News

Researchers in the KU School of Social Welfare have updated training materials that prepare health care providers to prevent, identify and treat substance use disorders across Kansas. SBIRT — Screening, Brief Intervention and Referral to Treatment — is an evidence-based approach to talking with people about their substance use.

Lily Shine, who will graduate in May with her Bachelor of Social Work degree from the University of Kansas School of Social Welfare, has made it a life mission to tackle homelessness.

University of Kansas researchers propose viewing the problem through an African feminist lens that would engage culture, local customs and knowledge to address an issue that has persisted despite legal reforms.

KU has 55 graduate programs in the top 50 among public universities — including eight in the top 10 — in the latest U.S. News & World Report Best Graduate Schools rankings.

Claire Willey-Sthapit, assistant professor in KU's School of Social Welfare, will receive the KU International Affairs Advisory Board International Research Award and speak April 29. Her research examines domestic violence policy across the U.S. and Nepal, highlighting community-based responses and challenging global assumptions about prevention and intervention.

Joe Bush, professional writing consultant and adjunct instructor for the KU School of Social Welfare, is teaching SW 410 this spring. Bush worked with the Bachelor of Social Work curriculum committee to update and modernize the course.

In a new exhibition in Kenneth Spencer Research Library at the University of Kansas, historical texts and contemporary artwork sit side by side, inviting intergenerational exploration and new ideas about the universal experience of growing older. An opening reception for “Aging, Art, and Activism: Reimagining Our Aging Futures through Creative Representations and Personal Narratives” will take place March 31.

Aurea Bailey, who will receive her MSW from the University of Kansas School of Social Welfare in May, currently lives in St. Robert, Missouri. Her family had to move there abruptly when her husband was relocated, but the nature of the online MSW program through Jayhawk Global kept options open for Bailey.

More than 7,000 KU students have completed the Prevention is Possible Seminar since 2018. The program - a partnership between the KU Sexual Assault Prevention & Education Center and the KU School of Social Welfare - earned a 2025 NASPA Innovative Program Award.

Research and development expenditures spanning all University of Kansas campuses climbed to $610.6 million in fiscal year 2025, surpassing the previous record of $546.1 million by 12% and marking a full decade of sustained research growth.