The reputation of the University of Louisville’s Kent School as a renowned center for oncology social work got an exciting boost in February of this year, when faculty members played a leading role in the development and publication of the Handbook of Oncology Social Work: Psychosocial Care for People with Cancer. Kent School faculty members Dr. Karen Kayser, Dr. Anna Faul, Shirley Otis-Green, Dr. Barbara Head, and Dr. Tara Schapmire served as significant contributors of scholarly knowledge to the book, which was published by Oxford University Press.
Addressing the psychosocial care of cancer patients and their families, the book takes a progressive and all-encompassing approach towards the psychosocial complexities faced by patients and their loved ones. With major innovations in the field and the evolution of the total care of the patient, the handbook aims to provide innovative tools caregivers can use to discover new ways to address multifaceted and often challenging issues. Some of the many areas covered include genetics, family and caregiver intervention, cancer across the lifespan, quality of life, professional development and education, ethical matters, loss and grief, and pediatrics.
The leadership and development demonstrated by the faculty contributors to the Handbook of Oncology Social Work: Psychosocial Care for People with Cancer has brought rapid growth to the national standing of the Kent School. The opportunities this book provides for new developments in modern psychosocial care for cancer patients, families, and caregivers solidifies the Kent School as a progressive center for the serious advancement in oncology social work.
Visit the University of Louisville’s Kent School of Social Work program page to learn more about the exciting educational opportunities awaiting you at the Kent School.
Andy Frey Does It Again! Research Funding at UofL’s Kent School of Social Work Hits Record High
It certainly is an exciting time to be involved with the University of Louisville’s Kent School of Social Work, which is fulfilling the mission of the university to provide excellent education through research. Dr. Andy Frey, Program Coordinator for the specialization in School Social Work, has again successfully brought a new grant to fruition. This award yields $3,499,896 for collaborative First Step Interventional educational research. With this award and with the addition of the $3,496,998 award (also from the Department of Education, Institute for Education Sciences), brought in the previous week, the Kent School records an all-time high of $20 million dollars awarded for research funding.
Frey’s recent grants will enable four years of collaborative research with the Oregon Research Institute and the University of Cincinnati, from 2015-2019. The purpose of these projects are to determine the efficacy of the Preschool First Step (PFS) and Tertiary First Step interventions for students with or at risk of developing behavior disorders in preschool/Head Start and grades K-3, respectively. The focus of the studies will be on improving social skills and academic engaged time, and improving social competency skills related to school success.
“First Step” is a collaborative home and school intervention program delivered by a behavioral coach that is geared for regular classroom settings, and designed to help at-risk children get off to the best start possible in their school careers.
PFS includes a classroom management component, a school component, and parental engagement activities. Sixteen preschool centers (8 in Oregon and 8 in Kentucky will be recruited to participate in each of three years. One child from each classroom will be recruited to participate, and centers will be randomly assigned to the PFS or business as usual comparison group. Children from the PSF intervention group will also receive a booster in kindergarten.
TFS intervention is similar, but is designed for children with more severe behavior, and has a more robust home component. For this project, Dr. Frey and his team will recruit 100 teachers/children/families in 16 elementary schools (grades k-3) across participating districts (JCPS, Oldham, and Greater Clark) per year. After four years, 400 teachers/students/families in 64 elementary schools will have participated. After consent is obtained from teachers and parents, participants will be randomly assigned to one of four conditions: (a) home and school components, (b) school component only, (c) home component only, or (d) business as usual/comparison. Outcomes will include teacher and parent reported measures of social skills and problem behavior and direct observation of student behavior in the classroom setting.
These collaborative research projects will give Kent School students enrolled in the School Social Work specialization unparalleled educational opportunities for participation in unique hands-on research at participating locations.
These dynamic educational research opportunities for students at the Kent School truly are second to none. Very few similarly sized schools of social work around the country have been so prolific with awards for educational research. It is truly an honor for both faculty and students alike at the Kent School of Social Work to be making such a dramatic impact on the lives of future generations in communities across the country.
In a note sent to the staff and faculty, Terri Singer, dean of Kent School said: “It is a great time to be a Kent School grad student and a member of the Kent School team. But let me add, it is good to be Andy Frey! Great job.”
Although the specialization in School Social Work is offered only on campus, students who live within driving distance from UofL and are enrolled in the online Master of Science in Social Work often attend courses in this specialization.
For some, the idea of online distance learning conjures up images of solitary students, working on their computers in isolated locations, with little sense of community. At the University of Louisville, nothing could be further from the truth. While students do perform their class work online at flexible and convenient times, the expert faculty at UofL go to great lengths to create an online community and feeling of camaraderie amongst students, no matter their locations.
