“I look at these students as the pioneers and recently encouraged the DSW students to think about their impact. We are producing passionate, well-trained effective change agents, and when we launch students, it’s their opportunity to go forth and create the world we seek,” said Kent School Dean John Miller.

The new DSW program aims “to create leaders that can go into the community and social service programs in educational institutions, in health institutions, in the military,” said Lynetta Mathis, associate professor and director of the DSW program.

She said the structure of the program opens doors for practicing social workers with experience and practice wisdom to pursue doctoral education while retaining their current employment.����

“Quality social workers provide value in every space, and I’m most proud that we are giving geographically diverse leaders the opportunity to make a difference working and serving in their communities across the nation,” Miller said.

In his first year as dean of the school, Miller said he is proud to see the school’s evolution into the doctoral space.

“I am watching new social work leaders take their stance and say, ‘I am part of the answer’,” he said. “That gives me joy, and fires me up as dean of the Kent School of Social Work and Family Science — to see them answering the leadership call.”

This year’s honorees, representing nine UofL schools and colleges, include researchers, scholars and artists, along with those who provide critical support as administrators.��Their work over the past year helped to advance health, grow our technology workforce, improve equity and more.

“I continue to be impressed by the bold and dauntless sense of curiosity and exploration that’s so foundational to our campus and what it means to be a Cardinal,” said UofL President Kim Schatzel, speaking at the event. “Each and every one of you here tonight brings a passion and energy to that work, and it’s just incredible.”��

At the event, hosted by the , several major awards were presented to:��

• • , of the College of ����ֱ�� and Human Development, who won Researcher of the Year for his work to shape mental health practice, especially for adolescent trauma-informed care and treatment;
  • , of the Schools of Dentistry and Medicine, which won Center of the Year in part for its recent $12 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to study links between the human microbiome and disease, which could lead to better treatments for a range of conditions;��
  • , of the College of Arts and Sciences, who won the inaugural Creative Works Award for her innovative work to marry technology and art, via an artificially intelligent painting collaborator;
  • Cheri Hildreth, of , who won the Unsung Hero Award for leading the launch and growth of the environmental health and safety programs over her 30-plus years of service to UofL;
  • Natalie Christian, of the College of Arts and Sciences, who won Early-Career Researcher of the Year for her work to harness plant-associated microbiomes to improve crop health;
  • and , of the Kent School of Social Work, who won the Grand Challenger Award in Empowering our Communities for their work to create supports for youth and their families most impacted by community violence and racial trauma;
  • , of the J.B. Speed School of Engineering, who won the Grand Challenger Award in Advancing our Health for work to integrate biological and clinical information, paving the way for personalized medicine;
  • , of the College of Eduacation and Human Development, who won the Grand Challenger Award in Engineering our Future Economy for her commitment to workforce up/re-skilling in the field of technology, including via innovative badging programs; and
  • Joan Scott, of the School of Dentistry, who won Research Administrator of the Year for providing integral research support to her school and department for more than 20 years.��

In the past year, UofL researchers and scholars submitted 1,075 proposals and received nearly $176 million in external grant funding to support groundbreaking discovery and exploration.��

“I believe what we celebrate is what we value as an institution,”�� said Kevin Gardner, UofL’s executive vice president for research and innovation. “With awards like these, we show that we value research, scholarship and creative activity. And, that we value you. The work you do is the backbone of UofL’s knowledge enterprise.”

Through the Ascending Star Fellowship program, the partners with academic units to accelerate scholarship and promote the national reputation of exceptional mid-career researchers. During the year long program, the fellows work with an external mentor and are coached through an ambitious project that moves their scholarship to the next level of development.����

This year’s class — representing four schools — includes:

• • Amanuel Beyin, College of Arts and Sciences, whose work focuses on the anthropoligical origins of humans in East Africa;��
  • Adam Enders, College of Arts and Sciences, whose work focuses on political science and conspiracy beliefs;��
  • Lesley Harris, Kent School of Social Work, whose work focuses on improvement of service delivery for persons over the age of 50 living with HIV/AIDS;
  • Jonathan Kopechek, J.B. Speed School of Engineering, whose work focuses on development of image-guided molecular therapy platforms utilizing ultrasound-responsive drug and gene carriers for treatment of cancer and cardiovascular diseases;
  • Matthew Nelson, School of Music, whose work focuses on recording and disseminating historical clarinet works of United Kingdom artist, Charles Hartford Lloyd;��
  • Stephanie Prost, Kent School of Social Work, whose work focuses on the health of incarcerated aging individuals;
  • Farshid Ramezanipour, College of Arts and Sciences, whose work focuses on chemistry solutions in renewable energy.��
  • Hui Zhang, J.B.Speed School of Engineering, whose work focuses on precision medicine and machine learning; mathematical visualization, multimodal data analysis, and human-computer interaction;
  • Jianhua Zhao, College of Arts and Sciences, whose work focuses on anthropological study of the Chinese fashion industry.

