfare specialization. Barnwell comes to the SSW with many years of clinical social work experience, and is extremely well suited to lead the new child welfare curriculum effort.
Coincidentally, the Department of Children and Family Services has announced a new collaborative child welfare initiative that will include representatives from schools of social work across Illinois, private sector agencies and department personnel. We anticipate being intimately involved in this new venture which will include the development of a child welfare specialization curriculum for B.S.W. and M.S.W. students coming from the private agency sector, post-graduate training in specialized child welfare areas (such as our new addictions program mentioned above), funded research and specialized training for DCFS foster parents.
We are very excited about this new opportunity, and are fortunate to have Professor Barnwell to spearhead the effort.
Field Instruction Update
by Alison Arendt, Director of Field Instruction
My first year as Director of Field Instruction is continuing to be a learning experience. Thank you to students, field instructors, field liaisons and all those in the social work community that have been helpful to my learning process this year!
Students in the B.S.W. and M.S.W. programs are seeking field placements for the 2008–2009 academic year. Students are encouraged to secure a field placement by the end of this academic year (May 2008).
Thank you all for opening the field of social work to Aurora University social work students.
Need CEUs? Consider Auditing an AU Course
by Donette Considine, Associate Director, School of Social Work
Did you know SSW alumni may audit social work elective courses for 25% of the tuition cost, and receive 40 or more CEUs? A typical SSW elective course costs approximately $1,500. The audit fee is approximately $375 — that’s less than $10 a CEU! In fact, by auditing just ONE elective course in the SSW, you will satisfy your entire LSW/LCSW CEU requirement for the two-year period. SSW students receive priority for these courses, but there are usually a number of openings in each elective course. Elective course options can be found online - simply go to aurora.edu and click on the Class Schedules link at the bottom of the page.
SSW electives are taught by both regular and adjunct professors, and provide the most current and up-to-date theoretical and applied knowledge available. In addition, your presence and contribution to the course experience can be especially beneficial to SSW students.
Please feel free to contact Fred R. McKenzie Ph.D., LCSW, Director of the School of Social Work, or Dr. Donette Considine, Associate Director, for further information.
CSWE Self Study is Finished and the Site Team will Arrive in October 2008!
SSW faculty and staff have worked long and hard this year to finish our self study in order to become reaccredited by the Council on Social Work Education. Each SSW program must go through a reaffirmation process every eight years. We are excited and confident about our reaffirmation process, and look forward to meeting with the CSWE site team members this coming fall.
