Brown School › 2019 › Page 17

The Brown School’s PhD program aims to recruit highly qualified applicants and train them to lead the rigorous, top-level research the school is known for nationwide. To find out more about how to better predict the research productivity of its students while in the program, the associate dean for doctoral education turned the research spotlight inward.

The result: Published results that can inform the admissions process at the Brown School and other research-oriented institutions, along with the side benefit of confirming the success of the program.

“The study validates that our program produces students with a strong ability to do research and become leaders in the field,” said Renee Cunningham-Williams, an associate professor at the Brown School who has led the PhD program in Social Work for seven years. 

Cunningham-Williams conceived the study as a means to determine the productivity of the program’s students and whether it was related to admissions criteria and program practices. She formed a team of current and former PhD students as co-authors on the project, creating additional research productivity opportunities for each of them. Her team included current PhD (social work) students Ellie Wideman and LaShawnda Fields, and PhD alum (education) Brittni Jones.

“We are fortunate to attract a high-caliber group of PhD applicants to begin with,” she said, with high GRE scores and grades as the norm.  “We needed to look beyond traditional admission criteria like GRE scores and grades to see if there are any other factors that could be a predictor of research productivity accomplished while in the program.” Such information is needed to gauge whether PhD applicants are “ready” to attain the research productivity to secure a tenure track or research-intensive position, she said.

The research team looked at data for 56 PhD candidates in social work at the Brown School who entered the job market from fall 2007 to spring 2016. Research productivity was measured by being an author/co-author of peer-reviewed scientific publications and juried conference presentations, and serving as the principal investigator (PI) of externally funded grants.  The authors also calculated time-to-degree. Pre-admission criteria was analyzed for each applicant, as well as demographic information.

The data showed that past research was the most predictive indicator of productivity.  While race/ethnicity was not significantly related to overall research productivity or time-to-degree, there were differences with respect to conference presentations and PI grants. The authors concluded that African-American students may benefit from additional opportunities to work with faculty to present at conferences earlier in the program and throughout its course.  They also suggested the removal of financial barriers that may have disproportionately limited these students from conference travel.  International students lagged in PI grant awards, which she said might be due to the myriad of restrictions imposed on some funders. The average amount of time-to-degree of 5.2 years was significantly shorter than the University’s maximum of 7 years allowed for all PhD students. The PhD completion rate was nearly 100%.

Cunningham-Williams said the results support a holistic approach to admissions, giving greater weight to previous research experiences.

She ended her term as PhD program director at the beginning of the current academic year, passing the baton to Melissa Jonson-Reid, the Ralph and Muriel Pumphrey Professor of Social Work Research.

Cunningham-Williams hopes the study will inform the admissions process at the Brown School and others, and said it shines a light on the Brown School’s achievement of its high aims for the program.

“These positive student outcomes support the fact that we’re doing what we say we’re doing,” she said.

The study was published in the Journal of Social Work Education. It was also featured in a presentation at the recent conference of the Society for Social Work and Research. 

A survey of Medicaid members found that increasing levels of unmet social needs were positively associated with stress, smoking and chronic conditions, according to new research from the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis.

Scientists, led by Tess Thompson, research assistant professor, analyzed data from 1,214 online surveys from Medicaid members about social needs, demographics, and health-related and psychosocial outcomes.

The most common unmet needs were lack of money for unexpected expenses in the next month and not enough space in the home. About two-thirds of participants reported one or more unmet needs.

Thompson

In addition to the links to health, the results showed that participants with higher levels of unmet needs reported worse health, as well as fewer days of exercise per week and fewer daily servings of fruits or vegetables.

The study, “Social Needs and Health-Related Outcomes Among Medicaid Beneficiaries” was published in the journal Health Education & Behavior.

The findings have implications for practice and show the benefits of helping people with Medicaid meet social needs at a time when resources for doing so may be lacking in many communities, Thompson said.

“To promote a wide range of positive health-related outcomes, public health practitioners and health professionals should advocate for increased support resources at local, state and federal levels,” she said. “Our work adds to the growing body of evidence that suggests increasing such resources holds potential to improve the health of low-income people.”

Inspired by HomeGrown STL’s “strong track record of working to improve life outcomes for boys and young men of color,” the Obama Foundation’s My Brother’s Keeper Alliance has named HomeGrown STL a “Community to Watch.”

Professor Sean Joe, director of HomeGrown STL, announced the designation last week at HomeGrown’s third annual regional summit, “Building Capacity for Community and Systems Change.”

“The nation is looking at us,” Joe told more than 150 participants at the summit. The summit is an annual working-group meeting that brings together researchers, service providers, funders and other allies to accelerate strategies to improve the health, development and upward mobility of black boys and young men in St. Louis City and County.

President Barack Obama launched My Brother’s Keeper (MBK) from the White House five years ago. Its purpose is “to address the persistent opportunity gaps faced by boys and young men of color to ensure all youth can reach their full potential,” according to a letter to Joe from Broderick D. Johnson, chair of the MBK Alliance Advisory Council, and Michael D. Smith, executive director of the MBK Alliance.

“Since that time an unstoppable movement has grown to uphold and advance that promise,” they wrote. “You and your organization are a critical part of that movement and we’re excited to work alongside you in the months and years ahead.”

