Blog@Case Topics: Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences

Spotlight: Mandel School Program Captures Memories for Community

2011-03-16T14:28:08Z

Teresa M. Green

Everybody has a story, and thanks to Living Through Legacies, which creates memory books for local senior citizens, 90-year-old Bessie McClain and her family, including daughter Teresa M. Green, have a permanent record of hers.

Developed by alumnus David Harris during his field internship, Living Through Legacies is just one example of the unique initiatives that grow out of the Field Education program at the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences. Field education has been part of the Mandel School’s core curriculum since 1915, and the school places graduate student interns like Harris at nearly 100 social agencies in Northeast Ohio every year. The partnerships prove mutually advantageous—the agencies benefit from the students’ work while the students gain valuable hands-on experience.

McClain’s daughter, retired Cleveland teacher Green, was visiting her mother at East Cleveland’s McGregor Home in the fall of 2009 when Harris gave a presentation about his program. Thinking her mother would enjoy the chance to share her stories, Green applied.

Two Case Western Reserve students interviewed McClain, while Green and the rest of the family dug up more than 75 photos. The resulting book is a collection of treasured memories, from McClain’s childhood to her first job at the Atlantic Seafood company in her hometown of Huntington, WVa., to her advice on parenting and the value of education.

“I was just enthralled by it,” Green said of the book.

For her mother, who was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in 2000, the book provides a tangible link to a lifetime of memories. For the rest of the family, it’s a portrait of a family matriarch that future generations can cherish, even if they never got the chance to hear her stories in person.

East Cleveland Service-Learning Experience Offers Educational, Community Lessons

2011-02-18T12:58:01Z

The higher education concept of learning through service has resulted in direct benefit to East Cleveland, a high-poverty urban suburb struggling with problems common to aging inner-ring suburbs long abandoned by the middle class escaping the city. Working with community partners, social work students conducted action research that helped the city receive federal stimulus funds for vacant housing demolition and rehab.

Now, the Case Western Reserve University effort has expanded service learning from its origins in social work classrooms to a universitywide partnership with the East Cleveland community.

Mark Chupp

Mark Chupp, assistant professor at the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences, initiated a long-term partnership with East Cleveland that built upon multiple service learning projects and pro bono technical assistance provided by the Mandel School to the city.

Mark Joseph

These experiences in East Cleveland have led Chupp and another Case Western Reserve social work assistant professor, Mark Joseph, to closely examine service learning—its limitations, challenges, implications and lessons. They wrote about lessons learned from the experience in the recent article “Getting the Most Out of Service Learning: Maximizing Student, University, and Community Impact” in the Journal of Community Practice.

Such real-world experiences are crucial to higher education, they reported. Service learning is increasingly used at campuses nationally, as academics are trying to turn passive learners into active learners and leverage the resources of universities to promote meaningful change in surrounding communities. Students benefit from applying their classroom learning in the real world, providing a service that is grounded in the course curriculum, Joseph said.

But in order to prevent students’ stereotypes and prejudices of low-income populations from being reinforced, personal connections with community residents are essential, as is “deep reflection” before, during and after the experiences.

The social work school began its work with East Cleveland in 2007 with teams of students assessing neighborhoods to learn more about the community and housing, safety and other issues.

In addition to enhancing learning, Chupp said the goal was to provide something of value to the community. Students assessed neighborhood assets and needs and, as a result of interviews with community leaders and research on national best practices, offered potential projects for the community to consider.

By the third year, a partnership formed with community organizations, such as the East Cleveland Public Library and Northeast Ohio Alliance for Hope. Working with these partners and the city’s mayor, students were then paired with firefighters and community residents to survey all vacant housing in a city hit hard by foreclosures and abandonment.

The housing survey helped newly elected East Cleveland Mayor Gary Norton, with the assistance of Chupp and the social work school’s Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development, secure more than $2 million from a federal stimulus program to deal with blight. The grant was the first of three grants to East Cleveland from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Neighborhood Stabilization Program.

According to Chupp and Joseph, the promise of service learning is threefold: impacting not only students and the community but also creating the potential to transform higher education institutions into agents of social transformation.

The impact on CWRU can be seen in the broadening institutional commitment to East Cleveland, with the university’s Social Justice Institute focusing its debut collaborative research project on gathering community perspectives and generating dialogue and ideas about the future of the community and its relationship to the university and University Circle, and the Office of the Provost considering other means of supporting the revitalization in East Cleveland.

“Maximizing the impact on the local community requires engagement of community members, not merely as recipients of the service, but as partners in the design, implementation and assessment of the activity,” the researchers note in their article.

