The School of Social Work

February 2024 Newsletter

The mission of the School of Social Work is to promote

 social justice through quality professional education, advocacy, community partnerships, and the development and dissemination of knowledge through enquiry.

Black Faculty Spotlight

Dr. Festus Moasun, Assistant Professor

Dr. Festus Moasun is an Assistant Professor at the School of Social Work. He received his PhD from the Lyle S. Hallman Faculty of Social Work, Wilfrid Laurier University. Dr Moasun specializes in (dis)Ability and mental health in the Global South, immigrant populations, decoloniality and politics of knowledge creation. He draws on critical qualitative methodologies including interpretive phenomenology, participatory action research, structured interview matrix and digital ethnography for his research. Prior to joining the University of Windsor, Festus has previously taught in other institutions including University of Ghana, Wilfrid Laurier University, King’s College – University of Western Ontario, and University of Regina. His practice experience includes working with persons with mental and developmental (dis)abilities and internally displaced youth in Ghana. He is an ardent advocate for equity, diversity, and inclusivity. Dr Moasun is a Carnegie and Queen Elizabeth Scholar. He is presently a member of the Advisory Board of Innovation & Imagination Health and Wellness Inc. – a trauma-informed mental health counselling agency in Canada.

He is also is an avid drummer and can be found drumming in his office, filling the Social Work second floor with joy. It is our pleasure to display him in action in the video below, along with his Masters' students accompanying him.

Dr. Moasun recently co-authored a book "Experiencing Disability Stigma in Ghana" with Dr. Magnus Mfoafo-M'Carthy, Social Work Professor (Wilfred Laurier) & MSWwp Instructor, and Dr. Jeff Grischow, Associate Professor of History (Wilfrid Laurier).

Nicole Scott, Field Learning Specialist

Nicole Scott, BSW, MSW, RSW has been appointed to the Field Learning Specialist in the School of Social Work, University of Windsor. Nicole’s responsibilities include negotiation of field placements, referral of undergraduate and graduate students to field sites, confirmation of placements, site visits and monitoring of students’ performance in the field.



Nicole Scott has over ten years of clinical social work experience working in a hospital setting. She has held multiple roles within a clinical setting, discharge planning, bariatric/medical weight clinic, mental health, geriatric mental health and addictions. Nicole has had a hand in program development and program evaluation and was part of the Ontario Bariatric Network mental health task force.

Nicole Scott has been employed by the University of Windsor School of Social Work since 2014, as a sessional instructor she has taught several undergraduate courses. Nicole has held the role of the offsite field education instructor for both the undergraduate and graduate level programs for the past three consecutive years. Nicole, provided weekly supervision, monitor students’ performance, support, and advise. Nicole assisted students to develop individual learning strategies through the development of their learning agreements and encourage self-reflection, positive self-care and completing their midterm and final evaluations.

Nicole Scott is a member of the following University of Windsor initiatives: Anti-Black Racism Task Force, the Working Group: Black Scholars Hiring Initiative and the Employee Mental Health Strategy Working Group.

Carol Wade, Assistant Professor

Carol Wade is an Assistant Professor at the School of Social Work, University of Windsor. Dr. Wade has over 25 years of experience in social work practice, social work education and community engagement. Her experience includes working in various capacities within the child welfare sector (Frontline worker, Management, Cooperate Coordinator and OACAS trainer). 

In addition to teaching various social work courses at both the undergraduate and master's levels, through her community engagement, Dr. Wade has developed and facilitated workshops and other training opportunities for youth workers and social workers with a focus on centering Black youth wellbeing, family engagement and self-reflexivity practice. 

Dr. Wade is passionate about equity practice integration and uses critical theories and pedagogies to deconstruct and challenge oppressive practices to support the best possible outcomes for young people and families. Her research, practice and lived experiences inform her teaching approach, which focuses on integrating theory into practice and learning that moves from transformational knowledge to transformational action.

Faculty News

Aman Ahluwalia-Cameron

Aman has been awarded Outstanding Female Doctoral Student Researcher at the University of Windsor, representing the School of Social Work.

The award was developed by The Women in Research group, in partnership with the Graduate Student Society, and shines a spotlight on female graduate researchers from different faculties across campus. This initiative celebrates research impacts and highlights the University’s commitment to diversity and excellence in research.

Aman’s research inspires future generations and shapes a more inclusive research environment brimming with possibilities. In line with UWindsor’s new strategic plan - Aspire: Together for Tomorrow – Aman’s dissertation work advances social work research by examining structural and provider-based stigma associated with social workers. Aman interviewed 41-social workers across Ontario. The findings from her dissertation work are already being operationalized when she teaches within the School of Social Work, and when she disseminates her research findings at national and international conferences.



