UTCSW faculty members continue to serve in the local community as well as across the nation. The reach and breadth of the college’s faculty research and service knows no bounds.
Dashawna J Fussell-Ware, Assistant Professor
Dr. Dashawna J Fussell-Ware was recently awarded a $7500 grant from the Society for Research in Child Development as part of their Small Grants Program for Early Career Scholars. This grant will fund Fussell-Ware’s multi-city survey of mental health literacy among Black youth.
Additionally, Fussell-Ware received an NIH Loan Repayment Program Award from the National Institute for Minority Health & Health Disparities! She is receiving two years of funding in support of her project, “The Black Youth Mental Health Literacy Study”.
Mary Gitau, Associate Dean for Equity and Inclusion, Associate Professor of Practice
Dr. Mary Gitau was recently appointed to serve on the African American Equity Restoration Task Force (AAERTF) for the City of Knoxville for a 3-year term, starting July 2024.
Gitau will work to identify strategic solutions to improve areas of disparities and disenfranchisement in the black community, work with existing agencies in the community, and develop policies and programs that will establish opportunities for generational wealth building.
Robert Lucio, Director, MSSW Online Program and Associate Professor|
Dr. Robert Lucio recently published an article, “Agents of Change: The Role LEAD Plays in Identity Formation, Community Engagement, and Social Justice Advocacy” in the Journal of Human Rights and Social Work. This article looks at the impact of Legislative Education and Advocacy Days on social work students’ identity and engagement to the profession.
In addition, Lucio was reappointed as the Chair of the School Social Work Committee Specialty Practice Section (SPS) for the National Association of Social Workers (NASW). The goal of the committee is to improve the educational success and the social and emotional development of all students. Examples of areas of service: social-development assessments, individual and group counseling, crisis prevention and intervention, parent education and training, collaboration with community agencies and organizations, program coordination, and policy development.
Kristen Ravi, Assistant Professor
Dr. Kristen Ravi led a Knox County Domestic Violence Needs Assessment of 90 individuals with Dr. Megan Haselschwerdt, Associate Professor in Counseling, Human Development, and Family Science. The event was a community-engaged research study with the Knoxville Family Justice Center (KFJC) funded by the UTK Office of Engagement and Outreach. The needs assessment included domestic violence service providers, domestic violence survivors, and non-domestic violence service providers. The purpose of the needs assessment was to identify help-seeking experiences, barriers, and needs among Knox County domestic violence victims, underserved client populations and patterns of unmet client needs, and continuing education needs of domestic violence professionals and non-domestic violence professionals. The project also included two CSW PhD students and one PhD student from Counseling Psychology.
Fei Wang, Assistant Professor
Dr. Fei Wang was recently selected to participate in the 2024 Butler-Williams Scholars Program, sponsored by the National Institute on Aging (NIA). The program will be held on the NIH Campus in Bethesda, MD. Since 1987, NIA’s Butler-Williams Scholars Program has offered an intensive experience focused on issues and opportunities in research on aging, with an emphasis on disparities and health equity. Wang will join a select group of scientists to participate in various interactive sessions and networking events and receive consultation on submitting research grant applications to the NIA.