HomeGrown STL is an initiative of the Race and Opportunity Lab, based at the Center for Social Development. It focuses on building capacity to better serve and foster the positive development of young black males ages 12-29. The initiative centers on the understanding that solutions to the problems facing young black boys and men in the St. Louis region must come from the region itself with good use of data and strategic action. (See “Social Mobility: The Necessary Focus of St. Louis Investment in Black Males.”)

MBK Alliance will spotlight HomeGrown STL’s successes, provide support and technical assistance to strengthen its funding proposals, and create opportunities for funders to learn about HomeGrown STL’s work, according to the letter.

On February 18-20, Joe and Robert Motley, a Brown School doctoral candidate who manages the Race and Opportunity Lab, will attend the Obama Foundation’s My Brother’s Keeper’s Alliance first national convening, in Oakland, California.

“The Obama Foundation designation for HomeGrown STL makes clear that, in just a very short period of time, our region has demonstrated outstanding potential to lead in this nation when it comes to advancing the well-being of black boys and young men,” Joe said.

This year marks 400 years since the first documented arrival of Africans in the United States. In alignment with a national agenda to recognize the significance of this anniversary, the university will host a three-part event, the first of which takes place Feb. 10.

“Black Struggle, Resiliency, and Hope for the Future,” will be held from 3-5 p.m. Feb. 10 in Graham Chapel. The event will feature Wesley Bell, St. Louis Country prosecutor, along with performances by Missouri AME Conference Choir, Better Family Life’s K.Y.P.E. dance troupe, and more.

The event is the first in the trilogy, “Blacks in America: 400 Years Plus,” organized by Jack Kirkland, associate professor at the Brown School, who consults and writes on the African-American family and social and economic development. Kirkland was an activist and strategist in the Civil Rights Movement and has since held a number of roles as a public servant and elected official.

“The goal of the series is to explore the various aspects of the black experience from historical and current perspectives,” Kirkland said. “The ‘plus’ is a vital recognition that the 1619 documentation of some 20 or so Africans arriving off the coast of Virginia does not include the history of Blacks in the Americas that dates much earlier. All three events will feature national speakers to garner interest and wide-spread appeal, as well as draw from local talent and leadership, for a robust and engaging program. The purpose of the series is to acknowledge the incredible history of struggle, resiliency, and contributions of blacks, and to reflect on black identity and progress in the next century. The series will serves as a time and space for fellowship, celebration and inspiration.”

Kirkland noted that the 400-year anniversary coincides with the fifth anniversary of the death of Michael Brown, an unarmed black youth who was shot and killed by a white police officer, which launched a movement in St. Louis and around the nation. 

“Following the death of Michael Brown, Jr. in August 2014, the city of Ferguson drew international attention and became a symbol of racial strife and inequity in the United States,” he said. “The event catalyzed the region to get to the root of the wide-spread disparities facing St. Louis, particularly prevalent among African Americans, and to map out a regional agenda for moving forward. Since then, St. Louis has served as an epicenter of the movement to advance black lives and thus attention to the 400-year anniversary of blacks in America is most fitting for the region.”

Each of the three proposed events have been scheduled to coincide with other historically meaningful events.

All events are free and open to the public and will take place in Graham Chapel.

For more information and to RSVP, visit eventbrite.com/e/blacks-in-america-400-years-plus-tickets-54955336892.
A Facebook event is available at facebook.com/events/1192578780919172.

Murli Desai, PhD ’83, received the Life Time Achievement Award from the National Association of Professional Social Workers in India (NAPSWI) in recognition of her contributions to the field of social work.

The award is given to those who have significant contributions to the fields of social work and social development in general.

During her time at the Brown School, Desai worked closely with Michael Sherraden, George Warren Brown Distinguished University Professor. “The doctoral program at the Brown School gave me the rigour and theorization that significantly prepared me for an effective academic career,” said Desai.

Sherraden, who served as Desai’s dissertation chair, expressed his respect for Desai’s contributions to the knowledge base of social work. “She has shaped and carried out an exemplary career, making important contributions in social development policy and practice from a human rights perspective. For many decades, social development has been a deeply important theme in the Brown School’s evolution and recognized contributions. Desai’s heralded career is part of that.”

Desai’s research focuses on family and women’s studies, childhood adolescence, and old age. After working in practice-based research in the field for four years, Desai joined the faculty at the Tata Institute for Social Science (TISS), where she stayed for the major part of her career. She held various key positions, including head of the Unit for Family Studies, head of Social Work Education and Practice cell, and associate editor of The Indian Journal of Social Work. She subsequently worked two years at the Department of Social Work at the National University of Singapore and one year at the Department of Social Welfare of the Seoul National University.

Angela Peacock, MSW ’19, was one of 10 students chosen nationwide to become a 2019 Veterans of Foreign Wars and Student Veterans of America (VFW-SVA) Legislative Fellow.

As part of the selection process, Peacock submitted an essay that outlined her advocacy interest in improving health care and benefits, with a focus on informed consent for medications and issues surrounding patient and provider education. She and the other fellows will represent their states and learn how to advocate effectively at the VFW National Legislative Conference in Washington, DC from March 3-7, 2019. With the help of VFW mentors, the fellows will return to their home states and implement their advocacy plans.

“I hope that my work will help decrease the suicide rate of veterans in Missouri and around the country,” said Peacock.

This is the fourth year that VFW and SVA have co-sponsored the fellowship. VFW is the nation’s oldest major war veterans’ organization. SVA works to provide military veterans with the resource and support to succeed in higher education. Both organizations are nonprofits that have chapters across the country.