Mandel School IT Director Receives President’s Award for Distinguished Service

2010-06-16T13:59:43Z

President Barbara R. Snyder
and Tom Franchina
Photo: Dan Milner

Carmelo "Tom" Franchina, director of information technology at the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences, is described by many as the go-to guy for just about anything.

His efforts are being recognized with a 2010 President's Award for Distinguished Service.

Franchina, along with two other employees, received the recognition during the Staff Service Awards. The event, held last week, also recognized employees with 10, 25 and 35 years of service with the university.

The program was a collaborative effort between the Department of Human Resources, the Staff Advisory Council and the Office of the President .

Learn more about Franchina:

Students from Amsterdam Make Visit and Tour CMHA

2010-06-04T13:39:16Z

An innovative program helping police be part of quick first-response to social service needs was the topic of a Thursday international visit.

Case Western Reserve Universityâ€™s Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences and the Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority Police Department welcomed 13 students and two faculty members from the Vrije University in Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

The visiting group, which toured CMHA police headquarters in Cleveland and went to a public housing estate, was interested in learning how the CMHA police, through an initiative called Police Assisted Referral (PAR), now are able to help residents and make referrals to social service agencies for assistance for a range of incidents, such as domestic violence, child abuse, and children exposed to violence.

Adolescents Cope with Mental Illness Stigmas, Report CWRU Researchers

2010-05-25T14:52:57Z

Living with a mental illness can be a tough experience for adults, but with the increasing numbers of youth diagnosed and taking medications for mood disorders, it can become a time of isolation, according to a study from Case Western Reserve University Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences.

In one of the first studies of adolescents between the ages of 12 and 17 with mental illnesses and taking medications, researchers found that at least 90 percent of the studyâ€™s participants reported experiencing some form of stigma. It has led to shame, secrecy and limiting social interactions.

Forty adolescents in the study reported that the attitudes of parents and schools either protect against or magnify the youthâ€™s feelings of being different or ashamed that they have a mental illness.

Preserving Histories for Generations to Come

2010-05-20T13:56:35Z

Professor Gladys Haddad
and Katherine Butler

Families often think about recording the great stories their elders tell, but they often donâ€™t manage to get written. Then family memories are lost due to illness or death.

For 12 older citizens from the McGregor Home in East Cleveland and the Fairfax Neighborhood on Clevelandâ€™s east side, their histories have been preserved by the Living through Legacies project in hardcover books for families to cherish from one generation to the next.

These individuals became the focus of Case Western Reserve University social work student David Harris, who graduated on Sunday. He published the individual biographies with support from the McGregor Foundation grant.

Mandel School Graduate Finds Social Work Calling

2010-05-05T13:48:39Z

Susan Ross

Driving to Case Western Reserve Universityâ€™s campus each day, Susan Ross, a social work student who returned to college after nearly 40 years, found inspiration from a Chester Avenue billboard of a 95-year-old woman with a degree in hand.

â€œIf she can do it, then I can do it, too,â€ Ross said.

She returned to school in 2007 for the intellectual challenge and knowledge about how to care for her aging mother, who lives in Strongsville.

On Sunday, May 16, during Commencement ceremonies at Case Western Reserve University in Veale Athletic Center, Ross will receive her masterâ€™s degree in social work from the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences.

Ross started taking courses at the Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing. After learning more about Ross, her advisor Diana Morris, executive director of University Center on Aging and Health, encouraged her to check out social work courses.

Neighborhoods Matter in Shaping Lives, Researcher Says

2010-04-27T14:01:01Z

Anna Maria Santiago.
Photo by MJ Murawaka.

Having grown up in poverty and lived in substandard housing has brought sensitivity to Anna Maria Santiago's social work research about how people live and how place affects their lives.

The Case Western Reserve University campus recently met Santiago, the inaugural holder of the Leona Bevis & Marguerite Haynam Professorship in Community Development at the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences, during a special reception.

Currently on the faculty at Wayne State University, Santiago will officially start at CWRU on July 1. Her arrival will build on the social work school's strength in neighborhood research by faculty members Mark Chupp, Claudia Coulton, Rob Fischer, Mark Joseph, Sharon Milligan and others from the Center on Poverty and Community Development.

2010 ADVANCE Opportunity Awards Announced

2010-04-23T13:59:45Z

The Academic Careers in Engineering & Science program (ACES+) recently announced recipients of the 2010 ADVANCE Opportunity Awards. Fourteen proposals representing academic disciplines ranging from engineering to religious studies to sociology received $41,667.

