The 9-semester hours Graduate certificate in School Social Work prepares MSW's for leadership and administrative roles in the field of social work across settings. Social Work administration requires a specific set of values, knowledge, and managerial and leadership skills which you will gain through this certificate.
A student planning to become a School Social Worker in the State of Michigan must have approval from the Michigan Department of Education (MDE); this certificate with a MSW in clinical social work fulfills the requirement of the MDE.
This certificate prepares MSWs for leadership and administrative roles in the field of Social Work across settings.
This certificate is an academic credential for students wishing to pursue the State of Michigan certifcation as a Certified Alcohol & Drug Counselor (CADC) .
B.A., Dordt College
M.S.W., Arizona State University
Ph.D., Arizona State University
734-432-5758
Dr. Bart Miles is the Chair of Social Work & Sociology. He joined the full time faculty of Madonna University in 2012 from Wayne State University. He completed his doctoral degree in 2003 and his MSW in 1998 at Arizona State University. His interests include treatment of children and adolescents, at-risk urban youth, homelessness/poverty, and qualitative methods. He is actively engaged in the social work community through a variety of activities including serving on boards, consulting with agencies, grant writing, and non-profit evaluation. His research has been mixed methods research primarily with homeless adults and youth.
Dr. Miles has expertise in various qualitative methodologies, including: participatory action research, visual ethnography, discourse analysis, interpretive methods, and computer assisted data analysis.
Dr. Kelli Marks is the BSW Program Director in Social Work. Kelli joined the full time faculty of Madonna University in 2016 and has a Master’s in Social Work from the University of Michigan (2000) with an emphasis in interpersonal practice and children and youth and received her Ph.D. in Educational Leadership from Oakland University in 2015. Her research focused on the importance of student engagement of academic outcomes, concentrating on minority male achievement.
Kelli worked previously in juvenile justice before entering adult corrections and was employed as a corrections officer with female inmates for several years; she also has 15 years of experience working with adult felons in Oakland County.
B.A., San Francisco State University
M.S.W & Ph.D., University of Michigan
734-432-5781
Cathryn Fabian joined the Social Work faculty at Madonna University in 2017 as an Assistant Professor. She earned both her MSW (Community Organization/Community and Social Systems) and her Ph.D. (Social Work and Psychology) from the University of Michigan.
Prior to coming to Madonna, Dr. Fabian was a lecturer at the University of Michigan and at Eastern Michigan University, and was also a research associate at the University of Notre Dame. Her practice experience includes working with homeless and elderly populations, and in community-based program development and evaluation. Dr. Fabian also has expertise on the role of service learning in higher education, particularly as it relates to cognitive and career development.
B.A., University of Detroit Mercy
M.S.W, Wayne State University
Ph.D., Walden University
734-432-5569
Irena Glover, Ph.D., LMSW, joined the Social Work Department at Madonna University in August 2017 as an Assistant Professor. She earned a BA in Developmental Psychology from the University of Detroit Mercy in 1998. She went on to earn her MSW in 2000 from Wayne State University. In 2016, Irena earned her Ph.D. in Human Services with a specialization in Family Studies and Intervention Strategies.
Prior to arriving at Madonna, Irena worked in various settings, including Children’s Hospital of Michigan and the Family Reunification Program. She also has experience with nonprofit and program development. Her interests include parenting education, father engagement, working with at-risk children and youth, intergenerational issues such as poverty and teenage pregnancy, and individual and family counseling.
Samantha Hallman joined the faculty at Madonna University in the fall of 2017 as an Assistant Professor of Social Work. Prior to that time, she held a variety of teaching and research positions at the University of Michigan, including a Postdoctoral Assessment and Evaluation position at the Center for Research on Learning and Teaching; a Graduate Student Instructor for several courses in both Social Work and Psychology; and Research Assistant positions at the Institute for Social Research, the School of Education, and the Department of Psychology.
In addition to those roles, she was a Research and Evaluation Manager at the non-profit Weikart Center for Youth Program Quality. She received a B.A. in Psychology with Honors in 2006, a Master's in Social Work in 2008, and a Ph.D. in Social Work and Psychology in 2015 from the University of Michigan. Broadly speaking, her research interests lie in understanding the "achievement gap" and bio-psycho-social models of intervention aimed at ameliorating it. Her dissertation explored the role of self-regulatory strength, in conjunction with expectancy and value, in explaining differences in levels of homework completion as a function of race and socioeconomic status.
Janice King, LMSW, joined the Social Work Department at Madonna University in 2004 as an adjunct assistant professor. Ms. King earned a MSW in Social Work (organizations and communities) and a BA, in Humanistic Studies at Wayne State University. In August 2014 she became the new Field Education Director for the Social Work program and continues to teach practice method courses in groups and families, and organizations.
Ms. King was previously the Program Manager for the National Resource Center for Adoption at Spaulding for Children, supporting States, Tribes and Territories with relevant practice information in the area of public child welfare adoption, child and family well-being, disproportionality and adoption support and preservation services.
B.A., Occidental College
M.S.W., California State University, Sacramento
Ph.D., Wayne State University
734-432-5872
Cristina Tucker, who goes by Shelly, joined our Social Work faculty in 2018. Shelly earned her PhD in Social Work from Wayne State University in 2010. Her dissertation research focused on the acculturation of Latino immigrants in the US, including experiences with discrimination, racism, and other barriers to full integration into American society. Shelly also holds an MA in Hispanic Studies from the University of Pennsylvania, an MSW from California State University Sacramento, and a BA in Spanish from Occidental College.
She most recently comes to us from the non-profit arena where she developed and ran an innovative prisoner reentry program in Michigan and Oklahoma. She has vast experience working in all levels of practice and enjoys guiding students to find their best fit in the social work field. Shelly specializes in immigration, reentry, program development, social policy, and organizational leadership.
B.A., University of Toledo
M.S.S.A., Case Western Reserve University
Ph.D., University of Toledo
734-432-5498
Sarah Jo Twitchell holds her LISW-S license in Ohio and joined the Social Work faculty in August 2016 as an Assistant Professor. Dr. Twitchell earned her MSSA from Case Western Reserve University and her doctorate from The University of Toledo. Before arriving at Madonna University, Dr. Twitchell has also taught social work courses at Owens Community College and Glenville State College in West Virginia. In addition to teaching at the college level, Dr. Twitchell serves as a consultant to various non-profits in the areas of development and grant writing. She has held numerous positions in Toledo area agencies focusing on homelessness, poverty, education and faith-based services.
B.S.W. & M.S.W., University of South Florida
Ph.D, Wayne State University
734-432-2467
Dr. Proctor’s career includes work as a medical and gerontological social worker, community organizer, and applied sociologist. Having served as Chair of the Sociology Department since 2007, she now serves as Program Director of the Social Work and Sociology Department and Co-Director of the Humane Studies Program (one of only two Humane Education Programs in the US). She has guided the Sociology Program to become one of the few Applied Sociology Programs in Michigan with an emphasis on community-based service-learning campus initiatives.
Dr. Proctor’s research areas include social inequality, social and environmental justice, environmental sustainability, and animal welfare. In addition to teaching students at the Livonia campus, she teaches at the MU Southwest Detroit Women’s Educational Empowerment Program (SWEEP) Center as well as Haitian Students in the MU Haiti Educational Leadership Program (HELP). Her work is aimed at engaging students in community service and research. She has secured grants enabling numerous student-faculty research projects, many of which have resulted in student-faculty presentations at local and national professional conferences, including the American Sociological Association (ASA). She currently serves as Chair of the Animals and Society Section of ASA. Her favorite courses are those that engage students in community-based learning.