The Institute for Human-Animal Connection (IHAC) is advancing awareness and understanding of the interrelationships among people, other animals and the environment. Keep up with the latest news about IHAC and our work related to human-animal-environment interactions.
What's New at IHAC
IHAC Receives Grant from The Human-Animal Alliance
IHAC is proud to announce that we have a received a $10,000 grant from The Human-Animal Alliance! This grant allows us to provide scholarships for students who would otherwise be unable to participate in our IHACPro programs due to cost.
Our research has been featured in The Conversation, an independent news organization that platforms academics and researchers like us to share our evidence-based findings with a broad, global audience.
IHAC research staff Jaci Gandenberger and Dr. Kevin Morris discuss how our companion dogs may do more than just reduce stress; they can actually help keep us in a healthy zone of stress response.
Are you looking to enhance your career? Our Animals and Human Health certificate program provides the education you need to ethically incorporate animals into your work through three online courses. In our program, you will gain valuable skills and knowledge in human-animal interactions that will set you up for success. This is the perfect program for social workers, counselors, educators, and more; tailor your assignments to fit your interests and experience a personalized learning environment with our small class sizes.
100% online, asynchronous, and led by expert instructors.
After completing IHACs Animals and Human Health (AHH) certificate, María Belén Ibáñez Justiniano established EQOVOLARE, Bolivia's first officially registered animal-assisted therapy center.
As associate director of the Institute for Human-Animal Connection, Erica Elvove champions a holistic approach to social work that includes humans, animals and the environment.
Peter Wolf is a research and policy analyst with Best Friends Animal Society, a nonprofit animal welfare organization that focuses on outreach to promote pet adoption, animal shelters that minimize euthanasia and spay-and-neuter education. Peter, like many we have talked to in the animal welfare field, came to his work with community cats by a somewhat unconventional route. Growing up in the suburbs of Detroit, he did not have pets in his home but was always fascinated by and bonded with community cats.
Can saving companion animal lives improve the economy? In the first study of its kind, the GSSW Institute for Human-Animal Connection is investigating the economic impacts of a no-kill animal shelter policy.
A conservation social work course took Graduate School of Social Work students to Kenya, where they discovered how the lives of humans and threatened species intersect.
Signature Events
Research Seminar Series
Our quarterly seminars feature a wide variety of speakers and topics with an emphasis on social justice issues.
The IHAC and Green Chimneys co-hosted conferences present the latest research, best practices, and future directions of human-animal-environment interactions, and inspires attendees to rethink human relationships with other animals.
