Social Work at Siena Heights:
Reaching Out
and Giving Back
I
want to give back to my community –
I want to make a difference – I want to
help people in need . . .
Comments like these are often shared when
students are asked why they choose to major
in social work. According to Ann Lauderdale,
associate professor and coordinator of Siena’s
social work program, many students see it as a
way to help those in need, “Our students strive
to be advocates for those without a voice. It is
truly an honor to teach individuals with that
level of commitment.”
Working for the common good and helping
those most in need of assistance is a mission
that fits in well with the vision and mission of
Siena Heights University and our founders, the
Adrian Dominican Sisters. The Siena Heights
social work program is dedicated to educating
social work majors to become competent, skillful, ethical, and purposeful social work practitioners. The program also strives to prepare
students to be successful in graduate school.
According to Lauderdale, our graduates say they
are well-informed and prepared for post baccalaureate work. She explains, “Over the past
decade, every student who has applied to graduate school has been accepted into a program.”
SHU’s social work program builds upon a
strong liberal arts curriculum while providing
professional development education. Lauderdale
says one of the things that truly sets Siena apart
from other programs is the inclusion of 400
hours of hands-on experience at the undergraduate level. That, coupled with the one-on-one
support students receive from Siena’s faculty,
makes the program an easy sell. Many of our
social work professors are adjunct faculty members with outstanding real world experience.
That experience helps social work students
understand how and where they can practically
apply their knowledge after graduation.
The field of social work is broad and ever growing. Our students are prepared to act as general
social work practitioners. That means that our
students have learned how to apply social work
knowledge and skills to develop intervention
strategies and implement change within
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Reflections Winter ‘05 - Siena Heights News
communities, organizations, families, and with
individuals. Our graduates work in a variety
of roles for many types of institutions. Some
alumni work in hospitals and nursing homes,
others in community mental health programs,
the criminal justice system as parole and probation officers, others focus on residential treatment settings, and some have even become
policy researchers for legislators.
Tom MacNaughton, Director of the Lenawee
County Department on Aging, echoes the feelings of many employers. “We like to hire Siena
Heights graduates because we can be certain
that they come to us with a lot of practical
field experience and are almost immediately
up to speed.”
The social work program is in the midst of
a five-year accreditation process with the
National Council on Social Work Education.
The program