“The breadth and depth of this cohort’s work is truly impressive,” said M. Cynthia Logsdon,��associate vice president for research and innovation, who leads the fellowship program. “While they’re already ‘stars,’ my hope is that through the Ascending Stars Fellows Program we can support them in advancing their scholarship, its impact and recognition.”

To be considered for the program, faculty must be associate professor rank, must be nominated by their unit and must show a “consistent record of scholarship with the passion and desire to achieve greater national recognition.”��

To help discover new and better best practices to fight this overwhelming issue, students are making the most of a unique domestic violence research opportunity through a three-year grant from and a partnership with Arizona State University.

UofL’s Kent School was the only school in Kentucky, and one of only 13 schools nationally, to be selected as a site. SurvivorLink provides future social workers trained in violence against women with pathways to public health-related careers.

“The students are the most critical piece,” said Heather Storer, associate professor at Kent School. “They are doing the hard work of cross-training and messaging into new arenas.”

For Sarah Boggins and D.J. Martin, two UofL Master of Science in Social Work graduates who participated in the project during its inaugural year, SurvivorLink provided them the chance to carry the knowledge they gleaned and new tools they developed into their advocacy in ways that will make a real difference.

It helped Boggins define a career niche at the intersection of social justice, youth development and domestic violence prevention.

“SurvivorLink prioritizes prevention and takes an anti-violence approach to their curriculum,” Boggins said. “It gave me an increased motivation and passion for youth work and for incorporating the prevention techniques I learned into the youth development area.”

As a first lieutenant stationed at Fairchild Air Force Base in Spokane, Washington, Boggins is a diversity and inclusion trainer and executive officer in the 92nd Maintenance Group. She plans to start law school at the University of Washington in summer 2023.

“Social justice is really where my heart lies,” Boggins said. “With numerous anti-trans laws coming out that affect trans youth, it is more pressing than ever to contribute to that community work and to fight the legislation that is going to further oppress and harm that community.”

Martin, also active-duty military, is a staff sergeant and interim deputy of health information management at the Tripler Army Medical Center in Hawaii. As a victim advocate, she supports the training and development of the U.S. Army’s programs around domestic violence and sexual assault to address the epidemic within the military culture.

According to Martin, top levels of leadership is not where systemic change will start.

“We need to identify it and talk about it in middle management where the people are actually affected by sexual assault, harassment and domestic violence, and where the changes actually happen,” Martin said. “It is so important for us at this level to be the change that we want to see. I am prepared to go out into the world and make it a better place.”

Storer says reaction to the SurvivorLink program has been overwhelmingly positive, and the department plans to expand the cohort and eligibility for participants for the remaining two years of the grant.

“I am excited seeing the program grow and deepen, and we are hopeful to continue to learn from our students’ experiences.”

Lenora’s grandmother, Jessie, spent her time at UofL not as a student but as a custodian, cleaning classrooms, offices, bathrooms and hallways in the J.B. Speed School of Engineering and the Brandeis School of Law until the early ‘90s.

“She was very smart, she just didn’t have the opportunity,” said Lenora, a soft-spoken, single adoptive mother and foster mother who, despite many challenges that threatened to throw her off course, never gave up on the higher education goal she set for herself after graduating from high school.

At commencement, she will celebrate her August completion of her bachelor’s degree in sociology. She immediately turned her attention to a new goal and has started her master’s in social work at the Kent School. She also works full-time at Stuart Middle School.

Her two teenage foster daughters and teenage adopted daughter will be at the KFC Yum! Center to cheer her on. Missing from the audience — but not her heart — will be her late sister, who always strongly encouraged Lenora to stay in school, and her late grandfather, a lifelong Cardinals fan whose 90th birthday would have fallen on the commencement date of Dec. 17.

After years struggling to pay for her classes amid family deaths, crises and health issues, Lenora was just a few classes away from finishing when she ran out of financial aid. She credits counselors with UofL’s Student Success Center with helping her obtain a persistence grant that carried her through.

“I would say to any student that feels that they are not deserving or are in a hard situation … and they feel like their academic journey is over? I would reach out to the Student Success Center and get some assistance that you need so you know your journey’s not over,” she said. “(I would say) that you can keep going and it’s just one hurdle, but it’s not the end. You can keep going.”

