Welcome

What an amazing academic year it was for our faculty. As we welcome the start of a new semester, I’m excited to share with you some of the latest work from our world class researchers.

Not only was their work recognized through grant awards and publications, but many were recognized by their peers for their excellence. Take for example Kenan Flagler Bingham Distinguished Professor Sheryl Zimmerman, who was recognized at the 2024 Society for Social Work and Research Conference with the Distinguished Career Achievement Award, or John A. Tate Distinguished Professor for Children in Need Emily Putnam-Hornstein, who was admitted as a 2024 American Academy of Social Work and Social Welfare fellow during the same weekend. Not to mention numerous other faculty members who’ve been recognized for their outstanding work this past year, including Associate Professor Amy Blank Wilson and Assistant Professor Rebecca Rebbe who were inducted into SSWR’s 2024 class of fellows.

These notable achievements occurred amidst a backdrop where the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill conducted $1.36 billion in research. Our School ranked fourth this year among social work programs nationally for generating research expenditures according to the National Science Foundation’s HERD 2022 Survey.

Our School has continued to refine its strategic plan heading into the 2024-25 academic year. One of our guiding pillars includes empowering our researchers to deepen and expand our substantive, methodological and translational areas of research expertise to advance equity, transform systems and improve lives. We remain focused on retaining, supporting and elevating our faculty while attracting additional talent who represent a new generation of research leaders whose dedication to excellence and the advancement of social work science is palpable.

The latest installment of our digital Impact Report, released during the Fall 2024 semester, focuses on system- and service-level research. This type of research seeks to better understand and guide the critical components of systems that make up the School’s additional core research programs — child, youth and family well-being; economic security; health, mental health and behavioral health; and older adults and long-term care.

The quality of service received by individuals in these areas depends on the systems that provide that care and the policies that dictate its availability. Our faculty conduct research to understand critical components of systems of care and to inform the policies that make those systems broadly accessible. They bridge the gap between the worlds of research and practice and, in doing so, engage in rapid translation of research findings into service delivery and policy solutions. The useability and usefulness of our researchers’ studies and findings continue to garner attention at the local, state, national and global levels.

In this report you’ll read about a range of researchers whose work is impacting and changing systems across the country, ranging from trauma education and workforce development to mental health service access within the criminal justice system.

I’d also encourage you to visit our past installments to learn more about the cutting-edge contributions from our School’s research centers, institutes and labs; our programs bookending the age spectrum focused on Child, Youth, and Family Well-Being; and on Older Adults and Long-term Care; and our third installment focused on Health, Mental Health and Behavioral Health and Economic Security.