Maria Suter-ThallemerThroughout her college career, Maria Suter-Thallemer has maintained an open mind and a willingness to try new things.

When she first arrived at the University of Mississippi (“Ole Miss”) after finishing high school in Biloxi, Mississippi, she was focused on cheerleading for the university and enjoying the small, college-town environment of Oxford. She also sought out and explored a range of academic experiences, prompting several changes in her major.

“I switched my major, admittedly, six times,” said Suter-Thallemer.

Eventually, she discovered social work, a discipline that stoked her passion for helping others.

“[I study social work because of] my desire to really know the world. I think social works offers a really awesome opportunity to focus on diversity and inclusion,” said Suter-Thallemer. “[It makes you consider] what role you can play in adding to the progression of what our world is going to be in 20 years.”

As her interest in social work grew and graduation neared, she began to evaluate Master of Social Work (MSW) programs. During this period, a dear friend unexpectedly encouraged her to take a brief trip to Birmingham to visit the University of Alabama at Birmingham. She embraced the advice, made the trip, and spent a whirlwind 11 hours in the city and on the campus.

“I walked around the campus by myself, and I was blown away by the diversity that UAB’s campus had to offer and Birmingham in general,” said Suter-Thallemer. “It was unlike any other place in the South... I’ll probably be here the rest of my life.”

She was also attracted to the uniqueness of the university’s MSW program. Currently, UAB’s Department of Social Work offers one of the only Clinical/Medical MSW programs in the country, which piqued Suter-Thallemer’s interest.

According to the department, “The mission of the Clinical/Medical MSW program at UAB is to educate students for careers in specialized, competent, and evidence-informed practice in health and behavioral health that responds to the complex needs of people and community in the face of an increasingly interconnected world.” It is a mission that aligns with Suter-Thallemer’s career aspirations and values, so, she enrolled in the program in Fall 2022.

So far, the program has equipped her with new skills, experiences, and connections that will benefit her for years to come.

“Our professors have so much background…in clinical and medical social work. While they’ve provided us with the tools to handle the realm of healthcare, they’ve also given us a lot of tools to figure out things that set our soul on fire for social work and different outlets and avenues for what this job can look like,” said Suter-Thallemer. “It’s been a huge gift to learn from them. [And] my cohort has been great.”

Currently, Suter-Thallemer is navigating a 600-hour clinical placement at the UAB Center for Psychiatric Medicine. She focuses on adolescent psychiatric social work, while working alongside an interdisciplinary team of social workers, occupational therapists, doctors, and others. The experience has had a powerful impact on her.

“It’s something I hope to pursue after graduation [in December 2023]. As of right now, I definitely plan to take the mental health care route,” said Suter-Thallemer.

And, clearly, the department and its faculty have helped to illuminate that route for her.

“One thing, specifically, that the MSW program is good at… is cultivating us to be people with our own personalities to go out and do a job that we really love to do. And, in doing that, I feel like they are able to really take what we have to say and turn it into something very meaningful. They’re able to prepare us for what’s to come after graduation,” said Suter-Thallemer. “It has been nothing short of perfect.”

Learn more about the Clinical/Medical MSW program at UAB by visiting the Department of Social Work’s website.

Tashee Brown has been selected to receive the respected Council of Social Work Education Minority Fellowship (CSWE-MFP) for 2022-2023. Tashee is one of only 34 Master’s level students select from over 350 programs. Candidates must demonstrate commitment to addressing the mental health needs of individuals, groups, and communities. The fellowship is an incredible training and professional development opportunity.

The faculty and staff of the Department of Social Work would like to give a collective and whole-hearted congratulations to Tashee Brown.

Congratulations to Laurel Hitchcock whose article, “Social Work Educators’ Opportunities During COVID-19: A Roadmap for Trauma-Informed Teaching During Crisis,” was chosen as the Journal of Social Work Education (JSWE) Best Conceptual Article of Volume 57. Her work was chosen from among all articles published in JSWE in 2021. In choosing the Best Conceptual Article, the JSWE Editorial Advisory Board looks for originality of thought, sound and innovative conceptualization of the topic, and conclusions and/or recommendations that add significantly to the professional knowledge base and to social work education. Thank you for authoring an important article for our profession!

