School of Social Work Director Melinda Hohman
It seems hard to believe that another semester is almost over. What an exciting time it has been! Here are some of the highlights:
- Over this whole year, we had 324 social work students in field internships, along with 25 gerontology students, who worked a total of 167,000 hours, worth $2,500,000 to the San Diego social service community!
- Over 210 field instructors gave of their time to supervise students. We thank you!
- We had 2 students placed in Tijuana for internships, with a new agency added for next year.
- Our Field Department offered some exciting events—we had the Court Immersion Day, Life after Graduation workshop, Tour of the Border with Border Patrol, and the Military Social Work Panel.
- Like other Schools of Social Work across the country, we celebrated an All School Day with a conference on social justice which will be an on-going theme. We are looking for students to participate in next year’s planning committee, starting in Fall 2015.
- The School’s Advisory Board, made up of county and non-profit CEOs and directors, presented on a panel–the Executive Summit– about their professional work paths, hiring needs, and agency culture.
- Our Joint Doctoral Program in Interdisciplinary Substance Use Research was approved, with 4 students admitted for our Fall 2015 cohort.
- We had very active student organizations who hosted some incredible events. The Black Social Work Caucus held a conference featuring Dr. Terence Fitzgerald, who spoke about African American men in the United States.
- We had a new student organization be recognized—Phi Alpha, the social work honor society, with 31 members inducted.
- Tom Packard received the Outstanding Faculty Award from the student orgs from across our college. Ernie Zuniga, who coordinates our MSW program in Calexico, received the Outstanding Part-Time Faculty Award from students at the Imperial Valley Campus of SDSU. Congratulations to both!
- We hosted 20 visiting social work students with their faculty from Munich for 2 weeks and 8 social work students from Tijuana spent a day on our campus. Thanks to all of the students who graciously met with our visitors and toured them on campus.
- Our Alumni Association hosted a resume-writing workshop—thank you to them!
- Many of you joined me at one of the four “coffees” that I held, to meet students and discuss the program. If you couldn’t make it this year, I hope you can do so next year.
Please know that I have an open door policy. Our new Associate Director, Dr. Min, and I are happy to meet with you to discuss the program, social work careers, or your experiences as a student. We sent out the Student Engagement Survey as another way to connect with you. We will have the results from it in the fall. Have a wonderful summer!
