News and Events

Spring 2024

Welcome to West Virginia University School of Social Work where we are committed to educating future social workers who will make a positive difference in the lives of individuals, families, and communities. The WVU School of Social Work offers CSWE-accredited BSW and MSW programs located on our Morgantown campus and we also offer a fully online MSW program ideal for working students. Additionally, we offer a dual degree program: the JD/MSW dual degree. The School of Social Work also offers a PhD degree program focused on community-engaged research. Through this program, we are developing the future professors, researchers, and leaders of the profession. We aspire to boldly address problems such as systemic racism and oppression, the addiction crisis, suicide, mental illness, child abuse and neglect, and chronic health challenges through innovative research, community engagement, and integrated, evidence-based approaches. Given the many life challenges and systemic barriers people face, we are committed to state of the art education, research, and community-based solutions that will meaningfully address the social and human problems of our time. Whether you are a prospective student or a future faculty or staff colleague, come join the dynamic WVU School of Social Work community. We are building the leaders and change agents of tomorrow today. 

Let’s go. 

Deana F. Morrow, PhD, LICSW, ACSW

Director and Professor

Eberly Family Professor for Outstanding Public Service

Planting seeds for a safe and healthy society

A new WVU research collaborative is working to address the many challenging conditions facing the state and Appalachia. In the Eberly College Interdisciplinary Research Collaborative for a Safe and Healthy Society, researchers from a wide range of disciplines, including social work, are working together with partners across campus to seek solutions to these pressing issues. Learn more about the projects.

Publication

School of Social Work partners with DHHR to offer gerontology certificate

Developed by Deana Morrow, principal investigator; Mandy Weirich, co-investigator; and Hanna Thurman, project coordinator, the program consists of 15 one-hour modules on topics such as Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, Alzheimer’s disease, physical and psychological aspects of aging, financial exploitation, social determinants of health, trauma, and death and bereavement. Learn more about the program.

Making a home among the stacks

Since transferring to WVU fall 2017, Connecticut native Déja Fleury has found a home-away-from-home in Morgantown. Nearly three years later, the social work major is helping the local library feel more like home for its patrons. Learn more about her project.

Pursuing justice

A WVU student is seeking justice for imprisoned individuals who are not receiving adequate healthcare. As part of her internship with nonprofit law firm Mountain State Justice, Master of Social Work and Master of Public Administration dual-degree student Meg Haller is leading the organization’s grant writing efforts to seek funding to support a class action lawsuit about this matter. Read more about the project.

Supporting West Virginia's aging populations

With senior citizens making up nearly 20% of West Virginia’s population, one WVU student has committed her career to helping them transition from skilled nursing facilities back into the community. During her field placement at Mapleshire Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, Master of Social Work student Heather Beeseck recognized that older clients needed access to more support services, especially when they were only temporarily in a skilled nursing facility for rehabilitation. Learn more about her work.

Expanding access and reducing stigma for mental health services

Serving in the Army National Guard has inspired one Master of Social Work student to pursue a career combating stigmas surrounding mental health. Green Bank native Dustin Dilley is using his experience in the military to help veterans navigating mental health challenges. Read more about his efforts.

Supporting healthy "grandfamilies"

With 1 in 14 West Virginia youth being raised by grandparents, one West Virginia University student is committed to ensuring they have the resources they need to support their families. Master of Social Work student Mariah Martin is an intern with Healthy Grandfamilies, an eight-week training program from the Children’s Home Society for grandparents voluntarily raising their grandchildren. Learn more about her efforts.

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