Graduation Dinner at Darna

On May 23rd, students from the Concurrent and the PEP program continued a tradition of celebrating the completion of the course of study for the MSW degree with a banquet at Darna. A number of faculty and staff members also attended and some received awards of appreciation.

Click here for more excellent photos by Rafael LaPorte.

Wurzweiler MSW Students Present Original Research at Conference

Two Wurzweiler MSW students, Glenn Taylor and Rachelle Mendes, presented original research at the Third Annual Behavioral Sciences Student Research Conference hosted by Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology.

Ms. Mendes' poster was titled, "Using organizational planning and modeling techniques to reduce hoarding behavior in an elderly client: A single system design study."

Mr. Taylor's poster was on "Enhancing the therapeutic alliance with an adolescent struggling with substance abuse using unconditional positive regard."

Their research was originally conducted for a course on Social Work Practice and Evaluation Research taught by Dr. Heidi Heft LaPorte. In the course, students learn to empirically evaluate their own research using single-subject design,

Professor Wilmore-Schaeffer Recognized by Alzheimers Assoc & Red Cross

The Alzheimer's Association of New York has identified Wurzweiler School of Social Work as a community partner. Professor Rosetta Wilmore-Schaeffer will represent the school at the Alzheimer's Association's annual gala/ fund raiser on June 31.

Dr. Wilmore-Schaeffer will also be one of the honorees at the Red Cross of Bergen County/ Hudson County, New Jersey "Salute to Volunteerism" to be held at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center on May 20.

Conference on Human Trafficking

On Wednesday, May 3rd, the student government presented a conference on Human Trafficking in the Belfer Commons. It was well-attended.

The first speaker was Gillian Caldwell, director of Witness, an organization devoted to using video to document human rights violations. She presented an excerpt from a remarkable film produced by Witness and the Global Survival Network called, Bought and Sold, about women from the former Soviet union being forced into prostitution in Europe, Asia and the United States. Global Survival Network staff went undercover in meetings with the Russian mafia and in brothels around the world to get an insider's perspective on the international trade in women.

The second speaker, Aaron Cohen, spoke about the strange life path that led him from a career helping produce rock and roll concert (Lollapalooza) to an anti-slavery activist. He related hair-raising stories about working with international police forces, posing as a sex tourist in order to free enslaved girls in Sudan, Cambodia, and Egypt. Cohen documented some of his adventures in a book, The Jubilee Prophecy.

The charismatic Mr. Cohen stayed afterwards to answer questions and sign autographs. Attendees agreed that this was an exciting and thought-provoking conference