"We're thrilled to have the support of President Barbara R. Snyder and Provost Bud Baeslack to continue these awards," said Lynn Singer, deputy provost and vice president for academic programs. ADVANCE Opportunity Awards also receive funding through the National Science Foundation ADVANCE program.

Advance Opportunity Grants provide small amounts of supplemental support of current or proposed projects and activities where funding is difficult to obtain through other sources. All Case Western Reserve University faculty members are eligible to apply.

Case Western Reserve University Ranked One of the Nation's Top 20 Medical Schools by U.S.News & World Report

2010-04-15T14:23:29Z

School improves 5 places in latest magazine rankings; University's Health Law program ranked No. 3 in the nation

Case Western Reserve University once again ranked as one of the best medical schools in the nation in the annual U.S. News & World Report "America's Best Graduate Schools" rankings. Of the 146 national programs surveyed by the magazine, Case Western Reserve's School of Medicine ranked 20th in research—and overall, an improvement of five places over last year's ranking. This ranking once again placed it highest among Ohio medical schools.

"This ranking reflects the extraordinary efforts of our faculty to continue to pursue medical breakthroughs, as well as the excellence of our student body," said Pamela B. Davis, dean of the School of Medicine. "I congratulate everyone in our academic community on this well-deserved recognition."

Other highlights from this year's rankings include: The School of Law's health law program ranked third in the nation, up from No. 5 last year; and the university's programs in biological sciences improved to 34th in the nation, up from No. 42 in 2007, the last time this specialty was surveyed by U.S. News; biomedical engineering ranked 11th, up from No. 12 last year; and the university's master's in nonprofit management program ranked 11th.

"We are pleased to see this progress in the standing of some of the university's most impressive programs," President Barbara R. Snyder said. "Our task now is to build upon those strengths and also achieve gains in other disciplines."

Congressional Black Caucus Chair
to Speak at 2010 Stokes Symposium

2010-03-17T16:08:41Z

The Honorable Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), the current chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, will give the keynote address for Case Western Reserve University's 2010 Stokes Leadership Symposium on Monday, March 22, at noon in Ford Auditorium.

In her free, public talk, Lee will address the topic, "Opportunities for All, Pathways out of Poverty: My Journey from Public Assistance to Public Service."

Case Western Reserve University President Barbara R. Snyder will open this symposium with a welcome and introduction. After Lee speaks, Joseph White, the chair of the department of political science and Luxenberg Family Professor of Policy Studies, and David Miller, associate professor of social work at the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences, will comment and pose questions to begin a discussion with Lee. White will also moderate the engagement with the audience.

East Cleveland Wants Change;
CWRU Social Justice Alliance Plans to Help

2010-02-12T17:52:20Z

East Cleveland, Ohio, Mayor Gary Norton stood at the front of the bus as it pulled away from Case Western Reserve University's campus. He began an inspiring tour for a busload of leaders from across Cleveland, sharing the city's assets, as well as his hopes and plans for economic, physical, and community revitalization.

The 90-minute tour kicked off a half-day session at Case Western Reserve University for people interested in the transformation of East Cleveland.

The event was sponsored by CWRU's Social Justice Alliance and Institute (SJA/I), a newly launched university-wide strategic initiative, whose debut collaborative project focuses on East Cleveland.

The Social Justice Alliance and Institute seeks to promote collaborative research, pedagogical innovation and curriculum development, the growth of social justice leaders, and annual programming to foster intellectual inquiry, civic dialogue, and community-bridge building.

Older Female Cancer Survivors Have Added Health Issues Compared to Their Counterparts

2010-02-10T17:54:35Z

As cancer survivors live longer, questions arise about what kind of care long-term survivors require.

A recently published study from Case Western Reserve University's Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences found 245 older married women who survived cancer had more health problems as compared to a sample of 245 married women without cancer.

The article, "Health and Well-Being in Older Married Female Cancer Survivors," was published as part of a special supplement of the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society , along with other articles that resulted from a conference at CWRU on geriatric oncology, said Aloen Townsend, the lead researcher and associate professor of social work.

"There is a pressing need to study older cancer survivors," Townsend said. "It is critical to disentangle the experiences that are unique to older cancer survivors from experiences that are common to aging individuals."

Mandel Center Takes Key Step in Leadership Search

2010-01-26T15:23:19Z

A search advisory committee for a Mandel Center for Nonprofit Organizations executive director and Mandel Professor is making progress in the search for a new leader to helm the center.

Grover "Cleve" Gilmore, dean of the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences, is the committee's chair.

