The School of Social Work

May 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.

Upcoming School of Social Work Events

Embracing Anti-racism Approaches in

Integration Processes of Immigrants

and Refugees in Windsor-Essex

Wednesday, June 5th, 9:00 am to 12:00 pm

Join us on June 5 for an interactive professional development workshop on "Embracing Anti-racism Approaches in Integration Processes of Immigrants and Refugees in Windsor-Essex" hosted by Dr. Riham Al-Saadi, Assistant Professor at the School of Social Work, University of Windsor.

As a professional or community partner, you are invited to participate in an interactive professional development workshop for 2 purposes:

1) Participate in self-reflection and evaluation in your current practice in serving immigrants/refugees as equity-deserving groups;

2) Act as a guide to share your insights and perspective on how Social Work education can best prepare Social Work alumni in embracing various roles to serve immigrants and refugees.

This event is made possible with the generous support of the Vice-President, People, Equity, and Inclusion’s Diversity, Indigeneity, and Anti-racism Professional Development Fund awarded to Dr. Riham Al-Saadi, Assistant Professor at the University of Windsor’s School of Social Work and the Windsor Essex Local Immigration Partnership.

See poster below for more info and click the link to register by May 23! https://forms.office.com/r/Y2Amg2uDs1

Faculty News

Dr. Michael Bennett

Dr. Michael Bennett will be joining the School of Social Work on July 1, 2024 as a tenure-track faculty member. Dr. Bennett will be teaching primarily in the MSWwp program. Dr. Bennett is also a proud alumnus of the School of Social Work. Welcome home, Dr. Bennett!

MSW, 2012; PhD, 2023 - University of Windsor, School of Social Work

Dr. Michael Bennett received his PhD from the University of Windsor in 2023. He spent four years employed as an Assistant Professor of Practice at the University of Texas at Arlington (UTA) in the School of Social Work where he taught a broad range of graduate-level courses including mental health policy, advanced direct practice, diversity and social justice, and palliative care social work. He has also served as a sessional instructor in the University of Windsor’s School of Social Work since 2019. In 2023, Dr. Bennett began a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Windsor. His diverse skill set includes project management, program evaluation, counselling, case management, community outreach, supervision, and policy and service development.

Dr. Bennett’s service experience traverses a broad spectrum of practice. Prior to completing his master’s degree, he was employed as a program evaluation specialist in the public health sector. After obtaining his MSW, he spent ten years employed at the Hospice of Windsor and Essex County. His expertise in the field of hospice palliative care has been recognized throughout Canada. In April 2016, he proudly accepted Cancer Care Ontario’s Human Touch Award for his exemplary clinical practice in palliative care. In January 2018, he was appointed to Cancer Care Ontario’s Board of Directors and also served as the palliative care consultant for the Ontario Association of Social Workers on an expert panel for the Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario’s “End-of-Life in the Last Days and Hours: Best Practice Guideline.” In March 2018, he was awarded a Top 40 Under 40 Award by Leadership Windsor-Essex. In 2019, he co-founded and currently co-directs Oneday Dreams; a Canada-wide charity that fulfills dreams for adults who are over the age of 18 and in their last year of life. He was awarded the Ontario Association of Social Workers’ Inspirational Leader Award for role modelling in the profession, and the Ontario Association of Social Workers’ Community Contributor Award for his service to the community with Oneday Dreams. Dr. Bennett has been an invited speaker at over 30 international conferences.

Dr. Bennett’s research broadly investigates inequities and marginalization in the field of palliative care using interpretative methods. His work explores the impact of power dynamics and cultural issues on the provision of care, particularly for marginalized groups. His dissertation research examined the challenges faced by social workers in palliative care, including the devaluation of their profession and conflicts with the medical model. He has published numerous papers in academic journals related to death, dying, and end-of-life care.

Research Interests:

·        Tension in social work provision

·        Dream fulfillment (bucket lists) at the end-of-life

·        Live music performance in hospice and palliative care

·        Value-driven care

·        Human sexuality and intimacy at the end-of-life

Dr. Irene Carter

Dr. Irene Carter will be leaving the School effective July 1st for a well-deserved sabbatical followed by her retirement. Dr. Carter's contributions to the School of Social Work are immense. We thank you, Dr. Carter for your commitment over the past few years to the MSW Working Professionals Program. Dr. Carter has lead a very successful online program that continues to flourish.

