Every day, our graduates are changing lives around the world, and it is the education and training they receive at the UGA School of Social Work that help make this possible. Private support ensures that our graduates are prepared to tackle the complex social problems that individuals, families, and communities are facing. By supporting our students, you are also supporting the countless people who are helped by our graduates throughout their careers.
Funding Opportunities |
| Student Scholarships & Assistantships |
| International Studies Endowment |
| Faculty Research Endowment |
| Enhancement of Endowed Professorships |
We ask that you join us in supporting the education of tomorrow’s social workers.
Our students have made the decision to devote their careers to helping those in need.Developing the skills of a social worker is no easy task. Our students balance a rigorous schedule of course work with hundreds of hours of field work in community service agencies across the state. The tremendous commitment of time and service of our students is matched only by their financial commitment, and the ever-rising cost of obtaining a college or graduate degree.
Scholarships and fellowships allow our students to focus more of their time and energy on their studies and graduate with less student loan debt. This is particularly important for social work graduates, for whom high salaries are not the primary award upon graduation. With nearly 500 students, we need more people to join the ranks of these generous supporters in creating scholarships and assistantships for our students.
Scholarships are financial awards to undergraduate and graduate students that help offset education-related expenses. For undergraduate students, scholarships can help with expenses not fully covered by the HOPE Scholarship, such as books and fees.
Assistantships provide financial assistance to graduate students in the form of a tuition reduction and a monthly salary. In return, the student works thirteen hours per week with a faculty or staff member helping with research and other projects.
We are grateful for the generous financial gifts from our friends and alumni that make these scholarships possible. Your generosity has had a tremendous impact on our students over the years.
James D. Horne Memorial Scholarship
Established in memory of Mr. Horne, philanthropist and friend of the School. Provides financial assistance to B.S.W. and MSW students, with preference given to students interested in working with the homeless.
Wilbur P. Jones Scholarship
Established in memory of respected community activist Wilbur Jones. Promotes excellence,diversity, and equity in the profession of social work by diversifying the student population within the School of Social Work, and is typically awarded to a graduate student from an historically underrepresented group within the field of social work.
Pauline D. Lide Scholarship
Established in memory of retired faculty member Dr. Pauline Lide. Provides financial assistance to MSW students demonstrating financial need and superior scholarship.
Joe and Diane Perno Scholarship Fund
Established in memory of School of Social Work alumnus Joe Perno and his wife, Diane. Provides financial assistance to social work students, with preference given to students pursuing the MSW degree.
Heather Christina Wright Memorial Undergraduate Scholarship
Established in Heather's memory, a former student of the School who died from cancer in her final year of study. Provides financial assistance to a B.S.W. student, with preference given to students demonstrating financial need and the desire to work with cancer patients and their families.
Heather Christina Wright Memorial Graduate Scholarship
Also established in Heather's memory. Provides financial assistance to a MSW student using the same criteria as above.
The Mary Jane Coberth Award
Established in memory of Mary Jane Coberth, mother of Katherine Rose Adams, a former staff person in our MSW program, with support from Ms. Susan Waltman (MSW '75). The purpose of this award is to provide a one-time $1,000 award to a first-year (rising second-year in fall 2010) MSW student in the School of Social Work, with preference given, but not limited to, a student who may have special interest in suicide awareness and prevention.
Elizabeth B. Loyd Scholarship
Established in memory of Elizabeth B. Loyd. Master of Social Work (MSW) students with a clinical focus are eligible for this award. Prospective applicants must have completed their undergraduate degree no less than three years prior to applying for this award. Criteria for the award also include superior academic achievement, a demonstrated financial need as determined by the Office of Student Financial Aid, and a record of volunteer and community service.
Experience is often the most profound teacher, and our international education programs provide just that—unique opportunities for students to learn about different cultures through hands-on experience.
The School of Social Work sponsors many opportunities for students and faculty to engage in international learning, teaching, research, and service. Our students and faculty work regularly in Ghana and Ireland.
While many students express an interest in these programs each year, most students are unable to participate because of the high cost of international travel. At present, we have no funding available to support study and service abroad.
Support of our International Studies Endowment will ensure that annual funding is available to help more students take advantage of exciting international learning opportunities.
The research of our faculty has an impact far beyond the academic community, reaching out to shape policy and practice. Faculty evaluate the effectiveness of social work services and programs, develop innovative ways to serve families and communities, and build the knowledge base of the field to help social workers and agencies everywhere be most effective.
Contributions to the Research Support Endowment will help to continue and enhance the important research of our faculty.