Lenora has fostered pre-teen and teenage girls since 2014. This year, she adopted her 17-year-old daughter, who recently applied to UofL.

“I didn’t think they were paying attention, but they were paying more attention than I thought,” she said. “They haven’t seen anybody go to college. … If they see me do it, they say ‘OK, maybe I can do it.’”

Check out Lenora’s story in her own words below:��

How did you decide to pursue the social work profession?

I always knew I would be in one of the social sciences. Initially, I began my studies in psychology. With psychology the practitioner is looking only at the individual and with sociology the practitioner is looking only at group of people. In social work, we look at the reciprocal nature of the person in and with their environment — this enables us to get a much better picture of what’s happening with or to the person. In turn, we can better tailor interventions to empower the person and give them tools to cope with society or curtail behaviors that limit their full potential.

Why did you choose the Kent School?

Not only did they offer me a fellowship, I also saw myself in the faculty. A lot of them are young, passionate and actually believe they change the world. Sometimes, when you do social justice work for a long time, you can get a bit down wondering if things will ever change. At Kent, I’ve learned so many strategies for change work that I know society will keep getting better. Their hope has rubbed off on me a bit.

What area of social work are you pursuing?

I am a macro practitioner. I primarily focus on policy drafting and analysis, needs and community assessments, and positively shifting mezzo level cultures (e.g. communities and corporations). In doing all of that, I am a social justice warrior through and through. I want to make sure the structural barriers to receiving the best services are eliminated or limited as much as possible. I focus on eradicating barriers to education, health and opportunity rooted in racism, sexism, classism, ableism, homophobia, xenophobia and intersections of such. In my research, I focus on understanding the complexities of systems of hegemony –the dominance of one group over another. I also look at the best ways to engage oppressed populations into striving for their own liberation.

Where did you complete your practicum?

In undergrad, I did my first practicum at the Neighborhood Place and my second at Volunteers of America Mid-States. My master’s practicum was as a research assistant looking into ways to increase the diversity of faculty in and outside of the social work department. I was very blessed to receive a fellowship for my PhD so there was no practicum or assistantship of sorts. I also work closely with Dr. Shawnise Miller with the MSSW program and I serve on the Diversity Committee with Dr. Emma Sterrett-Hong.

Can you tell us briefly about your research and dissertation?

In short, I study systems of hegemony. I do this via a critical educational theory called conscientization. This theory helps me to investigate the needs of a community relative to their oppression and then ally with community members to fight for equality and justice. My dissertation is focused within the hegemonic system of racism. I’m looking into the cognitive, emotive, and social processes Black Americans progress through when learning of racism. More importantly, I’m interested in their process of deciding to resist the internalization of racist rhetoric and fight against implicit and explicit racism on a micro, mezzo and macro level.

What professional interests would you like to pursue after graduation?

I’d like to obtain my LCSW and eventually become a professor.

Do you have any advice for students considering a doctoral education in social work?

Intellectually, if you aren’t prepared to work independently to fill in the blanks, go get knowledge on your own, decide what’s important to research, etc. Then maybe take a summer to read in your area. It’s better for you to come into the program knowing what some might consider ‘too much’ than not knowing enough and having to catch up.

There is nothing that can prepare you emotionally for a doctorate. One minute you’ll be up emotionally and the next you’ll be down. It’s all worth it in the end. I look back at my time at Kent with fondness. I’ve learned so much and grown so much. I feel truly ready to enter academia. Kent didn’t try to change me into a stuffy professor, they helped me make professorship fit my style, values and goals.

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In Saling’s honor, the Kent School created the Amirage Saling Trans Champion Scholarship, available to any Kent School student who is transgender, non-binary, gender fluid, gender queer, gender non-conforming or a champion for and of rights within the transgender community. The scholarship will be awarded for the first time in spring 2021.

Anita Barbee, Kent School professor, got to know Saling personally when she was a student and said Saling’s willfulness, intelligence, constant quest for knowledge and her radiant spirit made her the perfect person to name the award after. She also believes the creation of a Trans Champion scholarship was much needed in the transgender community.

“We really thought it would would be important to lift this group up because I believe that they’re the most vulnerable in terms of bullying and being terrorized by people and facing mental health and risk of suicide,” Barbee said. “It’s part of our mission at the school of social work to focus on the oppressed.”

There are very few scholarship opportunities dedicated to the LGBTQIA community, but even fewer dedicated to nonbinary, gender non-conforming, gender queer, and transgender community specifically, organizers said. By providing the trailblazing scholarship, the Kent School reinforced the Cardinal Principle of diversity and inclusion.

