With a commitment to equity, innovation and transformation, the Mandel School leads with action
By Daniel Robison
Since Dexter Voisin, PhD, assumed leadership of the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences in early 2022, he and his leadership have asked alumni, faculty, students and stakeholders: What is the Mandel School all about?
From hundreds of conversations and comments, an answer became evident:
Equity. Innovation. Transformation.
Not only is this the new tagline for the Mandel School, these are values that capture who we are as an institutionand more importantlywhere were heading, said Voisin, the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Dean in Applied Social Science.
While there are countless examples of each of these principles in action during the institutions 108-year history, three recent storiesinvolving faculty, students and alumnihighlight how the Mandel School community is advancing the social work field, translating research into practice and action and leading positive social change.
Elevating equity
When the Ohio Supreme Court offered Adrianne Fletcher, PhD (SAS 05), the role as its first-ever director of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), she saw a one-of-a-kind opportunity to take her research and expertise into one of the states oldest, most tradition-bound institutions.
Taking a leave of absence from the Mandel School, Fletcher and her family moved to Columbus.
I felt a responsibility to try to make an impact at the court, and I felt called to the position, said Fletcher, an assistant professor of social work and faculty member since 2017. My charge was to bring a fresh approach and new ideas into an institution that stands for equal justice and the public good, but knows it can better uphold those principles.
Reporting to then-Chief Justice Maureen OConner, Fletcher identified ways that the states highest and lower courts could better reflect Ohios diverse demographics and create opportunities for better accessincluding for people with disabilities and language barriers. She also suggested ways to implement initiatives to promote these goals and values.
For instance, Fletcher updated training on implicit bias for hiring panels throughout courts in Ohio and often worked with, and taught at, the Judicial Collegeone of the courts nine divisionswhich provides training for judges and attorneys across the state.
Dr. Fletcher is a perfect example of the many ways our alumni and faculty move into non-traditional spaces and break barriers, said Voisin. Shes done a tremendous job of elevating voices, perspectives and narratives of minoritized communities.
Fletcher returned to the Mandel School last summer and took on an advanced role as its inaugural associate dean for equity and belonging. In her new position, Fletcher is responsible for ensuring the Mandel School can better embody its valuesfrom elevating equity to practicing antiracismthroughout its internal practices, curricula, hiring and engaging with communities.
We are building a community of inclusivity, belonging and mutual respectand diversity, which is more than just race. Its ability and disability, religion and gender, and other natural parts of being human, said Fletcher, who also recently was named the School of Medicines vice dean of diversity, equity and inclusive excellence. When we broaden our perspective in talking about these issues, we touch on aspects of everyones identity, which helps get buy-in and promotes learning.
Fletcher rejoined the Mandel School just as the U.S. Supreme Court issued a ruling barring the consideration of race in higher education admissions. The historic decision and ongoing research into effective strategies tto strengthen DEII education are shaping how the Mandel School and university approach the subject matter and teach students.
Our work is undergoing a transformation, said Fletcher. Were really going to be emphasizing a culture of equity and belonging for students, faculty and staff.
In the near term, the Mandel School is re-tailoring its equity and belonging programming for the differing needs of international students, underrepresented minorities and other groups on campus.
No matter who we area social worker, a student, a judge or an attorneybiases are a part of the human condition, said Fletcher. As social workers, we should be examples for how to work our way forward through our societys thicket of race and culture.
An institution of innovation
Every time students start their journeys at the Mandel School, they join educational programs that have been recognized for being among the most influential and forward-thinking in their field.
Curricular innovation in social work education has really been the hallmark of the Mandel School since its founding, said Emeritus Dean Grover (Cleve) Gilmore, PhD.
The schools founders and earliest faculty created an atmosphere in which they continually sought the best ways to teach and train students so they could tackle the problems theyd encounter as social workers, said Gilmore. Its part of the DNA of the school.
The Mandel Schools latest era of educational innovations was captured in a recent white paperthat chronicled the schools role in advancing curricular planning, assessment and delivery of social work education.
The paper was authored by Gilmore; Associate Professors Zoe Breen Wood, PhD, David Hussey, PhD, Mark Chupp, PhD; Assistant Professor Marji Edguer, PhD (WRC 80; SAS 85; GRS 17, social welfare); and Paul Kubek, who served as consulting writer and project manager.
Our curriculum is continually built on a history of innovationsand its an evolution thats always ongoing, said Edguer, co-chair of the curriculum committee at the Mandel School. No matter how successful any effort has been, we can always improve aspects of the education we provide.
Since the mid-1990s, faculty and administration have collected data measuring student achievement in particular abilities and competencies. In some cases, the data has led to entire initiativesyears in the makingto be set aside.
Weve made mistakes and corrections. Ultimately, we follow the lead of students, said Gilmore. At times, weve had to be very honest and acknowledge that simply because were content experts, hard changes are necessary if students arent achieving.
In 2002, the Mandel School was the first of its kind to launch whats known as a competency-based, or ability-based, social work education.
We were leaders in looking at educational outcomeswhat students should be able to know, do and believe when they leave, said Wood. We changed the focus from giving information to students to evaluating how confident they are in performing their career roles.
