Social Work major Rae'shon Smith with Dr. Utsey.
Social Work Month is a national celebration of the social work profession held every March. The National Association of Social Work selects a theme for each year. This year's theme is Empowering Social Workers: Inspiring Action, Leading Change.
The Ethelyn R. Strong School of Social Work, which is the oldest accredited school in the Commonwealth of Virginia, is offering additional educational programming to students this month that provides historical and societal knowledge that may be applied in research practice, policy analysis and implementation, community development, family intervention and individual transformation.
“We use this month as a time to retool and revamp knowledge and skills in social justice and human rights to effectuate change and transformation,” says Dr. Colita Fairfax, Professor of Social Work.
The School's Social Work Month Chairman, Dr. Brenda Norman, worked with the faculty to offer a wide range of events this month, such as an opening session that featured Dr. Wanda Bernard Bailey, DSW graduate and Deputy City Manager, City of Chesapeake, and Mr. Jason Samuels, BSW graduate, first Black School Board Chairman, City of Hampton.
Graduate student roundtable featuring CNN political journalist Sofia Nelson.
For the remainder of Social Work Month, there are events planned that will provide information to empower students about how they shall contribute to social justice and human rights such as a graduate student roundtable and town hall meeting with CNN political journalist Sophia Nelson, which is in partnership with the Center for African American Public Policy (CAAmPP) and the School of Social Work.
Through educational programming opportunities such as these, the School of Social Work wants to extend the curriculum to engage students in experiential learning and continue this important pedagogical tradition grounded in social change, social justice and human rights.