University of Pennsylvania School of Social Policy & Practice

Amber is in her first year of the Doctorate in Clinical Social Work (DSW) program. _____ I love that SP2 offers one of the first and most well respected DSW programs. The format of the program allows me to continue my professional career without compromising my learning experience or ability to engage with my cohort and instructors. SP2 features a strong faculty with interest areas similar to mine. I am also grateful for the initiatives SP2 and Penn have created in response ...to racial injustice and the COVID-19 pandemic. The most rewarding part of my experience at SP2 has been my cohort. I learn so much from my peers during our class discussions and group projects. I am grateful that the DSW program brings together a diverse group of talented clinicians and provides opportunities for us to learn together. - Amber, DSW ’23 Columbia, SC

On Jan. 25, SP2 professor Dennis Culhane, PhD, will be speaking as part of the Penn Population Studies Colloquium Series. Dr. Culhane is a social science researcher with expertise in the area of homelessness & assisted housing policy. Register here: https://bit.ly/3o7tYB4

Join Chad Dion Lassiter, SP2 alum and Executive Director of the PA Human Relations Commission, for a timely and informative Lunch & Learn session over Zoom this Thursday. See link and passcode below. Chaos to Community Revisiting the Triple Evils 1/21, 121 pm PC: 493619... https://bit.ly/39VdXtg

https://mlkdayofservice.org/ https://www.inquirer.com//mlk-day-phliadelphia-events-volu

On 1/19, SP2 visiting professor Dr. Denise Ferreira da Silva will give a talk entitled "A Story of Us: Attention, Reflection, and Extraction in Tales of the End(s) of the Human" as part of the Control Societies speaker series. More details here: https://bit.ly/3baGZXX

"What we saw Jan. 6 was a breach of the protection wall shielding white Americans from the worst of their compatriots’ rage," writes Chad Dion Lassiter, SP2 alum and Executive Director of the PA Human Relations Commission, in a new op-ed for the Inquirer. https://bit.ly/2LllHwo

In a recent article in the British Medical Journal, Social justice as a foundation for democracy and health, SP2 professor Jennifer Prah Ruger, PhD, uses the COVID-19 pandemic to show the importance of countries implementing a justice framework for health and equality. https://bit.ly/3jymPaV

Christin Gregory, DSW ‘14, has published a groundbreaking study in the field of palliative care. A social work expert in hospice care, Gregory endeavors to identify solutions to hospice-at-home family caregiver stress and depression through her research. https://bit.ly/3oQIeA4

Mayors for a Guaranteed Income and Penn's School of Social Policy & Practice (SP2) has established the Center for Guaranteed Income Research. The goal is to consolidate the key learnings from pilots taking place in MGI member cities, to address knowledge gaps in the understanding of guaranteed income’s impact, and to allow the organization to layer data with anecdotal evidence in federal advocacy. https://bit.ly/37RwneZ

Malitta Engstrom, PhD, faculty director of SP2's Master of Social Work program, has received a significant grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMSHA). The grant will fund a substance use training program for MSW students at SP2. https://www.sp2.upenn.edu/msw-program-director-awarded-sam/

SP2 and the School of Dental Medicine have both launched a new mandatory anti-racism course for incoming students. The online course, "The Penn Experience: Racism, Reconciliation and Engagement," consists of six modules that focus on Penn and Philadelphia's history of structural racism, implicit bias, allyship, gender identity, and healthcare equity. https://www.thedp.com//penn-social-policy-practice-anti-ra

Karrie Pece, an alumna of the Center for Social Impact Strategy's Executive Program in Social Impact Strategy, is on the leadership team of Autonomy Works, a social venture that employs people with autism in jobs that highlight their talents. Autonomy Works was recently featured on 60 Minutes with Anderson Cooper: https://cbsn.ws/3lPWaI1

While responding to @kwelkernbc’s question about the talk during last night’s #presidentialdebate, @JoeBiden mentioned his daughter’s Master of Social Work degree from Penn SP2. When she graduated in 2010, Vice President Biden was SP2’s commencement speaker. #Debates2020

The SP2 community is incredibly grateful for our invaluable health care providers everywhere. Today, and always, we remember all those we've lost to COVID-19. #PennRemembers https://home.vpul.upenn.edu/pennremembers/

In a new article for the Royal Society of Arts, SP2 professor Jennifer Prah Ruger, PhD, argues that global health needs a moral conception that is affirmed on moral grounds, rather than on the basis of self-interest or national interest alone. She writes: Our global health system is deficient because it is grounded in conventional international-relations theories of realism, neo-realism and liberalism. These paradigms privilege nations as actors seeking to independently maximise national interest by managing distrust, conflict and disorder in international relations. https://bit.ly/34CP7f2

A master's or doctoral degree from SP2 can help you become a more powerful force for good. Learn how at these upcoming virtual events.