2022 winners of the Dean’s Award for Excellence in Teaching: Ragib Hasan, Ph.D.; Dione King, Ph.D.; and Andrew Baer, Ph.D.The Dean’s Award for Excellence in Teaching recognizes full-time regular faculty members of University of Alabama at Birmingham’s College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) who have demonstrated exceptional accomplishments in teaching.

Award winners must have held faculty status at UAB for a minimum of three years and may receive the award only once in any three-year period.

The CAS Excellence in Teaching Committee selected award recipients for being outstanding representatives of effective teaching and thoughtful pedagogy from the Arts and Humanities, Natural Sciences and Mathematics, and Social and Behavioral Sciences.

• Arts and Humanities: Andrew Baer, Ph.D., Associate Professor in the Department of History
• Natural Sciences and Mathematics: Ragib Hasan, Ph.D., Associate Professor in the Department of Computer Science
• Social and Behavioral Sciences: Dione King, Ph.D., Associate Professor in the Department of Social Work

Congratulations to this year’s winners. Also, in the near future, one of these faculty members will be awarded the President’s Award for Excellence in Teaching.

In November 2020, the College of Arts and Sciences awarded “Building a Multicultural Curriculum” grants to eight faculty members for the academic year 2020-2021. With the grants, faculty members could develop new courses or revise existing courses to support students’ diversity awareness and build their multicultural competence.

Dione Moultrie King, Ph.D., associate professor in the Department of Social Work, was one of the faculty members who received a grant. King’s research focuses on minority health disparities and adverse childhood experiences, and she has a deep interest in preparing her students to serve communities effectively. With this in mind, King used her grant to develop a new course entitled, “The Health and Well-being of Black Americans: A Social Work Approach,” which she taught for the first time in Spring 2021.

“In social work, diversity is really important. It’s one of the new standards that we’ll be continuing to bridge on,” said King. “I wanted to build a course that focused largely on the Black experience.”

For King, a former middle school teacher who grew up in Birmingham and graduated from Ramsay High School, examining the systems and institutions that perpetuate inequity in Black communities is a necessity for future social workers.

“[We have] students learning to serve marginalized and vulnerable populations, [and] there really was a gap in them understanding the historical component that… was impacting their ability to deliver services,” said King. “[Clients] have been engaging in systems that weren’t designed for them and/or didn’t support them, so there’s a general level of mistrust.”

As King developed the new course, she worked diligently to identify the main learning objective that would align with her grant proposal and her discipline’s national accreditation standards.

“The main objective was for students to critically examine and explore macro systems that have contributed to structural and systematic health disparities for Black Americans in the U.S.,” said King. “This was very much at the macro level.”

To achieve this objective, King avoided textbooks, and, instead, sought out a variety of course materials, including journal articles, news articles, and websites. She collected these items and identified ways in which she could prompt in-person discussions with her students. Although COVID-19 limited in-person classes at UAB in 2020, King was hopeful the public health landscape would improve by Spring 2021. Unfortunately, by January 2021, COVID-19 continued to be a significant concern, so King had to leverage virtual tools for the course.

“I had to be intentional with thinking about strategies,” said King. “We set norms in advance [for discussions]. It gave students a chance to talk it through in a safe space.”

King knew the conversations could be challenging, so she was intentional about creating an environment where students could engage with and learn from one another. By deploying effective strategies and supplemental tools, King created a space where students collaborated and engaged in thoughtful discussions on many subjects, including oppressive practices and theoretical frameworks.

Overall, King viewed the course as a success. That said, she wanted to know how her students felt about the experience. So, like all great teachers, she dove into the course evaluations.

“The evaluations that I received from this class…were simply amazing,” said King. “The averages are extremely high for this type of content. Students are saying this course should be a requirement.”

