NYU Silver School of Social Work has received a three-year, anonymous gift totalling $180,000 in support of the School’s new Racial Equity Scholarship Fund. The fund was established to support Silver MSW students who are committed to advancing racial justice in their social work careers.
The first six scholarships from the Fund, for $10,000 per academic year or $5,000 per semester, will be awarded to students enrolled in Silver’s MSW program in Fall 2021 or Spring 2022. Applicants will be required to demonstrate need as well as submit an essay on a current example of injustice or systemic discrimination, ways that they might respond, and if and how their background and lived experiences play a role in addressing that concern. MSW students who wish to apply to the Racial Equity Scholarship Fund for Fall 2021 have the opportunity to do so as part of the School-Based Named Scholarships application, a link for which was emailed to incoming and continuing students on April 16, 2021.
“Activism against social injustice has been a core part of our profession since its inception” said NYU Silver Dean Neil Guterman. “NYU Silver is committed to providing access to our rigorous social work training to students who embrace that imperative so that they can help move the needle forward in advancing racial equity and combating all forms of oppression.”
Dean Guterman expressed appreciation to the anonymous donor whose generous gift seeded the scholarship fund as well as to the following members of the task force that developed the scholarship parameters and criteria, some of whom also serve on the School’s Social Justice Praxis Committee (SJPC):
Sabrina Cluesman, PhD Student and SJPC member
Richeleen Dashield, Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and SJPC Co-Chair
Lori Djivre, Admissions and Financial Aid Outreach Officer
Sita Goetschius, Admissions Recruitment Specialist and SJPC member
Marya Gwadz, Professor and Dean for Research and SJPC Co-Chair
Wen-Jui Han, Professor
Casey Scott, MSW ’20
Laura Turner, Assistant Dean for Development
NYU Silver welcomes additional gifts to expand and sustain the Racial Equity Scholarship Fund. Donations may be made here.
