Inequalities in schools and neighborhoods focus of daylong conference Feb. 27

Social inequalities in schools and neighborhoods will be addressed by leading national scholars as well as prominent local scholars, experts and activists during a daylong conference Feb. 27 at Washington University. WUSTL’s Program in Social Thought & Analysis (STA) in Arts & Sciences is sponsoring the conference, titled “Inequalities in Schools & Neighborhoods: St. Louis and Beyond.”

Just a few hours of volunteering a week positively affects the well-being of older Americans

Photo courtesy of The OASIS InstituteVolunteering can have a positive effect on the overall well-being of older Americans.Looking to chase away the winter blues? Interested in staying active after retirement? Need a boost to your health? Try volunteering at your church or a neighborhood organization for a few hours a week — it could do you a world of good. Just two hours of volunteering a week can have a positive effect on the overall well-being of older Americans, according to a study from the George Warren Brown (GWB) School of Social Work at Washington University in St. Louis. The researchers found that older adults who volunteered had better assessments than non-volunteers on three measures of well-being: daily functioning, self-rated health and self-rated depression.

Lecture series at the George Warren Brown School of Social Work to explore economic inequality in American society

As part of Washington University’s Sesquicentennial celebration, Mark R. Rank, Ph.D., the Herbert S. Hadley Professor of Social Welfare at the George Warren Brown School of Social Work (GWB), will host a lecture series titled “Exploring the Impact of Economic Inequality Upon American Society.” The series will kick off Jan. 21 with a lecture by Ichiro Kawachi, Ph.D., professor of epidemiology and director of the Harvard Center for Society and Health, on “”Why Inequality is Harmful to Your Health,” at 1:10 p.m. in Brown Hall Lounge.

Society of Black Student Social Workers to host “Celebrating King Holiday 2004: Forum on Race” Jan. 19

In an effort to foster and encourage productive and proactive dialogue about race within the community of the George Warren Brown School of Social Work (GWB) at Washington University and the St. Louis region, the Society of Black Student Social Workers (SBSSW) will host “Celebrating King Holiday 2004: Forum on Race,” Jan. 19 from 2-6 p.m. in room 100 of Brown Hall. The guest speaker for this event is Tim Wise, a social justice activist and senior advisor to the Fisk University Race Relations Institute, who will speak on the topic of white privilege. His lecture, which will follow a professionally facilitated discussion on race relations with members of the student body and the greater GWB community, will begin at 4:30 p.m.

High rate of depression found in African-American women at risk for type 2 diabetes

Photo by David Kilper/WUSTL PhotoWendy F. Auslander, Ph.D. (left), works with St. Louis-area peer counselors in the “Eat Well, Live Well” program she pioneered with colleagues at the School of Medicine.As the cases of type 2 diabetes in African-American women increase at an epidemic rate, researchers are examining risk factors involved with this disease in order to create programs that will hopefully slow this growing problem. According to a recent study at the George Warren Brown (GWB) School of Social Work at Washington University in St. Louis, African-American women at risk for type 2 diabetes experience long periods of depression due, in part, to a lack of economic and social resources. “At the beginning of our study, 40 percent of our sample of African-American women at risk for type 2 diabetes reported clinically significant depression,” says Wendy Auslander, Ph.D., professor at GWB and co-author of the study. “Unlike their nondepressed peers, these women reported fewer economic assets and greater economic distress. Issues such as unemployment, low self-esteem and a low appraisal of their economic situation contributed to their depression.”

Americans have the best chance of becoming wealthy if they marry but remain childless, study shows

Photo courtesy of Tom Paule PhotographyMarrying for love … and money.Becoming wealthy and creating a happy family are two key components to achieving the American Dream, but do marriage and children have any impact on your chances of becoming rich? “Marriage substantially increases a person’s likelihood of becoming affluent,” says Mark R. Rank, Ph.D., professor of social work at Washington University in St. Louis and co-author of a study out this month that looks at earnings over the course of a person’s lifetime. “Having children, however, significantly lowers the probability of becoming wealthy for all people,” Rank adds.

School of Social Work to honor six St. Louis agencies Nov. 12

KhindukaAs part of Washington University’s Sesquicentennial, the George Warren Brown School of Social Work (GWB) is honoring six agencies through the Community Connections Project from 4-5:30 p.m. Nov. 12 in Brown Hall’s Brown Lounge. This event is free and open to the public. In addition to comments by Shanti K. Khinduka, Ph.D., dean and the George Warren Brown Distinguished University Professor, Stacey Nelson-Kumar, president of the GWB Alumni Board, and representatives from the honored agencies, items exhibiting the historical link between the agencies and GWB will be on display during the event.
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