Steven Feldman, professor of marketing and policy studies at the Weatherhead School of Management, has been named interim director. His major areas of teaching focus on business ethics and nonprofit ethics and trusteeship. In 2007, he was awarded the Fulbright Distinguished Lectureship in Business Ethics at Shanghai International Studies University. Feldman, who has been on the faculty at Case Western Reserve since 1983, also is a member of the Mandel Center Faculty Council.

Feldman will serve as interim director through June.

New Social Work Professional Association Finds Home at Case Western Reserve University

2010-01-25T17:59:42Z

The newly formed American Academy of Social Work and Social Welfare (AASWSW) will have its virtual home at Case Western Reserve University's Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences over the next three years.

Claudia Coulton, the Lillian F. Harris Professor of social work and co-director of the Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development at the social work school, has been named one of the founding fellows. She also is the inaugural treasurer of the organization to advance the social work profession.

Since last January, Grover "Cleve" Gilmore, dean of the social work school, was part of a six-member Academy Working Group that wrote the AASWSW's mission statement. The group set the organization on its future course by naming six individuals, including Coulton, to be its first leaders and charged them with growing the organization by selecting some of the first members.

Mandel Student Provides a Gift of Memories

2009-12-22T15:28:20Z

Keepsake books will appear as holiday gifts for 10 senior citizens in Wadsworth, Ohio. The gift is one filled with their memories, which for some is a way to preserve their past before it is lost to the ills of aging.

David Harris, a graduate student at Case Western Reserve University's Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences, and his longtime friend Joey Hanna from Wadsworth created The Living through Legacies Project with the Wadsworth Center for Older Adults, which allows for the creation of personal, timeless memoirs.

"Putting together these books has been priceless," says Harris. "Getting all these perspectives on how people have lived their lives has made me think twice about how my actions can impact my future."

These books become recorded histories of people whose memories may fade to memory losses. But these books are not only for the individuals but help preserve the memories for family members.

Harris adds that the books become a testimonial to the remarkable lives and contributions these people have made.

Mandel School Professor Testifies Before U.S. House Subcommittee on Foreclosure Crisis

2009-12-07T18:39:58Z

Claudia Coulton, co-director of Case Western Reserve University's Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development at the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences, in testimony Monday before a congressional committee suggested steps to ease to nation's foreclosure crisis.

She referred to data the Center has gathered in Cleveland to track the housing crisis over the past decade, as she appeared before the Domestic Policy Subcommittee of the Congressional Oversight and Government Reform Committee, chaired by U.S. Rep. Dennis J. Kucinich.

"The foreclosures have spawned a surge of related problems," she told the committee, meeting at the Carl B. Stokes United States Federal Courthouse.

Among those problems are overwhelmed courts, vacant and vandalized properties, and confusion about who owns and is responsible for the foreclosed property, and sales to out-of-state owners who become delinquent taxpayers. The end result is a further devaluing the overall housing base in the areas hardest hit by the crisis.

Coulton calls for interventions at every stage of the foreclosure process, from loans to maintaining vacant properties.

Poverty Center Finds Home Purchase Loans Drop in Cleveland and Cuyahoga County

2009-12-02T17:17:19Z

An analysis of home mortgage data by Case Western Reserve University's Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development finds that home purchase loans have been stalled with a fall in conventional mortgage lending, with the eastern side of Cleveland and the inner-ring suburbs experiencing "drastic declines," according to the center's November 2009 "Behind the Numbers" report.

The center, housed within the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences examined data from 1995-2008 provided by the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) to find that the drop-off in high-cost lending is responsible for a disproportionate share of the loss.

Mandel School Professor Looks at Roles Schools Play in Revitalizing Cities

2009-11-25T18:09:22Z

Before families with young children buy a new home, many parents want to know the quality of the neighborhood public schools.

For that reason, Mark Joseph, assistant professor at the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences, examines how public schools also have a role in the revitalizing urban neighborhoods–especially neighborhoods where new mixed-income developments are being built.

He's particularly interested in housing under development in Chicago and other major cities with HOPE VI funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

While it is an ideal to have good schools in these new neighborhoods under construction, Joseph and co-author Jessica Feldman from the University of Chicago report challenges facing these schools in the article, "Creating and Sustaining Successful Mixed-Income Communities: Conceptualizing the Role of Schools," which appeared in the journal Education and Society.

Mandel School Graduate Students See Work Study Stipends Increase

2009-11-19T18:52:01Z

Students at the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences provide some 225,000 hours of community service for approximately 350 community agencies. This service enabled the social work school to become eligible for increased work-study funding from the federal government through special funding.

Field placements are a requirement for social work students enrolled in the master's program.

Mandel School Dean Grover C. Gilmore said full-time students in their first and second years have seen a 25 percent increase in stipends from $6,000 to $7,500.