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Hope Takes Flight for MU Senior & FriendsMay 21 2008 “It’s such a small and simple thing to do.” That’s what Mansfield University senior Katie Rose says of the effort that began as a way to cheer up a child battling cancer and now could earn him a place in the Guinness Book of World Records. Click here to read more. |
Students Terry Babb, Laura Cenkner and Katie Neal have had a paper accepted for presentation at the national Annual Program Meeting of the Council on Social Work Education, to be held in Philadelphia in November, 2008. Entitled “A qualitative study: Child care and its changes,” it is the work that culminated from a research project assignment in SOC 3307 (Social Research I) and SWK 3308 (Evaluation Research), taught by Drs. Jan Purk and Nancy Sidell, respectively.
Professor Rhonda Keller has been granted a fall semester 2008 sabbatical leave. She will be exploring poverty issues in Tioga County and will return to her field director responsibilities in January 2009.
Drs. Pam Richmond and Nancy Sidell, along with student Gena Bond, have had a paper accepted for presentation at the annual meeting of the National Association of Social Work’s Pennsylvania chapter. Presenting on October 3, 2008 in Philadelphia, the three will speak on “Culture and Diversity in a Rural Social Work Academic Setting: An Interactive Discussion.”
Dr. Pam Richmond has been named to the Board of Directors of the Pennsylvania chapter of the National Association of Social Workers. She represents the north central region of the state and is also serving on NASW’s fall conference planning committee.
Dr. Nancy Sidell, professor of Social Work and chair of the Social Work, Anthropology, & Sociology Department, was named the winner of the Provost’s Award for Excellence in Academic Advising by a selection committee, after a campus-wide nomination process. The award, developed and administered in conjunction with the Advising Resource Group, is designed to recognize faculty for exemplary academic advising. “Numerous students nominated Dr. Sidell, and others wrote in support,’ Renner said. “Among the several students who wrote about her advising for this award, one student said that Dr. Sidell ‘knows just about everything, but when she doesn’t , she is quick to give a referral to another office or she’ll even help find out the answer herself, and she cares a lot about everyone’s academic and career goals.’ Another student described Dr. Sidell’s assistance in resolving a problem by saying that she ‘acted confidently and concisely, but with warmth and caring.’”
Dr. Nancy Sidell has been named by the Ohio State University’s College of Social Work as the 2008 recipient of their Distinguished Recent Alumna Award. The award will be presented on September 5, 2008 in Columbus, Ohio.
Dr. Nancy Sidell was named one of seven mentors nation-wide by the Gero-Rich Curriculum Development Institute program. As a mentor, she has been assigned to five BSW programs who received grants that will aid them in adding gerontology content to their curricula. Her role as a mentor is to provide support and answer questions as these programs work their way through their three year grants.
May 21 2008
Hope Takes Flight for MU Senior & Friends
“It’s such a small and simple thing to do.”
That’s what Mansfield University senior Katie Rose says of the effort that began as a way to cheer up a child battling cancer and now could earn him a place in the Guinness Book of World Records.
Rose, a social work major, found out about Hunter Winship, a five-year old from Freedom, NY who is battling a rare form of cancer, through an email from Professor Nancy Sidell, chair of the Social Work, Anthropology and Sociology Department.
The email to all Social Work Club members told of the effort that started out as a way to cheer Hunter up as he is undergoing treatment and turned into a drive to claim the world record for collecting the most paper airplanes.
After making a few herself, Rose decided to enlist the help of a few other people, or she thought it would just be a few, in Honesdale, PA, her hometown where she is completing an internship in the school district this spring, and on the MU campus.
The effort quickly snowballed and now Rose, with the help of faculty and fellow Social Work Club members, is working out the logistics of delivering more than 12,000 paper airplanes to Hunter.
Rose is quick to deflect any credit for herself saying, “All I did was ask,” and she is quicker to praise everyone, especially the students, who took her request and turned into a huge get well wish.
“People may think they’re self-centered and only think what can you do for me, but give them a chance,” she said. “I was sitting there staring at the kids in my class during recess yesterday thinking, they did this. They cared.”
Hunter Winship has already received more than a million paper airplanes from around the world and the total continues to rise daily. Twelve thousand more are on their way from the Keystone State, many carrying special messages from Katie Rose and friends.
“Those are the ones that really got me,” Rose said. “They say things like ‘love you buddy’ or ‘hang in there friend.’ I wish every kid who has cancer, anyone who has a problem, doesn’t ever have to think that no one cares about them.”
Dr. Nancy Sidell was trained as a Lead Site Visitor for C.S.W.E. She has participated in three site team visits to undergraduate programs seeking accreditation or reaccreditation.
Dr. Nancy Sidell serves as a manuscript reviewer for the Journal of Baccalaureate Social Work. This peer reviewed journal is published quarterly and reflects current research specific to BSW education.