Furthermore, community service opportunities often arise in locations across the country, providing excellent chances for distance learning students to interact with other UofL students, both traditional and online. This was precisely the case for online social work student James Zimmer.
For Zimmer, a husband, father, military serviceman, and distance learning student, the online programs at UofL’s Kent School of Social Work provided convenient learning opportunities that he was unable to find elsewhere. The sense of community that Zimmer felt at UofL’s Kent School while earning his Masters’ degree in social work, helped lead him to choose to take part in the Belk Bowl Service Project, offered to students in conjunction with the 2014 UofL football team’s trip to play at the Belk Bowl in Charlotte, NC.
Zimmer read an email which was sent out to all UofL students about the Belk Bowl Service Project. He did not hesitate to take part in what would become his first opportunity to directly interact with members of the UofL community in person. Zimmer worked along with other student volunteers, both from UofL as well as the University of Georgia. Together, they worked to improve facilities at the Ronald McDonald House in Charlotte. Their much appreciated work served to enhance the total experience of the children and families being served by the Ronald McDonald House.
Zimmer reported that he greatly enjoyed the community service project, which culminated with him and his family attending the 2014 Belk Bowl, alongside other UofL students and fans.
Although a distance learner, the sense of camaraderie Zimmer felt with his fellow students was strong before, after, and during the Belk Bowl Service Project. With the dynamic platform that UofL offers to e-learners, the faculty’s commitment to research and innovation shines through. This allows for all students, even those located in distant locations, to experience the true feeling of the Cardinal campus community.
Filling the Empty Frame: Virginia Braden and the “Perfect Fit” of Online Education
Selecting the perfect degree program is an age-old rite of passage for students. Historically, 18-19-year-olds would go straight from high school through college before taking on careers and starting families. Students today often detour from that traditional path and blaze their own trails back to the classroom, sometimes later in life, and usually with diverse sets of needs, concerns, and expectations. Cutting edge online degree programs provide the perfect blend of fit and flexibility for the frenetic pace of today’s modern students. For University of Louisville Criminal Justice graduate and non-traditional student, Virginia Braden, online learning was not just simply the right fit for her busy lifestyle; it was the perfect fit.
Virginia Braden completed both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Justice Administration (now called Criminal Justice) at the University of Louisville, and credits the flexibility of online learning for allowing her to accomplish her long-held dream of collegiate success. Though local to the region, the divorced working mother of five children said that traveling to campus each day was, “simply not an option,” given the demands of her personal and professional life.
“The online degree program at UofL made it possible for me to capture a dream that otherwise would have remained forever out of reach,” Braden said. “Most important to me, is that it has communicated to my children the worth and value of a higher education – and that if you are willing to work for what you want, anything is possible.”
Though she’s gone on to complete a graduate degree and is a licensed private investigator and behavioral profiler, one memory still stands out from Braden’s time at UofL.
“The night I graduated with my bachelor’s degree all five of my children were present and as I went on to pursue my master’s degree online with UofL as well, they’ve been my biggest supporters,” she said. “Two of them are now college age and are themselves pursuing degrees.”
Braden said it was UofL’s reputation for educational excellence that first piqued her interest, but credited the quality of the instruction in the online Criminal Justice program for keeping her desire for continued education strong, while obtaining not only one, but two degrees via e-learning.
“The faculty at the University of Louisville are so completely dedicated to the success of their students,” she said. “They are remarkable in their personal attention to the students and though I had all online classes, I was able to develop and maintain relationships with them that have served me so well throughout the years – all without ever stepping foot in a brick and mortar classroom.”
“There is a real sense of community in the online classes and the professors are intentional in their commitment to forging and nurturing that sense of community,” she added.
Braden said that the strong sense of community was especially important as she and her children went through a traumatic divorce and spent time living in a hotel. During this time, Braden’s drive and determination to meet her dream and attain her degree pulled her through.
“Without question, the drive to complete my degree, the ability to continue on towards that goal via online classes in the midst of such a dark time provided me an anchor,” she said.
For Braden, success was not just an option, it was a requirement.
“I remember I had an empty frame hanging on my wall in my home office, a reminder of the goal I was after, and a promise to myself that I would one day have a degree to put in it,” she said. “When we became homeless for that period of time, I packed up the empty frame and brought it with me to the hotel and put it out, determined that though my life circumstances had changed, my goals and vision had not.”
Now Braden’s frame has been filled and although she encountered personal hardships during her journey as a student, she persevered, and ultimately found e-learning to be the best option for achieving her lifelong educational goals. Not only did Braden fill her original empty frame, she also filled a second one by earning her master’s degree online as well. Now her framed diplomas proudly serve as a reminder of the goals and dreams she achieved through online learning at the University of Louisville.
Visit our Criminal Justice online program page to learn more about the courses offered, and to find a program that is the perfect fit for you.
