September 2025 Dean's Note

People are what make GSSW special. Our students and alumni, staff and faculty, donors, community partners and friends have diverse backgrounds, identities and scholarly interests and they share a deep commitment to advancing justice and improving individual and community well-being.

At the end of the 2024–25 academic year, we said goodbye to several treasured members of our community who retired. Please take some time to read about the indelible impact of Karen Bensen (MSW ’91), Charmaine Brittain (MSW ’91), Ann Petrila (BA ’79, MSW ’82, MPA ’82), Michelle Sienkiewicz and Eugene Walls and learn about what the future holds for them. Please join me in thanking them for their exceptional service to our students, GSSW, the larger community and the social work profession.

In this issue you will also read about PhD alumni Brendon Holloway and Brittanie Ash, who are continuing Eugene Walls’ teaching, mentoring and research legacy as faculty members at the Colorado State University School of Social Work.

Our newer faculty are busy building their own impressive legacies as educators and scholars. I had the opportunity recently to converse with GSSW Assistant Professor Tyrone Hamler about his work advancing health equity. Our conversation is captured in the latest Brave Ideas for Social Change podcast episode. Please take a few minutes to listen and learn about his research.

The coming 2025–26 academic year will bring eagerly anticipated changes, new partnerships and exciting opportunities. I look forward to sharing each and every one with you. Please know that you are welcome at GSSW. Thus, I hope to see you at one of our lectures, student engagement activities or alumni events.

Henrika McCoy, MSW, MJ, PhD
Milton Morris Endowed Dean of Social Work and Professor