Silver School Faculty and Alumni Recognized at SSWR Annual Conference

Several NYU Silver School of Social Work faculty members and alumni were honored at the 2014 Society for Social Work and Research (SSWR) Annual Conference. The conference was held in San Antonio from January 15 to 19.

Professor Wen-Jui Han was presented with the 2014 Excellence in Research Award for her article titled “Bilingualism and Academic Achievement,” published in Child Development. In conferring the award, SSWR recognizes the significance of the problem addressed in her research, the rigor of the analysis, and its contribution to knowledge in social work and social welfare.

Faculty members James Martin and Deborah Padgett were named to the inaugural class of SSWR Fellows. SSWR established this fellowship to honor and recognize members for their individual accomplishments, leadership, and contribution to SSWR as a scientific society. SSWR Fellows have served with distinction to further the Society’s mission. Forty-five members make up this first cohort of fellows, only three percent of SSWR’s total membership.

Two NYU Silver alumnae were recognized for their exceptional doctoral dissertations. Maya Doyle, PhD ’13, was named a recipient of the 2014 Outstanding Social Work Doctoral Dissertation Award for her dissertation "Cystinosis in Emerging Adulthood." SSWR confers the award with the expectation that the scholar will continue to pursue excellence in research and knowledge development in social work. Doyle’s dissertation committee members were Professor Deborah Padgett (chair), former Assistant Professor Allison Werner-Lin, and Dean Lynn Videka.

Jama Shelton, MSW ’04, received an honorable mention for her dissertation titled, “There’s No Place Like Home? The Experiences of Unstably Housed Transgender and Gender Nonconforming Young People.” Shelton pursued her PhD in social welfare at the CUNY Graduate Center at Hunter College and found innovative ways to incorporate elements of her arts background into her work, asking her subjects to visually map their journey through drawing. In October, Shelton received the NYU Silver Distinguished Alumna award for her dedication to, and championship of, homeless LGBT youth.

Congratulations to all!