Dear Colleagues and Students,
I am writing to update you on the actions we have undertaken as we hold ourselves accountable as an institution, and as a community, in creating a learning environment that fully integrates a just practice framework across our curriculum, field experiences, and community partnerships.
In June, we convened two faculty and staff meetings dedicated to this necessary work. These meetings were extraordinarily well-attended.
The members of the Silberman School of Social Work at Hunter College stand in solidarity with people throughout the United States and around the world in mourning the deaths of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and Atatiana Jefferson. This senseless loss of life at a time when the official COVID-19 death toll in the U.S. has reached 100,000 defies our understanding.
Social workers must speak out against injustice and at the same time be self-aware to ensure that residuals of systemic racism as well as other ‘isms‘ that live in all of us are identified and addressed.
MSW student Fatmata Britton and BSW student Shannon Lubin did their field placements this year with Silberman’s PROVE program (Project for Return and Opportunity in Veterans Education). This innovative program, operating since 2007, helps student veterans connect to needed resources as they transition from the military to college life.
2020 Silberman grad and jewelry artist Vanessa Bruce-Miller’s company was recently recognized by Huffington Post as one of a number of Black queer businesses especially worthy of support during these turbulent times.
Five days a week, Matthew Caron administers Silberman ten million dollar portfolio of externally funded grants and contracts. But every weekend, he puts on his paramedic uniform and joins the thousands of healthcare workers who provide lifesaving assistance to the city’s citizens. This work has become even more challenging as the city struggles to contain the COVID-19 pandemic. We asked Matthew to tell us about his weekend job.
Dr. Anna Ortega-Williams is joining the Hunter College Silberman faculty as an Assistant Professor. Dr. Ortega-Williams is a social work scholar, practitioner, educator, and activist. She earned her doctorate from the Fordham University Graduate School of Social Service, having previously earned her MSW from Stony Brook University (SUNY) and her bachelor’s degree from Hunter College.
