Fall 2009 - Columbia University School of Social Work

12 SpectrumFaculty News & NotesInternationalProjectsProfessor Nabila El-Bassel, AssistantProfessor Elwin Wu and Dr. LouisaGilbert from the Social InterventionGroup (SIG) at Columbia UniversitySchool of Social Work have partneredwith Dr. Adeeba Kamarulzaman andthe Center of Excellence for Researchin AIDS (CERIA) at University of Malayaon a study to identify the forcesthat are fueling the HIV/AIDS epidemicamong commercial fishermen fromMalaysia and neighboring countries.Project WAVES aims to examine socialand structural determinants, such asdrug use, social networks, migrationand poverty that are contributing tothe HIV epidemic among fishermen.Findings from this collaborative studywill be used to inform the design of futureprevention strategies and policiesthat may advance harm reduction andtreatment efforts among both the fishermenand migrant workers involved incommercial fisheries.Associate Professor Fred Ssewamalawas invited to Nigeria (Bayelsa State)by the World Bank to consult with theNigerian government on the designof a pilot program for Child DevelopmentAccounts (CDAs). The program,which is facilitated by the World Bank,is the first of its kind in Nigeria andat the state level in Africa. The CDApilot program aims to reduce povertyin Bayelsa by addressing the majorsocial and economic challenges facedby the Nigerian state government. Thethree-year program will introducestructured and incentivized CDAs for1,000 underprivileged children withthe goal of encouraging continuededucation, rewarding skills acquisitionthrough vocational training and/or higher education, rewarding positivesavings behavior, and providing themeans for self-employment opportunities.In addition to his work in Nigeriaand Uganda, Dr. Ssewamala is alsocurrently researching the feasibility ofeconomic empowerment interventionsin poor African immigrant communitiesin the urban U.S.ScholarlyAccomplishmentsProfessor Jane Waldfogel was appointeda Visiting Professor at theCentre for Analysis of Social Exclusion(CASE) at the London School ofEconomics and Political Science. Anexpert in childcare and family policy,Dr. Waldfogel provides consultation tothe UK government and is a memberof the Advisory Committee for the NationalEvaluation of Sure Start and theacademic reference group for the UKCabinet Office social mobility review.Barbara Berkman, Helen Rehr/RuthFizdale Professor of Health and MentalHealth, will receive the Donald P. KentLifetime Achievement Award from theGerontological Society of America forher leadership in research, teaching,service and the translation ofher research into practice. The KentAward was created in 1973 in memoryof Donald P. Kent for his outstandingleadership in translating research findingsinto practical use. Dr. Berkmanis the second social worker to receivethis honor.Assistant Professor Craig Schwalbewas appointed a William T. GrantFoundation Scholar. Dr. Schwalbe wasamong four finalists selected from apool of 70 applicants. He will receivean award of $350,000 over five yearsfor his research entitled, “SocialProcesses in Juvenile Probation.”His research explores the effects ofprobation programs on the resilienceof youthful offenders in the juvenilejustice system.An article written by Associate ProfessorWen-Jui Han, Jane Waldfogel andcolleagues for the June 2008 issueof the Monthly Labor Review entitled“Timing of Mother’s Employment afterChild Birth” was selected as the bestarticle written by authors from outsideof the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics(BLS). The article was selected bya group of experts from within andfrom outside of the BLS. The groupis charged with assessing all of thearticles written for the Monthly LaborReview, the principal journal of fact,analysis, and research of the BLS.Another article written by JaneWaldfogel, Associate ProfessorNeeraj Kaushal, and alumna Qin Gao(‘05PhD) entitled “Welfare and FamilyExpenditures: How are Single MothersAdapting to the New Welfare and WorkRegime?” was selected as one of thetwenty best articles of 2008 in the annualRosabeth Moss Kanter Award forExcellence in Work-Family Researchcompetition. The article examined theassociation between welfare reformand expenditure patterns of poorsingle-mother families. A committee ofover 35 leadingscholars from12 countriesexamined over2,000 articlespublished in 74leading Englishlanguagejournalsfrom aroundthe world.Assistant Professor Mark S. Prestonwas named an Advisory Councilmember on the National Child WelfareWorkforce Institute’s LeadershipAcademy for Middle Managers. As anAdvisory Council member, Dr. Prestonjoins other national experts in the fieldof child welfare to oversee curriculumand program development of the LeadershipAcademy.Assistant Professor Victoria Rizzo wasappointed as the Research Directorfor the Jewish Association for Servicesto the Aged Research Institute, whereshe is conducting research focusedon the provision of professional socialwork services to the aged.Training &SymposiumHighlightsAssociate Professor Rogério M. Pintoconducted a symposium at the Schoolin May 2009 featuring researchersfrom social work, biostatisticsand community psychology. EntitledCommunity Collaborative Research:Interdisciplinary Conceptual andMethodological Approaches, the symposiumaddressed issues related to theevaluation of processes and outcomesof Community-Based ParticipatoryResearch (CBPR). The symposiumwas attended by 75 researchers,students, practitioners and communitymembers. The event was co-sponsoredby the Community Collaborative Board(PI: Dr. Pinto/Columbia University DiversityProgram), the Office of the AssociateDean of Research at CUSSW,and the New York State PsychiatricInstitute Division of Biostatistics andData Coordination.Seven faculty fellows attended the2009 Summer Training Institute ofthe HIV Intervention Science TrainingProgram (HISTP) for racial/ethnicminority new investigators. The fellowshailed from various universities acrossthe country, including the University ofTexas at Austin, San Francisco StateUniversity, Howard University, ArizonaState University, and Virginia CommonwealthUniversity. Funded by theNational Institute of Mental Health,HISTP aims to facilitate the growth anddevelopment of racial/ethnic minorityinvestigators whose research focus ison HIV/AIDS and co-occurring mentalhealth disorders. The program is codirectedby Professor Nabila El-Basseland Assistant Professor Elwin Wu.