Field Directors

 View Only
  • 1.  Seeking Input on Advisory Boards

    Posted Feb 13, 2025 09:14

    Hi everyone,

    I am currently doing my field placement with the WVU School of Social Work field office. The field education director and I were recently discussing creating an advisory board. If your school currently has an advisory board, how did you start that process? What is the structure of your advisory board? What are some of the benefits and challenges you have noticed?

    Thank you!



    ------------------------------
    Lia Schaarschmidt
    ------------------------------


  • 2.  RE: Seeking Input on Advisory Boards

    Posted Feb 13, 2025 11:09
    Lia, our advisory board has been active fir mire than 20 years. It is comprised of 10-12  people,  mostly alumni, but also a few "friends" of our program including the regional food bank director  (neither alumni nor SW). A few are field instructors,  several live 3-6 hours away.  We also have 2-4 students.. we meet 2x per year,, including always on homecoming Friday, for 2-3 hrs. We buy them lunch and they offer advice on our curriculum and insights into changes we need to make to be current in our curriculum.  A couple of subcommittee have helped when we need specific information or advice. We often turn to them as guest speakers or help connecting with other experts.

    I love and value them!




        "Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek." - Barack Obama


    Dr Tammy Faux, MSSW. Ph.D
    Chair, Wartburg College Dept of SocialWork 

    Book Time with Me
    99a317acabc5494ba4729cfcfe958b3c@wartburg.edu?anonymous&ep=signature" style="font-size: 12pt">https://outlook.office.com/bookwithme/user/99a317acabc5494ba4729cfcfe958b3c@wartburg.edu?anonymous&ep=signature

    Sent from my U.S.Cellular© Smartphone
    Get Outlook for Android





  • 3.  RE: Seeking Input on Advisory Boards

    Posted Mar 12, 2025 10:05

    Thank you for sharing! It is very much appreciated. 



    ------------------------------
    Lia Schaarschmidt
    ------------------------------



  • 4.  RE: Seeking Input on Advisory Boards

    Posted Feb 26, 2025 09:40

    Lia,

    We don't have an advisory board,  but we do have a Practicum Education Committee whose membership includes students, faculty, administration, and community representation and we pretty much engage in the same activities that Dr. Faux mentioned. 

    Best,

    Warren



    ------------------------------
    Warren K. Graham, LCSW, ACSW, CASAC
    Associate Dean of Practicum Learning
    Columbia University School of Social Work
    New York, NY
    212-853-5735
    wkg2103@columbia.edu
    ------------------------------



  • 5.  RE: Seeking Input on Advisory Boards

    Posted Mar 12, 2025 10:07

    Thank you for sharing! It is very much appreciated. 



    ------------------------------
    Lia Schaarschmidt
    ------------------------------



  • 6.  RE: Seeking Input on Advisory Boards

    Posted Feb 28, 2025 15:10

    Hi Lia -

    We used to have a structured advisory committee and, for the past two years, I made the meeting more open in the sense that I invite any/all field supervisors and agency contacts (who have a role in oversight of students and/or placements), students across all cohorts, social work faculty in our department, field liaisons and field staff to attend field advisory council meetings. I hold the meeting once per semester via zoom and set an agenda and also welcome agenda suggestions from attendees. I will have 25- 35 people attend. I want this space to offer an opportunity for community members to come and express themselves with field team members. I really like this format and am working to improve our approach and foster bi-directional input. 

    Best-

    Cara



    ------------------------------
    Cara Ponomarev
    Director of Field Education
    607-777-3633
    ------------------------------



  • 7.  RE: Seeking Input on Advisory Boards

    Posted Mar 12, 2025 10:07

    Thank you for sharing! It is very much appreciated. 



    ------------------------------
    Lia Schaarschmidt
    ------------------------------



  • 8.  RE: Seeking Input on Advisory Boards

    Posted May 06, 2025 09:53

    Cara and Lia,

    This is what we do in our program, too. We meet once or twice a year, inviting our field instructors and at least one alumnae to get their input on how we're doing - what's working, what isn't. We also update them on what we're doing - like holding a field fair, offering CEU events, changes to the programming/curricula... It's a great way to foster a sense of community and get vital input that surveys can't always capture. 

    Angie



    ------------------------------
    Angela Wood
    Asst. Professor/Field Director
    Southeastern Louisiana University
    Hammond LA
    985-549-2309
    ------------------------------