Dr. Carter's commitment to disabilities is also commendable. She is a well respected authority on disabilities across the world. She was an integral part of the conception of the Disability Studies program at the University of Windsor and sat as a Co-Chair for the Disability Caucus at the Canadian Association of Social Work Education.

Thank you for your service and leadership, Dr. Carter! For Dr. Carter's bio, please see below:

Dr. Irene Carter, Professor, teaches in the MSW Program in the School of Social Work and is the Academic Coordinator for the MSW Working Professionals Program. Irene has been a member of the faculty of the School of Social Work since 2005. Her previous experience includes teaching at Dalhousie University and Mount St. Vincent Universities, Halifax, Nova Scotia, and the management of government program development and service delivery for individuals with disabilities.

With over 40 publications, Irene’s current scholarship focuses on further collaboration between the School of Social Work and School of Dramatic Art, University of Windsor, further development of online courses and programs in the MSW Working Professionals Program, critical disability studies in Canadian schools of social work curriculum, and continued research regarding intellectual and developmental disabilities, self-help groups, and support groups.

Irene was instrumental in developing the following courses in the School of Social Work:

• The development of the course, Communication Skills in Social Work Practice (8504) in 2005.
• The development of the course, Community Approaches, Advocacy, and Empowerment (DISB 4010) in 2008. At the time Irene was the Coordinator of the Disability Studies (Social Work Program) and also helped to develop several other BSW Disability Studies courses.
• In collaboration with the Director of Social Work, Robin Wright, and a grant from the Open and Online Strategic Development Grant of $10,000.00 (2016-2018), the MSW courses Field Integration Seminar (8570) and Advanced Internship Seminar (8680) were designed for online teaching and course delivery for the MSW (on campus) and MSW for Working Professionals (MSWwp) (off campus) programs.

Professional and Educational Responsibilities

• Member, MSW Committee
• Academic Coordinator, MSW Working Professionals Program
• Student Admissions
• Hiring and Orientation of Instructors, Curriculum Leads, and File Reviewers
• Member, MSW WP Academic Committee
• Member, Appointments Committee, MSW WP Program
• Bibliographer, School of Social Work
• Co-Chair, Disability Caucus, Canadian Association of Social Work Education

IN MEMORIAM

The School of Social Work would like to recognize a community leader and advocate, Marina Clemens who recently passed away at the age of 81. Ms. Clemens was executive director at Drouillard Place for 38 years.

Ms. Clemens was a trailblazer in Windsor and her legacy will continue through it's people and resources. Read more at Windsor's long-time Ford City defender, booster remembered as 'community champion' | CBC News

Katka Hrncic-Lipovic, Field Learning Specialist, School of Social Work, University of Windsor remarks on her fond memories:

I will always have wonderful memories of Marina Clemens. As the Executive Director of Drouillard Place, she was a reliable and steady field placement supervisor to many of our social work students for many years and a great community partner to the School of Social Work. Personally, I was highly inspired by Marina and her wonderful work in the community. There was something powerful in how she carried herself-strong yet always kind and considerate. It is not often that we have the privilege to be in the presence of giants in our profession-and Marina was truly a giant in our type of work. I will miss her greatly. My sincerest condolences to her family, friends, her community, and all who loved her.

For more information on Ms. Clemens, please visit Obituary of Marina Clemens | Windsor Chapel Funeral & Cremation | T...

STUDENT REPS

Thank you to our Student Representatives who have served

this academic year.

We appreciate your commitment to your role and the

School of Social Work. We wish you continued success in your

studies and careers!

School of Social Work Student Representatives

MSW Working Professionals:

Sabitra Bistathapa

Rain Chan 

Sarah Cocking 

Marsha Gray 

Eryn Jacobson 

On Campus Student Representatives:

Evan Gignac 

Leigha Hossack

Paige Lord

Kelly McNaughton

Maddy Motyka

Lorraine Oloya

Updates from Sharon Munro,

Social Work Librarian

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.