Saling’s story is not only one of inspiration, but one of unparalleled determination and strength. Diagnosed with HIV at a young age, during the 1980s, she turned what was stigmatized as a death sentence into a legacy she worked tirelessly to leave behind. She became an integral part within the LGBTQIA community by helping others who received the same diagnosis cope with the news and by teaching sexual education to many people within the Louisville community. As an advocate, Saling helped people understand HIV is not the death sentence that some claim it is, using herself as an example. ��

More information about the��Amirage Saling Trans Champion Scholarship is��.��

Hailing from Caguas, Puerto Rico, Sannely has been in the Air Force since 2018 and is currently stationed at Aviano Air Base, Italy. Despite her short time in the Air Force, she already boasts an extensive list of accomplishments including honor graduate from Basic Training, promotion to airman Below-the-Zone and promotion to senior airman six months early.

She was also awarded a Diamond Sharp Award, as well as an Achievement Award for her performance during her installation’s COVID-19 response. Sannely says her favorite Air Force memory so far is the day she graduated basic training when she saw her family and was able to “eat candy and fast food after two months.”

When searching for an online Master of Social Work program, Sannely was looking for a program which was flexible about practicum placement for overseas military members. This search led her to UofL and she knew this was the right place for her when she found out UofL offers a reduced tuition rate of $250 per credit hour for Active Duty, Coast Guard and qualifying members of the National Guard and Reserve for undergraduate and most graduate programs.

According to Sannely, UofL was easy to work with and provided excellent support throughout her enrollment process. In particular, Sannely said Connie Uzzell, admissions coordinator in the Kent School of Social Work, was extremely helpful during the admission process.

While she has only recently started coursework, Sannely said she is also impressed by her professors’ and advisors’ flexibility and understanding. She says her classmates seem genuinely motivated to help make the world a little better.

When she completes her Master’s program, Sannely intends to remain in the Air Force and pursue a commission and career as a Clinical Social Worker.

UofL celebrates the 73^rd birthday of the United States Air Force on September 18. The university has a long tradition of supporting the United States Air Force. Between 1947 and today, hundreds of members of the United States Air Force pursued voluntary education and completed degrees at UofL. Since 1949, UofL has been home to a United States Air Force Reserve Officer Training Command Detachment, which has sent hundreds of Second Lieutenants into the Air Force.

Our AFROTC Detachment and United States Army Reserve Officer Training Command Battalion are housed in Dougherty Hall. The hall is named in honor of retired United States Air Force General Russell E. Dougherty, the former commander-in-chief of United States Strategic Air Command and a 1948 University of Louisville Law School graduate.

Story written by Kyle Hurwitz, director of Military Initiatives and associate director of Online Military Student Programs at UofL.��

“About 50% of adults with severe mental illness have a co-occurring substance abuse disorder,” said Wellspring CEO and Kent alumna Katharine Dobbins.

The goal is to help people become free of homelessness, engage in recovery and improve their quality of life through a community-based approach.

The nearly $2 million project is funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services through its Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. It is designed to boost specialized training to serve 180 Louisville adults via Wellspring, a behavioral health agency with a 38-year history of providing mental health services.

“Obviously the issue of people having both mental health and physical problems is a major concern in Louisville,” said Bibhuti Sar, UofL social work professor and the grant’s lead investigator, who pointed to the efforts of Wellspring and other local groups working together to address homelessness. “The Kent School of Social Work and the University of Louisville strongly support the well-being of the community. We welcome the partnership of Wellspring to enhance their efforts and experience to do that work.”

Working with other community partners such as the Coalition for the Homeless and Louisville Metro Housing Authority, the project will identify some of Louisville’s most vulnerable adults living on the streets with both disorders and will seek to provide them with housing and services designed to stabilize their lives.

“This will be a life-changing program,” Dobbins said. “It helps move a person along the path of recovery toward the goals they want to achieve. We will take a harm-reduction approach, but critical life experiences serve as opportunities to help individuals make positive changes.”

Participants will have a support team that includes a therapist, case manager, nurse practitioner and a peer support professional. This team, in conjunction with the Kent School, will develop skills in using evidence-based methods that help integrate “trauma-informed” care for participants. UofL will bring in national experts for training in evidence-based interventions. Sar said he hoped the training will occur this summer with services to begin in early fall.

“This grant will help our staff hone and improve their skills in evidence-based practices,” Dobbins said.

Those practices include integrated dual disorder treatment, which addresses both problems (mental health and substance use) simultaneously with the same team; motivational interviewing, which guides people toward change; and a “housing first” model, which uses supportive services to help chronically homeless people with serious mental illness and substance use disorders.

