Fall 2024

Greetings to Our Adelphi University School of Social Work Community,

I hope that you and those in your families and communities are well. I am experiencing this fall as a period of upheaval and transition. My thoughts are with those impacted by the devastating weather that has hit parts of the United States. I also recognize the strong points of view around our upcoming election and events occurring throughout our world.

It is reassuring to me that social workers are addressing the needs of individuals and communities facing major challenges. In this newsletter, you will learn about the work of the Institute for Adolescent Trauma Treatment and Training through Victor Labruna, PhD, and Mandy Habib, PsyD, co-directors. The institute trains clinicians across the United States to support individuals experiencing complex trauma. You will also learn of the work of social work students on issues of advocacy. Wahiba Abu-Ras, PhD, and Sara Terrana, PhD, are the faculty co-chairs of the School of Social Work's Social Action Initiative. Each year social work students immerse themselves in statewide advocacy and policy development on issues such as human rights, gender justice and economic justice.

I hope these stories about what our community is accomplishing provide you with hope. I wish you wellness as you experience all that this season has to offer.

For this year’s Social Action Initiative project, "Uplifting Voices," MSW candidate Katherine Darling (above) and her fellow group members connected social work theory to practice by interviewing people in the community. Their interviews are now featured on the StoryCorps site.

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The program headed into October with a new campaign: “When Survivors Unite, Hope Ignites!”

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Sophie Breslow '24, now an MSW candidate, credits the Learning Resource Program for her successful college experience and preparing her to support other neurodivergent students navigating their own college journeys.

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Under the leadership of Co-Directors Victor Labruna, PhD, and Mandy Habib, PsyD, the institute is training professionals to treat trauma in youth across the nation, thus extending the School of Social Work mission far beyond campus.

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Bernadine Waller, MA '10, PhD '21, alumna and senior adjunct professor of social work, has been awarded a K23 Mentored Patient-Oriented Research Career Development Award from the National Institute of Mental Health for her project “Increasing Access to Depression Care for Black Women Survivors of Intimate Partner Violence." 

Beverly Araujo Dawson, PhD, professor of social work, gave an invited lecture at a Hispanic Heritage event at Rutgers University's School of Social Work on September 24, titled “Voices of Resilience: Elevating Afro-Latinx Stories.”

Wahiba Abu-Ras, PhD, professor of social work, presented “Social Power, Inclusion, and Exclusion: Their Effects on Participation and Prosocial Behavior in Virtual Communities” at the 4th International Conference on Information Technology for Social Good (GoodIT 2024), held September 4–6 in Bremen, Germany.

Daniel Kaplan, PhD, associate professor of social work, co-authored “The Impact of an Intergenerational Service Learning Program on Psychological Distress for Homebound Older Adults,” which was published in the Journal of Gerontological Social Work.

Yiqi Zhu, PhD, assistant professor of social work, is first author of “Traumatic Brain Injury, Seizures, and Cognitive Impairment Among Older Adults,” which was published in JAMA Network Open.

The Dean's Innovation Fund supports our academic community by funding scholarships, enabling students to present at prestigious conferences, supporting faculty research and offering emergency assistance to students facing unexpected financial challenges. 

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