"The field of social work is a dynamic one, which makes continued research development necessary. As the flagship university within the state, our School continues to promote new knowledge about social conditions that will benefit individuals, families, communities, and organizations within Georgia, the nation, and the world." — Maurice C. Daniels, Dean
The School of Social Work is honored to have three endowed professorships—the Thomas M. "Jim" Parham Professorship of Family and Children Studies, the Pauline M. Berger Memorial Professorship in Family and Child Welfare and the Donald L. Hollowell Professorship of Social Justice and Civil Rights Studies.
Distinguished professorships attract leading social work scholars to our school, and their instruction, research, and outreach initiatives benefit both our students and the families and communities those students will serve.
Enhancement of these professorships will provide greater resources to support the important contributions of these distinguished professors.
The Thomas M. "Jim" Parham Professorship of Family and Children Studies, established in 2001, was the School's first endowed professorship and honors the late professor Jim Parham's contributions to social welfare policy and his work on behalf of families in need throughout Georgia and the nation. In addition to serving on the School's faculty from 1979 through 1994, he headed the Georgia Division for Children and Youth and the Georgia Department of Human Resources. He served as Deputy Assistant to the Secretary of Human Development Services in the U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare and served with President Jimmy Carter in the late 1970's. Professor Parham leaves a vast legacy, but he is perhaps remembered most for his service to children, particularly for the development of the statewide juvenile justice programs, the licensing of child care centers, and adoption program improvements.
June Gary Hopps holds the distinguished Thomas M. "Jim" Parham Professorship. As the Parham Professor, Hopps serves as the School's leading authority in the area of public policy. In addition to teaching courses and guiding research in this area, she is the School's liaison with state and federal government offices and legislators regarding emerging public policy issues in the field. Hopps is a scholar of national and international distinction and is the former dean of the Graduate School of Social Work at Boston College.
Through the generosity of Dr. Israel Berger, the Pauline M. Berger Memorial Professorship in Family and Child Welfare was established in 2002. This professorship honors the important contributions of Dr. Berger's wife, professor Pauline Berger, to the School and to the social work profession. Professor Berger served on the faculty from 1966 to 1976 as both assistant professor and admissions director. Prior to her tenure on the faculty, Professor Berger worked for the Norfolk Naval Hospital during World War II, for the American Red Cross, and as a family caseworker in a number of states. Throughout her career, professor Berger was a dedicated social worker who worked tirelessly on behalf of others. According to her husband, "Pauline was totally devoted to the social work profession and to teaching and working with students. She often said she loved her work so much she would do it without getting paid."
Michael Holosko was appointed the first Pauline M. Berger Professor. Holosko brings years of experience in teaching, research, and community service to the School of Social Work. As the Berger Professor, Holosko will use his extensive research background in child and family welfare to create practice-based learning opportunities for our students, who will go on in their careers to serve children and families.
Through the president’s hiring initiative, UGA President Michael Adams and Provost Jere Morehead approved a new faculty line for the Donald L. Hollowell Distinguished Professorship of Social Justice and Civil Rights Studies. The professorship was endowed in April 2010 and was announced by Vernon E. Jordan, Jr., chair of the endowment committee, at the world premiere of the documentary Donald L. Hollowell: Foot Soldier for Equal Justice at the Woodruff Fine Arts Center in Atlanta. The documentary was produced by the Foot Soldier Project for Civil Rights Studies. The professorship is named in honor of Donald L. Hollowell, a legendary civil rights attorney and lead counsel in Holmes v. Danner,the landmark case that secured admission to the University of Georgia for Hamilton Holmes and Charlayne Hunter, the first African American students to register for classes at the University in 1961.
Obie Clayton, Jr., was selected to be the inaugural holder of the Donald L. Hollowell Distinguished Professorship of Social Justice and Civil Rights Studies. Editor of the acclaimed book An American Dilemma Revisited: Race Relations in a Changing World, Clayton is best known for his service and research in examining race relations, urban inequality, demography and the family. Before joining the School of Social Work, Clayton served as the director of sponsored programs and director of the Morehouse Research Institute at Morehouse College. Prior to that, he was chair and professor of the Department of Sociology and executive director of the Morehouse Research Institute. He also served as the vice provost for research at Morehouse College and was editor of Challenge: A Journal of Research on African American Men. Over his career, Clayton has garnered over $10 million in grants. All of his work is centered on individuals who have been disenfranchised. Some of his recent work has dealt with those in the prison systems and those who find themselves victims of substance abuse or homeless.
For more information, contact Development Director Jennifer Abbott.
