Dean Lori Messinger joined seven faculty and staff members from the college to travel across the state to visit with alumni, donors, and friends in Memphis and Nashville. And as the crew headed west across I-40, the excitement and anticipation were palpable. Dean Messinger who joined the college in 2019, noted that while it was the first of its kind during her tenure, it will certainly not be the last.
“We were so excited to hit the road and see our friends in the western part of the state,” Messinger said. “This trip is something we have wanted to do for quite some time, but the pandemic put it on hold for a couple of years. However, given the warm welcome and appreciation we received from everyone in Memphis and Nashville, it was worth the wait.”
A Wednesday evening ice cream social with the online MSSW students kicked off the trip. Dr. Carmen Reese Foster, director of the Online MSSW Program and CSW alumni director, was excited to meet the students in person. “Online students desire to be connected,” Foster said. “They want to connect to their professors and to their peers just like face-to-face students. It is our responsibility to create opportunities for them to make that connection possible.”
Thursday brought with it a flurry of activities including outreach to the UT Health Science Center and an on-site continuing education training. Urban Child Institute Endowed Professor Anne Conway and Messinger met with Drs Altha Stewart and Ron Cowen, leaders from the UT Health Science Center. Dr. Stewart, who serves on the UT Board of Visitors, is the senior associate dean for Community Health Engagement, associate professor and director of the Division of Social and Community Psychiatry, and director of the Center for Health in Justice Involved Youth. She has served on the UTCSW board since 2021. Dr. Cowan is the Harrison Distinguished Professor and Chair of the UTHSC Department of Psychiatry.
Messinger then joined the faculty and staff for a tour of the UTHSC Center for Healthcare Improvement and Patient Simulation (CHIPS). The CHIPS lab is a 45,000 square foot stand-alone building designed for healthcare simulation and interprofessional education. The state-of-the-art facility opened in 2018 and is designed to meet the simulation needs of all UTHSC students, residents, professional staff, and clinical partners. Click here for a virtual tour.
Continuing Education Coordinator Margaret McMillan hosted a training event for alumni and other social workers at the UT Health Science Center (UTHSC).Speaker and UTCSW alum Lakeisha Conway, LCSW (MSSW ‘07) covered several emerging issues such as why social workers exit the profession and explored solutions that affirm increasing outcomes of elevation, promotion, financial health, and self-care.
The day ended with an alumni and community event at the Railgarten in midtown Memphis where alums from Memphis and the surrounding area met with the CSW faculty and staff for networking and fellowship. Everyone was glad to welcome current students in the Online MSSW and DSW programs and alumni representing St. Jude, Heal 901, Veteran’s Affairs, and LeMoyne-Owen College. The mood was jovial, and alums expressed gratitude for such a fun event in their hometown.
Friday’s activities focused on the needs of children and families, with meetings with leaders from Youth Villages and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, two major employers of UTCSW alumni. Youth Villages provides help for children with a wide range of emotional, mental, and behavioral problems, and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, works to advance cures, and means of prevention, for pediatric catastrophic diseases through research and treatment. Both organizations recognize the value of social work and look forward to enhancing their partnerships with UTCSW.
As the week ended, the UTCSW crew traveled back east with a stop in Nashville to meet area alumni and friends at a Nashville Soccer Club game before heading back to Rocky Top. Director of Outreach and Engagement Tony Murchison was pleased with the overall success. “This trip was so wonderful,” he said. “Connecting with our alumni and the communities they live in gives us a broader scope of the work that is being done, as well as what still needs to happen. UTCSW is far reaching, and our alumni are doing amazing things. It’s nice to see them in their element and to bring that knowledge back to campus to share with our programs. We look forward to the next road trip and to meeting more of our students, alumni, and field instructors who are out there changing the world.”