Most recently, Aman presented her research at Society for Social Work Research (SSWR) with co-authors, Dr. Guta, and Dr. Donnelly. The presentation titled, “I Can't Help You If You're Borderline”: A Qualitative Exploration of Provider Based Stigma with Social Workers Who Provide Care to Those Living with Borderline Personality Disorder in Ontario, Canada discussed thematic findings from the project. She is being recognized for her significant and impactful contributions made as a PhD student.

Congratulations, Aman on this wonderful achievement!

Student News

Mack Park, MSW Student

Congratulations to Mack Park (they/them). Mack is the recipient of OHREA's Mental Health Champion Award.

This award is given to those who have contributed to engaging students, faculty or staff in removing the stigma associated with mental illness, removing barriers for inclusion and recognizing and promoting mental health well-being. Examples: creating ways to have more meaningful conversations about mental health; organizing peer support programs or mental health clubs or activities; working to reduce the stigma and misperceptions associated with mental health.

Mack serves as the Program Coordinator for the Lancers Recover program at the University of Windsor, situated within the Office of Student Experience.

Lancers Recover was the second student recovery program to form in the country in 2020 and is still the only program existing in Ontario. Lancers Recover supports students in recovery from substance use or behavioural addictions, and recognizes recovery as a unique, individualized process inclusive of many potential pathways. In their role, Mack facilitates weekly recovery meetings and monthly social events for students in recovery, in addition to hosting awareness and advocacy campaigns to normalize the recovery identity and help to de-stigmatize recovery on our campus. With a building presence on campus through participation in welcome week events, Lancers Care Week programming, a recovery services fair, outreach in classes, allyship trainings and workshops, naloxone training (through community partnerships), and continued advocacy and education on campus, Mack has been working to make Lancers Recover a permanent service on the University of Windsor campus.

In addition to the direct student support on campus, Mack published the first academic literature on student recovery supports in Canada (Park et al., 2023), and has been advocating for the inclusion of Canadian institutions within the Association of Recovery in Higher Education, where they have also worked since 2020, bringing the collective knowledge of programs across three countries to the University of Windsor. Mack has submitted proposals for broader public health policies at both the provincial and federal levels, envisioning more inclusive support for students both at the University of Windsor and across the country.

Beyond recovery support, Mack has gotten involved in other mental health related initiatives on the University of Windsor campus. Returning to school to complete a Master of Social Work degree, Mack completed their first field placement at the University of Windsor’s Office of Sexual Violence, Prevention, Resistance and Support, involved primarily in supporting the sex education content that the office delivers. They volunteered to be a Care Champion through the Office of Health, Counseling, and Wellness Services’ Suicide Prevention initiative, and participated in the accompanying Suicide Prevention video titled ‘It Matters That You’re Here’. Mack is also one of three co-chairs for UWinPride, striving to support students within the 2SLGBTQIA+ community through peer support, advocacy, community building, and campus-wide education.

During their undergraduate degree, Mack was involved in the Mentorship program to support first year students, volunteered with the Peer Support Centre, volunteered as a notetaker and tutor with SAS, and served on several committees, while also engaging in off-campus employment, research, volunteer, and educational opportunities to bring those experiences back to on-campus student support. Mack believes that to support the advancement of mental health on the University of Windsor campus, it must be done through the combination of vocalizing and sharing lived experiences, educating oneself on best-practices for care and exploring knowledge gaps, utilizing transgressive and relational pedagogical approaches to teaching and learning, cross-departmental collaboration, and elevating the voices of others.

To that end, the experiences that Mack are most proud of are those that have allowed others to feel safe enough to share their experiences and stories, and this has only been done through community-building between students, staff, faculty, and the broader community.

Thank you Mack, for your commitment to mental health and your support of students at the University of Windsor. We congratulate you for all your hard work and dedication to mental health!

Upcoming Events

MSW Town Hall

Wednesday, March 6th, 12-1 pm

4th floor boardroom,

School of Social Work

Please submit agenda times by

Tuesday, February 4th at 4pm

to gradsw@uwindsor.ca

Agenda to follow

MSW Application Session

Friday, March 22, 2024

2:30 pm to 3:30 pm

Windsor Hall, Room 306

Are you an MSW on campus applicant? Join us for an upcoming application session at the School of Social Work

We acknowledge that The University of Windsor sits on the traditional territory of the Three Fires Confederacy of First Nations, comprised of the Ojibwa, the Odawa, and the Potawatomi. We respect the longstanding relationships with First Nations People in this place in the 100-mile Windsor-Essex Peninsula and the straits - les détroits of Detroit.