These evaluations and insights reflected what King saw throughout the duration of the course. From day one, students engaged with the content, participated in discussions, and explored ways to confront injustices.

“Our students really grew,” said King.

King finds this growth inspiring, and, based on the glowing course evaluations, it’s clear that “The Health and Well-being of Black Americans: A Social Work Approach” will have a lasting impact on the 24 future social workers who took the course.

Lisa HigginbothamMany Blazers donate to and engage with the Benevolent Fund, a charitable giving campaign that supports health and human service agencies, selected health-related charities, and University of Alabama at Birmingham employees through the Employee Emergency Assistance Program. Through the Benevolent Fund, UAB has distributed over $43 million to local nonprofit organizations and to UAB employees. The work changes lives, and it is a model of charitable excellence.

One of the key people behind the Benevolent Fund is Lisa Higginbotham, a two-time graduate of UAB’s College of Arts and Sciences. Higginbotham earned both her Bachelor of Social Work and Master of Public Administration in the early 1990s, and, afterwards, she navigated a prolific career in nonprofit management across Alabama.

“I fondly reflect on my time in CAS,” said Higginbotham. “From the friends I made who are now colleagues to working alongside Dr. Norm Eggleston researching discrimination in the workplace against people living with HIV or exploring ethical decision making with Dr. Mary Guy, it was all instrumental in me becoming the person I am today.”

During her time in the nonprofit sector, Higginbotham worked for Childcare Resources; Girls, Inc.; and the Children’s Trust Fund. Often, she improved processes and structures to ensure the organizations and institutions could do their best work and maximize impact—a skillset she gleaned from her time in the Department of Political Science and Public Administration.

When it came time to expand her family, Higginbotham decided to seek a part-time position, so she could achieve her desired work-life balance. Thankfully, at that time, UAB needed a new team member to support the Employee Emergency Assistance program—a perfect fit for Higginbotham.

Higginbotham accepted the role, and, eventually, she became the fund manager for the Benevolent Fund. She deployed a systems leadership approach to her work and uncovered opportunities to do more than provide funding to local nonprofits. For example, under Higginbotham’s leadership, the Benevolent Fund expanded service-learning opportunities for UAB students, developed new systems for Employee Emergency Assistance, and launched Blazer Kitchen (UAB’s campus food pantry which has provided 400,000 meals in just over four years).

“I launched Blazer Kitchen with a lot of help and support from our council and the UAB administration,” said Higginbotham. “We knew there were employees who needed help through our Employee Emergency Assistance program… and they could [also] benefit from access to healthy food.”

Every step of the way, Higginbotham has leveraged data, best practices, and her past experiences and knowledge to ensure her work is people-focused and impact-driven.

Over the past two years, the pandemic created numerous challenges for the Benevolent Fund, including limitations on grant-making and a pause on house builds with Habitat for Humanity, a long-standing nonprofit partner. That said, Higginbotham still encounters individual stories that illustrate the impact of her work—even during the pandemic. Recently, she worked closely with a UAB employee who experienced trauma and loss due to COVID-19. By highlighting UAB’s sick leave bank and counseling services offered by local nonprofits, Higginbotham was able to support the employee and help them navigate a heart wrenching moment.

As Higginbotham reflects on her experiences during her 18 years at UAB, she notes her passion for connecting employees to resources in the community.

“When I listen to nonprofits talk about the programs they have in the community, I think, ‘How can this help our UAB employees,’” said Higginbotham.

Now that she is back on campus (and in a new building), she sees endless opportunities to continue pursuing that passion and to deepen partnerships with nonprofit organizations. She also aims to expand Blazer Kitchen’s operating hours and further engage with the Department of Social Work and its students. Moving forward, the horizon is bright as the Benevolent Fund steers through the pandemic and continues its life-changing work.

“I encourage everyone—students, alumni, and employees—to reflect on where you are today, thank those who have helped you achieve your success, offer mentorship to the next generation of leaders, engage with your community to contribute to the public good, and stay connected to UAB,” said Higginbotham.