Indiana State University Newsroom

Kicking off a year-long celebration of its 20th anniversary, the department of social work at Indiana State University will host a symposium Saturday on community-based research addressing health and social disparities.

Hosted by the College of Nursing, Health, and Human Services, the event will take place from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Nursing Building, room 107.

The theme of the event is to "present to the university and the community social work's involvement in health and social wellness. It will look at ways to eliminate disparity and inequity in health and mental health services and access to early and adequate care," said Paul Duong Tran, professor and chair of the deparment.

Anne Robinson, post-doctoral researcher at George Warren Brown School of Social Work at Washington University in St. Louis, will discuss "Getting it Right for Every Child in Scotland" about her work with researchers in Scotland, and the policies and service approaches to protect children who may be exposed to violence in the home.

Tiffany Baffour of Winston-Salem State University will also be presenting as will Duong Tran and fellow Indiana State social work professor Portia Adams.

The targeted goal of the symposium is to share research activities and knowledge as well as create a networking system for students and faculty interested in social work research. Issues of racial and rural/urban disparities will be the main focus for discussion at the seminar, and those interested in research can gain a broader insight on how to account for and improve these types of disparities.

"Sometimes at conferences such as this, you pick up an idea and then you call people up and you propose certain kinds of collaborations," DuongTran said. "So the goal for this conference is to present what social work research is, what we do and how it relates to the College of Nursing, Health and Human Services. [It is also an] opportunity for networking for students to see that research is done with rigor and certain standards and purpose."

Students, faculty and community members involved with and interested in the works of the social work department are invited to attend. Free parking will be available in the parking lot on the northeast corner of Eighth and Chestnut streets.

The conference begins with a reception allowing students and faculty to meet with the scholars and will be followed by Dean Jack Turman Jr.'s welcoming remarks. The speakers begin their individual presentations at 9:40 a.m. and are expected to last until 12:10 p.m., followed by a group discussion called "Moving Forward to Reduce Health and Social Disparities."

After final remarks from Dean Turman, a lunch reception will take place from 12:45 p.m. to 2 p.m.

Contact: Paul Duong Tran, professor and chair, department of social work, College of Nursing, Health, and Human Services, Indiana State University, paul.duongtran@indstate.edu