Gilmore, who served as dean during most of the era covered in the paper, said the school aimed to avoid having a catalog of courses that are individually very good but may not hold together very well, he said. Instead, we worked backward from the outcome of a competent social worker.
The competency-based approach, first pursued at the Mandel School, has been influential on a national level. In 2008, the Council on Social Work Education proclaimed that all social work schools needed to develop such a program.
It challenges social workers to think and learn beyond ones expertise and pursue lifelong learning, said Kubek. As this approach has become widely adopted, its having a significant impact on the field.
The scholars also cite the 2020 launch of the schools Change Agent Intensive as a recent innovation. This one-week, cohort-based intensive program offers all new students a range of experiences, before classes begin.
Weve created a powerful way to welcome them into the professional world of social work, said Chupp. It builds a community of learning and support, and it introduces them to the neighborhoods and people theyll be working with in Cleveland.
Added Chupp, Immediately, we see them asking the kinds of questions that can foment changes in how programs are run and services are delivered. We see a presumption in them that we can do better, and they take that into the field and their careers.
Over the last quarter-century, the schools faculty continually returned to a foundational aspect of its curriculumthe student-learning experienceto ensure each course and semester built on the next, in an organized and coherent way.
We cant expect our students to connect and integrate the different parts of their education unless we do, said Hussey.
The Mandel Schools level of emphasis on curriculum development is rarenot only for a school of social work but for any school in higher education, said Gilmore, who launched the white-paper project as dean.
Its authors view the work as part historical document and as a testament to current and future faculty so they realize this is an important mission, said Wood, and that engaging in this activity is valued here.
Ultimately, its the profession that benefits, the authors agree.
Weve always aimed to empower students to create change, said Edguer, while at the Mandel School and as social workers.
Transforming trauma
In Cleveland, pronounced socioeconomic and racial disparities, which disproportionately affect Black and Hispanic residents, correlate with traumatic occurrencesincluding violent crime, child maltreatment and food insecurity.
In 2018, researchers at the Mandel Schools Center on Trauma and Adversity helped launch a project to address the issue and offer support. Every worker at the citys 22 recreation centersnearly 300 individuals, from desk staff, custodians, security personnel and othershave been trained in trauma-informed care, which means they can identify signs of trauma and address it constructively.
The initiative has become the countrys first system of trauma-informed recreation centers.
This is a creative way of addressing unmet needs that stem from racialized poverty in low-resourced neighborhoods, said Voisin. We aim to meet people where they are. We partner with them, listen and respond in ethical and culturally appropriate ways.
A dozen social workers and counselors also rotate among the rec centers, working directly with patronskids, adults and seniorsto process and work through trauma.
Its one thing to say youre in the communityits another thing to be of the community, said Eugenia Cash-Kirkland (SAS 92), support services director at Clevelands Division of Recreation. Our social workers and counselors build relationships in neighborhoods and help people who otherwise arent likely to receive mental healthcare anywhere else.
At the outset of the initiative, the centers faculty teamed with nonprofit Frontline Services to teach rec center staff about traumas causes and its lasting effects on behavior and well-being. The staff also received training on how to integrate trauma-informed care into everyday operations. The approach is characterized by several key principles and practicessafety, trustworthiness, peer support and flexibility.
We want these spaces to feel safe, restorative and healing across all interactions and the environment, said Megan Holmes, PhD, professor and co-director at the Center on Trauma and Adversity. We want everyonekids and adultsto walk in and be greeted and treated in a way that doesnt further trigger trauma and can help promote healing from difficult experiences.
As a sign of the citys commitment to the endeavor, the rec centers are now known as Neighborhood Resource and Recreation Centers.
A patron showing signs of trauma isnt going to have their first interaction be with a social worker or counselor, said Amy Korsch-Williams (SAS 04), faculty affiliate of the center and senior instructor at the Mandel School. All workers are trained to respond in ways that are compassionate, that perhaps will flip negative interactions, so people are moving together rather than apart.
When counselors and social workers work with a patron, its not just a referral; we do a warm handoff, where we support you in whatever you need, said Cash-Kirkland, which was not there before.
Faculty from the Center on Trauma and Adversity recently summarized findings from the projects first phase in the journal Behavioral Sciences. The paper details how a trauma-informed approach has promoted a range of positive interactions at centers.
Having mental health professionals meet with patrons after family members or friends have been hurt or killed is one way in which this approach has proven especially effective.
Its made a huge difference, said Cash-Kirkland, It mobilizes support at difficult times in the community.
During the projects next phase, ongoing evaluations will continue to inform efforts to fine-tune the approach until its woven deeply into the fabric of the centers, Holmes said. Our goal is to provide the tools to do this work on their own, and step back.
Added Korsch-Williams, In some ways, you could say we are trying to create an accumulation of good.
Charting a course
Moving forward, the Mandel School will continue to integrate principles of equity, innovation and transformation into its curriculum, research, student experience and other areas as part of an anti-oppressive, anti-racist and decolonizing approach to social work, Voisin said.
We will be more proactive about influencing our profession through equity, innovation and transformation. These have been the soul of our school for years, even if we just put this into words, he continued. Weve inherited a legacy of dedication to these principles, and our future will be built upon them.
Read more stories like this in the Winter 2023 edition of Action.