The Kent School team includes Martin Hall, an associate professor with experience in researching substance use issues, who will lead the evaluation part of the grant to ascertain the program’s effectiveness. Jim Guinn will be the project’s daily coordinator, and Sar said the team will hire a research assistant.

“We also want to understand the impact of services on consumers in the sense of improving their functioning and well-being,” Sar said.

Partnering organizations also will measure outcomes including how many homeless people get housed and how quickly and whether they maintain housing for a year or more. Other measurements will assess improvement to their quality of life and whether their psychiatric conditions changed.

“Our goal is to get people into independent housing, their own apartments with their own amenities,” Dobbins said. “We provide supportive services. We hope to get people into treatment as well, using these evidence-based practices.”

Continuing the UofL connections, Dobbins has a Kent social work degree and Wellspring program manager Paul Bliss has been a Kent adjunct faculty member; Sar hopes later to involve Kent students in the work as well.

“It’s rewarding to see our graduates making a difference in the community, and the chance to partner with them as alumni is fantastic,” Sar said.

Photo provided by .��

They were taken in Hai Phong, Vietnam, by youth participating in a month-long photovoice project facilitated by UofL students and faculty. The youth, aged 12-19 years old, have all lost parents to an HIV epidemic in Hai Phong. The project used photography and different forms of storytelling to help them explore themes they identified in their lives.��

“What was interesting to me was that we covered so many heavy subjects, but what showed through was the youth’s ideas related to their bright futures, social change and pride in what they and their families have been through and what Hai Phong has been through,” said Lesley Harris, assistant professor at the Kent School of Social Work.

Harris worked with community organizations serving grandparents and youth affected by HIV in Hai Phong10 years ago through the nonprofits Save the Children and the HIV and Health Care Support Centre (HHCSC).

Hai Phong, a port city with a seafaring economy, is located in a high traffic area for opioids moving from Middle Eastern to Asian markets. The influx of drugs resulted in an HIV epidemic that has left a large generation of orphans.

Harris wanted to serve that population again, many of the children now grown into adolescents, using photovoice,��a participatory research methodology designed to empower small groups through photography and storytelling.

She teamed up with Marion Hambrick, associate professor in the College of ����ֱ�� and Human Development, and Kyoungmee “Kate” Byun, who was a professor of interior design at Hite Art Institute, but now teaches at Northern Arizona University.

The trio was awarded a grant from UofL’s Cooperative Consortium for Transdisciplinary Social Justice Research. ����

Last summer, they mounted a month-long camp for 25 kids in Hai Phong focusing on positive youth development. Four��graduate students assisted: Rebecka Bloomer, Sara Williams, Doroty Sato and Victory Osezua. The photovoice project was a large component of the camp.��

“It became a much larger project than we anticipated,” Harris said. “But it was very worthwhile. Beyond research and program development, it was bringing something to the community that was needed and appreciated and gave the kids a program to be a part of for the month of July,” Harris said.

In the mornings, the team led activities in team building, goal setting and creative expression, which were informed by the youth development work of Williams and Bloomer, social work doctoral students. As the day progressed, the group focused on photovoice.

“We started with an introduction: What is photovoice, how you take and edit photos. We addressed safety, physical and emotional safety. Participants need to ask themselves, are you ready to revisit this place, or this difficult subject matter within your life?” Harris said. ��

Pictures emerged from their everyday world, some of them gritty, real examples of the social ills their community and family faces, like bottles of booze in an alley or lines of powder on a mirror. Others are more introspective, like a girl’s down cast face and a picture of a toy.��

The group discussed the photos and journaled about them. Together, they decided they ultimately wanted to use them to create educational videos and campaigns for residents of their city.

“Classically photovoice projects engage political leaders and people of influence, but that’s not really possible in Vietnam,” Harris said, as the country is communist. “We had to allow them to lead with what they wanted, and what is possible and safe within their cultural context.”

Byun curated the photos and narratives for the exhibition on display at Hite through Feb. 6 called, “.”

Byun plans to mount the show again at the Asia Institute-Crane House in Old Louisville and at a gallery in South Korea, further exploring the design and presentation of the exhibition.

Chloe Scoggins and Laura Coleman, both seniors in interior design at UofL, are now working with Byun on a research paper born of the project: “Does the Physical Setting of an Exhibition Affect Audiences’ Understanding of Narratives?” The team has been invited to present that work at the Environmental Design Research Association conference this April in Tempe,��Arizona.

“” is free and open to the public 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday through Feb. 6 in Hite’s Schneider Hall galleries.