WELCOME TO OUR NEW FACULTY MEMBERS
The Department of Social Work is excited to be part of a new interdisciplinary initiative at FGCU(FGCU! Thanks to a $5 million gift from the Shady Rest Foundation, the Institute on Positive Aging will be established with Dr. Tom Felke, Associate Professor in Social Work, serving as the Founding Director of the institute. The Institute on Positive Aging will bring together faculty and students from academic units across campus to engage in education, scholarship a, and service efforts focused on older adults. The Shady Rest Foundation previously gave a gift of $4.1 million to the Marieb College of Health & Human Services (MCHHS) at FGCU to provide scholarships for students in five academic areas, including social work, seeking to work with older adults.
Liz Stevenson (MSW, LCSW) joins Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU) in a dual role working as a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Social Work and FGCU's Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS). In addition to her teaching responsibilities in the Department of Social Work, she will provide clinical, training and outreach services to students through the CAPS program. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Social Work in 1996 and her master's degree in Social Work from Adelphi University in 1998. Mrs. Stevenson began her work as a social worker over 25 years ago and in the last 13 years she has been working in college mental health. She is bilingual (English/Spanish) and although raised in the United States, her cultural background is Colombian. Her professional interests have included working with college aged populations as well as working with diverse groups and individuals. She seeks to be inclusive and equitable with all, across multi-dimensional realms within the field of social work
Melissa Thompson (MSW, LCSW) joins the Department of Social Work as Instructor 1. She began her career dedicated to issues in aging after an internship at a skilled nursing facility while attending the Colorado State University School of Social Work. During that experience, she contributed to a research project studying the human animal bond through animal assisted therapy with the residents of the facility. This sparked a passion for offering evidence-based care to aging populations and their loved ones. Ms. Thompson has served as a care manager, counselor, and supervisor in a variety of social service settings. She has developed and facilitated engaging programs for people experiencing dementia and their caregivers, including support groups and caregiver education. Ms. Thompson has effectively provided leadership in grant funded services, in addition to those regulated by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. She continues to offer high quality aging life care management and mental health services throughout Southwest Florida in private practice.
FLORIDA GULF COAST UNIVERSITY
School Website: http://www.fgcu.edu/chpsw/
Fall 2022
New interdisciplinary initiative at FGCU: THE INSTITUTE ON POSITIVE AGING
Congratulations to the Graduates and WELCOME STUDENTS
In May of this year, we celebrated the achievements of 38 MSW graduates. We admitted 49 new BSW students and 36 MSW students for the 2022-23 academic year. Eighteen of our MSW students were accepted into the Advance Standing Program and 18 to the Regular program.
FACULTY LEADERSHIP
Dr. Leslie Meskin, Assistant Professor, is serving as a member of the core team of FGCU’s Community Autism Network (CAN). This year the team received a $1 million philanthropic investment for CAN that will contribute to services for those with autism in SWFL.Information on CAN’s impactful programming can be read at https://www.fgcu.edu/mariebcollege/communityautismnetwork/
For the second year, Dr. Lirio K Negroni, Professor, is co-leading a health prevention initiative in Immokalee Florida with Latinxs and Haitians residents of Immokalee. The Immokalee Health Project is funded by a grant from the Collaboratory.
Our Field Education Coordinator, Tammy Walker, accepted a position as Chair Elect of the Marieb College of Health and Human Services (MCHHS) Faculty Council.
FACULTY MEMBERS’ RECENT PUBLICATIONS
Meskin, L.A & Colvin, M.L (2022). Body image: A scoping review of the literature. Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment. doi: 10.1080/10911359.2022.2093814
Logan, I., & Negroni, L.K. (February 2022) Bilingual Court Professionals’ Perceptions of Their Language Skills: Asset or Liability? Advances in Social Work, 21(4), 1141-1160, DOI: 10.18060/25282
Contact us at:
Department of Social Work
10501 FGCU Blvd. S.
Fort Myers, FL 33965
239-590-7825
Email: FGCU-SocialWork@fgcu.edu